Grand Rapids’ Festival 2013: Some Local Spins picks to peruse

From emerging act Spence & Friends to longtime fave Mid-Life Crisis, Festival covers the gamut of musical styles and sounds. But can a 13-year-old steal the show?

 

At 13, Joe Heemstra has barely scratched the surface as a musician, right?

But listen to this Grandville youngster smoothly and flawlessly match guitar whiz Joe Satriani’s “Summer Song” note for note, and it’s clear there’s something beyond special about this soft-spoken eighth-grader.

The electric guitar prodigy also known as “LittleEdge” will perform Sunday at Grand Rapids’ Festival of the Arts for the fourth year in a row, making him likely the youngest “seasoned” headliner at the three-day downtown celebration and making him a shoe-in as one of Local Spins’ “Best of Festival” picks for 2013.

Now a straight-A student at Grand Rapids’ City Middle School who also plays football, basketball and baseball, Heemstra first picked up a guitar at age 8 and has never looked back, diving headlong into guitar solos and classics by U2’s Edge (hence the nickname), Randy Rhoads, Eric Johnson and his hero, Satriani.

“I’m trying to improve myself technically,” says the hard-working teen, who even recently came up with his own guitar arrangement for “How Great Thou Art.” “It’s a challenge, that’s part of the fun of it. I love performing: That’s sort of the payoff.”

The son of Doug and Jeanine Heemstra of Grandville, Heemstra’s siblings demonstrate musical passion, too, with Grace, 12, singing in theater productions, and Danny, 10, a budding violinist.

Heemstra will perform a solo set to a musical backing track at noon Sunday on Festival’s Circle Stage at Rosa Parks Circle, with other summer gigs set for Holland’s street performer series. You can get a taste of his eye-popping talent in the Local Spins video below, taken earlier this week at West Coast Coffee in Grand Rapids.

“I like the atmosphere (of Festival) and how people can walk by and see it,” Heemstra says of performing at the event each year. “It’s easy to draw a crowd. It’s just a fun place to be.”

SO MANY BANDS, SO LITTLE SPACE

Heemstra’s “oh wow” talent aside, a couple of missives from different camps this week reminded me that no matter how hard one works to put a spotlight on Grand Rapids’ music scene, artists can become frustrated or slighted when their compelling music doesn’t get the attention or the audience they feel it deserves.

Festival creates just such a no-win situation: With more than 270 performances on six stages over three days, it’s a scary and daunting task to highlight the picks that make up the “Best of Festival” at LocalSpins.com.

As usual, some tried-and-true Festival veterans covering every imaginable genre will draw adoring audiences for weekend sets: The Schubert Male Chorus, Steve Hilger, Ralston Bowles, Steve Anzivino, Debra Perry, Ned Rouse, The Adams Family, Weatherheads, Valentiger, CoverStory, Embellish, Neil Jacobs, Nicholas James, Mind’s Eye, Lazy Blue Tunas, Blue Water Ramblers, PotatoeBabies, Willeys, Chupacobras, Bethel Abundant Life Center Choir, Karisa Wilson, Three’s a Crowd, Common Shiner, members of the Proulx family, the list goes on and on.

And then there are the budding newcomers making their first Festival appearances, eager to flaunt their musical wares for fresh audiences.

So, please consider these suggestions as merely a starting point to embrace all that Festival has to offer (not to mention all those tempting food booths) – a short list of over- and under-the-radar musical picks to build on. The full schedule and lineup of bands is available online at festivalgr.org/guide/.

Just make sure you get there and cheer your favorite performers: They deserve your support.

FRIDAY
2:30 p.m. – Serita Crowley, Jon Hayes & Jim Prange, Circle Stage; Jill Jack, Clock Tower Stage – If you’re a speedwalker, you might be able to catch parts of both sets: Crowley’s powerful vocals drive some tasty blues, rock and soul, while award-winning Detroit-area singer-songwriter Jill Jack has impressed fans for more than 15 years, with eight albums under her belt.
5:45 p.m. – Martin & Lamm, Outer Fringe Stage – This harmony-driven acoustic music duo plays sweet folk-pop and features a member of the uber-popular West Michigan trio The Trace (Mark Lamm).
6:15 p.m. – Spence & Friends, City Stage – Folks giving this new Grand Rapids indie-rock band’s thoughtful debut album a listen can expect to see a crowd for this set that’s also drawn to the likes of the Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons and Glen Hansard.
8:15 p.m. – Jukejoint Handmedowns, City Stage – With its “big tent American roots music,” “toe-tappin’ honky tonkin’ fun” and feel-good bluegrass vibe noteworthy for tight harmonies and catchy melodies, this quartet provides the perfect soundtrack to a balmy, summer night. (Same goes for the folky, bluegrassy and lively Northern Skies playing the Clock Tower Stage at 5 p.m.)
9 p.m. – Mid-Life Crisis, Calder Stage; Deadwood Stone, Clock Tower Stage – Prime time on one of Festival’s biggest stages puts this beloved veteran classic rock band in the spotlight, sure to once again tickle loyal fans with a mix of familiar hits and MLC originals. For those who prefer their rock heavier and louder, Grand Rapids’ Deadwood Stone promises to charge things up with material from its new album, “Ashes.”

SATURDAY
10:30 a.m. – Greg Nagy, City Stage – This Michigan blues guitarist has earned national attention for good reason: His sincere, captivating singing and playing make for a crowd-pleasing approach, even this early in the morning.
2 p.m. – Aria Flame, City Stage – So, this outfit led by singer Aziza Poggi bills itself as playing “neoclassical hard rock,” but it might also be described as “dark Bach organ textures meets operatic heavy metal.” Unique.
7:30 p.m. – krystal kleer, Circle Stage; Pistolbrides, City Stage – Cutting saxophone melodies backed by a drum set and keyboard. Who knew that jazz and hip hop could be such a perfect match? Balance that against The Pistolbrides’ catchy, pop-permeated rock and it’s a tough choice.
8:15 p.m. – Jim Crawford Band, Circle Stage – Several years ago, during its heyday, few groups could match the funk-soaked rock ‘n’ roll fun uncorked by these guys, two of whom went on to become Simien the Whale. That makes this reunion show a special event. (Oh, and Simien the Whale plays at 4 p.m. Sunday on the Fountain Stage.)
9 p.m. – Neil Jacobs, Outer Fringe Stage – This Grand Haven-area resident is quite simply a jaw-dropping master of the 12-string guitar. (Depending on your musical cup of tea, you also can’t go wrong with rock’s AG Silver on the Fountain Stage, country’s Union Guns on the City Stage or alt-rock’s SilentBark on the Calder Stage.)

SUNDAY
10 a.m. – Robin Connell/Paul Brewer Jazz Quartet, City Stage – Respected Grand Rapids jazz pianist and singer Robin Connell just released a fine new album, so expect some bracing originals and exquisite jazz classics during this set. (Jazz devotees will want to follow this up with modern jazz’s Mind’s Eye at 11 a.m. on the Calder Stage, with the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra at 1:30 p.m.)
Noon – Joe “LittleEdge” Heemstra, Circle Stage – I first saw this guitar prodigy perform at age 11 and, not surprisingly, he’s only gotten better, shredding along to a backing track. You’ll be shaking your head and smiling at his performance of classics by Joe Satriani, U2 and others.
1:15 p.m. – Wisaal, Circle Stage – This is instrumental world music with uncommonly good musicianship. As I put it in reviewing this Lansing band’s 2012 debut album, the group delivers “ear-pleasing elements of Arabic, klezmer, Indian and American musical textures.”
3 p.m. – Bowery – This marks the return of one of Grand Rapids’ most promising indie-rock/pop bands, which has been in the studio with a new lineup working on new EPs. Guitarist-singer Phill Kulas calls this is the band’s “first showing with the full production complement.”
4:45 p.m. – The Koh Kohs, Clock Tower Stage – Breezy-but-grounded folk, the group’s easygoing harmonies are characterized by singer Alexis Kohns’ smooth, sweet vocals.

Joe “LittleEdge” Heemstra

— Mary Mattingly contributed to this report

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
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