Guster puts exclamation point on Meijer Gardens summer series with upbeat flair

The long-running, Boston-bred alterna-rockers closed out the amphitheater’s most successful season on Friday with an energetic set for a sold-out audience. The review, photos and set list.

 

SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO GALLERY, SETLIST

And, that’s a wrap.

Indie pop/rockers Guster put the finishing touches on another busy summer concert season for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

The Boston-bred band capped off a well-selling series that saw all but four of its 29 shows sell out in 2023. (Note: The original schedule included 30 performances, but Orville Peck canceled his summer tour, including the Grand Rapids stop.)

Gardens’ officials say more than 51,000 tickets were sold, not counting the sold-out sponsor seats, leading to the venue’s most successful season to date.

Having attended a fair number of those shows –among them, Michael Franti, Trombone Shorty, Amos Lee, First Aid Kit, Tegan and Sara, Band of Horses/Revivalists, etc. — this year did, indeed, stand out as a particularly pleasant and smooth season, with mostly good weather and reasonably chill crowds.

Guster’s Friday evening performance for a sold-out Grand Rapids amphitheater kept in line with the mood of the season: upbeat, pleasant and punctual. Clocking in right around the 100-minute mark, the well-seasoned headliners offered up a polished 20-odd-song set that seamlessly mixed early-aughts hits with newer material.

“Come Downstairs and Say Hello,” “Satellite” and “Barrel of a Gun” stand out among the band’s reliable lineup of songs. (View the set list below.)

NEWSKI — a project of Wisconsin-based singer/songwriter/author Brett Newski — opened the evening with a jovial, catchy collection of originals.

PHOTO GALLERY: Guster, NEWSKI at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Joshua Tufts

SET LIST: Guster at Meijer Gardens
Setlist.fm

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