The Kalamazoo Blues Festival, John R. Miller, Duke Tumatoe, The Claudettes, Desmond Jones, Blüejay, Greg Nagy all shine in this week’s roundup of concert photos at Local Spins.
Hot End to a Hot Festival: Carolyn Wonderland and band on Saturday night. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
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When Texas blues singer and guitarist Carolyn Wonderland unleashed an incredible set of blues melded with country on Saturday night to close out the Kalamazoo Blues Festival outside Old Dog Tavern, it put an exclamation point on a two-day affair that reveled in hot but ideal weather and an eclectic mix of blues.
Saturday’s lineup kicked off with Southwest Michigan’s Resurrection Blues Band, followed by Indiana’s Mandalyn & The Hunters, Kalamazoo’s Out of Favor Boys, and Chicago’s Mississippi Heat and Wayne Baker Brooks, who told tales while also unfurling his own songs and those of his father, Ronnie Brooks.
The weather also blessed Friday’s roster of performers that featured JR Clark, Asamu Johnson & The Associates of the Blues, Blue & The Ravens, Blueback and the Lisa Chilton Band, which blew away fans with Childton’s soulful blues vocals.
Big tents outside Old Dog Tavern gave attendees shade, as well as comfortable air-conditioning inside the tavern during the weekend festival hosted by the Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association.
The hot blues in Kazoo was just part of West Michigan’s robust week of live music — a week that included Chicago blues rocker Duke Tumatoe with The Claudettes at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill on Thursday, followed Grand Rapids jam-band favorite and frequent Tip Top performer Desmond Jones on Friday night, and East Coast Americana artist John R. Miller at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Blüejay and Tarrow had a small crowd dancing at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park for the Tuesday Evening Music Club series, the same night that blues guitarist Greg Nagy and his band also had folks twirling and bobbing at the Rogue River Blues Series in Rockford.
Browse all the photo galleries below, and view full Local Spins coverage of other shows at these links:
John Mellencamp R.O.C.K.’s Acrisure, Ziggy Marley gets ‘Jamming’ at Meijer Gardens
Dave Matthews Band breaks free on Night 1; Father John Misty cleans up
PHOTO GALLERY: Kalamazoo Blues Festival (Day 1)
Photos by Derek Ketchum
Photos by Derek Ketchum
Photos by Nathan Purchase
