Jimmy Cliff, Homemade Jamz, Foreigner, Steve Miller, Our Lady Peace, Pinback and more: Concert picks of the week (videos)

Vincent Hayes Project
Huntington Rogue River Blues Series
7 p.m. Tuesday
Free
Garden Club Park, Rockford

I mentioned the Carnival of Madness tour in a recent post. Well, it’s festival madness around these parts now that it’s mid-June and summer balminess has hit its stride. This week’s live music lineup is just plain ridiculous, from the start-up of two outdoors blues series to Wingstock at Fifth Third Ballpark to the first-ever T-Rex Fest. Better get started, ‘cause it’s a long list, and this doesn’t even count cool free shows like Delilah DeWylde & the Lost Boys playing Founders on Thursday and the Chupacobras/Jukejoint Handmedowns/Chelsea Crowell playing Jukes on Friday …

I’ve been chatting quite a bit with Vincent Hayes, that award-winning singer and guitarist from Grand Haven who’s been working hard on a brand new album that’s slated to span everything from blues to funk to reggae. He’s a special musician with a top-notch band that’s earned a national blues following, which makes the kickoff to this year’s Rogue River Blues Series pretty darned special.

The rest of the series is a joy, too, as some of the region’s top players hit the stage along the Rogue River:
June 19 – Harper & Midwest Kind; June 26 – Weezil Malone Band; July 3 – Rusty Wright Band; July 10 – Root Doctor; July 17 – Jimmie Stagger; July 24 – Greg Nagy Band; (After the Blues) July 31 – Grupo Aye; Aug. 7 – Soul’d Out; Aug. 14 – Creolization

Homemade Jamz Blues Band
LAV Budweiser Blues on the Mall Series
6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Free
Rosa Parks Circle, downtown Grand Rapids

This refreshing, young Mississippi blues band was supposed to play Blues on the Mall last year, but the show was canceled due to the visitation for former First Lady Betty Ford.

Well, thankfully, they’re back. The talented siblings – guitarist-singer Ryan Perry, 19, bassist Kyle Perry, 17, and drummer Taya Perry, 13 – get a chance to launch this summer’s Blues on the Mall series, which will pump up Rosa Parks Circle on Wednesday nights through Aug. 15.

Get the full schedule here, along with info on all the bands.

Jimmy Cliff
7 p.m. Wednesday
$45
Foreigner
7 p.m. Thursday
$67
Steve Miller Band
7 p.m. Sunday
Sold out
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Township

Another first for Meijer Gardens: reggae, appropriately enough, comes to the flower-bedecked outdoor amphitheater. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jimmy Cliff will bring his “Universal Love” to the idyllic setting, along with nearly five decades of musical passion.

Actually, the next two shows are firsts for Meijer Gardens, too. “It Feels Like the First Time” for classic rock’s Foreigner because it is, playing the amphitheater on Thursday when it definitely won’t be “Cold as Ice” (unlike opening night a couple weeks ago). Meanwhile, Steve Miller and his band will bring “Jungle Love” to the leafy botanical gardens in a sold-out concert on Sunday. Peace and love, man, peace and love … and rock.

(And while on the classic rock theme, Foghat plays the Sandy Corley Memorial Run at Double JJ Resort in Rothbury on Friday. More on that and an interview with Charlie Huhn later this week at Spins on Music.)

Ruth & Max Bloomquist
8 p.m. Friday
$10
Seven Steps Up, Spring Lake

This West Michigan folk/country/bluegrass duo is near legendary in these parts, having inspired audiences with Ruth Bloomquist’s gorgeous vocals aided by Max’s harmonies and bass-playing. An intimate evening of Americana awaits. Details and ticket information about this f3 Acoustic Friday show here.

Our Lady Peace, Pop Evil, Dokken
Wayland, Foxy Shazam, Gunnar & the Grizzly Boys
Wingstock 2012
4 p.m. Saturday
$25, $30
Fifth Third Ballpark, Comstock Park

To be truthful, I’d forgotten all about Our Lady Peace until the Wingstock lineup was announced. The Canadian alt-rock band did take a pretty long, creative hiatus of sorts a while back, but has come back to record and tour the past few years, with a new album, “Curve,” released earlier this year. Watch a music video from the new album below.

The hard-rocking Pop Evil, Dokken and the rest of the Wingstock lineup are very familiar to West Michigan audiences, of course, so this 97.9 WGRD-hosted event should pound out plenty of hits, clear the bases and take it deep … into the night.

Get tickets and more information here.

Pinback, dead prez, El Ten Eleven, The Men,
Jon Connor, Frontier Ruckus, Leslie & The LYs
T Rex Fest
2 p.m. Saturday
$20
Oakes Street, Grand Rapids (near The Pyramid Scheme, 68 Commerce Ave. SW)

It’s impossible to miss. One of the first things patrons see when waltzing into The Pyramid Scheme is the giant, roaring Tyrannosaurus Rex hovering overhead. So, it’s no surprise that the venue’s first-ever outdoor festival would embrace the vicious dinosaur theme, not only for its moniker but for the sharp-toothed, edgy bands that will be playing starting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. From headliner Pinback, an inventive, progressively inclined San Diego indie-rock band, to Flint rapper Jon Connor, to Michigan’s own trail-blazing folk-rock band, Frontier Ruckus, to L.A. duo El Ten Eleven, T Rex Fest will be a festival unlike any other Grand Rapids has seen.

Leslie & The LYs get things started at 2:30 p.m. See the full schedule, descriptions of all the bands and a link to tickets at the official T Rex website here.

Plus, there will be a 10:30 p.m. after-party indoors at the Pyramid Scheme starring Party Supplies, Dopehead, Spydre Murphy and Dreas ($5, or free with T Rex wristband).

Chris Robinson Brotherhood
6:30 p.m. Sunday
$17 advance, $20 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids

The frontman/lead singer for The Black Crows has his own side project, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, which last week released its first album, “Big Moon Ritual.” The jam-band-leaning band has a psychedelic vibe mixed with a sort of Southern rock approach, at least as near as I can tell.

Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com