Labor Day weekend kicked off with the 17th annual Kalamashoegazer festival and The Incantations in Kalamazoo, along with a tour stop by Minus the Bear in Grand Rapids. Browse the photos.
Rocking Bell’s: Texas alt-rock/shoegaze band Startographers on stage Saturday at Kalamashoegazer. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
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Take a dozen shoegaze bands from across the region and the country, add an enthusiastic crowd of fans and simmer for more than 10 hours in a go-to Kalamazoo venue.
That’s the recipe for an incredible two-day festival that heated up Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe to kick off the Labor Day weekend.
The 17th annual Kalamashoegazer fest hosted five bands on Friday’s opening night, including Southwest Michigan’s The Keener Family and four Chicago bands: Almost There But Not Really, Cool Heat, Joyful Forfeit and No Culture, all featuring new music amid a euphoric night of shoegaze and dream pop.
Day 2 got an early 5 p.m. start, with seven bands from across the Midwest and Texas – Sungaze, Ssaann, Snowcuffs, Brief Candles, Startographers, Elnuh and festival organizer Vida Eterna. The event even featured door prizes via an incentive to buy band merch, further reinforcing the festival’s mission to support and showcase touring artists.
Around the corner, Old Dog Tavern hosted a Saturday show by Kalamazoo’s The Incantations and Battle Creek’s Fat Animals, the same night that Grand Rapids’ The Intersection boasted a tour stop by Seattle indie-rock band Minus the Bear, with shoegaze quartet Keep opening.
Browse photos from all of the shows below — another Local Spins exclusive. And check out photos from Thursday’s TLC/Salt-N-Pepa concert at Grand Rapids’ Acrisure Amphitheater here: https://localspins.com/septembers-top-10-michigan-shows-and-festivals-plus-a-tlc-salt-n-pepa-photo-recap/
PHOTO GALLERY: Kalamashoegazer Day 1
Photos by Derek Ketchum
Photos by Derek Ketchum
PHOTO GALLERY: Minus the Bear, Keep at The Intersection
Photos by Adam Briggs
