Another busy summer week of live music saw everything from blues to rock to folk stretching from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo to Hastings. Check out the images at Local Spins.
Blues Power: Bobby Rush and his band helped wrap up the three-day Kalamazoo Blues Fest at Wings Event Center on Sunday. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
KALAMAZOO BLUES FESTIVAL (Friday-Sunday)
The crowds weren’t especially big at the Kalamazoo Blues Festival — held for the first time indoors at Wings Event Center — but the blues performances over the weekend were plenty hot, with local and national stars sharing the stage.
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Performers included Robben Ford, Sugaray Rayford, Bobby Rush, Big Trouble, Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers, Kev Nichols & Blue Tuesday, Martila Sanders & Gee-Q, Shawn Holt & The Teardrops, Out of Favor Boys and many more. Check out the photo gallery by Derek Ketchum.
PHOTO GALLERY: Kalamazoo Blues Festival at Wings Event Center
Photos by Derek Ketchum
GRAND RAPIDS ON TAP (Saturday)
With two large beer tents housing more than 200 varieties of beer, Grand Rapids on Tap drew crowds to Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids on Saturday for beer, cider and mead releases from Michigan breweries — from Bright Eyes Brewing and Creston Brewery in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids to the Austin Brothers Beer Co. and B. Nektar Meadery in Alpena and Fernadale.
The music kicked off with a DJ set, followed by a cover band with some originals in its repertoire — Delusions of Adequacy. Hannah Rose & the Gravestones performed next, taking advantage of the opportunity to use the previous band’s exceptional high-tier equipment, which allowed the bass and guitar tones of the band soar. This may have been one of their best-sounding shows, with Hannah commenting that her voice felt very strong before they even took the stage. The crowd responded to their positive energy, dancing in front of the stage right as they began playing, and clearly feeling the effects of the wide variety of brews while enjoying a beautiful Saturday afternoon. — Schyler Perkins
PHOTO GALLERY: GR on Tap
Photos by Schyler Perkins
MITSKI, STEEL PANTHER, DAVID J, THE ACCIDENTALS, FALLING IN REVERSE, MAY ERLEWINE, MORE
The rest of the week and weekend was filled with an eclectic mix of live music and national tour stops, including Mitski at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, a wild Steel Panther and Coldville show at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids, The Accidentals playing the Friday night concert series in Hastings, David J of Bauhaus and Love & Rockets fame playing Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids, Falling in Reverse at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids, The Heck with Brandon Mann and Tim Reynolds & TR3 playing Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, and May Erlewine playing Old Dog Tavern in Kalamazoo.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mitski/Half Waif photos by Katy Batdorff
