The fourth-year, week-long Sounds of the Zoo music festival will unfold on eight stages over seven days starting Monday with more than four dozen bands and solo artists. Get the preview and schedule.
‘Bridging Communities and Genres’: GR’s Push the City Cypher will do that and more on Thursday. (Courtesy Photo)
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Take it from the performers themselves: This week’s seven-day Sounds of the Zoo festival unfurling at a host of Kalamazoo venues means more than just entertaining sets of music by diverse artists.
Many of these artists are making powerful statements at the free festival that kicks off Monday (Sept. 22) and runs through Sunday (Sept. 29).
“This collaboration is bigger than just an event,” Grand Rapids hip-hop artist Lady Ace Boogie said of Push the City Cypher’s Thursday (Sept. 25) night extravaganza rolling out at Kalamazoo’s Green Door Distillery.
“It’s a statement that hip hop has a place in every corner of the music scene. By bringing the Push The City Cypher to Sounds Of The Zoo festival, we’re not only highlighting local talent, but also giving artists the chance to share their voice with a wider audience, bridging communities and genres.”
Starting at 6 p.m. with a DJ set by Super Dre, the evening will feature a 32-bar competition hosted by Lady Ace Boogie and Ruben Martinez (with five artists chosen as winners) and sets by Tekeo, Jordan Hamilton, Dezert Eaz and Lady Ace Boogie & Friends.
Sugar Bomb (Photo/Camilla Calnan)
“Push the City has always been about amplifying authentic voices, and there’s no better place to do that than in a festival setting that uplifts artistry and unity. The original ask was just for Lady Ace boogie & Friends and for me to curate a night of showcases, but I wanted to spice things up a bit.”
Organized by Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert, the fourth-year festival boasts 50 performances by artists from across the state – and a few from outside Michigan — at cozy spaces such as The Clover Room and Crawlspace Comedy Theatre as well as bigger stages at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café and Bronson Park.
The festival also will feature workshops, busking and a premiere screening of the “Kalamazoo Gals” documentary paying tribute to the women who built Gibson guitars in Kalamazoo during World War II.
For Eli Kahn, who was based for years in South Bend, Ind., about 179 miles southwest of Kalamazoo, his 9 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 25) performance at Crawlspace Comedy Theatre with Asheville, N.C.’s Sugar Bomb will serve as a release show for the “instrumental groove jazz” band’s new record, “Sweet + Explosive.”
“I am so thrilled to be bringing Sugar Bomb to be a part of the Sounds of the Zoo festival. The lineup is incredibly well curated across many genres and we are honored to be a part of the jazz showcase,” said Kahn, formerly a member of the band After Ours.
Sugar Bomb’s music, he said, covers a wide dynamic range – “some moments are very delicate and compositionally oriented which juxtapose nicely against our more insane jazz fusion melee vibes.”
Goh Kurosawa (Photo/Yumiko Kishimoto)
Another highly anticipated out-of-state performer, California-based, multi-genre guitarist Goh Kurosawa, will play Bronson Park at 2:30 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 28), during Sounds of the Zoo’s final day as part of his “Lovetap Tour.”
“I’m quite excited. This would be my first official performance in Michigan,” Kurosawa told Local Spins, noting he’ll also participate in events with Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, followed by an Oct. 1 concert at the college.
Kurosawa, described as having jazz sensibility that incorporates a mix of rock, pop, classical, Latin and Japanese music, said he has “composed over 1,000 songs” while touring the world over the past 20 years.
View Local Spins’ Coverage of Sounds of the Zoo 2024
VIDEOS
Push the City Cypher
Sugar Bomb
Goh Kurosawa
KALAMAZOO’S SOUNDS OF THE ZOO – EVENT SCHEDULE 2025
Monday, September 22 – Clover Room (6:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
• 6:00 PM – Hannah Laine & Jess Ivey
• 7:30 PM – Recording Workshop with Maggie Heeren (at La Luna Recording)
• 8:30 PM – Brontë Falls & Brian Koenigsknecht
Tuesday, September 23 – Bell’s Back Room (6:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
• 6:00 PM – The Frogs and Toads
• 7:30 PM – Overdrive Orchestra
• 9:00 PM – Basic Comfort
Wednesday, September 24 – Old Dog Tavern (6:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
• 6:00 PM – Joy Modulators
• 7:30 PM – The Fat Animals
• 9:00 PM – The Red Sea Pedestrians
Thursday, September 25
Crawlspace Comedy Theatre (6:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
• 6:00 PM – John Stein with Keith Hall & Carlo De Rosa
• 7:30 PM – WMU Latin Jazz Ensemble
• 9:00 PM – Sugar Bomb
Green Door Distillery (6:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
• 6:00 PM – Super Dre
• 7:00 PM – Push The City Cypher Competition
• 8:00 PM – Tekeo & KBY
• 8:30 PM – Dezert Eez
• 9:00 PM – Jordan Hamilton
• 9:30 PM – Lady Ace Boogie & Friends
Friday, September 26 – Bronson Park (4:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
• 4:00 PM – Great Lakes Brass Second Line Parade
• 6:00 PM – Verzell
• 7:30 PM – The Incantations
• 8:30 PM – Kalamazoo Gals Documentary Premiere
• 9:00 PM – Luke Winslow King
Saturday, September 27
Bronson Park (12:00 PM – 10:30 PM)
• 12:00 PM – Sophia McIntosh & The Sages
• 1:30 PM – Candid Antics
• 3:00 PM – Celestina y Los Sanchez
• 4:30 PM – Headband Henny
• 6:00 PM – BLKJAC
• 7:30 PM – Louie Lee
• 8:30 PM – Kalamazoo Gals Documentary Premiere
• 9:00 PM – Kenny Olson Cartel
Busking Station #1 – Acrisure Plaza (12:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
• 12:00 PM – The Soul Fire Music School
• 1:00 PM – Erin Monroe & Harry Phillips
• 2:00 PM – Josh Holcomb
• 3:00 PM – Hopie Jo
Busking Station #2 – Harvey’s (12:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
• 12:00 PM – Bourbon Brothers
• 1:00 PM – Capt. Cat
• 2:00 PM – Persian Rugg
• 3:00 PM – The Blue Pines
Crawlspace Comedy Theatre (12:00 PM – 3:00 PM)
• 12:00 PM – Whiskey Before Breakfast
• 1:00 PM – Workshop with Chris Simpson
• 1:30 PM – Selkie
Sunday, September 28 – Bronson Park (1:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
• 1:00 PM – Bahar Ensemble
• 2:30 PM – Goh Kurosawa
• 4:00 PM – Jennifer Westwood and The Handsome Devils
• 5:30 PM – Yolonda Lavender
• 7:00 PM – The Go Rounds
To donate to Sounds of the Zoo and help keep this a free festival, go online to soundsofthezoo.com.
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