Kalamazoo's live music thrives plus GR concert recap

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Kalamazoo boasted a busy Saturday of live music, capping a week that also saw packed shows in Grand Rapids. Browse the photo galleries exclusively at Local Spins.

The Return of Live Music to Shakespeare’s Lower Level: The Incantations on Saturday night. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)

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Last week’s announcement that Kalamazoo State Theatre would be closing its doors later this month generated plenty of buzz and concern among music fans.

But Saturday night’s blitz of concerts in Kalamazoo proved that there’s still plenty of live music to embrace with three shows at three different venues all within close proximity downtown.

One of those shows — The Incantations’ EP-release party with The Missing Generation on board — represented the first blast of live music at Shakespeare’s Lower Level in more than four years, with a near-capacity crowd cheering on the Kalamazoo bands.

Kidd G (Photo/Eric Stoike)

Then there was Wisconsin folk-rock band Them Coulee Boys at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe with Grand Rapids tunesmith Stovepipe’s Caravan getting things started, and northern Michigan bluegrass fave The Smokin’ Dobroleles performing just across the way at Old Dog Tavern with Dylan Tolbert opening.

In Grand Rapids, Local Spins’ Emerging Artist of the Year Kanin Wren and her band pumped up fans — many of them youngsters dancing in front of the stage — all night long with a mix of Taylor Swift covers, her own tunes and some country pop hits on Wednesday night at SpeakEZ Lounge.

The next night, rising 21-year-old star Kidd G unfurled his country-mixed-with-hip hop for a sold-out crowd at Elevation inside The Intersection.

Browse photos from all of the shows exclusively at Local Spins below.

PHOTO GALLERY: The Incantations, The Missing Generation at Shakespeare’s
Photos by Derek Ketchum