La Dispute, Tesla, Andrew McMahon, The Accidentals, Midtown on Tap, Ribfest, Speak Easy, Fat Guy Fest, Fastball: Photo Galleries

National acts as well as local stars packed venues from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo over the past week, captured in vibrant images at Local Spins.

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At 20 Monroe Live, Tesla and Andrew McMahon — on different nights — energized fans during Grand Rapids tour stops (with Tesla selling out and attracting a “totally pumped” crowd on Saturday).

At The Pyramid Scheme, hometown post-hardcore heroes La Dispute fired up capacity crowds for two straight nights, with help from some local up-and-coming bands.

At the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Traverse City’s The Accidentals — just two weeks before releasing their first much-anticipated release on the Sony Music Masterworks label — moved indoors for the GRAM on the Green series to entertain an overflow, generation-spanning audience in a show that once again proved their mettle as alt-folk powerhouses.

At Kalamazoo’s Ribfest, rib and music lovers alike flooded Arcadia Creek Festival Place for three straight days — dodging raindrops at times — with sets by a host of acts, including Grand Funk Railroad, Union Guns, Shelagh Brown Band and much more.

Yes, it was another week of live music to remember, with crowds flocking to see musical birds of a different feather in different venues, including Speak Easy and Cloudlight at SpeakEZ Lounge, Lyle Lovett playing yet another sold-out show at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Afterglow and Emma Loo playing Holland’s Park Theatre (with Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers in the audience cheering on his nephew in Afterflow), the annual Midtown on Tap at Midtown Green in Grand Rapids with several bands performing on Saturday, Kalamazoo’s punk- and rock-laced, weekend-long Fat Guy Fest at Shakespeare’s Lower Level, a special Club Soda Reunion and Academy of Rock benefit at Old Dog Tavern, and a weekend-ending tour stop by Fastball at 20 Monroe Live, with Grand Rapids’ own The JetBeats and Elroy Meltzer opening the Sunday night show.

PHOTO GALLERY: Andrew McMahon, The Greeting Committee, Arizona at 20 Monroe Live
Photos by Anthony Norkus

PHOTO GALLERY: Tesla, Voices of Extreme, Red Reign
Photos by Anthony Norkus and Andy Visockis 
PHOTO GALLERY: La Dispute at The Pyramid Scheme
Photos by Katy Batdorff   

PHOTO GALLERY: The Accidentals at GRAM on the Green
Speak Easy and Cloudlight at SpeakEZ Lounge
Photos by Anna Sink
Lyle Lovett at Meijer Gardens
Photos by John VanderHaagen
Afterglow, Emma Loo at Park Theatre
Photos by Devin Anderson
    

PHOTO GALLERY: Fastball, Elroy Meltzer, The Jetbeats at 20 Monroe Live
Photos by Tayler Mansen

PHOTO GALLERY: Kalamazoo
Ribfest, Fat Guy Fest and Club Soda Reunion photos by Derek Ketchum 

Although a late Thursday afternoon thunderstorm kept some people away from the opening night of Kalamazoo’s Ribfest, Local Spins photographer noted that the Shelagh Brown Band and friends performed a great mix of original and classic country tunes with Union Guns taking the stage to close out the night. On Friday, a day-long rain broke around the dinner hour, bringing folks downtown with umbrellas in hand to grab some ribs and Grand Funk Railroad. And just as Grand Funk took the stage, the sky opened up again, unfurling a sea of umbrellas until the rain eased to sprinkles. Saturday turned out to be a perfect day, with the Kalamazoo Academy of Rock offering up everything from classic country to Styx to Bauhaus to The Beatles. DC90 followed with ’90s rock and then Ann Arbor’s Rootstand with a blend of roots music, reggae, Celtic and bluegrass — including a bluegrass version of Social Distortion’s “Story of My Life.”  

At this year’s edition of Fat Guy Fest, meanwhile, a modest but hardcore group of Midwest punk rock fans turned out at Shakespeare’s Lower Level to celebrate indie punk rock from around the country. Ketchum caught the action of bands such as Bong Mountain, Reptilian, Bike Tuff and Kali Masi.

Old Dog Tavern celebrated the history of the one-time Kalamazoo hot spot Club Soda with a number of reunion show performances from bands that had once called Club Soda their home — including Circus McGurkis and The Bremens (whose members traveled a combined 2,000-plus miles to be there for this show).

Copyright 2017, Spins on Music LLC