A new Michigan street fair fires up Lansing June 23 with national and local rock bands; piano whiz Folds is part of a 2018 Picnic Pops series which also boasts Tito Puente Jr. and an “’80s Rewind” show.
Rocking Lansing: Against Me! will play the inaugural Three Stacks Music Festival. (Photo/Eric Stoike)
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Named after the smokestacks of the Eckert Power Plant, the inaugural Three Stacks Music Festival will fire up the REO Town neighborhood of Lansing on June 23 with performances by punk stars Against Me! and PUP, indie-rock’s Murder By Death, post hardcore’s MewithoutYou and more.
The one-day, outdoor street fair presented by Lansing-based concert promoter Fusion Shows will also feature sets by Australian trio Camp Cope, Pennsylvania rock singer-songwriter Petal, Lansing punk rock band City Mouse and “two more acts to be announced soon.”
In today’s announcement, Fusion Shows said tickets — $30 advance, $35 day of show – would be available starting this Friday, with more details online at threestacksfest.com.
The festival will take place in the 1100-block of South Washington Avenue in Lansing, with “pop-up performances” throughout the neighborhood, local food and Michigan craft beer. Local artists and craft vendors will also be part of the street fair. Gates will open at 2 p.m. on June 23.
Led by singer-guitarist Laura Jane Grace, Florida’s Against Me! has released seven albums since 2002, including 2014’s “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” released after Grace revealed her gender transition, and 2016’s “Shape Shift with Me,” which soared to No. 5 on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart.
BEN FOLDS, TITO PUENTE JR. PUMP UP 2018 PICNIC POPS SERIES
Ben Folds (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Power pop/alt-rock piano hero Ben Folds will once again perform with the Grand Rapids Symphony, this time playing the summertime Picnic Pops series at Cannonsburg Ski Area on Aug. 3, the day after the son of Grammy Award-winning Latin jazz percussion legend Tito Puente plays the series.
This year’s D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops series kicks off July 12-13 with “Classical Fireworks and the 3 Maestros,” followed by “’80s Rewind” on July 19-20 and the “Beethoven v. Coldplay” symphonic mashup July 26-27.
The series wraps up with the Aug. 2 Tito Puente Jr. show (featuring “the Afro-Cuban sounds of mambo, merengue, salsa and samba” and Aug. 3 concert starring Folds, who performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony in 2014. Folds actually has performed and collaborated with a host of stars over the years, not to mention fronting alt-rock’s Ben Folds Five.
Get more information and tickets — $20-$40 for lawn seats – for the Picnic Pops series online at grsymphony.org.
VIDEOS
VIDEO: Against Me!, “Crash”
VIDEO: Ben Folds, “Composing a Song Live for Orchestra in Only 10 Minutes”
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