Little Big Town 'brings it on home' in Grand Rapids

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The celebrated country band delivered a set filled with hits and covers Saturday at Van Andel Arena, while Michigan musicians, artists and photographers strutted their stuff at GIG’s inaugural event.

Celebratory Night: Little Big Town’s tour stop in GR also featured Sugarland. (Photo/Local Spins)

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From “Bones” to “Boondocks,” Little Big Town’s career-spanning tour stop at Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena on Saturday night covered a lot of musical ground, with a multitude of their biggest hits unfurling alongside covers of Taylor Swift, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and Phil Collins.

The inaugural GIG: The Art of Michigan Music, meanwhile, covered a lot of ground when it comes to live music’s impact on the state, with an exhibit of concert photos, poster art and album covers along with performances by a wide swath of Michigan bands at Art 634 in Jackson.

Performers included Myron Elkins, Jennifer Westwood & Dylan Dunbar, Wilson Thicket and Jon Torrence (Friday) and Nathan Walton & The Remedy, The Blueflowers, Carbon Decoy and Ladyship Warship (Saturday).

The unique three-day conference and music fest — which a drew a small but enthused crowd of musicians, music lovers and artists Friday and Saturday — continues today (Sunday) with a “Music Market,” featuring vendors selling vinyl, books, instruments, concert photos, posters, music-themed jewelry and other merchandise. Get details and a vendors’ list here.

LITTLE BIG TOWN AT VAN ANDEL ARENA

If anyone needed a reason to get a nearly sold-out crowd together at Van Andel Arena on a Saturday night, then Little Big Town’s 25th anniversary “Take Me Home” tour was it.

The veteran trio brought two acts with them for the grand event from vastly different ends of the spectrum — rookies The Castellows and veteran duo Sugarland.

Hailing from southern Georgia, The Castellows got the night started — a trio of blonde sisters on vocals, guitars and banjo with four other musicians backing them. The band finished its set with “Hurricane,” The Castellows’ biggest hit to date, leaving the crowd on a familiar note to welcome Sugarland to the stage.

Sugarland (also Georgia natives) launched its set with both members changing their wardrobe on-stage in a funny Mister Rogers-like skit to segue into their latest single, “There Goes the Neighborhood.”

Packed House: The scene at Van Andel Arena on Saturday. (Photo/Local Spins)

They wasted no time getting right back to the very familiar hits which resulted in sing-alongs with Jennifer Nettles acknowleding the band had not performed in Grand Rapids in several years.

Nettles and Kristian Bush danced their way through their catalog of hits from the past 20-plus years while “baptizing the crowd in nostalgia” as Nettles put it during one song break. Toward the end of the performance, the duo unfurled an acoustic version of their Top 10 hit, “Stay” to slow things down a little before ramping right back up to finish the set.

Little Big Town made a dramatic entrance, appearing on an elevated portion of the stage while performing their song, “Bones.”

Karen Fairchild introduced the night with a message that the band hoped to give everyone their “best Saturday ever,” with Little Big Town then proceeding to unleash hit after hit featuring all four singers (Fairchild, Jimi Westbrook, Kimberly Schlapman and Philip Sweet) in a round-robin-like format. The group’s trademark harmonies were on point.

In mid-set, a montage of vintage video from the early years depicted very young-looking band members played on the screen as the four again rose from the stage sitting on stools with a “ceiling” of lighted globes hanging above to highlight them on an otherwise dark stage.

Stellar Harmonies: Little Big Town (Photo/Local Spins)

They performed some acoustic tracks (“Rich Man” and “Daughters”) along with popular covers such as Elton John’s 1972 hit, “Rocket Man,” before returning to full production. A whirlwind of stage fog accompanied Fairchild and band’s rendition of “Tornado,” displaying the band’s musical depth.

Nettles and Bush from Sugarland returned to the stage to help perform a pair of covers, The Dream Academy’s “Life in a Northern Town,” and Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home.”

Little Big Town noted it was a fitting choice to include Sugarland on this tour because both bands toured together early on in their careers.

The band wrapped up the night on an upbeat note with its biggest hit and sing-along, “Boondocks.” – By Eric Stoike

SET LIST: Little Big Town at Van Andel Arena
Setlist.fm