Local Spins Fest weathers ‘vibrant journey of sound’ in celebration of Michigan music

The six-act festival outside Studio Park started amid rain Saturday but ended with sun-splashed, audience-inspiring sets to cap off a week-long commemoration of Local Spins’ 10th anniversary. Recap, photos, video.

 

SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO GALLERY, VIDEOS

And on the sixth day — and for the eighth show of the week — West Michigan humans capped Local Spins’ 10th anniversary celebration with a seven-hour musical melange for the ages.

Local Spins Fest kicked off Saturday afternoon outside Studio Park in downtown Grand Rapids in the rain, but weathered gamely through several rousing performances by West Michigan-bred bands before ending with a slice of sun and inspiring sets by The Accidentals and the Public Access super-group.

“Once the rain stopped and the sun came out, I was standing here and the sun started reflecting off these beautiful condos warming me up,” said festival attendee Dan Wall.

“Public Access took the stage. I hadn’t seen them in years so when (guitarist) Alex Atkins came on, my great friend, it was awesome to see him back with the band. (Drummer) Dan Rickabus was slapping away and it was just this vibrant journey of sound. It was phenomenal. Couldn’t be a better night!”

HIGHLIGHTS

• SuperDre (Andrea Wallace) – Despite the drizzly spring weather causing people to shy away, SuperDre opened the festival up with welcoming ambition. Performing a unique blend of techno and house, Wallace warmed up the early birds with a dynamic and positive set.

• Cabildo {Julio Cano-Villalobos, Julio Cesar Viveros, Dustin Miller, Jonathan Sgromo, Nate Bliton, Micheal Prokpupchuck, Josh Dunigan, Joshua Usadel) – Rain subsided as the eight-piece Latin fusion band took the stage. A wall of sound including strings, trombone, two guitars, bass, drums and auxiliary percussion excited the crowd. Integrating sounds of cumbia, ska and South American genres, the band picked up the pace and within minutes dancing, clapping and smiles filled the audience.

• Hannah Rose Graves (Hannah Rose Graves, Justin Wierenga, Eric Engblade, Jerry Wenger, JD Jones) – Funk, jazz, country and blues mingled as this talented collective featured lap steel guitar, banjo and a sense of humor as the weather continued to dampen the party. The audience continued to fill in as couples swayed and danced on the Listening Lawn. Hannah’s warm, robust voice carried effortlessly over the five-piece band, crooning to a Michigan-tough crowd as the rain subsided.

• Full Cord (Eric Langjans, Todd Kirchner, Brian Oberlin, Luke Gitchel, Katie Kirchner) – Starting off on a positive note, the sun showed up fashionably late as Full Cord took the stage. The bluegrass band came in swinging with a walking upright bass, singing mandolin, plunky banjo and lightning guitar. Despite missing members Grant Flick and Gabe Hirscheld, original founding members Katie Kirchner (band manager) and Luke Gitchel (part-time member) stepped in to lend a hand on harmonies and banjo. It wasn’t long before the lawn filled up with cheer – almost as if these country music virtuosos invited the sun to the party, themselves.

• Public Access (Steve Leaf, Emilee Petersmark, Ryan Anderson, Dan Haefs, Joe Ridgway, Dan Rickabus, Patrick Booth, Alex Atkin, Ben Zito, Nick Young, Bill Chesney) – All dressed in jumpsuits (the traditional uniform for the eight-person crew), Public Access graced the stage with drums, keys, bass and five guitars. The instrumental force showcased soaring, harmonizing guitars and an abundance of variety for a dynamic set. Soon into the set, Emilee Petersmark (The Crane Wives) joined the stage and in minutes had the crowd clapping and singing along to “We Will Rock You” as she led the band into a cover of “Where Is My Mind” by The Pixies. Just as the audience thought it couldn’t get any better, the supergroup surprised everyone with a full-frontal, friendly ear assault, lighting up listeners with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” Immediately, the enthralled crowd jumped to their feet for a standing ovation. (Scroll down for “Whole Lotta Love” video.)

• The Accidentals (Sav Buist, Katie Larson, Michael Dause) – As the festival came to a close, this folk-pop trio rounded out the night with their wistful and evocative sound. Joining for their opening number (and then again later in the set) they called friend and local legend Ralston Bowles on set for an emotional opening number, “Welcome Back.” Enchanting vocal layers and compelling instrumentals weren’t the only charm of this group; humor clearly has a place on their stage as Sav tunes her guitar and jokes “that’s close enough for jazz” and heads into the next indie-rock song.

PRICELESS WORDS – “The culmination of hard work of the last 40 years, coming off the heels of a pandemic and combining the efforts of organizations such as WYCE, Michigan Music Alliance and Local Spins, we are now enjoying the fruits of our labor. John Sinkevics is a huge reason we can celebrate this today.” -Ralston Bowles

THE VIBE: Upbeat, uplifting and cheery in spite of intermittent afternoon rain showers, with Listening Room and Studio Park’s crew of organizers and sound engineers — and Local Spins staff and volunteers — keeping everything running smoothly and working out kinks along the way. Lots of smiles everywhere.

View more coverage of Local Spins Week concerts and shows.

PHOTO GALLERY: Local Spins Fest at Studio Park
Photos by Chelsea Whitaker, Anthony Norkus, Derek Ketchum, Loren Johnson

VIDEO: Public Access, “Whole Lotta Love” (with Emilee Petersmark)

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Local Spins Fest (5/21/22)

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