As we wrap up our 14th anniversary celebration at Local Spins, we highlight a memorable Top 10 lists Our most popular features on regional and national artists, based on readership.
Some of Our Top 10 Artist Spotlights: Young and old, established and up-and-coming. (Photos/Courtesy/Local Spins/Farner Photo by Brad Shaw)
Looking back always produces some treasured memories and, often, some surprises.
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West Michigan's music scene
Such is the case as Local Spins wraps up its 14th anniversary as the state’s go-to website for music news.
We recently showcased our Top 10 concert reviews of all-time (along with writer Tricia Boot Woolfenden’s Top 5 Meijer Gardens concerts). Today, we reveal our Top 10 Artist Spotlight feature stories on bands and solo artists, based on readership numbers.
Enjoy this retrospective — especially because many of these interviews are revealing and intriguing.
LOCAL SPINS TOP 10 ARTIST SPOTLIGHTS
1. Growing Up Billy Strings: ‘Boomer,’ metal mayhem, mastering the guitar at a young age – Our Oct. 28, 2023, feature recounting the superstar bluegrass guitarist’s childhood in Ionia County, teen rock years and meteoric rise continues to captivate readers, via our interview with his late mother Debra Apostol.
2. Nine years after his death, Prince’s legacy lives on — at Paisley Park and in West Michigan – Local Spins’ visit to Paisley Park in Minnesota and our examination of West Michigan’s strong and intriguing connection to the legendary Prince made this a popular post from April 2025.
3. Living legend Herb Alpert still going strong at 90 with his Tijuana Brass playing GR on Sunday – Writer Ross Boissoneau’s revealing interview with the ever-young trumpeter and composer Herb Alpert was followed by Alpert’s much-buzzed-about 2025 tour stop at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids.
4. Michigan’s Mark Farner gets ‘closer to home’ with new album, re-recorded ‘I’m Your Captain’– Mark Farner, co-founder of iconic Michigan rock band Grand Funk Railroad and a resident of northern Michigan, delivered a tantalizing, no-holds-barred interview in September 2024 with writer/editor John Sinkevics as he prepared to release a new solo album.
5. John Mark McMillan’s journey through faith, musical success, identity crisis and creativity – Here’s one of those surprises. Writer Enrique Olmos’ in-depth interview with the platinum-selling singer-songwriter was shared by many.
6. Michigan-bred country act MaRynn Taylor on ‘insane’ fast track, opening for Kelsea Ballerini – Could this be one of those ‘We knew her when’ artists? Writer Holly Holtzclaw’s Jan. 19, 2025, feature on Rockford native and up-and-coming country artist MaRynn Taylor captivated many readers.
Randy Bachman: BTO in 2025, The Guess Who in 2026 (Courtesy Photo)
7. The Animals’ Eric Burdon – One of Local Spins’ earliest interviews with a major touring artist came in the spring of 2012, during the website’s inaugural year and the 50th anniversary of rock’s The Animals. Publisher John Sinkevics checked in with legendary singer prior to a Michigan tour stop and some of the results were hilarious as well as insightful.
8. TobyMac poised for GR tour stop while healing from tragedy, teeming with hope – Writer Terry DeBoer’s poignant interview with TobyMac in 2023 came before a triumphant Grand Rapids tour stop.
9. Bachman-Turner Overdrive still in gear, still touring, still recording 50 years on – More proof that these dinosaurs of rock keep thundering on. And interestingly, Randy Bachman (interviewed by Ross Boissoneau for this July 2025 BTO piece) returns to Michigan this summer with Burton Cummings as The Guess Who (finally) gets back on the road. The “Takin’ It Back Tour” stops at Grand Rapids’ Acrisure Amphitheater on July 1, followed by a show at Clarkston’s Pine Knob Music Theatre on July 3.
10. Drummer Zach Dubay’s obsessive, hamburger-inspiring, multi-band wizardry – Great to see another West Michigan act on the Top 10 list, courtesy of writer Enrique Olmos’ interview with this in-demand musician. Grand Rapids drummer Zach Dubay continues to turn heads with his musicianship, and he’s now based in Nashville.
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