The latest releases from the northern Michigan singer-songwriter, emerging psych-country-jam band and keyboardist-singer came in just ahead of RyneShyne & Melophobix. View the chart, listen to the music.
April’s Top 3: May Erlewine, The Junky Swinger, Hannah Laine
SCROLL DOWN FOR A SPOTIFY PLAYLIST OF HOT TOP 5 ALBUMS
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
For popular northern Michigan singer-songwriter May Erlewine, it’s old hat.
The Americana/folk artist’s latest rock-infused album, “What It Takes,” is the latest of eight straight Erlewine albums that have soared to No. 1 on the Local Spins Hot Top 5 Chart, representing the recordings by Michigan artists that have received the most radio airplay in a single month at Grand Rapids’ WYCE 88.1 FM.
For The Junky Swinger, however, coming in at No. 2 on the April 2025 is a new experience, with the psych/country/jam band’s self-titled album making its chart debut, just ahead of singer-keyboardist Hannah Laine’s “Unfolding,” RyneShyne’s “Cheers!” and Melophobix’s “Interference” (which appears on the Hot Top 5 Chart for the second month in a row).
“It’s very surprising and quite humbling,” said Cody Lee Madison, guitarist, singer and frontman for The Junky Swinger, billed as “one of West Michigan’s most eclectic bands.”
“I wanted to do a re-master to the album because I wasn’t quite happy with how it finished, but to see this kind of response definitely has greatly helped.”
The band – Madison, drummer Adam Smallman, violist Connor Meston and bassist Pilgrim Metts — recorded the album at Kalamazoo’s La Luna Recording and Sound.
“We wanted a studio album with a live feel, so we did live takes,” Madison said. “Each song was recorded by all members playing one cohesive recording from start to finish.”
The Junky Swinger (Courtesy Photo)
As for Erlewine, the chart-topping “Michigan songbird” recently completed a sold-out tour across Michigan behind her latest album, with an East Coast tour currently under way.
She’ll be back in Michigan for several June and July shows, including stopes in Fremont, Ann Arbor, Paw Paw and Holland, along with appearances at Interlochen Center for the Arts (with Joshua Davis), Smiling Acres Music Festival and Blissfest.
Check out tracks from all five albums below, and view previous Local Spins Hot Top 5 Charts here.
LOCAL SPINS HOT TOP 5 ON SPOTIFY: April 2025
Copyright 2025, Spins on Music LLC
