Michigan’s songbird soared to No. 1 with her latest album. See what other Michigan artists made the Top 5 for September and listen to tracks from all of the releases at Local Spins.
Making the Hop Top 5 and Playing Turnstiles Tonight: Pretoria (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
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Suffice to say, Michigan’s much-revered songbird May Erlewine has been here many times before.
But for Grand Rapids indie-rock’s Pretoria, soaring into the Local Spins Hot Top 5 Chart for the first time ranks as a “heartwarming” milestone.
“We’re very thankful to our day-one Grand Rapids fans and everyone in the scene for the continued support,” guitarist Matt Burdick said of landing at the No. 4 spot in the September chart that represents the local or regional albums that received the most radio airplay at Grand Rapids’ WYCE (88.1 FM).
“WYCE has always been important to us and the city as a whole. We’ve also been stoked to see our music reach people we don’t even know. Since dropping the album, we’ve seen complete strangers in the audience singing along to every word, which truly means the world to us.”
Traverse City singer-songwriter May Erlewine’s latest album, “The Real Thing,” which was released back in February, hit No. 1 in September, the eighth time she’s snagged the top spot over the course of the chart’s history. Erlewine currently is on tour in Europe, with shows this weekend in Belgium and The Netherlands.
Grand Rapids chill-hop artist Pablo Eskobear, meanwhile, made his second appearance on the Hot Top Chart, coming in at No. 2 with his latest release, “Necessities.” His previous EP, “Pool Parties,” hit No. 1 in January of this year. (Check out a review of the latest release here.)
Another returning act to the chart was Detroit rapper Black Milk, whose latest album, “Everybody Good,” hit No. 3 after making its chart debut at No. 2 in August. Southwest Michigan The Schrock Bros, meanwhile, snagged the No. 5 spot in September after making their chart debut at No. 4 in July. (Read a review of their album here.)
For Pretoria — Burdick, lead singer-bassist Rob Gullett, guitarists Josh Bilisko and Matt Pavlock and drummer Ben DeWeitt — the charting album resulted from shelving a 2021 recording that they weren’t completely happy with and starting “fresh.” “Where Will the Night Take Us,” was mostly recorded at pal Jack Emaus’ home studio and released in early September.
“A recurring theme of this album is finding joy in uncertainty,” Burdick said. “Many of these songs are about either the very beginning or the ed of a relationship, but even the breakup songs often carry a sesne of optimism for the future.”
He added that the title also refers to what the band’s “nightly adventures at every new show and every new city could mean for the future.”
Speaking of those adventures, Pretoria plays at 8 p.m. tonight (Saturday) at Turnstiles in Grand Rapids, along with Years Later, Common Molly and Bring Your Best. They also play The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids on Dec. 22.
LOCAL SPINS HOT TOP 5 PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY: September 2023
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