Plenty of rollicking winter fun indoors and out in these photos of the Winter Beer Fest, punk bands at the Tip Top, EDM mania at The Intersection, soulful rock at The Pyramid Scheme and dozens of local bands playing the Jammie Awards.
Shining EDM Gem: Paper Diamond lit up a capacity crowd at The Intersection on Saturday. (Photo/Eric Stoike, On the Run Photography)
CHECK OUT THE WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY BELOW: Feb. 23, 2014
The scene seemed bizarre to those uninitiated in the ways and tastes of Michigan micro-brews: thousands of folks lined up in the cold sunshine all the way around Fifth Third Ballpark and deep into the parking lot to enter Saturday afternoon’s sold-out Winter Beer Festival in Comstock Park.
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Raising the Flag (and Waiting in Line) for Beer: The Winter Beer Fest (Photo/Delilah DeWylde)
For these dedicated souls, it was well worth it, considering there were several hundred craft beers from 88 Michigan breweries on tap. Of course, these beer-heads also got a chance to warm up with rock courtesy of West Michigan’s The Concussions, The Veloras and The Outer Vibe.
Throngs were also on hand at The Intersection two nights in row. First, there was Friday’s 15th annual Jammie Awards show hosted by community radio station WYCE-FM (88.1) which toasted the best regional albums of the past year and delivered two dozen performances on two stages for well over 1,000 people. Get the full story, a list of award winners, more photos and video highlights in this Local Spins feature about Friday night’s Jammies.
CAPACITY CROWDS FOR PAPER DIAMOND, BLACK JOE LEWIS
Then on Saturday, a sold-out crowd of 1,400 EDM-crazed fans packed the nightclub for the return of Colorado DJ and producer Paper Diamond, who pumped up the evening with help from Loudpvck and Branchez. (The Van Halen tribute band Panama, meanwhile, put some “Jump” into The Stache the same night.)
Black Joe Lewis (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Meanwhile, another capacity throng at The Pyramid Scheme cheered vintage soul/blues/rock band Black Joe Lewis from Austin, Texas, with Seattle’s garage-rocking Pickwick also pounding it out on stage.
Meanwhile, it was punk, punk and more punk at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill on the city’s West Side, which is hosting a three-day Winter Punk Fest featuring more than a dozen bands from West Michigan and the Midwest. Photographer Anthony Norkus caught the action of two Chicago bands on the bill: The Tromatons and Bill Ura Dick. That fist-pumping fest continues Sunday.
Elsewhere, singer-songwriter Matt Gabriel led the Matt Gabriel Trio for an evening at Rockford Brewing, and the Nashville-based Elenowen duo almost ran out of songs to play during their entertaining show at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up but dusted off an old Beatles tune for the encore, according to photographer Kevin Reedy.
All in all, another action-packed weekend of music.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music
