Mammoth national tour stops dominated the weekend, from Quinn XCII in Grand Rapids to Taylor Swift in Detroit. Revisit Quinn XCII’s Saturday romp in words and photos.

Detroit and Holland Connections: Quinn XCII on stage Saturday. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
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In Detroit, a celebrated pop star fired up the second night of a weekend stand at an exuberant Ford Field.
In Grand Rapids, a celebrated Detroit-bred pop and hip hop star fired up an exuberant crowd at Van Andel Arena.
Saturday’s live music lineup ignited the Great Lakes State from one end to the other — from Taylor Swift’s two-night stand in the Motor City to Quinn XCII’s Van Andel Arena headlining debut.
Check out a separate Local Spins recap and photos of Swift’s Friday night concert, with Chelsea Whitaker’s review and photo gallery from Quinn XCII’s arena stop below.
QUINN XCII, ARIZONA, JULIA WOLF AT VAN ANDEL ARENA
Full of energy, New York’s Julia Wolf opened Saturday’s Van Andel Arena show, joking about a dean that told her she didn’t belong in the music industry. That led to the crowd favorite, “Get Off My,” and by the end of her set, the whole crowd was moving.
New Jersey pop band Arizona entered the stage to a mysterious monologue before jumping into its electro-pop hits. About halfway through the set, vocalist Zach Hannah read a fan’s phone from the crowd. “Can I drum for ‘Dark Skies’?,” a hit song by the band. Hannah replied: “Well… yeah” and brought the fan to the stage. The arena roared with excitement.

Lighting up GR: Quinn XCII at Van Andel Arena. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
Headliner Quinn XCII (pronounced ex-see-eye-eye) and his band entered the stage in the fashion of a basketball team, introduced by nameless announcers shown on the big screen. Without hesitation, the Detroit indie-pop/hip hop artist jumped right into “Common” off his latest record The People’s Champ.
The singer made a point of interacting with the crowd in multiple different ways. First, he took a selfie with a fan on the barricade, and immediately dedicated the next song to her. The opening line, “You’re the worst,” sparked laughter from the crowd. Next, he brought a fan from his special “courtside seats” to sing with him on stage, a regular tour feature.
He also acknowledged his family, more specifically his wife, in the crowd. Multiple times throughout the night, he thanked Grand Rapids for coming out to his show, clearly grateful to play his first headlining arena tour and making a point of calling this a “hometown” show: Born and raised just outside of Detroit, Quinn XCII currently resides in the Holland area.
It did not go unnoticed that he began his journey in Michigan, a state that’s given him lots of love — and did once again on Saturday, singing along to nearly every song and making it a magical homecoming.
PHOTO GALLERY: Quinn XCII, Arizona, Julia Wolf at Van Andel Arena
Photos by Chelsea Whitaker
SET LIST: Quinn XCII at Van Andel Arena
Setlist.fm
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