Ralston Bowles, Sweet J Band, ‘mystery guest’ Brian Vander Ark, Lux Land, Peter Mulvey create perfect musical ending to Tuesday Evening Music Club (video)
Ralston Bowles assembled an all-star musical cast for the season’s final Tuesday Evening Music Club show.
GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP — An inspired, yeoman’s performance by singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey.
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A kid-friendly, audience-engaging special appearance by The Verve Pipe’s Brian Vander Ark and his family, including ever-bracing Americana singer Lux Land.
And finally, a near-brilliant, sometimes-off-the-cuff set by Grand Rapids’ very own folk-rock hero Ralston Bowles backed by the Sweet J Band and violinist Jeffrey Neimeier, with Mulvey joining in for spine-tingling harmonies on a poignant rendition of Bowles’ “Fragile” to end the picture-perfect summer night.
Brian Vander Ark
That’s how the 2012 edition of the Tuesday Evening Music Club at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park bid adieu to the season on Tuesday, with about 2,000 concertgoers on hand to salute the closing installment of the weekly series that pays tribute to local and regional musical artists.
As usual, Bowles used the opportunity to charm fans and celebrate his musical chums on the final night of the series.
The Meijer Gardens crowd
He brought in longtime pal Mulvey from Wisconsin, and spotlighted the considerable prowess of a versatile band of Grand Rapids musicians in Sweet J Band as well as local superstar Vander Ark (who played several children’s songs to get the younger set dancing and twirling, including tunes from The Verve Pipe’s popular kids’ CD).
The night’s various artists performed their sets with two Terratrikes on stage, after Bowles and Mulvey rode the recumbent bikes from Saugatuck to Grand Rapids earlier in the day.
Peter Mulvey
The climactic culmination of the 10th season of Tuesday Evening Music Club shows, which Bowles founded and continues to host every summer, had a certain endearing, by-the-seat-of-the-pants quality with some members of the Sweet J Band showing up a tad later than expected, Mulvey consequently playing a longer, but thoroughly entertaining, opening set as a result, and Bowles inventing lyrics to songs on the fly.
But with Niemeier providing spellbinding accents on the fiddle as an honorary Sweet J member, Bowles’ set with the talented band also took on a singular, once-in-a-blue-moon quality that many in the audience will long remember.
As a bonus, members of that audience and others interested in staying tuned to the local music scene and some upcoming “secret” shows should subscribe to Spins on Music updates (click on the link on the left side of this page) and send an email to jsinkevics@gmail.com with “I WANT TO KNOW” in the message field. If you do, we’ll send you details and alerts on these special, upcoming concerts.
Bowles played a powerful set with help from Sweet J Band and Jeffrey Neimeier.
Lux Land and husband Brian Vander Ark turned their stage show into a rare family affair.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
