Local Spins spotlights the award-winning band with a new single, while debuting tracks from Rachel Curtis, Chirp, Wilson Ave, Folias Duo, Nick Piunti, Hand of Giants and more.
The American Hotel System: Releasing ‘The Kingdom’ this weekend. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
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When The American Hotel System got its start as a band more than eight years ago, chief songwriter and singer-guitarist Jacob Betts was bent on penning “sweeping commentaries on American culture and the issues” society faces.
“I wanted to solve the world’s problems in three-and-a-half minutes,” Betts recalled.
But in recent years, the award-winning Grand Rapids rock band has focused on more personal, less ponderous subject matter.
“We live in an increasingly disconnected, AI-driven world, and I believe the antidote to this disconnection is community,” Betts offered. “I’ve experienced true community through small, personal interactions that inspire me. There’s a time and place for listening to someone on a podium over a loudspeaker, but I believe change starts with the individual.”
The New Single
He noted that the band has gotten the biggest reactions and the most messages from fans about these more personal songs – tracks revolving around mental health issues, abuse, loss of loved ones.
“That is absolutely beautiful because it’s the personal … and it’s community relating to these shared ideals, these shared experiences that we have, rather than trying to have … the cultural solution to whatever big, broad issue there might be. I think change starts local and then it goes to global, but it has to start with me. It has to start with us.”
Hence, the band’s latest single, “Kingdom” (officially released this weekend) uses the simple experience of finding a Jesus figurine on the ground as a signal to appreciate the “beautiful moments in life” – the antithesis of “chasing the high while the beauty slips by,” as the song goes.
“I believe we’re all looking for something to save us: ‘Searching for salvation’ as we sing in ‘The Kingdom,’ and it seems like we’re on this never-ending chase for the next dopamine hit, eyes locked on our endless doom-scroll,” Betts said. “But there is so much beauty right in front of me, I’ve just been looking for it in the wrong places.”
VIDEO: The American Hotel System, “The Kingdom”
AN INTIMATE RELEASE SHOW WITH A CONVERSATION
To further underscore that message, The American Hotel System — Betts, guitarist C.T. McCallister, drummer Hailey Petty and bassist Jake LaMotte — will host an acoustic, single-release performance in an intimate setting on Saturday night (Feb. 28) along with a “conversation” with attendees about “life, love, passion, truth, beauty, goodness.”
The show takes place at 2RST at 1511 Plainfield Ave. NE starting at 6 p.m. Details online here.
The band also performs April 18 at The Venue Center in Cadillac, opening for Santus Real, and will headline Saturday night at late May’s Bus Benefit, hosted by Buses by the Beach in Trufant.
Meanwhile, more releases are on the way, with The American Hotel System just completing another studio session with more studio time booked in March.
Moving Away from Sweeping Social Commentaries: Betts (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
It comes after an eight-year run that has included winning the national Music Prize competition in Louisiana, opening for Bon Jovi and releasing a host of albums and singles.
“We were a band that never intended to be a band,” Betts quipped, noting the journey started just as a one-off show before building into a full-bore venture.
“It’s been wild. It just blows my mind how fortunate we’ve been to have these experiences to play all over the country, to meet some amazing people. It is just amazing how many musicians ever have dreamt of doing what we get to do. So through that journey, you get to know yourself, you get to know each other really well. And I think by virtue of having your best friends with you every night, you learn how to be a better person.”
In addition to spotlighting the new single, this weeks’ Michigan Music Showcase also aired The American Hotel System’s live single, “Tripping,” while debuting tracks from other Michigan artists: Rachel Curtis, Libby DeCamp, Chirp, Y-Not, Wilson Ave, Nick Piunti, Hand of Giants and Folias Duo. Listen to the podcast below.
The Michigan Music Showcase airs at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org, and on Interlochen Public Radio at 7 p.m. Saturdays. Check out previous show podcasts online here.
PODCAST: Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase (2/27/26)
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