The Wine, Beer and Food Festival at DeVos Place drew thousands for taste-testing and tunes by a half-dozen West Michigan acts, but elsewhere fans also reveled in hip-hop from Mad Snipes, Lady Ace, Suport and more, plus jazz, rock and folk. Check out the images.
Rap, Stories and a Great Vibe: Mad Snipes were part of a robust lineup at the Sean Peay Family Benefit at The Pyramid Scheme on Saturday night. (Photo/Anthony Norkus Photography)
Dense post-bop jazz. Lilting pop covers. Compelling conscious rap. Appalachian rock from North Carolina. Fiddle-fired Celtic charm. Soulfully intense renditions of rock classics. Face-melting metal. Story-drenched folk.
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Steve Talaga performing at the Int’l Wine, Food & Beer Festival. (Photo/Anna Sink)
And that’s just from the places Local Spins could scramble to experience over a few nights in the Grand Rapids area. Shoot, good thing gas prices haven’t skyrocketed close to that $4 mark.
This weekend’s photo gallery boasts a video and a smattering of images from the Wine, Beer and Food Festival at DeVos Place that drew crazy-big crowds of thousands for wine-, beer-, cider- and food-sampling while being serenaded by jazz pianist Steve Talaga, singer-songwriter Sam Corbin, Really Keely, Sam & Danielle, Matt Foresman and Mark Sala. (Check out the video highlights below.)
Elsewhere, North Carolina’s Big Daddy Love pumped up Founders Brewing with its bluegrass-meets-Allman Brothers vibe, Ann Arbor’s Moxie Strings got mesmerizinglyl Celtic for a small One Trick Pony crowd (following up with a show the following night in Holland), Kelsey Rottiers & The Rising Tide played a CD-release show at Christ Church PCA, The Chris Lawrence Quartet oozed smart, thick jazz at SpeakEZ Lounge (followed by an intimate concert with Brad Fritcher + trois at Mexicains Sans Frontieres), and the Serita’s Black Rose duo belted out classic rock covers at Rockford Brewing.
Rick Chyme at the Sean Peay Benefit. (Photo/Anthony Norkus Photography)
Meanwhile, Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer brought their Northwest Americana songs and instrumental jams to Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up on Saturday, along with a 13-year-old opener from Spring Lake, Kate Johnson, who photographer Kevin Reedy says “almost stole the show.” Singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins followed up on Sunday with a sold-out concert at the Spring Lake venue.
On a truly uplifting note, a who’s who lineup of West Michigan hip-hop stars revved up The Pyramid Scheme in a special benefit show on Saturday night for the family of late hip-hop artist Sean Peay of Grand Rapids who was killed in a traffic accident. Performers in the impressive lineup included Mad Snipes, Lady Ace, Rick Chyme, King Crabapple, Suport, Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish and more, captured in photos by Anthony Norkus. As Norkus put it, “Many of the performers paid tribute to Sean by saying some kind words and stories about him. Great vibes all around and you could really feel the love in the room.” Some of those hip-hop artists performed the night before at The Intersection for the MGP Hip Hop Heavyweights show.
Oh, and while Rob Zombie and Korn did their deafening damage at the DeltaPlex Arena on Friday, the metal train actually got rolling earlier in the week with Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Testament and Huntress at The Orbit Room.
All in all, quite the week of diverse music, eh?
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Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
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