Wailers, Confluence Fest, Movements, more (Photos)

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As summer turned to fall, music fans were in a festive mood to cheer national touring acts — including Sierra Hull and The Movement — as well as GR’s fourth Confluence Fest. The images at Local Spins.

‘Get Up, Stand Up’: Fans certainly did that for The Wailers at Warner Vineyards. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)

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When The Wailers launched their Southwest Michigan tour stop at Paw Paw’s Warner Vineyards over the weekend with “Lively Up Yourself,” it quickly cemented the reggae band’s ever-lively, dance-fueled theme of the evening — a night that also saw them roll out the iconic “No Woman, No Cry,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Get Up, Stand Up” and “Redemption Song.”

With nearly 1,000 fans on board and Kalamazoo’s Trifocal opening the final show in Warner’s summer concert series, the upbeat festival atmosphere was replicated at several other audience-involving concerts and events across the region over the past week:

• Grand Rapids’ fourth Confluence Festival — which showcases technology, innovation, robotics, music, arts and more over two days — kicked off at Rosa Parks Circle on Friday night with a wave of DJ-driven music courtesy of DJ Sommelier, DJ AB & Huff the Goat and DJayTron, as well as a band from Grand Rapids School of Rock;

Cheers! Fans at Bell’s Beer Garden showing their appreciation for The Movement. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)

• California post-hardcore band Movements — with Queen of Jeans and Turnover also on hand — launched its Grand Rapids tour stop at The Intersection with “You’re One of Us Now” and wrapped up the night 14 songs later with the popular “Daylily,” from its 2017 debut album, “Feel Something”;

• Meanwhile, The Movement (a completely unrelated, reggae-fueled South Carlina outfit) ignited plenty of skanking, dancing and singing along at the next-to-last Bell’s Brewery Beer Garden show of the summer to close out the weekend in Kalamazoo on Sunday, with help from Long Beach Dub All Stars and Aurorawave;

• The musical fun began earlier in the week with award-winning mandolinist and singer Sierra Hull kicking off St. Cecilia Music Center’s concert series in Grand Rapids after she had previously wowed Michigan fans at the Wheatland Music Festival. (Read the Local Spins interview with Hull here.)

Browse all the photos below. Plus check out a separate Local Spins concert review and photo gallery from Dierks Bentley’s tour stop at Van Andel Arena on Thursday: Dierks Bentley glitters in career-spanning, covers-splashed Grand Rapids concert.

PHOTO GALLERY: The Wailers, Trifocal at Warner Vineyards
Photos by Derek Ketchum