Shawn Colvin, Lil Wayne, Lazy Blue Tunas, Whitey Morgan, Andrew Ripp enchant devoted fans (Weekend Photo Gallery)

Hip hop, country, folk, pop, rock and jazz: West Michigan’s week of live music targeted aficionados of diverse acts. Lil Wayne even visited a local skate park. Check out the photo galleries.

 

SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO GALLERIES

Thursday night’s offerings across West Michigan were a shining example of February’s musical diversity because that single evening covered the gamut: folk icon Shawn Colvin at St. Cecilia Music Center in Grand Rapids, rap star Lil Wayne at Van Andel Arena, outlaw country singer Whitey Morgan and Cody Jinks at The Intersection, and California dream pop outfit In The Valley Below at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo.

SHAWN COLVIN AT ST. CECILIA MUSIC CENTER

Veteran singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin mesmerized the crowd with her exquisitely detailed acoustic performance, part of St. Cecilia Music Center’s Acoustic Cafe folk series. Concertgoers couldn’t take their eyes off Colvin and rightfully so. St. Cecelia’s Royce Auditorium provided an intimate setting, with audience was leaning forward throughout the performance, entranced by Colvin’s music.

Her set included covers from her latest album, “Uncovered,” as well as “Cover Girl,” that had the crowd tapping their feet and nodding along to the rhythms. In addition, Colvin teased a song she wrote with Steve Earle on their duo record set for release on June 10. She also performed originals such as the Grammy Award-winning, “Sunny Came Home,” a recognizable classic that prompted a clap-along.

She drew laughter when she poked fun at herself for writing primarily breakup songs, saying, “You don’t come see me to have a good time.” Actually, the crowd made it crystal clear they did have a good time when Colvin finished her set, standing and erupting into applause.

Wife-and-husband duo, Rebecca Pronsky and Rich Bennett, opened for Colvin and filled the auditorium with their indie country music and charm. – By Elizabeth Voltz

LIL WAYNE AT VAN ANDEL ARENA

Lil Wayne skated into Grand Rapids as part of his Dedication Tour — a tour that saw the heavily tattooed New Orleans native play a career-spanning, 43-song set.

Weaving from solo songs such as “6 Foot, 7 Foot” and “A Milli” to more famous guest verses from his collaborations with Drake and Nikki Minaj, Mr. Carter had the crowd off their feet and singing along the moment he hit the stage in a flamboyant grey robe with a hood on, with only his trademark dreads, over-sized sunglasses and million-dollar smile peeking out.

Unlike a lot of traditional hip hop shows that focus more on an emcee and DJ spinning backing tracks, Weezy’s music was brought to life by a live backing band that really showcased the musicianship in most of these songs, and really helped fill out the sound and add a little more bounce to the packed arena.

Also of note, Lil Wayne, a professional skateboarder in his own right, stopped by local skating venue park/venue Camp H Skate Park in Comstock Park to get some runs in that night. During Wayne’s set, footage of the rapper skating appeared on a large screen over the stage. – By Jonathan Beatty

Also on Thursday, Michigan’s Whitey Morgan and Cody Jinks delivered outlaw country – or “American honky-tonk” – with an all-star band at The Intersection in Grand Rapids.

The same night, Kalamazoo’s engaging Less is More and The Class Acts opened for California dream pop/indie-rock band In the Valley Below, which brought its U.S. tour to Bell’s Brewery’s Eccentric Cafe on Thursday. Fronted by Jeffrey Jacob Mendel on vocals and guitar, and Muskegon native Angela Gail Mattson on keyboards and vocals, the band performed with a drummer. Photographer Derek Ketchum noted that the band exuded a “really psychedelic sound” and closed the show with Pink Floyd’s “Money.” their sound, the smoke, & the green lights really had the crowd going. He added. “The crowd was great, especially for a Thursday night. Quite a few people I heard came from both Grand Rapids and the lakeshore area. When I spoke with Angela after the show, she was chatting it up with a former co-worker of hers from a record store in Muskegon.”

Of course, Friday night was billed as “West Michigan’s biggest night for music,” with the 2016 Jammie Awards filling The Intersection in Grand Rapids with 1,400 people for more than two dozen performances on two stages. Get the recap, photo gallery and video in this separate Local Spins post.

Elsewhere, folk/pop singer-songwriter Andrew Ripp kicked off the week Monday at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids, Dutcher Snedeker’s DOODS (a play on Brad Fritcher’s MOODS with the trumpeter out of town) lighting up SpeakEZ Lounge on Wednesday with improvisational jazz and prog-rock, and the popular Lazy Blue Tunas packing One Trick Pony in Grand Rapids on Saturday for their farewell show — a poignant but fun affair that showed off the band’s acoustic rock prowess and splendid harmonies … and an appropriate way to bid adieu to their loving, dedicated fans at the venue where they debuted as a band 15 years ago. (Read the Local Spins feature on Lazy Blue Tunas here.)

Local Spins writer Molly Stephanak was at Wealthy Theatre’s Andrew Ripp show — a first-time event hosted by The Intersection, which hopes “to target more WYCE-style shows” for seated concerts at Wealthy Theatre in the future — and filed this review:

Folk-country music, acoustic guitar strains and gospel-like voices filled Wealthy Theatre for Andrew Ripp’s performance, drawing a crowd of all ages.

Peter Verdell of Act as If, and Swear and Shake opened for Ripp, getting things started in the right direction with a mix of acoustic rock and country-hued folk.

Starting with “Deep Water,” Andrew Ripp — a week into his self-titled headlining tour — combined his upbeat material with gospel-inspired songs. And covers of songs such as “Chandelier,” “Yo Diggity” and “Lose Yourself” matched the energy and participation of the audience. The high-energy concert ended with Ripp going “off the cuff” and taking requests from the crowd to sing acoustically, making the intimate venue seem even more personal. — By Molly Stephanak

PHOTO GALLERY: Lil Wayne at Van Andel Arena
Photos by Anthony Norkus (Camp H photos courtesy of Camp H Facebook page)

WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY
Andrew Ripp, Shawn Colvin, Lazy Blue Tunas photos by Anna Sink
Dutcher Snedeker’s DOODS photo by John Sinkevics
Whitey Morgan photos by Eric Stoike
In the Valley Below, Less is More, The Class Acts photos by Derek Ketchum

Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC