Sun shines on Blue Bridge Music Festival’s opening day in Grand Rapids

With performances by Yolonda Lavender, The Bootstrap Boys and Michigander, the second-year festival drew big throngs of ArtPrize visitors to the downtown pedestrian bridge over the Grand River.

 

Someone remarked that there were more people attending the first 45 minutes of the Blue Bridge Music Festival on Friday than turned out last year for the entire, rain-deluged two-day event.

In fact, those crowds just continued to grow Friday amid breezy but sunny weather for performances by regional acts Yolonda Lavender, The Bootstrap Boys and Michigander, giving ArtPrize 2017 a potent musical boost during its second weekend as thousands of art-ogling visitors swarmed over downtown Grand Rapids.

“It’s been very smooth,” said a grinning Quinn Mathews, station manager for WYCE-FM, which is hosting the festival on Friday and Saturday along with HopCat.

Clearly pleased that the weather — unlike last year — cooperated for the unusual music festival, Mathews and other organizers were more than happy to endure some chilly winds as Lavender unfurled soul and hip hop music, The Bootstrap Boys cranked out country gems and Michigander delivered anthemic pop-rock for folks who gathered on the stage or stopped briefly on their ArtPrize treks.

The music continues today starting at 2 p.m. with the contemporary, improvisational jazz of Brad Fritcher’s MOODS. The rest of the schedule features Asamu Johnson & The Associates of the Blues at 4 p.m., Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish at 5:30 p.m., Watching for Foxes at 7 p.m. and The Great Ones at 8:45 p.m.

Return to Local Spins on Sunday for a full photo gallery from the Blue Bridge Music Festival and other West Michigan music events.

PHOTO GALLERY: Blue Bridge Music Festival 2017 (Day One)
Photos by Anthony Norkus and Local Spins

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