The first Local Spins on WYCE episode of October also featured a chat with Porterhouse Presents promoter Sam Porter and new tracks by Romance for Ransom, Max Lockwood and The Muteflutes. Listen to the podcast, watch the video of Fauxgrass’ in-studio performance.
Breaking music news · Features · Videos
A Michigan country jamboree and The Avett Brothers kick things off this weekend, with Porterhouse Presents also offering up Charles Bradley, Ozomatli, Billy Strings, silent discos, food and beer on the site. Get the scoop on this new outdoor venue, and view (and save) the opening weekend schedule.
Breaking music news · Upcoming shows
It launches tonight (Wednesday) at SpeakEZ Lounge with ArtPrize song entrants and continues with a new outdoor venue, Michigan House’s indoor space and 150-plus busking performances around Grand Rapids. Get the lowdown on all of the ArtPrize-related music options.
Commentary · Concert reviews · Photos · Summer Concerts
Illustrated with photos by Local Spins photographer Anna Sink, the Dobro player who fronts the Mark Lavengood Bluegrass Bonanza offers his impressions of last weekend’s joyful musicians’ fest outside Lake City. Check out the resplendent images and recap of an unforgettable event.
Three Grand Rapids-area events dominated the landscape musically, but there was much more across West Michigan: Taking Back Sunday, Mustard Plug, Megan Dooley, Delilah DeWylde, Blake Elliott and Full Cord. Check out all the colorful photo galleries at Local Spins.
For the 42nd year, Wheatland’s special vibe was on display last weekend, propelled by performances from Dervish, Bill Kirchen, Joshua Davis, Blind Boy Paxton and many more. Check out the colorful photo gallery from a special weekend.
Guest Column · Playlists · Upcoming shows · Videos
Guest columnist Mark Lavengood, better known as the resonator guitar whiz in Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys, waxes eloquent about this weekend’s musician-rich Earthwork Harvest Gathering and why it’s a world-class affair. And listen to a Local Spins playlist of songs by Michigan artists playing this year’s festival.
Concert reviews · Photos · Summer Concerts · Videos
Parking lots and seating areas were jam-packed Friday as Michigan’s Wheatland Music Festival launched three days of folk, roots music and more outside Remus. Read the roundup of the festival’s first day, and check out the photo gallery and video.
Concert reviews · Photos · Summer Concerts · Videos
With thousands of attendees reveling in sets by some of Michigan’s biggest stars, last weekend’s Hoxeyville was a true celebration of ‘the good stuff’ — most of it by regional acts. Read the story and check out the photos and video.
Concert reviews · Features · Photos · Videos
The Detroit area’s Third Degree Burns and Grand Rapids’ Roosevelt Diggs win the grand prizes in the unusual competition and music showcase. Read the story and check out the photo gallery and video from an event described as “music’s ArtPrize.”
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Concert reviews · Photos · Summer Concerts
The charming music festival in the Manistee National Forest kicked off the weekend with one of its biggest crowds yet, and another ‘grass-idelic’ display by faves Greensky Bluegrass. Read the round-up of opening night and check out the photo gallery in a Local Spins exclusive.
Features · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows
With 60 bands vying to win a grand prize worth $10,000-plus, the Saturday afternoon bonanza of music takes over the lakeshore town. Get details and see how the second annual event has upped the ante.
Festival mania swept across West Michigan this week, along with the usual outdoor and indoor concerts, making this one of summer’s busiest weeks. Much of the action was captured in images at Local Spins. Check out the live music roundup and four — count ’em four — photo galleries.
Features · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows
National act Bill Kirchen and local faves Luke Warm & The Not So Hots, Rochelle & The Spoilers, Tony LaJoye Trio, Macpodz, Rootstand, Legal Immigrants, Big Dudee Roo, Afro Zuma and more will light up this weekend’s farm bash. Get the full schedule and details here.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
Whether your tastes ran from the droll Garrison Keillor to the soul of The Temptations and The Soul Syndicate to the rap of ConvoTronics, summer’s music machine kept whirring this week — captured in images at Local Spins.
Breaking music news · Features
St. Cecilia Music Center plans to amp up its annual ArtPrize music competition with juried prizes in five categories and a benefit show featuring ‘The Voice’s’ Joshua Davis. Get the details in this Local Spins story.
Features · Upcoming shows · Videos
Check out the latest visual treats from a diverse bunch of West Michigan bands, all of whom are firing up stages this summer from Grand Rapids to Traverse City to Los Angeles. It’s Local Spins’ version of MTV, only better.
National and regional stars graced several stages at the 35th annual festival southeast of Cross Village, attracting thousands for a weekend of music and art. Check out the Local Spins photo gallery.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
From Kalamazoo to Lansing to Grand Rapids, live music took center stage this week with the Tuesday Evening Music Club kickoff, Billy Strings & Don Julin, Nobody’s Darlin’, the season’s first GRAM on the Green show and much more in the mix. Check out the resplendent photo gallery with links to images from concerts by Mat Kearney, Patty Griffin, Mavis Staples and Joshua Davis.
Features · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows
Tuesday’s “Family Night” kickoff will feature interactive performances of music and dance by An Dro, Michigan Hiryu Daiko, Leah Ivory & the Rhym Life Collective, Igor Houwat and more. See the full series schedule for 2015.
Banjos-and-bluegrass night at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park on Monday had some legendary, veteran players sharing the bill for a night of jamming and story-telling. Read the Local Spins review and check out the photo gallery.
On the fourth day in the woods of Rothbury, about 45,000 gleeful, radiant and tired hippie-hued music fans continued to celebrate with the likes of Yonder Mountain String Band, The Accidentals, String Cheese Incident and Gramatik before packing up. Check out the final photo gallery and roundup of this spectacle in Rothbury.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
No shortage of live music options across West Michigan now that summer is in full swing, captured here in images, from return of West Michigan Freedom Cruise and the Celadon series to Time & Luck in Spring Lake. Check out the mini-reviews and full photo gallery at Local Spins.
Features · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows · Videos
It’s an exceptional collection of acts on tap Sunday for the festival at Riverside Park: Peter “Madcat” Ruth, Fauxgrass, Drew Nelson, K. Jones & The Benzie Playboys, Seth and May and much more. Read the story and see the complete schedule, which you can save on your smartphone.
Features · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows
‘Mind-blowing’ West Michigan festival led by String Cheese Incident and Bassnectar creates ‘strange wonderland’ starring select regional acts, with Grand Rapids’ Rick Chyme set to join The Accidentals on stage. Read the story and check out the weekend performance schedule for The Accidentals, The Ragbirds and Flint Eastwood.
Artist Spotlights · Audio · Upcoming shows
After returning from Scotland, the couple takes its folk/bluegrass duo project on the road, with plenty more Flatbellys travels on the horizon. Read the back story about Time & Luck and learn what’s next for The Flatbellys.
Concert reviews · Photos · Videos
Several thousand music and beer fans once again jammed streets outside Founders Brewing on Saturday for sets by Nahko, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Gringo Star, Elephant Revival, Billy Strings & Don Julin, Devin & The Dead Frets, Organissimo and those lovable FBC All-Stars. Read the round-up and check out the photo gallery and video.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
Despite some rainy weather, the shows must go on. And they did, with country’s Jake Owens and more in Martin, regional stars at Circle Pines Center, rock and blues in Rockford, and indoor gems in Grand Rapids. Check out three full photo galleries from all the events and a roundup of the week’s musical action at Local Spins.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements · Summer Concerts
Summer and fall concert announcements keep rolling out, with rootsy Michigan acts playing Riverside Park in June, Lynyrd Skynyrd firing up Bike Time, Steel Wheels launching the Acoustic Cafe series, and Martha Reeves and Joshua Davis playing Ann Arbor’s Sonic Lunch. See all the lineups in this Local Spins roundup.
Concert reviews · Features · Photos
Invigorating sets by The Accidentals, Fauxgrass and Bigfoot Buffalo – plus a display of all those vintage VW buses – capped Saturday’s timeless entertainment. Read the re-cap of Saturday’s big day along Lake Michigan, check out the Local Spins photo gallery and listen to audio from Friday’s set by Roosevelt Diggs.
Artist Spotlights · Podcasts · Videos
Michael Boxer and Laura Crosswait, formerly known as Fiddleface, already have one album under their belts with another in the works. They play Rockford Brewing on Thursday night. Read the back story about this fast-emerging band and check out an exclusive video of a new song.
Artist Spotlights · Upcoming shows
The band closes out this weekend’s Buses by the Beach benefit along Lake Michigan, with The Accidentals, Roosevelt Diggs and more also performing. Rootstand releases a new EP this summer, followed by “focused” touring. Read the Local Spins feature and see the full Bus Benefit lineup.
The week started with the Pigpen Theatre Company’s theatrical folk and kept rolling with Brad Fritcher’s MOODS, Pokey LaFarge, Billy Strings & Don Julin, some mid-May festivals and plenty more, captured in images at Local Spins.
Artist Spotlights · Local Spins on WYCE · Podcasts
Headlining Saturday’s Bob Dylan Tribute show at Founders Brewing, the band with a Deadhead following also hopes to start recording a studio album of its own material later this year. Read the band profile, listen to the podcast and check out the photos at Local Spins.
Breaking music news · Commentary · Features · Videos
Traverse City’s Joshua Davis was saved on Tuesday, after a week in which he also sparked more attention for West Michigan’s burgeoning music scene. See what other regional roots acts are on the cusp of a national breakout.
May’s batch of Local Spins album reviews covers the gamut from soul to folk, a round-up that also includes new releases from Plain Jane Glory, Watching for Foxes and Complicated Animals. Check out the reviews, with links to audio samples and upcoming gig schedules for the featured bands.
The shock of a Michigan earthquake and temperatures in the ’70s notwithstanding, it was another week of diverse live music, captured in images by Local Spins.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements · Videos
Local Spins’ third anniversary celebration in May will feature shows by some of our readers’ favorite bands, all of whom have much-anticipated new albums on the way. See which other Michigan acts ranked high among reader favorites and find out who won our Local Spins gift packages.
Fronting a top-drawer band a week after Earth Day, Lynch will play two West Michigan shows, including a benefit for protecting the Great Lakes basin. And she hopes to start work on a new studio album later this year. Read the Local Spins interview.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements · Summer Concerts
Another Wednesday summer concert series kicks off in Grand Rapids on June 10 with Big Boss Blues, with more blues — and bluegrass — on tap in St. Joseph in mid-May. Get the details and the full concert lineups at Local Spins.
Artist Spotlights · Upcoming shows · Videos
The Grand Rapids trio has ‘fun no matter what.’ The band known for its lively shows and story-telling plays SpeakEZ Lounge on Wednesday night as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays series. Read the back story about the group and check out the video.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
The rootsy August festival returns to Shagbark Farm in southern Kent County with more than a dozen acts and a ‘Stampede Mud Run,’ too. Check out the Michigan band lineup and details.
Concert reviews · Videos · Weekend Photo Gallery
There were lots of musical goodies to devour the week after Easter, including Michigan acts Asamu Johnson, E Minor, The Extra Texture, Shane Tripp, Desmond Jones, and a ton of others at Jake’s Music Festival, including PotatoeBabies and Sext Farm. Check out the photo gallery and video.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
The popular regional music series kicks off for 2015 with world music on July 7 and wraps up with Ralston & Friends, with a host of impressive local acts in between. Check out the full season schedule and some highlights from last year.
Heart boasted the weekend’s biggest show at Van Andel Arena, but there were more stars in the limelight, including local bands Moxieville, The Outer Vibe, Heavier Than Air Flying Machines, Big Dudee Roo, Steve Rivers, Comments of Aether and more. Check out the amazing photos and show roundup in the Local Spins Weekend Photo Gallery.
Features · Local Spins on WYCE · Podcasts · Videos
The 30th edition of the radio show that spotlights West Michigan’s music got up close and personal with the rootsy, Dead-like Bigfoot Buffalo from Grand Rapids, who made their in-studio, on-air debut. And it debuted new tracks from several regional acts. (Podcast, video)
Concert announcements · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows
Spring arrives this weekend, so Local Spins looks ahead to a few much-beloved warm-weather festivals and concert series. Find lineups for Jake’s Music Fest in April, Buses by the Beach in May and learn why Jazz at the Zoo is now Jazz in Park — at downtown’s Ah-Nab-Awen Park — starting in June.
Breaking music news · Features · Photos
From The Accidentals to Nathan Kalish to Heaters, West Michigan bands are making a splash in Austin like never before at the massive South by Southwest music conference. View the photo gallery and learn more about what Michigan bands are doing in Texas this week.
Artist Spotlights · Features · Videos
With a reshuffled lineup that includes fiddler Jeffrey Niemeier, Grand Rapids’ prog-bluegrass band is crisscrossing the state and the country, working in the studio and just released a new video. And bassist Tim McKay has adjusted to a new style of playing since mangling his hand in a snowblower.
Another weekend of riveting live music photos at Local Spins. This one took the bitter chill off with some big names and hot shows by the likes of Mike Mains & The Branches, Brad Fritcher + trois, Kevin Devine, Flint Eastwood, hi-ker and more.
