Commentary · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows
Despite some detractors, the intimate outdoor amphitheater unleashes its 13th season with a Michigan classic rock band and follows that with an eclectic mix of acts, old and young. Read the Local Spins commentary, and see which 15 concerts already have sold out.
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.
Artist Spotlights · Upcoming shows
The Grand Rapids band led by satirist Cliff Frantz not only headlines Jake’s Music Festival at Wealthy Theatre Saturday but boasts, yes, 11 mockumentary episodes of its hijinx. Read the back story, get the full festival schedule and watch Sext Farm’s hilarious videos here.
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.
Heart and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts made their final 2015 tour stop together a mostly memorable one, cranking out driving rock hits for a gleefully nostalgic crowd at Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena. Read the review and check out the photo gallery.
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.
Concert reviews · Videos · Weekend Photo Gallery
An under-the-radar vintage country act drew an unusual, mammoth crowd in Grand Rapids, but the week also boasted other gems: Elliott Brood, Lady Ace Boogie, The Main Squeeze, AGO, Big Dudee Roo, Dan Rickabus, The Moonrays and more. Check out all the photos and mini-reviews at Local Spins.
Breaking music news · Concert reviews · Features
The pre-Christmas music news update at Local Spins checks in on Seger’s “Ride Out” tour, takes a gander at a plucky banjo project and finds more local albums nominated for honors.
Local Spins writer Brian J. Bowe recounts the stir sparked by the legendary shock-rocker’s spectacle at the Holland Civic Center in the early ’70s, a concert recalled by fans as a night of acid, body parts, a hanging and more that sent ripples through the staid community.
The former Silver Bullet keyboard player is now an award-winning Wyoming recording and mastering engineer who toured and recorded with Seger during the ‘golden years.’
Breaking music news · Features
Two veteran Grand Rapids bands are losing key members in coming weeks, with the acoustic groups planning to continue performing without them.
The Eagles reminisce, croon, rock and ban cellphones during Monday’s enjoyable ‘History’ tour stop at Van Andel Arena, and credit a West Michigan DJ for helping put them on the road to stardom.
The weekend started early with a long-awaited Meijer Gardens show, a rap battle and a CD listening party, and kept right on rolling from Grand Rapids to Traverse City.
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.
Blending classic rock favorites with original tunes, Grand Rapids’ Mid-Life Crisis is celebrating its 12th year of “playing music with friends.” In some ways, Mid-Life Crisis may be the[…]
Country’s Chase Rice, Union Guns and Shelagh Brown play the parking lot next to the nightclub on Friday, with the Mega ’80s moving in for Saturday’s affair. It’s been[…]
A throng of 20,000-plus at Ah-Nab-Awen Park, including 80 new U.S. citizens, got an eyeful and earful in a vibrant pre-fireworks show by four bands and the Daredevil Circus. (Video,[…]
Local Spins provides a video playlist of rock songs to make you feel free on Independence Day. (Videos) Feeling free. For some that means sitting on the back deck[…]
This week’s Local Spins music news roundup for West Michigan covers the gamut, from chart-topping active hard rock to piano-powered jazz to milestone classic rock. ROBIN CONNELL’S JAZZ AT[…]
Breaking music news · Upcoming shows
Ultraviolet Hippopotamus’ eclectic and impressive instrumental display part of the free downtown show that will also feature West Michigan-driven blues, country and Top 40/classic rock. With Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, Blue[…]
Frampton’s Guitar Circus brought a Big Top of high-profile musicians — Peter Frampton, Steve Cropper, Robert Cray — to the outdoor amphitheater Monday for a tasteful show cut short by[…]
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is also on the Aug. 22 bill. It’s the first show announced for the festival’s return to Comstock Park after two years in downtown Grand Rapids. […]
From emerging act Spence & Friends to longtime fave Mid-Life Crisis, Festival covers the gamut of musical styles and sounds. But can a 13-year-old steal the show? At 13,[…]
Veteran Festival bands and solo artists like The Mines and 13th Hour know the magic of growing an audience and strutting their stuff for giant throngs reveling in the weekend[…]
Grand Rapids music makers — playing the Bona-Who? fest, Active Commute Week Celebration, tribute show and World Fiddle Day — ruled the roost, with a British metalcore assault from Asking[…]
Michigan music fans welcomed The Motor City Madman back to his home state Tuesday at Van Andel Arena, with REO Speedwagon and Styx in tow. The most unusual twist: Grand[…]
Thursday’s groovy benefit for Well House features six one-time bands led by Eric Kehoe, Molly Bouwsma-Schultz, Jason Roy and others covering The Beatles, The Supremes, David Bowie, Sly Stone and[…]
Ted Nugent’s Midwest Rock ‘n’ Roll Express kicked off the week, but the weekend offers up way more rock with a Pop Evil CD-release, Active Commute Week celebration, a Dylan[…]
Hip-hop, rock, Americana, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk and a Prince/MJ dance party: With spring weather springing, West Michigan heated up with an eclectic blend of live music, shared in images at[…]
Commentary · Concert reviews · Features
Michigan rocker Bob Seger has made Grand Rapids a regular — and early — stop on his tours with the Silver Bullet Band since 2006. Here’s what some fans had[…]
With a few new songs in their arsenal, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band unleashed a rock ’n’ roll love-fest on Tuesday night at Van Andel Arena. Every[…]
Concert reviews · Features · Photos · Videos
Mid-February’s concert lineup offered more than just big shows at Van Andel Arena and Miller Auditorium: West Michigan bands of every ilk were pounding it out at benefits, bars and[…]
Commentary · Features · Guest Column
“Smoke on the Water” be damned. Playing cover songs is a tricky business, asserts this veteran guitarist, so bands should choose wisely and give their rendering of these tunes a[…]
Bob Seger, Michigan’s favorite rock son, had much to say about touring in 2006 after a 10-year hiatus. As he hits the road again, with a ticket pre-sale Thursday for[…]
Check out West Michigan’s hefty weekend of live music in Spins on Music’s Weekend Photo Galleries, with bands lighting up stages big and small. Another hyper-hectic Friday night. A[…]
Album reviews · Commentary · Concert reviews · Videos
Kid Rock’s second Thanksgiving Day halftime show in three years paid tribute to Motown heroes and served as a glitzy commercial for his new album. But is the scruffy rapper-turned-rocker[…]
Veteran Grand Rapids rock band Mid-Life Crisis takes over One Trick Pony on Sunday to conduct a music video shoot for original song being entered in ArtPrize. Sitting through a[…]
For once, a familiar classic rock act stood out from the pack. On a week when Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is hosting daring and edgy younger acts Fiona[…]
Features · Upcoming shows · Videos
Creedence Clearwater Revisited 7 p.m. Wednesday $51 ($49 for Meijer Gardens members) Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Township Get ticket information here. In the late ’60s and[…]
