Local Spins’ November news update: Kalamazoo’s Hitchcock signs with Nashville booking agent, Crane Wives and Appleseed Collective get Ann Arbor Folk Fest love, and Local Spins’ Sleigh Bells concert photo[…]
Want your music preserved for posterity? West Michigan artists can submit CDs to the district library so patrons can literally check out their music. By Elizabeth Slowik LocalSpins.com The[…]
Frustrating sound glitches aside, the opening night of St. Cecilia Music Center’s Fresh Folk series turned the tables on folk-rock and put a Nashville couple in the spotlight.
The second year of St. Cecilia’s Fresh Folk series opens by spotlighting the Americana duo from Nashville and Grand Rapids’ own Troll for Trout in an unplugged setting. Win tickets[…]
From nightclubs to a fine arts center to a listening room to Eastown basements, West Michigan bid adieu to October and hello to November in rocking fashion, captured in photos[…]
Friday night’s opening house concerts in three locations jammed living rooms and basements for sets by The Soil & The Sun, Lasso, Kellen & Me and more. (Photos, video) […]
Playing at this weekend’s Lamp Light Music Festival in Grand Rapids with Cobalt Mexican Wolves, the well-traveled British-born singer-songwriter finds camaraderie, inspiration in the Double Phelix collective of musicians. […]
More than 30 Grand Rapids-area musicians are lined up to perform songs spanning Simon’s long career tonight, one day after his 72nd birthday. Paul Simon Birthday Sessions WHEN: 7:30[…]
From a poignant tribute to a beloved concert promoter to a Springsteen tribute in Casnovia to a Zappa tribute at The Intersection to a tribute to a new fall beer,[…]
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriters played a relaxed Grand Rapids show on Thursday, one filled with entertaining tales about their songs, travels and 30-year friendship. (Review, photo gallery) Two acoustic guitars.[…]
Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys’ resonator guitar whiz was reared on rock but has embraced the beauty of the Dobro and bluegrass music. He hosts a special Bruce Springsteen Tribute[…]
One of Grand Rapids’ most beloved singer-songwriters shares the frustrations, snares and joys of making music and touring in a guest column for Local Spins. EDITOR’S NOTE: This Spins on[…]
The second annual Eastown music fest expands to five houses, with 35 intimate performances the first weekend in November. Frontier Ruckus, Paucity, Breathe Owl Breathe, Ghost Heart and many more[…]
The reaction of 2013’s $2,000 winners, all from West Michigan? “Stoked,” “elated” and “somewhat surprised.” Listen to the winning songs. The Top 10 vote-getters in ArtPrize are still stumping[…]
Things rocked this weekend — from ArtPrize’s music series at Rosa Parks Circle to pop and folk stars at The Intersection to an indie-rock festival and singer-songwriter charm along the[…]
With 50 of 82 ArtPrize song entrants performing during this weekend’s musicians’ showcase at St. Cecilia Music Center, Grand Rapids is singing an artful tune. And ArtPrize busking and concerts[…]
Football was in the air, but so was music across West Michigan, with performances at outdoor festivals as well as at the usual watering holes, plus the kickoff to Hope[…]
After hosting an open-mic night for seven years, the acoustic roots performer has established himself as an in-demand solo act across West Michigan. He plays the 40th Eastown Street Fair[…]
Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck’s first-ever appearance at the historic event was just the icing on the cake for the 40th Wheatland fest, drawing 10,000-plus people to rural Mecosta County for[…]
It started early with The Indigo Girls at Meijer Gardens and continued through the weekend, with throngs revved up by the EDM music of Gramatik at The Intersection and acoustic[…]
Grand Rapids indie-folk singer-songwriter Jake Down and his band are “just having fun and trying to meet people and impact people.” They release their debut EP on Saturday at The[…]
Thursday night’s season-ending concert brought Georgia’s Indigo Girls back to one of their favorite Grand Rapids haunts, with devotees helping pack the sold-out amphitheater. In the annals of Frederik[…]
The early September Local Spins music news roundup is chock full of nuggets, from a new concert series at Wealthy Theatre to a hot music video that pays tribute to[…]
Take it from veteran performers and first-timers: There’s nothing quite like the Wheatland Music Festival in Remus when it comes to passing on roots and folk traditions. And this year’s[…]
Things rockabilly’d their way into the Labor Day holiday weekend, with a rollicking show at The Pyramid Scheme, not to mention blasts of folk-rock, indie-rock, hip-hop and, yes, Dan Fogelberg.[…]
Whether fronting The Sanger Brothers Band or flying solo, the Holland native plays with confident passion. He’s currently at work on a new studio album; get a sneak peek here[…]
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s last local and regional spotlight concert of the summer had Grand Rapids’ iconic singer-songwriter reveling musically with help from a bevy of his pals.[…]
With sibling-like harmonies, Bennett’s “natural, real” approach has caught fire in West Michigan, with the band releasing a new single later this month and a new EP this fall. (Podcast,[…]
Grand Rapids music news for early August sees the relocation of a popular indie-folk band’s founders to Hawaii and a promising pop debut for a former Potato Moon-ite who’s also[…]
Unseasonably cool for early August, conditions were nearly perfect to soak up live music outdoors — and even indoors — in the Grand Rapids area, ending with WLAV-FM’s big 40th[…]
The New York indie-rockers flashed alluring three-part harmonies and top-drawer instrumental virtuosity for the concert series’ smallest crowd of the summer. (Review, photo gallery) There were moments Saturday night[…]
On a cool August night, things got so hot at the Grand Rapids amphitheater that fans were leaping on stage and getting escorted off by security guards. Talk about rocking[…]
With recent release of their hauntingly beautiful debut album, members of West Michigan’s Antrim Dells put vocals at the forefront of their engaging, poetic music. (Podcast, video) Antrim Dells[…]
With Grammy-winning banjo star/comedian Steve Martin playing a sold-out show at Meijer Gardens, this Local Spins Sunday feature takes a look at why young folk, pop and jam-band musicians are[…]
Steaming hot music added to the steamy hot weather at City Lights Music Festival, Taste of Grand Rapids and Meijer Gardens, with a few hot indoor shows such as GRAM[…]
With three albums under his belt the past two years, the prolific artist has emerged as a solo artist to watch in West Michigan. (Podcast, video) Grand Rapids singer-songwriter[…]
This weekend’s Local Spins Weekend Photo Gallery covers the gamut of live music from Lansing to Grand Rapids to the lakeshore. The summer string thing can take many forms:[…]
The Nashville string band’s first-ever concert at the outdoor amphitheater had the sell-out crowd of 1,900 kicking up its heels. (Review, photos) Old Crow Medicine Show unfurls tale after[…]
With a repertoire of acoustic standards from the 1890s to the 1950s, the Grand Rapids quintet oozes a vintage feel in every performance. Next week, the band plays the Tuesday[…]
With a new album coming soon, Grand Rapids’ own Ultraviolet Hippopotamus will light up Ah-Nab-Awen Park on the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids Thursday, just before the Amway Fourth[…]
Spotlighting regional/local musical talent, the weekly series lights up the amphitheater with genre-spanning bands — another thing that makes Grand Rapids “a cool place to live.” See the full 2013[…]
An exuberant, near-capacity crowd of 1,800-plus cheered Carlile and her band’s third appearance at the outdoor amphitheater, with The Lone Bellow winning over fans with an invigorating opening set of[…]
Chain of Lakes frontman Kyle Rasche creates lush, harmony-driven contemporary folk songs that have earned deserved attention. (Video, podcast) Any number of things can explain why Kyle Rasche immersed[…]
A capacity West Michigan crowd on Monday cheered the California psychedelic pop/rock ensemble and opener The Giving Tree Band. (Photo gallery) With a new album on the way in[…]
Summer pumped up this sizzling West Michigan weekend with a cornucopia of bands playing from Grand Rapids to Rockford to the nether reaches of Barry County. (Photos, video) Favorite[…]
The Americana quartet that sings about folklore heroes and meshes folk, country, bluegrass, rockabilly and swing will play the Buttermilk Jamboree on Friday. And check out how they got their[…]
For the third year, Circle Pines Center in Delton will host the unique outdoor music festival that boasts more than 30 local and regional bands performing on two stages. See[…]
As usual, Festival showcased the marvelously eclectic range of Michigan’s musical talent, bringing out huge throngs amid stellar weather. Check out the photos and “A Day in the Life” video[…]
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[…]
The support of fellow musicians helps drive Grand Rapids’ music scene. But in this Local Spins guest column, The Wallace Collective’s Muske wonders why audiences for compelling, original live music[…]
