Concert reviews · Features · Photos
Wednesday’s one-time move of WLAV’s Blues on the Mall from downtown Grand Rapids to Fifth Third Ballpark for the Freedom Cruise kickoff drew throngs in the thousands.
The five-day Freedom Cruise kicks off tonight with Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials at Fifth Third Ballpark, but big shows also on tap this weekend at The DeltaPlex.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
Founders Fest jammed downtown streets in Grand Rapids, but compelling shows were also on tap with Needtobreathe at Meijer Gardens, May Erlewine at Wealthy Theatre and more — featured in the Local Spins photo gallery.
Founders Brewing Co.’s seventh annual street party lived up to the hype with Charley Bradley & His Extraordinaires stealing the show with their fiery, retro-soul set, followed by the ultra-funk of Lettuce.
The seventh annual street party will boast performances on Saturday by Charles Bradley, Lettuce and six other bands on two stages, with more 6,000 people expected. (See full band schedule)
NEW FORMAT! The mid-June weekend round-up of live music ranged from the indie-rock verve of Minus the Bear and CAKE to local heroes playing outdoors, including Steppin’ In It, Kari Lynch, Junior Valentine & Jason Wheeler, Hannah Rose and many more.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Dar Williams, Steppin’ In It, Rootstand, Drew Nelson, Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys, Edye Evans Hyde among 30-plus acts playing weekend festival south of Grand Rapids.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
June’s first weekend may have been the biggest ever for West Michigan music fans with hundreds of bands playing outdoor stages from Grand Rapids to Martin to Kalamazoo.
Concert reviews · Features · Photos
Kari Lynch Band, Skankadank, Rick Chyme, Max Colley III, The Muteflutes, Blue Water Ramblers, Conklin Ceili Band, Union Guns and more revved up crowds on Friday. (Photo gallery, video)
From Nathan Kalish & The Wildfire celebrating a new album to Mustard Plug and Alexis closing things out, it’s bound to be a street party to remember – and on the same weekend as Festival.
Concert announcements · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows
The 97 LAV Budweiser Blues on the Mall launches its 23rd year in Grand Rapids with blues guitar phenom Kelly Richey on June 18 and includes an early August tribute to Walter Trout.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
West Michigan welcomed summer early by turning amps to 11 with help from surf-rock’s Concussions, jazz pioneers Richard Pinhas and The Moon, metal’s Mushroomhead, blues’ Rusty Wright and a bunch of fun-loving VW bus owners, captured in images at Local Spins.
Concert reviews · Features · Photos
Local Spins’ David Specht and photographer Tori Thomas experienced Buses by the Beach on Friday, capturing the camaraderie and music of the 13th annual event, held at Camp Blodgett.
Artist Spotlights · Features · Upcoming shows
Nicholas James & The Bandwagon, Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys, The Muteflutes and more are part of the lakeshore event that began a dozen years ago with 12 VW buses. And check out the premiere of a new song, “Bus Life,” written just for the festival.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
Tickets for the second of three straight August concerts planned for the ballpark north of Grand Rapids go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Breaking music news · Features
After computer issues caused some delays in notifying acts, the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts has finalized the performance schedule for June 6-8 and it’s now online.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
The summer of live music gets ever more jam-packed in the Grand Rapids area. Check out the lineup for GRandJazzFest, Freedom Cruise and Jazz at the Zoo.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
Two music festivals with major aspirations return this year to Kent County — one to the south, the other to the north — with Cowpie’s two-day affair aiming to feature 15 local and regional acts.
Returning to Fifth Third Ballpark in 2013 after losing money on its downtown festival, Rock the Rapids continues to look for ways to bolster its finances and find an appropriate site.
Concert announcements · Summer Concerts · Upcoming shows
From Root Doctor to Kari Lynch to Brian VanderArk to The Crane Wives: Strong lineups power outdoor summer concerts in Rockford, Holland and Wyoming for 2014.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
The mammoth, summer-starting street party expects to draw 6,000-plus folks for beer and sets by Lettuce, Charles Bradley, Break Science, Budos Band, The Giving Tree Band, Fauxgrass and Valentiger. Advance tickets on sale April 18.
Breaking music news · Upcoming shows
The debut of the Freedom Cruise June 25-29 will feature custom car and bike shows, a “Freedom Rocks” concert and a special edition of WLAV’s “Blues on the Ball.”
Breaking music news · Features
With hundreds of acts scrambling to get noticed, West Michigan’s own Stepdad, Rick Chyme, The Soil & The Sun and Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers dive into the “zoo” that is SXSW. Watch an exclusive Local Spins video of Chyme’s performance Thursday.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
Tickets are on sale for the June 13-15 music fest in Delton, with dozens of regional acts on the bill, including Drew Nelson, Steppin’ In It, Edye Evans, Rachael Davis, Rick Chyme, Ralston Bowles, Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
Ogle rollicking winter fun indoors and out in these photos of the Winter Beer Fest, punk bands at the Tip Top, EDM mania at The Intersection, soulful rock at The Pyramid Scheme, sensitive singer-songwriters and dozens of local bands playing the Jammie Awards.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
After announcing three acts for its summer series, Meijer Gardens has since added Ray LaMontagne and Tegan & Sara to the lineup, with surprises expected in final roster to be revealed in April; Grand Rapids and Lowell also make summer show announcements.
Breaking music news · Features
Hundreds of bands, dance troupes and theater acts expected to play 45th annual Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapids June 6-8. Get the application details here. A Monday[…]
Breaking music news · Upcoming shows
The Waxies, Tosspints and more to rock an even bigger Irish on Ionia on Saturday; after years of regaling West Michigan audiences, the award-winning Blue Molly has played its final show.
Halloween descended several days early, with wild and woolly costume- and EDM-driven events in downtown Grand Rapids, plus tour stops by diverse acts from here to the lakeshore. (Photos, video)[…]
A tale of two DJ-driven pre-Halloween dance spectaculars with thousands of dollars in cash prizes to boot. A howlin’ good time awaits on Saturday. More and more people are[…]
ArtPrize doled out its 2013 awards amid TV hoopla, but the weekend also boasted a dazzling and sweaty Bassnectar show, Domestic Problems at Rosa Parks Circle and more — captured[…]
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[…]
September’s Local Spins music news roundup peeks at UV Hippo’s upcoming new masterwork, reveals DJs for the first Halloween on Ionia, says goodbye to a jazz night, and posts exclusive[…]
The fifth-year festival boasts bands from New York to Grand Rapids, playing indoors at the Dee-Lite and outdoors on Washington Street, with beer, wine, food and art to boot. […]
For the third year, St. Cecilia Music Center is hosting a weekend ArtPrize Musicians’ Showcase in downtown Grand Rapids with 50 acts on two stages. Here are highlights from Friday’s[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
Reveling in the final vestiges of summer, West Michigan concertgoers had plenty of live music to wallow in — from Rock the Rapids at Fifth Third Ballpark to polka parties[…]
The little ol’ band from Texas, joined by Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Grand Rapids’ own Junior Valentine, closed out the three-day festival at Fifth Third Ballpark with a truckload of[…]
Breaking music news · Upcoming shows
After scrambling to find sponsors, St. Cecilia Music Center will once again put ArtPrize song entrants in the spotlight, with 50 artists and bands playing a Sept. 20-22 showcase. […]
A splendid mid-week summer evening offered up two completely different musical vibes — with vastly different audiences — at separate outdoor shows in the Grand Rapids area. Call it[…]
A hot August night at Fifth Third Ballpark greeted Thompson Square, Drake White and Brett Eldredge as Rock the Rapids launched its three-day festival. On tap Wednesday: Daughtry. Thursday: ZZ[…]
GRandJazzFest with regional and national acts took over downtown Grand Rapids, but there was plenty more live music to embrace, too. (Photos, video) Q: How does a jazz musician[…]
West Michigan’s Jessica Price Band and Junior Valentine will share the Fifth Third Ballpark stage with national headliners as part of the three-day music festival that kicks off Tuesday. […]
The award-winning keyboard player, composer and co-leader of the Mind’s Eye modern jazz quartet has become an in-demand musician amid West Michigan’s lively jazz scene, which includes this weekend’s GRandJazzFest.[…]
The zoot-suited California swing-meisters returned to the outdoor amphitheater with impressive opener Andy Frasco for a sold-out show that had many tripping the light fantastic. (Review, photo gallery) If[…]
