As Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize builds toward its finale, Local Spins asked a performer in this week’s ArtPrize/WOOD TV8/Talsma Concert Series to offer up her playlist of favorites, from Patsy Cline to Coldplay. Check out the YouTube videos and Spotify playlist.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
It started with Girls With Guitars and Tweedy and, despite the rain, just kept rolling with some early October festivals and Gunnar at the ‘Section, captured in images at Local Spins.
The opening weekend of ArtPrize and the closing weekend of baseball’s regular season may have gotten most of the attention, but there was plenty of live music amid glorious weather to inspire audiences.
With Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize officially launching today, Local Spins asked a chief architect of the drive to include music entries in the competition to offer her playlist of current favorites. Can you say “eclectic”?
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Laughing off occasional showers, festival-goers reveled in weekend sets by 100-plus bands on four stages on the site northeast of Lake City. (Story, photo gallery, video)
The 86 song entries may face an uphill battle for this year’s big ArtPrize purse, but St. Cecilia once again sweetens the pot with $2,000 awards in five music categories.
The award-winning northern Michigan singer-songwriter has ridden the highs and lows of the business to build an avid fan base. He plays Grand Rapids’ Elk Brewing Thursday. (Story, video, podcast)
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The accordionist and keyboard player for the platinum-selling Colorado folk-rock band played an unscheduled concert for a packed house Monday at Hideout Brewing.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
A bit o’ rain and an unseasonable chill didn’t deter revelers from Allegan to Grand Rapids this weekend, with Guided by Voices and Wavves heating things up indoors.
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From The Accidentals to The Steel Wheels, the folk and roots music festival has turned the rural Remus site this weekend into a ‘village’ of 10,000 very happy Wheatland devotees.
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 August batch of Local Spins reviews spotlights some much-anticipated recording projects from acclaimed bands (with sneak audio peeks), plus releases from The Northern Soul, Junior Valentine & Jason Wheeler, The Carboys, Bruce Matthews and Jake Vroon.
Up-and-coming indie-rock bandleader Ben Daniels says his actor-singer dad “burned the blues into my mind.” The Michigan band will back Jeff Daniels on stage.
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The summer’s weirdest live music event? Or a brilliant way to spotlight lakeshore bands and businesses? Saturday’s unusual, free event unfolds Saturday in Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg.
Performing in public since she was 6, the Lake Leelanau singer, keyboard player and guitarist returns to play the Sparta Celtic Festival on Saturday. See the full festival schedule.
In the wake of the “Meijer Gardens Meltdown” courtesy of Ray LaMontagne, there were compelling, less-controversial concerts and tour stops to behold this weekend, captured in images at Local Spins.
National tours made mid-summer stops in Grand Rapids, from the country of Jennifer Nettles to the thoughtful indie-rock of Beck, plus plenty more local and regional acts captured in images at Local Spins.
Beck, with Sean Lennon’s Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger in tow, made a West Michigan tour stop on Saturday, giving Grand Rapids a long-awaited dose of his boundary-pushing alt- and indie-rock.
The first batch of mid-July Local Spins CD reviews covers a dizzying range of Michigan artists and musical styles, from pop to funk to folk. And there’s plenty more to come.
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The Grand Rapids singer-songwriter releases a new EP this month before embarking on a Midwest tour. He and his band, The Midwest Mess, play The Pyramid Scheme on Friday.
Some may have preferred a full-band show, but Browne charmed a sold-out crowd of concertgoers with his strong voice and down-to-earth demeanor. (Review, photo gallery)
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
From Harbor Springs to Kalamazoo, West Michigan throttled up music from folk to blues to hip hop, captured in images at Local Spins — plus a recap of part of Blissfest.
The 34th annual Blissfest north of Harbor Springs fires up this weekend with more than 50 acts, from New York’s Donna the Buffalo to Michigan’s Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
Musical liberty was the theme for Independence Day weekend in West Michigan, with multiple bands playing free events in Grand Rapids and Comstock Park, even a show on the beach in Grand Haven.
The first Guest Playlist of July comes courtesy of an iconic West Michigan guitarist with a brand new album and an ear toward a perfectly retro soundtrack for summer.
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.
Reveling in his role as a brand new father, the driving force behind Earthwork Music credits Michigan’s “awesome music community” for bolstering his latest recording.
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The Celadon Summer Concert Series is back, adding to a long list of free outdoor summer shows across West Michigan. And today’s the deadline for bidding on some bracing house concerts by acclaimed Michigan bands.
The inaugural Grand Rapids music festival was to unfurl Friday and Saturday in a pair of Eastown homes and promised to be a multi-genre, waffle-filled affair. But a complaint led to its cancellation.
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A hidden gem along Lake Michigan’s shoreline, the guitarist with an impressive past shines these days as a vintage country music artist. (Video)
With the GRSA turning 10, members will deliver some of “the best songs no one’s ever heard” during Friday’s event.
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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.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
With a mid-week show, The Soil & The Sun’s Grand Rapids homecoming launched several days of live gems that included singular sets by Jimmie Stagger, The Outer Vibe, Chance Jones, Junior Valentine and Alice Peacock.
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St. Cecilia won’t host an ArtPrize musicians’ showcase this fall, but more busking stations will be added for performers.
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The long holiday weekend teemed with music, including Mid-Life Crisis at Forest Hills Fine Arts Center’s 10th anniversary, Granger Smith, Hannah Rose Graves and Breathe Owl Breathe.
Saturday’s unprecedented anniversary concert will pay tribute to decade of international stars who’ve played the venue and bring more than 70 performers to the stage in a rare spectacle.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements · Summer Concerts
The two-month celebration of Michigan music starts with Afro Zuma and a kid-interactive “Family Appreciation Night” and wraps up in August with Ralston & Friends.
National tours of note made West Michigan stops, but there was plenty more with a big lineup of regional acts at Jake’s Music Festival plus shows by The Bangups, Seabird, Scott Pellegrom & Kevin Kozel, Nathan Kalish and Teddy Geiger.
This week’s Local Spins Artist Spotlight shines on a Grand Rapids folk-rock trio which blends the voices of a seasoned singer-songwriter and a classically trained vocalist. (Podcast, video)
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The unique Interlochen venue in northern Michigan hosts more than two dozen stars – from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Buddy Guy – with tickets on sale April 18. And Hoxeyville returns in mid-August to the Manistee National Forest.
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Returning will be CAKE, Lyle Lovett, The Beach Boys, O.A.R., Five for Fighting and Sheryl Crow, but most acts are new to Meijer Gardens. See the full schedule; ticket presale for members begins April 26.
Saturday’s anniversary show at Wealthy Theatre will showcase eight eclectic local acts while raising money for, and raising awareness of, juvenile diabetes research.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
A weekend launched with diverse and bracing folk at Calvin College, St. Cecilia Music Center and Founders Brewing was followed by heavy metal blasts at The Intersection and more as captured in Local Spins images.
Billy Strings & Don Julin, Jill Jack, Rick Chyme, Ralston Bowles and The Northern Skies turned Thursday’s Grand Rapids show into an uplifting and emotional showcase of Michigan’s diverse music.
Thursday night’s Fresh Folk finale at Grand Rapids’ St. Cecilia Music Center promises a dizzying array of eclectic Michigan performers and fans’ last chance to see The Northern Skies live.
As the community radio station’s spring fund drive revs up, WYCE unveils its “881 Essentials,” including about 50 local and regional bands and solo artists they play on-air.
Midwest Skies, The Outer Vibe, We Know Jackson, Uncommon Road, SoundIsRed, Triangulion and more to play two stages during the weekend’s diverse music showcase.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
The Crane Wives, Bennett and Lincoln County Process drew a hefty throng Friday for their rootsy strains, but there was more folk, soul, dubstep and rock in this weekend’s lively gallery mix, from Skankadank to UV Hippo.
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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.
National acts topped bills for br-r-rracingly unique West Michigan shows, but regional bands Mystic Dub, Root Doctor, Steve Hilger Band, An Dro and more were in the Local Spins photo mix, too
