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.
Artist Spotlights · Features · Videos
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.
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.
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.
Breaking music news · Features
St. Cecilia won’t host an ArtPrize musicians’ showcase this fall, but more busking stations will be added for performers.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
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)
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
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.
Breaking music news · Concert announcements
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.
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.
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
Julia Yob and writing/directing partner Ian Mockerman’s two-hour production about the foibles of laboring in food service launches a three-night run Friday at Wealthy Theatre. And seeds of the musical can be traced to ‘inspiring’ participation in a local songwriters’ alliance.
From the dubstep mania of Datsik to the funky, political hip hop of The Coup to the indie-rock of North Atlantic Drivt to a Tom Petty tribute, Grand Rapids boasted such a busy Thursday/Friday of music that Local Spins had to post this special batch of images.
Local Spins hit the road to cover the Ann Arbor Folk Festival (with The Crane Wives and Appleseed Collective opening), but there were some sizzling West Michigan shows, too.
Concert reviews · Weekend Photo Gallery
Seth Glier, Midwest Skies, White Rabbit, Tom DeVries, North Atlantic Drift and The Crane Wives also rock the latest batch of Local Spins concert images. (Photos, videos)
Breaking music news · Upcoming shows
WYCE has chosen two dozen regional acts — indie-rock to blues to jazz and way more — to play the 15th annual Jammie Awards show at The Intersection on Feb. 21.
Artist Spotlights · Upcoming shows
Nelson and Sala have taken different musical paths but share a passion for writing compelling songs. (Video, podcast)
As we rock into 2014, Local Spins takes a look at the top music stories on the website from the past year: the posts and features that drew the most interest from readers.
Michigan writers, musicians and readers offer their picks for the best albums and best songs of the past year, from Bradley to Beyonce to Bipolar Sunshine.
This Local Spins column originally ran on Labor Day and generated more comments than any other story in 2013. So, do you know how little your favorite local musician or band is probably being paid?
The rootsy singer-songwriter is back in Michigan and back with The Wildfire, playing Rockford Brewing Friday. A European tour and new studio album lie ahead.
‘Twas the weekend before Christmas and the house was rocking around Grand Rapids, as evidenced by the photo and video roundup at Local Spins.
Artist Spotlights · Upcoming shows
More than a dozen years in the making, “the glendanles brand” album gets unveiled for the first time in Thursday night shows at Louie’s Bar & Rocket Lounge. (Podcast, video)
Starting with saxophonist Phil Denny’s holiday jazz gem, Local Spins’ Christmas shopping list of new releases includes Gifts or Creatures, Knight and Guild, Maybe Next Time and Lazy Genius.
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.
A solo artist who also performs with Jen Sygit and the rootsy Americana band Lincoln County Process, Corbin is a vibrant product of Michigan’s folk music scene.
Breaking music news · Features
The song by Bowles and the band Bennett debuted this morning. Fans can download it with a donation to the Salvation Army’s Christmas campaign; get the link here. Free Baker[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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. […]
The seasoned, award-winning troubadours’ duo tour made a Grand Rapids tour stop on Wednesday, filling the evening with anecdotes and acoustic artistry. (Photo gallery, review) One dynamic roots duo[…]
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)[…]
Led by frontman Kurt Neumann, the roots-rock band’s Wealthy Theatre debut made for a triumphant series-opening show. (Review, photos) Take your pick of lines from BoDeans’ songs to describe[…]
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 dynamic Grand Rapids singer won the pop/electronic category in this year’s ArtPrize song contest hosted by St. Cecilia Music Center while promoting her fifth album and crisscrossing the country[…]
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[…]
ArtPrize’s first weekend, Founders Brewing’s grand reopening, Earthwork Harvest’s annual gathering and a historic marathon rap: All of it brought a bracing bevy of live music to Grand Rapids and[…]
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[…]
