West Michigan’s week of live music boasted a bevy of concerts from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo, from national touring acts to regional stars, from long-running benefits to band battles to album-release shows. The images and videos at Local Spins.
Feedback Fervor: Packed houses like this one at Founders Brewing were the theme for shows across West Michigan. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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It was a week featuring national tour stops in West Michigan by OK Go, Julia Michaels, Boney James, Twin Peaks, Mason Jennings and Talib Kweli (who headlined The Pyramid Scheme’s final eighth anniversary party in Grand Rapids on Saturday).
Spectacle: OK Go delivered that and more on Sunday night. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
There were album-release shows from The Go Rounds, The Accidentals and others, with crowd-pleasing appearances by M. Sord, Basic Comfort and Olivia & the Aquatic Troupe.
There were band contests, including the first night of the Cowpie Music Festival’s Pathway to the Pasture at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill and the first night of the B93 Birthday Bash’s Battle to the B93 Bash at Elevation inside The Intersection.
And there was the milestone Feedback 25, celebrating a quarter-century of rock for a cause at Founders Brewing Co. Let’s start there, with a charity benefit for which Local Spins served as co-host on Sunday.
FEEDBACK 25 PACKS FOUNDERS FOR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL FUN
Rocking for a cause, Feedback celebrated its 25th anniversary at Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids on Sunday with lively sets by three West Michigan bands while raising more than $3,500 for Access of West Michigan’s anti-poverty programs.
The evening began with rock ‘n’ roll veterans and longtime Feedback hosts The Honeytones. With Local Spins’ very own John Sinkevics holding down keys and vocals, attendees were in for a rare treat, as Sinkevics bobbed and swayed while hammering away at the keyboard, with Charley Honey on guitar, Matt Fouts on bass, Tom Taylor on drums and Susan Beerens on lead vocals.
Songbirds: Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury of The Crane Wives on stage Sunday at Founders Brewing. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
The band’s set included a wide range of originals and covers, and boasted a series of special guests and Feedback alumni, including singer Hannah Rose Graves, harmonica player Hank Mowery, guitarists Morgan Foster, Tommy Schichtel (The Concussions) and Andy Willey (The Willeys) and members of The Crane Wives.
Next to take the stage, The Concussions suited up in their signature skull masks and let their instruments do the talking. Blazing surf-rock abounded. The group jumped from one classic-sounding riff to another, and displayed a playful set full of stellar musicianship.
To close out the evening, local favorites The Crane Wives, unfurled a riveting set. The folk-rock darlings stomped and bellowed songs from their anthemic catalogue. The group even showcased new material that proved to be even more groove-heavy and dance-ready.
Throughout the afternoon and early evening, representatives of Access conducted a silent auction and raffles, and offered information about the organization’s work in “cultivating solutions to poverty,” coordinating food pantries for needy families and other programs. Get more information and donate online at accessofwestmichigan.org. – Ricky Olmos
PHOTO GALLERY: Feedback 25 at Founders Brewing (Sunday)
The Crane Wives, The Concussions, The Honeytones with special guests
Photos by Anthony Norkus and John Sinkevics
VIDEO: WZZM TV 13 Report
PHOTO GALLERY: OK Go at Kalamazoo State Theatre (Sunday)
Photos by Derek Ketchum
PHOTO GALLERY: Talib Kweli at The Pyramid Scheme (Saturday)
Photos by Katy Batdorff
