With a ‘massive’ new project under way, Grand Rapids’ favorite vintage country/outlaw country outfit is set to jump-start autumn Sept. 17 with help from pedal steel’s Justin Wierenga. Learn more at Local Spins.
Kicking Off Local Spins Wednesday with a Big Recording Project on the Way: The Bootstrap Boys (Photo/Anna Sink)
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One week from today, The Bootstrap Boys will launch a new season of Michigan musical magic at SpeakEZ Lounge.
And frontman Jake “Big Jake Bootstrap” Stilson says while it’s been a different experience performing since guitarist Nick Alexander passed away suddenly from heart complications, the vintage country and outlaw country band has carried on impressively with help from a bevy of friends and fellow Michigan musicians.
“We have to firstly give thanks to the very healthy and helpful local music scene in West Michigan,” Stilson said.
“We have played with seven different musicians so far this year, that have stepped up to try and fill the void. Yes, it’s sad. Yes, it’s different. It will always be a bit of both going forward. Having great experiences with new players? It doesn’t draw away from the grief, but it does inject a nice dose of ‘sticktuitiveness,’ and I know Nick would not have wanted us to not give up at this stage in the game.”
In that vein, “the one and only Justin Wierenga will be showcasing his pedal steel and six-string prowess” with The Bootstrap Boys when they play the first fall show of the Local Spins Wednesdays series at SpeakEZ Lounge at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17. Details here.
Stilson previously has said that all of the band members are “now standing on the shoulders of the work that (Alexander) put into this project with us.”
Jake Stilson, aka Big Jake Boostrap (Photo/Anna Sink)
The Bootstrap Boys – who won the WYCE Jammie Award for “artist of the year” two years in a row – have lots on tap in coming months as well.
“We have been and are currently working on a massive project, in our hometown studio (Cold War Studios) with fabulous recording engineer Rick Johnson,” Stilson revealed. “We are bringing in all our friends and have even made some new ones in the process. We are adding fiddle, steel, organ, piano, harmonica, etc., and feeling great about all of it.”
Stilson added that the band is “going all out” for this project, “spending the extra time to fill in the blanks, and bring the final product to where we’ve always imagined it could be.”
The band will also perform Sept. 26 at the “ArtPrize Halftime Show” at Grand Rapids Sixth Street Park, Sept. 27 at the Wealthy Street Block Party, Nov. 1 in a “Day of the Dead Benefit for Nicky” at Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, and Dec. 21 for the band’s annual “Winter Solstice Party” at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill.
Stilson also was interviewed for the March 28 edition of Local Spins on WYCE – which spotlights Michigan music at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org, and at 7 p.m. Saturdays on Interlochen Public Radio . The Bootstrap Boys featured a brand new track, their cover of Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky,” as well as “Strong Drinks for Heavy Hearts,” during that show which also featured new music from The Go Rounds, Hannah Rae, Frankie Ballard, Mellow Out, Maxwell Rincon, Zero Sun, Planet D Nonet, Coley Kennedy and DJ Holographic. Listen to it below.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (3/28/25)
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