From the Jammies to the Winter Beer Festival and beyond, the beer was flowing and bands were rocking, including The Concussions, Michigan Mark DePree, Deborah Kay & The Bluebloods, Jimmie Stagger and more.
Giant Crowds All Weekend: The Intersection was packed Friday for The Jammies, where The Crane Wives were among two dozen bands performing. (Photo/Spins on Music)
The Crane Wives’ gigging schedule the past few days says a lot about the diverse entertainment options available to Grand Rapids area music fans.
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The lovable, five-piece folk-rock outfit started things on an acoustic note Thursday night by playing the magnificent Royce Auditorium concert hall inside St. Cecilia Music Center for the Local Spins Live contemporary folk series (with Ben Zito playing an upright bass for the first time ever), followed that on Friday with a short-but-rousing, rocked-up set garbed in pajamas at The Intersection during WYCE-FM’s uber-crowded Jammie Awards show, and then headed outdoors under a tent at Fifth Third Ballpark on Saturday, bundled up in hats and coats, for the sold-out 2013 Winter Beer Festival that drew 6,000 microbrew fanciers.
Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg of West Michigan’s live music offerings during the final full weekend of February, as demonstrated by photos of performances shared here at Spins on Music.
A bevy of bands rollicked at the Jammies (including Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys who also played St. Cecilia), Michigan Mark DePree and a rotating cast of musical characters warmed up One Trick Pony and The Vincent Hayes Project cranked up sizzling blues at Rockford Brewing Co.
On Saturday, James Reeser & the Backseat Drivers uncorked their take on the blues outdoors, with The Concussions offering up a surf-styled beer-drinking soundtrack and The Fuzzrites their scrumptious garage rock indoors at the Winter Beer Festival, while bluesman Larry McCray filled in and filled up Billy’s Lounge for the West Michigan Blues Society’s Cabin Fever Blues Series. At the same time, rock singer-songwriter Pat McGee made an impressive return to Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake, and Deborah Kay & The Bluebloods delivered retro-soul to a packed house at Nick Fink’s in Comstock Park. And Jimmie Stagger finished off the weekend with the debut of his Sunday night blues jam at HopCat, attracting a host of local blues stars who sat in with the band.
Read the full Spins on Music story and view more photos from the Jammies here, with a recap and video of Thursday’s St. Cecilia Music Center concert here.
And take a gander at more fabulous photos of hat-bedecked participants in the Winter Beer Festival by Chris Clark of MLive.com here.
Heavenly Harmonies: Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury of The Crane Wives filled St. Cecilia Music Center on Thursday with acoustic charm. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)
Rockabilly Flavor: Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys on stage at St. Cecilia Music Center. (Photo/Spins on Music)
Blues Brews: The Vincent Hayes Project lit up Rockford Brewing Co. on Thursday. (Photo/Kristine Carpenter)
In a Hayes: Vincent Hayes (Photo/Kristine Carpenter)
Country, Blues and Rock: Michigan Mark DePree rolled out his “Aardvark-spiced” eclectic stew at One Trick Pony on Thursday. (Photo/Spins on Music)
Longjohn Folk Jam: The Northern Skies revved up a high-energy set in their underwear during The Jammies at The Intersection.
Big Winner: Blues/soul’s Blue Molly won three awards on Thursday and a share of a fourth.
Stache Emcee: Singer-songwriter Nicholas James Thomasma hosted bands in the front lounge.
Collaborative Karisa: Members of the Fauxgrass Quartet joined Karisa Wilson, center, and Garner at The Jammies.
Winning Couple: Alex and Ashley McGrath of Jammie Award-winning The Soil and The Sun.
WYCE Honchos: Organizers said it was smooth sailing at the Jammies, which drew more than 1,500 people.
Beer-Drenched Surf: The Concussions at the Winter Beer Festival. (Photo/Mic Carlson)
Bundled-Up Folk: The Crane Wives at Saturday’s Winter Beer Festival. (Photo/Delilah DeWylde)
Beer-Swilling Music: The Fuzzrites gave a garage-rock spin to the Winter Beer Fest. (Photo/Mic Carlson)
Backseat Blues: James Reeser at the Winter Beer Fest. (Photo/Delilah DeWylde)
Packed House: Deborah Kay & The Bluebloods in a post-Beer Fest show at Nick Fink’s. (Photo/Courtesy Mike Coon)
Making It Right: Virginia singer-songwriter Pat McGee returned to Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up on Saturday, drawing fans from as far away as Virginia and Chicago. (Photo/Kevin Reedy Photography)
Double Duty: Opener Patrick McAloon, who’s a member of the Pat McGee band, also performed at Seven Steps Up. (Photo/Kevin Reedy Photography)
Billy’s Blues: Detroit’s Larry McCray played Billy’s Lounge in Eastown on Saturday. (Photo/Pete Bruinsma)
Stagger’s Unusual Suspex: Jimmie Stagger on Sunday night launched a new blues jam at HopCat with Andy Ogrodzinski, Tim Cowart and Don Simmons. (Photo/Spins on Music)
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