Wednesday night saw two crowd-pleasing concerts 12 miles apart: Grand Rapids Symphony’s Picnic Pops at Millennium Park and O.A.R.’s sold-out affair at Meijer Gardens. Reviews, photos.
Millennium Park Pops: The Grand Rapids Symphony and crowd at the revived series’ new location. (Photo/Jamie Geysbeek)
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The Grand Rapids Symphony’s Picnic Pops is back.
Thirty years after the debut of the summer series at Cannonsburg Ski Area in 1995, five years after COVID led to the cancellation of the 2020 season, the series sponsored by Family Fare returned Wednesday in a new location.
For longtime fans, much was familiar with the incomparable Bob Bernhardt on the podium to lead the orchestra in an evening of star-spangled, all-American patriotic music by John Phillip Sousa and John Williams plus the traditional salute to men and women who’ve served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
What was different was a brand-new location in Millenium Park’s Secchia Meadows in Walker. It’s closer to downtown, it’s a beautiful setting, and the parking is so much easier.
You can check it out at 7:30 tonight (July 17) when the Grand Rapids Symphony returns for the second Picnic Pops concert by performing “Faithfully – The Music of Journey.” Details, tickets (starting at $49) here.
Back in July 1995, the Picnic Pops debuted on a steamy summer’s evening with temperatures in the mid-90s and not a hint of a breeze all evening. Wednesday’s sky was grim, and as Bernhardt led the orchestra in a jaunty performance of Sousa’s “Liberty Bell March” to open the show, raindrops began to fall. Fortunately, Mother Nature took pity on the Pops, and the cloudy skies soon disappeared, though occasional flashes of lightening could be seen throughout the show.
The Grand Rapids Symphony, which already has appeared this summer at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, was in fine form.
The brass section, particularly the trumpets, gave an extraordinary performance of John Williams’ “Liberty Fanfare.” The woodwind section was exquisite with film composer Jerry Goldsmith’s “The Generals,” a suite he fashioned from his scores for the 1977 movie “MacArthur” and the 1970 film “Patton.” The flutes and piccolos played magnificently on Williams’ “Midway March” from the 1976 motion picture “Midway.”
Impressive Vocals: Craig Irvin on stage. (Photo/Jamie Geysbeek)
Craig Irvin, a singer whose career includes 700 performances as Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast” at Walt Disney World, joined the orchestra for a medley of songs from “Oklahoma” plus “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha” and “They Call the Wind Mariah” from “Paint Your Wagon.” Songs tailor-made for the big voice that Irvin has.
Best of all was a set of Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs.” Irvin’s booming baritone was powerful on “The Boatman” and beautiful with “Simple Gifts.” With the cheeky “I Bought Me A Cat” – always a challenge to sing the right lyrics in the right order – he powered through and charmed the audience as well.
What came as a complete surprise at an orchestra concert was “Rawhide,” the theme from the 1950s TV show. Irvin’s voice cut like a knife through audience, and the orchestra sure seemed to be having fun with it.
The Grand Rapids Symphony’s principal pops conductor frequently refers to film composer John Williams as “my hero.” Bernhardt’s admiration for Williams’ music was obvious and evident when he led the orchestra in a haunting performance of “Hymn to the Fallen” from “Saving Private Ryan.”
Wednesday’s concert featured an audience sing-along: “America, the Beautiful,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” all were part of the fun.
For most of the years of the Picnic Pops, one of each summer’s programs ended with Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever” followed by a pyrotechnic display in silence. Wednesday’s show ended with a colorful aerial drone show accompanied by music including the beloved Sousa march.
The synchronized visual display, portraying fireworks, an eagle in flight, an American flag waving in the breeze, and much more was as stunning as the musical performance accompanying it. (View video below.) Given that you could listen to music as you watched the display, and that no household pets or wildlife were bothered in the least, this is the future of fireworks.
Hopefully, this is the future of the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Picnic Pops, too. – By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
PHOTO GALLERY: GR Symphony Picnic Pops at Millennium Park
Photos by Jamie Geysbeek
VIDEO: Grand Rapids Symphony Picnic Pops
O.A.R. BEATS RAIN FOR FAN-PLEASING, CARD-TOSSING SET
Shining Performance: O.A.R. on stage at Meijer Gardens on Wednesday. (Photo/Steve Baran)
Nearly three decades after forming in Rockville, Md., O.A.R. has formed deep bonds with its fans, a dynamic clearly on display Wednesday night at the band’s annual return to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
There’s just something exceptional about witnessing a couple of thousand people sing along to every lyric of every song; clearly, this band meant everything to concertgoers. It was an honor to watch fans revel for an hour and forty-five minutes as O.A.R. — “Of a Revolution” — did their thing.
After an extra-early opening set from Grand Rapids keyboardist and singer Hannah Laine, O.A.R. kicked things off at 6:45 p.m. to get all their songs in before the sky opened up and doused the sold-out crowd. And the band wasted no time jumping into its brand of acoustic, reggae-shaded pop-rock.
Frontman Marc Roberge’s splendid vocals and Richard On’s supple guitar are always worth listening to, but songs such as “Back to One” were even more special with Mikel Paris’s bright piano bridges. Likewise, “Whose Chariot?”, playful, joyous and jazzy, was gilded by Jerry De Pizzo’s golden saxophone.
“About an Hour Ago” meandered dreamily through glossy rhythms and storytelling, while “Program Director” happily bopped into the band’s reggae vibes.
Of the fans’ enthusiasm, Roberge said, “That’s why we always come back; everyone is always in a good mood.”
Opening the Evening: Hannah Laine (Photo/Steve Baran)
The good mood held as the band sang a song requested by “a multitude,” according to the singer: “All Because of You” is frequently played as a ‘first dance’ at weddings. “People tell us all the time, ‘this song means so much to us in our world.’” If that is the O.A.R. song played at the beginning of a marriage, “Peace” is lyrically perfect for ten, twenty years later and beyond, with its emphasis on forgiveness and making things right. A vow renewal song, perhaps?
Fans cheered loudly when the band’s million-selling 2008 hit, “Shattered (Turn the Car Around),” began, and fired up again when they played “Hey Girl,” a song so beloved the band has included it on multiple albums. Believe the hype on that one–it was pure sunshine.
“City On Down,” from 1999’s “Soul Aflame” album, went for broke with a fusion of horns, bass, drums, keyboards, and guitar – a jam lover’s jam.
After the seamless inclusion of a U2 classic, “With Or Without You,” Roberge and company got nostalgic with “I Feel Home,” a song about reconnecting with longtime friends in a place that feels warm and safe, and familiar. It’s an anthem for reunions with people who knew you back when you maybe didn’t even know yourself. “Love and Memories,” with its mesmerizing guitar from On, had a similar wistful, dewy feel.
As the clouds overhead became darker and more foreboding, the band was ready to say goodbye, but not before launching into one of their most epic songs – the nine-minute-long “That Was a Crazy Poker Game.” In what’s become a tradition at the band’s shows, fans all over the amphitheater flung playing cards in the air, a confetti burst of aces, kings and queens.
It was a superfan thing to do, and many of these concertgoers were superfans. It didn’t go unnoticed by the band.
From writing songs in a Maryland basement to performing for fans in sold-out venues like FMG, O.A.R. doesn’t take a moment for granted. “Playing for you guys,” said Roberge, “means the world to us.” – By Lorilee Craker
PHOTO GALLERY: O.A.R., Hannah Laine at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Steve Baran
