The January chart featuring the Michigan artists receiving the most radio airplay at WYCE also included Mystic Dub, The Crane Wives and Crystal Trench. Listen to tracks from all of the releases.
The Lasso & The Go Rounds, Jennifer Westwood & The Handsome Devils find chart success. (The Lasso photo by Apollo Catlin)
SCROLL DOWN FOR A HOT TOP 5 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Historically, Detroit has unleashed a flood of influential figures in music — icons of rock, soul, hip hop and techno.
But the current scene’s lesser-known artists are making an impact, too.
Take producer and multi-instrumentalist The Lasso (Andy Catlin) or soulful and bluesy, alt-country rocker Jennifer Westwood and her band, The Handsome Devils.
Recordings by both artists made their debut on the Local Spins Hot Top 5 Chart for January, representing the albums by Michigan acts receiving the most radio airplay for the month at Grand Rapids’ WYCE (88.1 FM).
The Lasso soared to No. 1 with his psychedelic and spacey collaboration with Kalamazoo’s The Go Rounds, “Petal Steel,” a musically adventurous project dedicated to the memory of Ben Parsons.
“I was an original member of The Go Rounds way back in 2009,” Catlin told Local Spins. “Like old friends, we got together and did the thing we became friends over: creating original music.
“Having an old collaboration come back to life with a whole new energy makes me feel happy and excited about the music life. I’m always excited for the opportunity to pair my sounds with creative vocalists and lyricists. Graham (Parsons of The Go Rounds) was really able to realize some awesome feelings over the instrumentation.”
As for attracting attention from radio programmers and listeners, Catlin feels “gratitude — there’s no greater gift to a musician than ears to their sounds.”
The Lasso — with a full-length solo vocal album set for release in March — plays with the Jordan Hamilton Trio at The Livery in Benton Harbor on March 7, a Grand Rapids house concert on March 8 and Northfield Mandolins in Marshall on March 9. The Lasso and Parsons also plan to perform the “Petal Steel” album at Parsons’ Farm Block festival in the Upper Peninsula in August.
Westwood & The Handsome Devils’ 2024 album, “Mad Man’s World,” meanwhile, came in at No. 3 on the Hot Top 5 Chart, just behind West Michigan reggae band Mystic Dub’s “International Bird.”
“This news surprised and elated me. It has been an arduous stretch for us,” Westwood said of the chart success, noting that her husband and guitarist Dylan Dunbar was forced to have surgery to correct “a severely crushed ulnar nerve” in 2023 which required a year for recovery and prevented the band from performing.
“Mad Man’s World”
Instead, the band compiled some of the songs for “Mad Man’s World” from a collection of more than two dozen that were initially slated to be released as three different albums. She released the 10-song project last June.
“I had many moments where I quietly considered throwing in the towel and not releasing the album,” said Westwood, who describes herself as “a tourist in the Americana world” and her music as “rock ‘n’ roll with honky-tonk soul.”
“It is a great encouragement to be thought of by peers in Grand Rapids that I haven’t met and I am so grateful for every ounce of support.”
Indeed, the band now is “back to performing with some regularity,” and will be part of the WYCE Jammie Awards show on Feb. 28 at The Intersection in Grand Rapids.
“I was absolutely thrilled with the invite,” Westwood said, noting the band also will perform at Odd Fellow Concert Lounge in Wyandotte on Feb. 15 and Manchester Underground Music & Arts in Manchester on March 15.
Rounding out the Hot Top 5 Chart for January: mega-popular alt-rock/folk-rock band The Crane Wives’ latest album, “Beyond Beyond Beyond,” and dark-wave artist Crystal Trench’s debut project, “Write the Things Which You Have Seen.” Listen to tracks from all of the releases below.
LOCAL SPINS HOT TOP 5 ON SPOTIFY: January 2025
Listen: Mystic Dub, “All Love,” “One Day in Paradise”
Copyright 2025, Spins on Music LLC
