Start your week with a look at the first live music events in months at bars, breweries and eateries across West Michigan — amid stringent health warnings that we must follow the rules to stay safe.
Excitement that Outweighs the Concerns: Drew Behringer plays two West Michigan shows this week. (Courtesy Photo)
SCROLL DOWN FOR THIS WEEK’S CONCERT GUIDE. Have a show to add to this week’s listings? Email date, time, artist and venue to liz@localspins.com
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After nearly three months of silence, live music is slowly making its way back to some bars, restaurants and smaller venues across West Michigan.
Despite health officials’ worries about the inherent risks of spreading the coronavirus through performances and public gatherings, a smattering of businesses are anxious to get back to a new “normal” by hosting solo acts and bands, mostly outdoors and with limited capacity.
Others are taking a slower course, with plans for resuming live performances later this month or in July.
So, Local Spins’ Big List Concert Guide returns this week in a new format as “The Not-So-Big List” – a quick summary of some live shows taking place in the region.
With it comes a strong caution about wearing masks, continuing to social-distance, limiting capacity to 50 percent and otherwise observing rules set forth by state health officials. Get more guidance in this Local Spins interview with Kent County Health Department Director Adam London.
LIVE PERFORMANCES AND MORE LIVE-STREAMS, TOO
For veteran West Michigan performers such as Drew Behringer, who plays his first live show in months at Grand Haven’s Kirby House on Thursday, “the excitement far outweighs the concerns” in returning to the stage.
“It will be great to play a gig in a location other than my own basement, and not have to worry about Internet connections, lighting and camera setups,” he told Local Spins.
“I don’t have any real concerns about COVID, given the fact that both locations I’m playing at this week, The Score and Kirby House, both have stages that keep me a good distance away from others. … I’m sure that they’ll be taking all the steps that can to ensure the safety of their staff and patrons though.”
Myron Elkins: Playing in Cadillac on Saturday. (Photo/Eric Stoike)
Behringer noted he plans to wear a mask when loading in equipment and during breaks.
Many venues certainly plan to institute tight restrictions regarding face masks and social-distancing upon reopening, but some also are allowing patrons to make their own decisions and letting the chips fall where they may.
“I am not the police, so at some point, people need to use common sense,” a spokesperson for Saugatuck’s Wicks Park Bar & Grille told Local Spins. The bar right now is hosting outdoor shows.
Of course, safe, stay-at-home, live-stream shows are still taking place this week, starting with two Monday shows: “WYCE @ Wealthy Theatre” starring Hayes Griffin and Nate Roberts at 6 p.m., and Desmond Jones doing its first full-band live-stream at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill online here.
Also on the live-stream docket this week: Local Spins Wednesday at SpeakEZ Lounge starring Drinking Mercury at 8 p.m. Wednesday on the Local Spins Facebook page, and Rockford Brewing’s “Virtual Start of Summer” celebration with a host of different bands at 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday online here.
See a full roster of live-stream shows by Michigan artists in our Viral Virtual Venues Live-Stream Concert Guide. Or, if you’re an artist with an upcoming live-stream, add the info online here.
If your venue or your band has a live, in-person performance to add to this concert listing, email the information to liz@localspins.com.
MONDAY
• Iron Town outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, 6 p.m. Monday
TUESDAY
• Coty Bouchard outdoors on the patio at Noto’s at the Bil-Mar in Grand Haven, 6 p.m. Tuesday
• BluJay Bridge outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, 6 p.m. Tuesday
WEDNESDAY
• Oxymorons outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, 6 p.m. Wednesday
THURSDAY
• Drew Behringer at Kirby House in Grand Haven, 6 p.m. Thursday
• Project 90 outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, 6 p.m. Thursday
• OFB3 (Out of Favor Boys trio) at O’Duffy’s Pub in Kalamazoo, 8 p.m. Thursday
• Open-Mic Night at Coyote Crossing Resort, 8593 S. 13 Road in Cadillac, 8 p.m. Thursday
FRIDAY
• Drew Behringer outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, noon Friday
• DJ Jay Vee spinning tunes outdoors at The B.O.B.’s grand reopening and pig roast at The B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids, 4 p.m. Friday (music starts at 6 p.m.)
• Bryan Scott Hammond at Sandy Point Beach House, 7175 Lakeshore Drive in West Olive, 5 p.m. Friday
• Tim Heenan in the beer garden/tent at Smyrna Bar & Restaurant, 5022 Whites Bridge Road in Smyrna, 5:30 p.m. Friday
• Trilogy outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, 6 p.m. Friday
• Corey Leonard at Wicks Park Bar & Grille in Saugatuck, 7 p.m. Friday
• Barenaked ’90s outdoors at Castle Brewing Co., 1310 West Washington St. in Greenville, 8 p.m. Friday ($10 tickets)
• Moonshot at Shots on the River on West River Drive in Belmont, 9 p.m. Friday
• Jessie Campbell at Twisted Bull Saloon, 3230 Eastern Ave SE in Grand Rapids, 9 p.m. Friday
SATURDAY
• Elijah Russ outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, noon Saturday
• Tim Heenan in the beer garden/tent at Smyrna Bar & Restaurant in Smyrna, 5:30 p.m. Saturday
• Moonshot outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, 6 p.m. Saturday
• John Shea Trio at Noto’s Old World Italian Dining, 6600 28th St. SE in Grand Rapids, 7 p.m. Saturday (Reservations for the Supper Club Dining Experience required)
• Tombo (Rockshop) at Wicks Park Bar & Grill in Saugatuck, 7 p.m. Saturday
• Dueling Pianos outdoors at Castle Brewing Co., 1310 West Washington St. in Greenville, 8 p.m. Saturday ($10 tickets)
• Myron Elkins playing Coyote Crossing Resort, 8593 S. 13 Road in Cadillac, 8 p.m. Saturday
• Sounds Familiar at River City Saloon in Grand Rapids, 9 p.m. Saturday
• Whiskey Bound at Twisted Bull Saloon, 3230 Eastern Ave SE in Grand Rapids, 9 p.m. Saturday
SUNDAY
• Nick DeKoff outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, noon Sunday
• Second Chances at Cedar Springs Brewing Co. in downtown Cedar Springs, noon Sunday
• Oregon Dreamchild outdoors at The Score, 5301 Northland Dr. NE in Grand Rapids, 6 p.m. Sunday
Have a show to add to this week’s Not-So-Big-List? Email liz@localspins.com.
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