The July music train rolled across W. Michigan this week, with a new GR music fest, national tour stops and local star fervor aplenty, from Domestic Problems to Stephen Marley — captured in photos.
Michigan ‘Hero’: Brian Vander Ark and The Verve Pipe on Saturday. (Photo/Joshua Tufts)
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More evidence of the post-COVID resurgence of live music was on full display across West Michigan this week with a plethora of outdoor concerts pumping up fans and even a brand new community music festival unfurling Saturday in Grand Rapids.
Taking place at Sullivan Field in the heart of Grand Rapids’ West Side, the inaugural Love Where You Live Community Festival showcased a diverse lineup spanning nearly every genre imaginable.
The family-friendly celebration, organized by Grand Rapids musicians Lady Ace Boogie and Ajax Stacks, was created to bring people together and encourage them to support local talent.
Love Where You Live: Aint Afraid on stage Saturday at Sullivan Field. (Photo/Holly Holtzclaw)
Launching at noon and continuing long into the night, a silent disco closed out the festivities. The latter half of the festival delivered feel-good hip-hop tracks from Detroit’s Aint Afraid, blues-inspired country from Rowdy Fingers & the Implications, hypnotic dream-rock from Hail Your Highness, funky pop-rock jams from JonPaul Wallace, and finally, an abbreviated-yet-energetic, no-barricade hip-hop set from Ajax Stacks.
“I think it’s a good thing because it brings the community together,” said attendee Michael Delaluz. “It’s a really nice, chill vibe. I’m sure the festival will only grow in popularity over the years.” – By Chelsea Whitaker
THE VERVE PIPE, HERE COME THE MUMMIES, STEEP CANYON RANGERS, REBEL EVES
While folks on Grand Rapids’ West Side were enjoying Love Where You Live, Grand Rapids-based, multi-platinum-selling alt-rock stars The Verve Pipe packed ’em in at Studio Park downtown for the Saturday edition of the Listening Lawn series hosted by Midtown.
Starting with “What Might Have Been” and “I Want All of You” (which also featured a nod to Peter Frampton’s “Do You Feel Like We Do”), Brian Vander Ark and his top-shelf bandmates led fans through a career retrospective, including “Photograph,” “Villains,” “Hero,” “Cup of Tea,” and of course, the fan-favorite-sing-along, “The Freshmen.”
Just down the street at The Intersection, another regional favorite from West Michigan that was formed in the 1990s, Domestic Problems, charmed fans with their upbeat catalog.
Country Duo: Maddie & Tae at The Intersection. (Photo/Eric Stoike)
Fans also packed Bell’s Brewery Beer Garden in Kalamazoo on Friday for the sold-out return of Nashville funk powerhouse Here Come the Mummies, with Grand Rapids’ own Desmond Jones getting the night started. (Check out the video and photo gallery below.)
Also on Friday, fans reveled in the country music duo of Maddie & Tae at
the Intersection in Grand Rapids (set list here), the bluegrass savvy of Steep Canyon Rangers for Listening lawn at Studio Park and the rockabilly/blues of Grand Rapids’ The Reverend Jesse Ray for Grand Haven Free Fridays at Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium.
Earlier in the week, The Rebel Eves super-trio and singer-songwriter Chloe Kimes played the Bell’s Brewery’s Back Room and New York’s rock/pop outfit Wheatus lit up The Pyramid Scheme. There was even a special Greta Van Fleet listening party for the Michigan rock band’s new album, “Starcatcher,” staged at Kalamazoo’s Green Light Music.
The weekend closed out with a sunshine-splashed appearance by reggae’s Stephen Marley and band at Bell’s Brewery Beer Garden in Kalamazoo.
Browse all the photo galleries below, plus check out separate Local Spins reviews and photos from these shows:
• Crescent City’s Trombone Shorty regales W. Mich. fans with energetic, funky spectacle
• Thursday Delights: Ben Folds, The Soul Rebels, La Furia Del Ritmo perk up Grand Rapids
• First Aid Kit fills Meijer Gardens amphitheater with healing folk-pop harmonies
PHOTO GALLERY: Love Where You Live Community Festival at Sullivan Field
Photos by Holly Holtzclaw
PHOTO GALLERY: The Verve Pipe at Studio Park
Photos by Joshua Tufts
PHOTO GALLERY: Domestic Problems at The Intersection
Photos by Eric Stoike
