New Orleans-born-and-bred multi-instrumentalist Troy Andrews and effervescent Orleans Avenue enraptured a sold-out Meijer Gardens on Wednesday with virtuosity and Big Easy spirit. Review, photos.
Exuberance and a Good Party Mix: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at Meijer Gardens. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO GALLERY
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Where Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews goes, the party follows.
Wednesday evening, the festivities were concentrated in the sold-out amphitheater at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, with Trombone Shorty and his incredible musical krewe lighting up the stage for nearly two hours of effusive Crescent City-style jazz blended with funk, soul, pop and hip hop.
Trombone Shorty consistently has drawn a rapt, capacity crowd at the popular outdoor venue, lured in, no doubt by his reputation for delivering a show that combines both complexity in instrumentation and accessibility of style.
His shows are the sort that could be equally enjoyed by your old-school-jazz-loving dad, your freewheeling/easily-bored toddler, and all ages in between, as evidenced by the crowd at Wednesday’s outing.
Fist-Pumping Fun: The scene at the amphitheater on Wednesday. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
With a set list of roughly a dozen numbers — including a few medleys — Andrews and Orleans Avenue kept between-song banter to a minimum. Save for a few friendly shout-outs to Grand Rapids, band intros and a little love for New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, messages were delivered primarily by way of instrument or vocals.
If forced to pinpoint a highlight, it would be hard to miss with “Here Come the Girls” or “Hurricane Season” (try listening to that without joining in and throwing a fist up at all of the “Hey!”s). But, if we’re honest, it all kind of nicely jumbles and bumps together, just like a good party mix should.
Opener DJ Logic’s relentlessly upbeat delivery of funk, old-school hip hop and soul set the tone for an energetic evening of dancing, breeziness and fun.
PHOTO GALLERY: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, DJ Logic at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Anthony Norkus
