West Michigan concert guide: Wynton Marsalis, Soul of the City, Ralston & Peter Mulvey, Labor Fest

West Michigan concert hoopla continues in earnest as Labor Day approaches with Grand Rapids’ Soul of the City, Wynton Marsalis, Ralston and more.

Ralston & Friends, Peter Mulvey:
Tuesday Evening Music Club
6 p.m. Tuesday
Regular Meijer Gardens admission ($12 adults; discounts for children, seniors)

Wynton Marsalis
7 p.m. Wednesday
This show is sold out.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Township

 

Raise your hand if you can’t believe summer is almost over. No tears, now. Labor Day weekend is fast approaching, but the outdoor live music scene keeps thundering along and September’s concert offerings promise to extend summer’s musical sunshine for at least another month. And, of course, there’s football. But as for this week’s music picks …

This is a series that likely needs no introduction: For about a decade, the Tuesday Evening Music Club has elevated local and regional acts of every ilk at Meijer Gardens’ outdoor amphitheater, a mission of sorts for Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Ralston Bowles who came up with the concept. (Read more about the series and Bowles, last week’s Spins on Music artist of the week, here.)

Bowles brings in a host of musical stars for the last installment of each year’s series, so this week’s show starts an hour early, around 6 p.m. The Sweet J band will be on hand, along with renowned singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey and other guests.

(I’ll be there, too, so stop over and say hello, and I’ll give you a dandy Spins on Music sticker for your bumper, refrigerator, doghouse or even your spouse’s forehead, as John Prine once sang.)

The day after Meijer Gardens closes out its Tuesday Evening Music Club, it bids adieu to the final show of its summer concert series with a brilliant instrumental display – a sold-out show featuring jazz icon Wynton Marsalis, a multi-Grammy-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter, composer and bandleader.

Both of these series have made this the busiest season in Meijer Gardens history and they’re both closing out on a high note.

Lakeside, Midnight Star, V.I.C. (“Wobble”), One Way, Donald Kinsey, Big Daddy Fox:
Soul of the City
4-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Free general admission; $10 VIP seating
Rosa Parks Circle, Grand Rapids

Things will wobble, get funky and ooze plenty of soul this weekend on Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids. An expanded, three-day Soul of the City festival has a returned after a hiatus of several years, bringing more than two dozen national and local stars to the stage, including classic funk act Lakeside and R&B’s Universal Nubian Voices (Friday night), R&B’s Men at Large and R&B/funk band Midnight Star (Saturday) and R&B/funk’s One Way featuring Al Hudson and rapper V.I.C. of “Wobble” fame (Sunday night). Bluesman Donald Kinsey of Grand Rapids and Big Daddy Fox of Muskegon also are on the weekend bill along with Ray Townsend, Yolanda Lavender and Nick Washburn.

This year’s city-sponsored African-American festival is aimed at raising awareness and funds for the Buster Mathis Foundation, which promotes anti-bullying education and violence intervention for children. Proceeds from $10 VIP tickets sales will support the cause; tickets are available online through Star Tickets here or by calling 800-585-3737.

The festival also features food, refreshments and a health and wellness fair, plus the debut of an anti-bullying song, “The Bully Buster Song: 4-1-3 Peek-A-Boo” by youngster Donte Young Jr. at 3:40 p.m. Sunday.

Hey, according to The Urban Daily of Houston, V.I.C. earlier this month “rocked downtown Houston with his 2011 hit single ‘Wobble’ and set a record for Houston’s largest line dance party with over 6,000 people wobbling down the streets of downtown Houston,” so you can expect quite the party on Sunday night.

Enter the Haggis
8 p.m. Friday
$22 advance, $25 day of show ($44-$125 for sofa, table seating)
Seven Steps Up, Spring Lake

This Canadian Celtic- and world music-infused folk-rock band has cultivated an intense following for good reason: The five-piece Enter the Haggis tours incessantly, building fans with its inspiring performances of its “reinvented” rock.

The band currently is touring behind its latest album, “Whitelake,” but is mounting a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to record its next project “entirely inspired by the headlines and stories in one issue” of Toronto’s The Globe and Mail newspaper. (The songs are written based on the March 30, 2012 newspaper with the album set to be released exactly a year later, on March 30, 2013.) As a longtime newspaper journalist, this has me very intrigued to be sure. Learn more about that, and how to contribute, here.

True Story, Audio Blue, Kari Lynch Band, Mr. Mammoth, Lazy Blue Tunas:
Honey Creek Duathlon
11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday (Labor Day)
Honey Creek Inn, Cannonsburg

Consider this an end-of-summer bash with a diverse blend of activities and entertainment in a really cute community. Yes, the Cannonsburg Duathlon on Labor Day features a run-bike-and-run event, but it also boasts a day of live music, children’s activities, a community blood drive, horseshoe tournament and, yes, beer and food.

The live music by some top-notch local bands kicks off around 11:30 a.m. in “downtown” Cannonsburg; the event raises money for Feed the Children and North Kent Community Services. Get more details here.

 

UNDER THE RADAR PICKS:

Nervous But Excited
8 p.m. Tuesday
$12
Salt of the Earth, Fennville

This Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor duo of Kate Peterson and Sarah Cleaver plays “pleasantly aggressive folk” music, so I know they’ll put on an entertaining show at Salt of the Earth’s final Tuesday House Concert of August. Peterson once told me the group embraces “different sounds and vibes that go in many different directions.”

Get details here.

Matt Giraud
8:30 p.m. Tuesday
$5 (minimum donation)
www.stageit.com

Consider this a virtual concert. A fab new idea in terms of giving performers exposure and giving fans an opportunity to experience a concert from home. Kalamazoo singer-songwriter and “American Idol” finalist Matt Giraud will play a show on StageIt TV at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Just go to stageit.com to sign up to watch the concert right on your computer. You can choose to pay whatever you’d like in terms of a donation to the artist, with a $5 minimum. Here’s the link: http://www.stageit.com/matt_giraud/matt_giraud_live_from_your_computer/12212

Jimmie Stagger
9:30 p.m. Saturday
$5
Billy’s Lounge, Eastown in Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids blues icon Jimmie Stagger returns to Billy’s Lounge on Labor Day weekend with a show sure to please anybody with a hankering for authentic blues. (BTW, Billy’s hosts Soulstice on Thursday night and Grand Rapids Soul Club on Friday, $5 cover for each show.)

Back to School Bash 2012
9 p.m. Saturday
$5
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids

This is the perfect post-Soul of the City stopover: Presented by Truth Tone Records, it’s an R&B/urban soul display featuring DJ Conscious, DJ VH, Imagry, Vokab, J Exclusive and Yolanda Lavender. Get ticket information here. (It’s a much different, rootsy show on Friday at The Pyramid Scheme with Gunnar & the Grizzly Boys, Nathan Kalish & the Wildfire and The Legal Immigrants performing, $5 21-and older, $7 18-20.)

Mick Lane, The Outer Vibe, Mustang Band, Krystal Klear, Jimmie Stagger Band: West Michigan Labor Fest
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday (Labor Day)
Free
Ah Nab Awen Park in front of the Gerald R. Ford Museum, Grand Rapids

Celebrate Labor Day downtown with the return of a family festival that always presents some riveting bands, family games, food, beer, arts and crafts booths, labor exhibits, classic cars, and free admission all day to the Ford Museum. More details at the Labor Fest website.

Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com