It started early with The Indigo Girls at Meijer Gardens and continued through the weekend, with throngs revved up by the EDM music of Gramatik at The Intersection and acoustic magic at Wheatland in Mecosta County.
EDM Mania: Gramatik fired up a big Intersection crowd Friday. (Photo/Anthony Norkus Photography)
Proving definitively that Michiganders simply don’t want summer to end, we present Exhibit A: The Local Spins Weekend Photo Gallery.
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Whether embracing blue-sky filled revelry during Grand Rapids’ Celebration on the Grand or the remote wonders of the 40th annual Wheatland Music Festival in Remus, music mavens were out in full force.
That certainly was true at The Intersection, when Gramatik fired up a full house of EDM fans in photos captured by Anthony Norkus.
The Outer Vibe greeting fans after its Celebration on the Grand set on Friday. (Photo/Local Spins)
Outside, meanwhile, throngs were thronging for a host of local bands performing two different stages at Celebration on the Grand in downtown Grand Rapids, including: An Dro, Lazy Blue Tunas, The Outer Vibe, Mid-Life Crisis, Jim Shaneberger Band and Tetrad. Even buskers got into the act, with guitarist and Calvin College students Luke Sober and David Vander Haak entertaining passersby on Pearl Street (with a little mentoring from veteran singer-songwriter Ralston Bowles). Check out some video highlights from Friday’s musical offerings below.
Busking was just the tip of the iceberg entertainment-wise (with some of the youngest buskers I’ve ever seen) up at the 40th annual Wheatland Music Festival in Mecosta County where more than 10,000 folk and roots music fans filled the remote, rural site to catch performances by banjo phenom Bela Fleck and duo partner Gail Washburn, The Duhks, The Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Michigan native Rachael Davis (with husband/bassist Dominic John Davis), Michelle Chenard, Kitty Donahoe, The Revelers, and plenty more regaling a diverse crowd age-wise — from families with tiny tots to graying folk music vets.
I may have been more impressed by Wheatland than any music festival I’ve ever attended: It was well-organized, more laid-back and family-oriented than most, filled with gentle, happy and gracious souls and boasting top-notch roots musicians. The photos here are just a taste of what Wheaties experienced over the weekend; check out the full Local Spins photo gallery and video from Wheatland 2013 online here.
THE LOCAL SPINS WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY (9/8/13)
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
