Winter Wheat, Earthwork Music Collective Tour, Dead Prez: Weekend Photo Gallery (Jan. 9-11)

More than two dozen acclaimed Michigan acts played two venues — The Intersection and Founders Brewing — within a block of each other Saturday, sparking huge crowds and memorable performances. (Photos, review, video)

 

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There’s something deep-down irresistible about the sound of a fiddle, the resonance of an acoustic guitar, the thump of a standup bass, the percussive magic of a banjo, the melodic whine of an accordion, the distinctive charm of a mandolin.

There’s also something downright spellbinding about these instruments when they’re in the hands of masterful musicians — and even more captivating when these musicians pool their talents for rare collaborative displays that showcase the power of roots music, from bluegrass to folk, from Celtic to Cajun, from country to rockabilly.

That was the theme on Saturday in Grand Rapids with two events that drew gleeful, mammoth crowds, with more than two dozen highly praised Michigan acts playing within a block of each other.

More than 900 people flocked to the day-long Winter Wheat celebration of traditional music and dance at The Intersection, where 15 acts performed in the main showroom and The Stache (front lounge) in the sixth annual fundraiser for the Wheatland Music Organization.

“Great turnout,” gushed organizer Bear Berends of the Blue Water Ramblers as hundreds of dancers circled the wooden dance floor to the Cajun and Zydeco strains of the Benzie Playboys early Saturday evening. The dancers — some slow, some fast, some young, some old, all smiling — skipped and twirled on the portable floor brought in especially for the event from Central Michigan University.

The event boasted a pair of milestone performances: the reunion of Cabbage Crik, a West Michigan bluegrass/country/swing institution popular in the 1970s, and guitarist Fred Willson’s final performance with the Celtic band An Dro. Both drew boisterous and ultra-ardorous crowds for their evening sets.

“It’s great to see some familiar faces out there,” said band member Don “Buck” Lemke. “It’s good to get together every 30 years or so.”

And good to see the loving camaraderie of old revived on stage, something that propelled An Dro’s magical set in the front lounge, where an elbow-to-elbow, wall-to-wall crowd hooted and hollered and cheered every moment (including performances by Irish step dancers).

The day was filled with roots music of every texture and stripe: Hawks and Owls (which delivered an in-studio performance Friday on Local Spins on WYCE), Ruth & Max Bloomquist, Palooka Brothers, Fauxgrass, Dunuya Drum and Dance, Dan Seabolt, Josh Rose, Red Sea Pedestrians, Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys and, in what may have been the most rousing performance of the night: Traverse City bluegrass duo Billy Strings and Don Julin, accompanied by standup bassist Kevin Gills. (Check out some video highlights of Winter Wheat below.)

Just down the street, another inspiring display of camaraderie and collaboration unfolded at Founders Brewing, where more than a dozen members of the Earthwork Music “family” performed as part of the collective’s annual winter tour. (After playing Kalamazoo on Thursday, the collective was forced to cancel its Friday show in Traverse City due to nasty winter weather conditions, but will reschedule that show for April. The musicians play Ann Arbor’s The Ark tonight.)

Starting with an audience-engaging, full-ensemble rendition of Seth Bernard’s “Turkeys in the Rain,” the affection these artists have for one another shined through all of the performances as each act played a few of his or her own songs backed by various configurations of Earthwork musicians: Micah Ling, Joe Reilly, Bernard, Red Tail Ring Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys (who move to Nashville later this month), Dede and the Dreamers, Gifts or Creatures, Max Lockwood, Samantha Cooper and Ralston Bowles.

The same night in Eastown, another West Michigan band, Grand Rapids’ Thirsty Perch Blues Band, was putting on a blistering performance of its own as it unveiled its brand new album, “Live for Today,” for a dance-happy bunch at Billy’s Lounge. The group highlighted some special guests during the show, even bringing singer Kathy LaMar on stage at one point, much to the delight of fans gathered at Billy’s.

Meanwhile, Dead Prez launched the weekend with its return to The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, unfurling its rap for a hefty crowd.

Earlier in the week, the South of Wealthy Trio — Benjamin Darcie, Alexander Atkin and Dan Rickabus — unleashed a rare performance as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays at SpeakEZ Lounge series. This Wednesday, the series spotlights singer-guitarist Eric Engblade and Friends.

And the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill on Friday revved things up with Slumlord Radio, Stone Clover, American Zombie Inquisition and The Sailor Kicks.

THE LOCAL SPINS WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY (Jan. 11, 2015)
Winter Wheat photos by Anthony Norkus
Billy Strings & Don Julin photos by Anthony Norkus, Anna Sink, Kristine Carpenter
Earthwork Music photos by Anna Sink
Dead Prez photos by Katy Batdorff
Tip Top photos by Mary Boot

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WINTER WHEAT: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

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