It may be back-to-school week for many, but there are monster concerts and festivals to extend the summer, not to mention some bubbling-below-the-surface gems.
Celebrating 25 Year: Big Sandy
Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys,
Delilah DeWylde and The Lost Boys
7 p.m. Thursday
$10 advance, $12 day of show
Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, Grand Rapids
Between football, the start of a new school year and the temporary shutdown of the Founders Brewing taproom, some folks’ attention may be diverted this week from the normal musical mayhem. But rest assured, things are still rockin’ as September powers up.
Call it a mix of country boogie, rockabilly and Western swing if you will, it’s a blistering good time. And it draws a lively audience of devotees. Robert “Big Sandy” Williams launched this outfit in California 25 years ago and the crew of Fly-Rite Boys has played more than 3,000 shows since. In celebration of the band’s 25th anniversary, Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys recently released “What a Dream It’s Been,” a collection of the group’s favorite original songs.
They return to Grand Rapids for a rollicking show that will open with a record hop and a set by West Michigan’s own rockabilly queen, Delilah DeWylde and The Lost Boys. Ticket details online here. Oh, and Big Sandy and the boys are making the GR stop on their way up to the Wheatland Music Festival, where they’ll be revving things up all weekend. Get details for that below.
Mike Morgan
Mike Morgan with Hank Mowery & The Hawktones
7:30 p.m. Thursday
$5
The Intersection (The Stache), Grand Rapids
It’s been several years since Severn Records recording artist and Texas guitar-slinger Mike Morgan has played Grand Rapids, so this overdue appearance shapes up as a blistering display of “gritty blues” and soul, especially because West Michigan’s own Hank Mowery & The Hawktones will fill in as Morgan’s group, The Crawl, with bassist Patrick Recob, guitarist Troy Amaro, drummer John Large and pianist Chris Corey. Harp whiz Mowery – who filled in for The Crawl’s harmonica player Lee McBee in the late 1990s – is playing in support of his new album, “Account to Me,” a tribute to late harmonica ace Gary Primich. Get the rest of the lowdown at The Intersection website or Mowery’s site.
Morgan, who hasn’t toured extensively in recent years, is playing a series of Michigan shows this week, including the Delta Frost Blues Fest at Double JJ Resort in Rothbury on Friday (also featuring Big James & The Chicago Playboys and Sugar Blue) and Brighton’s Smokin’ Jazz & Barbecue Blues Festival on Saturday.
The Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls, Hannah Thomas
7 p.m. Thursday (gates open at 6 p.m.)
Concert is sold out
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Hannah Thomas
8 p.m. Friday
$18 advance, $22 day of show
Seven Steps Up, Spring Lake
Talk about the “Power of Two.” For 28 years, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have pumped out their earnest and fiery folk-rock for audiences that are as devoted to The Indigo Girls as any in the business. Their return to Meijer Gardens for yet another sold-out show makes for the perfect final salvo to close out the outdoor amphitheater’s busiest, most successful season yet. Ray, Saliers and their full band are in the midst of a jam-packed late summer/early fall tour that runs through late October, still promoting their 2011 release, “Beauty Queen Sister,” their 13th studio album.
Hannah Thomas
Fellow Georgia singer-songwriter Hannah Thomas, meanwhile, is billed as “rockin’ Americana with a soulful heart,” something which earned the artist accolades as the “best singer-songwriter” by Atlanta’s Jezebel Magazine. Ray has been quoted as saying that Thomas – whose touring behind her latest album “Goodbye on Wasted Time” – displays “the soul of old country, and that will always be there, but she’s also a diehard rocker with some punk thrown in the mix.” Those not fortunate enough to snag tickets to Meijer Gardens’ sold-out show are in luck: After opening for The Indigo Girls, Thomas plays the following evening at Spring Lake’s vibrant listening room, Seven Steps Up. Get ticket details online here.
Shinedown
Carnival of Madness with
Shinedown, Papa Roach
6 p.m. Friday
$45, $35
Allegan County Fair, Allegan
Florida hard rock act Shinedown has cultivated a devoted audience, releasing four studio albums since 2003, releasing hits such as “Second Chance,” and taking its “Carnival of Madness” tour on the road again. Also on the bill: Papa Roach, which has sold more than 20 million albums the past 20 years, and heavy metal’s In This Moment. Details and tickets online at the Allegan County Fair website.
Gramatik
Gramatik, Manic Focus, Exmag
9 p.m. Friday (doors open at 8 p.m.)
$17 advance, $20 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Electronic music’s Gramatik, considered a pioneer of the electro-soul/funk scene, makes a Grand Rapids stop as part of “The Age of Reason” fall tour and just a few days after New York’s Electric Zoo festival (which unfortunately got shut down a day early after two drug-related deaths). I got a chance to witness Gramatik at Electric Forest in Rothbury earlier this summer when he performed as Big GrizMatik with Griz and Big Gigantic in a much-buzzed-about show that drew thousands of gyrating, hyped-up fans, so I’m guessing things will be hopping at The Intersection on Friday. Also on the bill is Gramatik’s down-tempo live band side project Exmag.
Serita’s Black Rose
Grand Rapids Celebration on the Grand
5:15-11:30 p.m. Friday
3:30-11 p.m. Saturday
Free
Ah-Nab-Awen Park and Rosa Parks Circle, downtown Grand Rapids
This annual post-Labor Day celebration in downtown Grand Rapids features more than a dozen diverse bands on two stages plus Bangarang Circus, family entertainment and fireworks at dusk on Friday. Not only that, but there’s food from CitySen (City Flats Hotel), XO Asian Cuisine, Angel’s Thai Café, Vito’s Pizza, Grand Rapids Hot Dog Company, Cottage Bar, Mike’s Concessions and Donnie’s BBQ. Get more details online at the Celebration on the Grand website.
Here’s the complete band lineup, and tune into my Local Spins Live show at 10 a.m. Wednesday on News Talk 1340 AM when my guests will be members of Mid-Life Crisis, who are headlining the celebration on Friday night.
Jim Shaneberger
FRIDAY
Rosa Parks Circle
5:30 p.m. – Serita’s Black Rose
6:50 p.m. – Tetrad
8:10 p.m. – Jim Shaneberger Band
10 p.m. – Jimmie Stagger Band
Ah-Nab-Awen Park
5:15 p.m. – An Dro
6:20 p.m. – The Outer Vibe
7:25 p.m. – The Lazy Blue Tunas
8:30 p.m. – Mid Life Crisis
The Mines
SATURDAY
Rosa Parks Circle
3:30 p.m. – 13th Hour
4:40 p.m. – Troll For Trout
5:50 p.m. – Splice
7 p.m. – FLEDfive
8:10 p.m. – The Cones
9:30 p.m. – The Mines
Ah-Nab-Awen Park (Family Day activities)
Noon – 61Syx Teknique Street Dance Academy
12:45 p.m. – Live. Dance. Move. Zumba.
2 p.m. – Bangarang Circus
3 p.m. – Bangarang Circus
3:25 p.m. – Live. Dance. Move. Zumba.
3:55 p.m. – Ducky Dash Down the Grand River
4:30 p.m. – The Flying Tigers
5:15 p.m. – 61Syx Teknique Street Dance Academy
6 p.m. – The Flying Tigers
7 p.m. – 61Syx Teknique Street Dance Academy
8 p.m. – P.J. Weber (Magic & Comedy)
9 p.m. – Movie in the Park (“Despicable Me”)
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Wheatland Music Festival with
Bela Fleck, The Duhks, The Boxcars, Big Sandy
Friday-Sunday
$80 by phone (through 4 p.m. Wednesday); $55 seniors
$100 at gate on Friday ($10 vehicle parking permit)
$25 Sunday-only tickets at the gate
WMO in Wheatland Township, Mecosta County (Remus)
As Jack White and Steppin’ In It bassist Dominic John Davis rightly puts it, the Wheatland Music Festival is “the granddaddy of all of the Michigan traditional festivals.” That’s why, year after year, folk folks flock to this property in Remus, Michigan, to embrace the best that folk and roots music has to offer, which this year features none other than Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys, The Duhks, The Boxcars and tons more, along with a fair number of local and regional acts that will grace stages for this three-day event. That doesn’t even count all the late-night jam sessions that take place throughout the weekend. Get the full festival lineup and directions at the Wheatland website.
For those who don’t yet have tickets: Online ticket sales no longer are available and phone sales end at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Call (989) 967-8879 or (989) 967-8561 for tickets and be persistent because the phone lines are definitely busy this week. And return to Local Spins later this week for a full story on this weekend’s upcoming festival.
Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw, The Shuggah Pies
7:30 p.m. Saturday
$70 track seating; $55 grandstand
Allegan County Fair, Allegan
With more than 40 million albums sold, singer Tim McGraw is one of the kings of country music. His latest, “Two Lanes of Freedom,” debuted at No. 2 earlier this year; his most recent single, “Southern Girl,” is in the Top 20. The three sisters in The Shuggah Pies released their debut album in late 2012. Get tickets online at the Allegan County Fair website.
American Opera
American Opera,
Jake Down & The Midwest Mess (EP release)
The Fever Haze, Good Day Good Sir, Andy & The Pandys
8 p.m. Saturday (doors open at 7 p.m.)
$8 advance, $10 day of show
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
Saginaw native John Bee, aka American Opera, is a New York City-based indie-folk-rocker who churns out intense, Americana-infused songs. The same might be said for Grand Rapids’ own Jake Down, who’s releasing a brand new EP on Saturday. (Listen to an extended edition of Local Spins Live at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when Down will be my guest on News Talk 1340 AM.) Earlier this year, American Opera released “Your Songs,” recorded at NorthPost Recording Co. in Traverse City.
The Pyramid Scheme follows this up with a Sunday show by Canadian hardcore punk outfit D.O.A., which is in the midst of its farewell tour, aka “The Last Show: Punk Legends Say Farewell.” Tickets are $8 advance, $10 day of show. Get ticket details for both shows online here.
UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS
Nicholas James Thomasma at 8 p.m. Thursday and the Lazy Blue Tunas at 8 p.m. Saturday, One Trick Pony in downtown Grand Rapids, free – This week’s Acoustic Stew Series features GR singer-songwriter Nicholas James Thomasma whose folk- and country-flavored music has become a favorite here. That favorite thing also goes for the harmony-filled pop and rock of the Tunas, who return for a Saturday night bash. Details online at the One Trick website.
Cabildo
Grand Rapids Hispanic Festival, noon-11 p.m. Saturday, Calder Plaza in Grand Rapids, free – This year’s one-day celebration of Hispanic music, food and culture kicks off with grupo Cabildo at 1 p.m. and ends with a set by Orquestra Tradicion at 9:30 p.m., with plenty of music in between. Get more information online at the event’s Facebook page.
The 52nd Annual Grand Valley American Indian Lodge Traditional Pow Wow, Saturday and Sunday, Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, free – If you’ve missed this colorful, family-oriented event in past years, it’s more than worth taking the time to explore. It’s filled with Native American dancing, drumming, crafts and food. It opens at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, with dancing at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday, with closing ceremonies at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Randissimo’s Sunday Night Jazz at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids, 7 p.m. Sunday, free — After a week off, drummer Randy Marsh returns for this Sunday night jazz jam, this time with Charlie Hoats and Paul Lesinski in tow.
Claire Fisher playing Grand Rapids Brewing Co. as part of the “GRBC Unplugged” series, 8 p.m. Sunday, free – On her BandCamp site, Claire Fisher describes her music as “acoustic, soul, weirdo, anti-folk,” oh, and jazzy to boot. In some ways, that’s an apt description of this Grand Rapids singer-songwriter’s inventive musical approach.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
The post Celebration on the Grand, Gramatik, Wheatland Music Fest, Big Sandy, Mike Morgan, Indigo Girls, Tim McGraw: The Big List Concert Guide appeared first on Spins on Music.