The music festival season continues, but there are some stellar indoor shows this week, too, including Edward Sharpe, Aaron Lewis, ZZ Ward, The Stereofidelics and Claire Fisher.
Pink Martini
Pink Martini
7 p.m. Monday
$50 ($48 for Meijer Gardens members)
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Township
Not much time to recover from Founders Fest this week: Electric Forest looms ahead, not to mention some stellar Meijer Gardens, Intersection, Pyramid Scheme and, yes, Founders shows.
Those that attended Pink Martini’s first appearance at Meijer Gardens’ outdoor amphitheater a few years back simply raved about this global-spanning ensemble’s terrific show. This 10- to 12-piece multi-lingual outfit led by pianist Thomas Lauderdale and singer China Forbes plays a highly entertaining blend of jazz, classical Latin and lounge music, and is slated to release a new studio album, “Get Happy,” in September.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, The Giving Tree Band
8 p.m. Monday
The show is sold out
State Theatre, Kalamazoo
To say Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros crew of psychedelic folk-rockers are wildly popular these days would be a monumental understatement. After all, this Kalamazoo show is sold out. The California-based group led by Alex Ebert releases a brand new album on July 23, a recording about which Ebert says: “These songs mean everything to me. It’s the rawest, most liberated, most rambunctious stuff we’ve done.”
ZZ Ward
ZZ Ward, Swear and Shake
7:30 p.m. Tuesday
$12
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
Oregon singer-songwriter ZZ Ward soared up the charts earlier this year with the bluesy pop hit, “Put the Gun Down” (with a little bit of that Adele vibe), and is now touring behind the album, “Til the Casket Drops,” that contains that song. New York indie-folk band Swear and Shake opens the show. Get ticket online here.
Speaking of cool indie-folk shows, The Pyramid Scheme on Friday brings in The Brave Youth, Chain of Lakes and The Stationary Set, $9 p.m., $6. And listen to Local Spins Live at 10 a.m. Wednesday on News Talk 1340 AM when Kyle Rasche of Chain of Lakes will be my guest.
Official Sponsor of The Big List Concert Guide
The Koh Kohs, Rusty and Kelsy Vining, Filmloom
7 p.m. Wednesday
$5
First United Methodist Church, Grand Rapids (227 E. Fulton St.)
Three talented Grand Rapids folk-hued groups, one tremendous cause. The Koh Kohs, Rusty and Kelsy Vining and Filmloom are teaming up to raise money for Family Promise of Grand Rapids, which works to end family homelessness. “Family homelessness is becoming more and more prevalent in our community. Families with children are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population,” says Cheryl Schuch, executive director for Family Promise of Grand Rapids. That makes this a show more than worth the price of admission.
Aaron Lewis
Aaron Lewis, Brian Davis
7 p.m. Wednesday
$25 advance, $30 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
So, here’s a different sort of musical transition story: Post-grunge, nu metal band Staind’s founding member and lead singer Aaron Lewis turned the tables on his music career a couple of years ago by saddling up as a solo country artist, last year releasing his first full-length album, “The Road.” This Grand Rapids show is sponsored by B93.7.
(By the way, Frank Bang & The Secret Stash roll into The Stache at 7 p.m. Friday, $8 advance, $10 day of show.)
Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile, The Lone Bellow
7 p.m. Thursday
$45 ($43 for Meijer Gardens members)
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Township
Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile has become a Meijer Gardens favorite based on previous appearances which showed off her charismatic on-stage persona as well as her sweet, talented band featuring the twins Phil and Tim Hanseroth. Her alt-country, folk-rock vibe goes over well in the outdoor amphitheater setting, as she continues to tour behind her latest studio album, 2012’s “Bear Creek.”
She also recently recorded “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with Emmylou Harris for a John Denver tribute album. Brooklyn indie-rock band The Lone Bellow, which released its self-titled debut earlier this year, opens the show.
By the way, Carlile also plays Interlochen Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. Tuesday, $25.50 and $30.50. Details online here.
The Stereofidelics
The Stereofidelics
9:30 p.m. Thursday
Free
Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
The Stereofidelics have rightly become a Founders tradition: This North Carolina duo plays alt rock/pop that’s marvelously infectious even while they “avoid performing with loops, computers and digital effects in favor of the more organic approach of using Moog Taurus pedals, scat vocal solos and multi-instrumentalism.” Oh, and another Founders fave rolls in at 9:30 p.m. Saturday: Ann Arbor’s The Ragbirds, $5.
The String Cheese Incident
Electric Forest
Thursday-Sunday
$259 four-day, $162.50 Saturday-Sunday
Double JJ Resort, Rothbury (north of Muskegon)
It’s a slice of hippie heaven.
The Electric Forest festival is back, with another jam band and electronic dance music-oriented lineup of dozens and dozens of bands playing several stages on this ranch north of Muskegon led by the ever-inventive, ever-eclectic String Cheese Incident, which regales its wildly loyal contingent of fans several times over the weekend.
Other bands to check out this year: Pretty Lights Passion Pit, Lotus, Railroad Earth, Eoto, Lettuce, A Tribe Called Red and West Michigan’s own, Greensky Bluegrass. Oh, and the psychedelically artistic Sherwood Forest is back, too. Groovy, indeed. Get more details about camping and directions at the official website … and pray for good weather so it doesn’t end up being a mudfest.
Kim Richey
Kim Richey
8 p.m. Saturday
$30 advance, $32 day of show
Seven Steps Up, Spring Lake
Grammy-nominated Americana singer-songwriter Kim Richey brings her compelling musical stories to this vibrant listening room on the heels of releasing her latest album, “Thorn in My Heart.” She’s a favorite of Seven Steps Up owners Michelle and Gary Hanks, so they’re thrilled to book her for their popular Pin Drop Concerts series. Get tickets and more information online here.
Rush
Rush
7:30 p.m. Sunday
$38.50, $58.50, $78.50, $113.50
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids
These Canadian prog-rock icons and recent inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bring their “Clockwork Angels Tour” to Grand Rapids, part of a North American tour that hits more than 20 cities. This stop is sure to rev up the big West Michigan contingent of Rush devotees.
The band recently remastered all of its albums for iTunes and has released a new book outlining its long history, which extends back remarkably to 1968. Get ticket information online here.
Official Sponsor of the Big List Concert Guide
UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS
Harper & The Midwest Kind playing the Huntington Rogue River Blues Series presented by Rockford Brewing, downtown Rockford, 7 p.m. Tuesday and the Lowell Showboat Sizzlin’ Summer Concerts series, downtown Lowell, 7 p.m. Thursday both free – Harper is hitting those outdoor community festival big-time this week with his singularly entertaining blues approach. Oh, and speaking of Rockford Brewing, Big Dudee Roo rolls out their atmospheric folk-rock at the brew pub at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Popa Chubby playing the LAV Budweiser Blues on the Mall series, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids, free – New York’s Popa Chubby, aka Ted Horowitz, is this week’s featured blues guitarist, touring behind his latest “bad-ass” album, “Universal Breakdown Blues.” Afterward, keep the blues vibe going with Hank Mowery & The Hawktones, who play The B.O.B. starting at 9 p.m. Also, if you’re headed northward this weekend, Wednesday night is also blues night at The Interlochen Center for the Arts: Shemekia Copeland performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Corson Auditorium, $30.50. Details online here.
Claire Fisher CD-release show at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, 8 p.m. Friday, $5 — Grand Rapids anti-folk artist Claire Fisher, who also weaves soul, jazz, reggae and blues into her approach, plays her CD-release show with Part Time Warriorz and Whiskey Dick. Get tickets online here.
Funktion
Funktion playing The Mitten Bar in Ludington at 9 p.m. Saturday – For those folks headed up north for the weekend, or perhaps taking a break from the hippie-fest that is Electric Forest, Ludington’s exceptionally cool The Mitten Bar funks it up with Kalamazoo’s Funktion to get Saturday’s party rolling the same day that I understand the Queens Cup sailboat race ends in that lakeshore town.
The Mowgli’s playing The Intersection at 7 p.m. Sunday, $12 advance, $14 day of show – This up-and-coming California alt-pop/rock band may be best known for its ridiculously catchy tune, “San Francisco,” but just released a new album, “Waiting for the Dawn,” which helped The Mowgli’s score an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
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