The Daily Bread for Friday, June 5:
It's opening day for a couple of new ventures on the West Michigan entertainment scene. First, the venerable Bells Brewery christens its beer garden this weekend in Kalamazoo with a pair of performances today and tomorrow by Greensky Bluegrass wsg Head for the Hills. The music starts at 9:30 both nights. The beer starts flowing sooner...There' also a new website covering the local and national music scene launched at midnight last night (this morning?). It's called Backstage All Access, and it features tons o' music photography and news from the West Michigan music scene, as well as podcasts, blogs and even some humor. It's being launched by REVUE Contributing Photographer Anthony Nowack and there's a blog post by our own Associate Editor Lindsay Patton. (Not that we're pimping it too much or anything.) BAA joins a growing list of web and blogsites that are covering the local music scenes including Sounds Good Ink and Kalamazoo Noise...There's also a funky new casual dining spot that will be opening in mid-July on Grand Rapids East Beltline: The Twisted Rooster. It's a new concept that's being brought to the market by Meritage Hospitality Group, which owns Wendy's of Michigan and O'Charleys. The Rooster is a brand new, totally independent concept (ie, it's not a franchise) that's going to classic American fare with lots of locally grown ingredients. No website yet, but check them on the book of Face.
The Daily Bread for Thursday, June 4:
The world is a vampire. We got word that The Smashing Pumpkins, also known as Billy Corgan and three other musicians who didn't play on the Pumpkins epic albums, announced they'll make a tour stop in Grand Rapids at the Orbit Room on Thursday, July 8. Tickets go on sale a week from tomorrow at 10 a.m. This is a 16+ show (under 16 needs a parental unit)... The Ace of Cakes will be in GR this September 14-15 to do a book signing at Schulers and make a cake for Hospice of Michigan... Calvin College has already begun booking its fall concert series, announcing three acts: Van Dyke Parks, The Books, and Over the Rhine. OTR is the opening concert following the fab rehab of the Performing Arts Center... Over in Holland, the Park Theater announced that the Enter the Haggis Show on Sunday, June 13 will be an Industry Night Show. So if you work in the restaurant and bar business, you can get half-off admission and drink specials. Hmmm. Think if you just wear a pair of black pants and a white shirt with food stains on it, they'll let you drink cheaply? (Just a thought. And please notice, no Hollander jokes were used in the writing of this item.)... Don't forget, the ever popular Art Hop in Kalamazoo is the first Friday evening of the month and that's tomorrow. It's fun, and free... Be sure to check out some exclusive interviews that REVUE snagged with a couple of oldies but goodies: Kenny Loggins and Leon Redbone.
The Daily Bread for Wednesday, June 3:
The Waterfront Film Festival announced that Secondhand Serenade will play an opening night show on June 10. The emo-acoustic-rock band lead by singer-songwriter John Vesley had a hit with the song “Fall For You.” At dusk, music turns to movies with short films, including Oscar-winner "Logorama."
A touring musician selling 10,000 CDs doesn't sound that impressive, but how about this: What if he sold all of those CDs at shows? That's the claim by publicists for British singer-songwriter Bobby Long, whose Dirty Pond Songs is a 10 song collection of acoustic folk. Long makes his first visit to Grand Rapids on June 26 for a show at the MixTape Cafe.
The man who brought Black Sabbath to the ballet has resigned. Gordon Peirce Schmidt, artistic director of the Grand Rapids Ballet for the past twelve years, has resigned to pursue other interests. No word on a replacement yet, but sources say ballet-goers should expect some of the 2010-2011 season to change.
