Jay Leno will headline the Tulip Time entertainment line-up for 2019.
Tulip TimeFestival (www.tuliptime.com) announces their festival entertainment tickets are going on sale Thursday, Nov. 8, beginning at 9 a.m.. Tickets can be purchased online at www.tuliptime.com, in person at the Tulip Time Festival Box Office located at 42 West 8thStreet, Holland, Michigan, or by phone at 800-822-2770.
Highlights of the 2019 Tulip Time entertainment program include Jay Leno, who will be performing on Friday, May 10, 2019 at Central Wesleyan Church.Premium Seating tickets (rows 1 through 12) are $87/person; General Seating tickets are $70/person.
“We are so thrilled to host Jay Leno at Tulip Time in 2019,” stated Gwen Auwerda, Tulip Time Executive Director. “Since the announcement was made on November 1, we have had an overwhelmingly positive response.”
Other acts joining the Tulip Time entertainment line-up for the first time in 2019 include Hotel California®– The Original Eagles Tribute Band, New Odyssey Guy featuring Gary Todd, and Swing and a Miss! With Cici Gramer and Friends. Back by popular demand will be The Texas Tenors, FiddleFire for their 7thyear and Walt Matzke’s Four Pianos.
The Local Arts & Culture Series will highlight a wide variety of performances including everything from music to comedy.
There’s still a lot of planning going on at Tulip Time. Watch for more program announcements on the festival markets, art parties, culinary events and other fun ways to celebrate Tulip Time!
Join the dance as we “paint the town orange”at Tulip Time’s 90thAnniversary celebration May 4-12, 2019. Detailed program and event information for Tulip Time 2019 is available on www.tuliptime.com. Tickets for all shows can be purchased online at www.tuliptime.com, in person at the Tulip Time Festival Box Office located at 42 West 8thStreet, Holland, Michigan, or by phone at 800-822-2770.
Tulip TimeFestival (www.tuliptime.com) announces its festival entertainment line-up for 2019.
National Entertainment
Tulip Time is thrilled to welcome – Jay Leno
Jay Leno
Acclaimed TV late night show host, admired stand-up comedian, best-selling children’s book author, much-in-demand corporate speaker, lovable TV and movie voice-over artist, pioneering car builder and mechanic, and philanthropist…it’s no wonder that Jay Leno is widely characterized as “the hardest working man in show business.” Jay Leno’s late night television ratings domination included two decades as the host of the #1-rated “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Leno loves to test his humor live on audiences across the nation, performing over 100 live appearances in nightclubs, theaters and stadiums each year. Leno has been touted as one of the nicest people in show business. His “everyman” style and personality have helped him earn millions of fans worldwide. The performance will take place on Fri., May 10 at Central Wesleyan. The Trop Rock opening act, Don Middlebrook & The Pearl Divers, will take the stage at 7p, with Jay Leno’s show at 7:45p. Premium tickets (rows 1 through 12) are $87/person; General tickets are $70/person.
Hotel California® – The Original Eagles Tribute Band
Hotel California® – The Original Eagles Tribute Band – Join us for the Festival’s fabulous opening night concert! Hotel California prides itself on creating the illusion that you are listening to the actual Eagles. Sat., May 4, Holland Civic Center; 8p; $35/p
New Odyssey Guy Dinner Show– Introducing this brand new dinner show — New Odyssey Guy, starring Gary Todd, one of the founding members of New Odyssey, is coming back to Tulip Time as a one-man show dynamo! Mon., May 6 – Wed., May 8, 6:30p; Haworth Inn; $48/p
The Texas Tenors– Tulip Time welcomes back America’s favorite tenors! This year’s performance will feature songs from their patriotic show “Let Freedom Sing,” as well as hits from their recently released “Broadway” CD. Wed., May 8, 7-8:30p; Central Wesleyan Church; $34/p
FiddleFire– Now in their 7thyear at Tulip Time, FiddleFire’s unique contemporary folk style continues to delight festival audiences. Wed., May 8, 7-8:30p; The Jack H. Miller Center – Hope College; $28/p
Walt Matzke’s Four Pianos – Four grand pianos, eight hands, forty fingers and seven hundred fifty-two keys are Walt Matzke’s Four Pianos.A memorable concert filled with intricate melodies weaved with interesting anecdotes. Thurs., May 9, 7-8:30p; Central Wesleyan Church; $32/p
Swing and a Miss! Dinner Show featuring Cici Gramer & Friends – From swingy jazz to unforgettable favorites, the “infectiously charming” Cici Gramer cabaret features a repertoire of memories mixed with a few surprises. Thurs., May 9 & Fri., May 10, 6:30p; Haworth Inn; $48/p
Local Arts & Culture Performances – presented by Fifth Third Bank
Tulip Time is pleased to announce the Local Arts & Culture performances for the 2019 Tulip Time Festival. Each year, several of Holland’s cultural organizations collaborate with Tulip Time to create an array of entertainment for festival visitors. This year’s events include many new surprises.
Love Those 60’s– Holland Windmill Chorus spins barbershop harmonies around popular tunes from the 1960s, mixing it up with its own “step-out” quartets, and special appearances by the Lakeshore Community Chorus and “Frontier.” Sat., May 4, 7-8:30p; Beechwood Church; $23/p
Holland Civic Theatre presents –The Sunshine Boys by Neil Simon- Al and Willie, as “Lewis and Clark” were top-billed vaudevillians for over forty years. Now they are not even speaking. A grudging reunion brings the two back together, along with a flood of memories, miseries and laughs. Sat., May 4, 7-9p; Sun., May 5, 2-4p; Tue., May 7 – Sat., May 11, 7-9p; Holland Civic Theatre; $23/p
Tulip Time Quilt Show– Enjoy a unique display of more than 100 exquisite handmade bed quilts, wall hangings, and art quilts, as well as the 2019 Raffle Quilt and Viewers’ Choice competition. Open all week. Consult website for exact times. Holland Area Arts Council; $6/p
Modern Delft Art Party – Create a beautiful modern Delft keepsake with instruction by local artist and previous Tulip Time poster winning artist, Carolyn Stich. Cash bar; 21+ event; Sat., May 4 & Sun., May 5, 7-9p; Yacht Basin Conference Center; $40/p
Floral Arranging Class – Eastern Floral’s master designers teach you the art of floral arranging as you create your own masterpiece. Eastern Floral; Mon., May 6, 2p & Tue., May 7, 10a and 2p; $35/p
The Gifts of Nature– Holland Chorale celebrates the vast gifts from the earth: Blooms, Birds and Beasts! Includes selections from Dvorak’s “Songs of Nature” and Morten Lauridsen’s “Chansons Des Roses.” Mon., May 6, 7-8:30p; Saugatuck Center for the Arts; $23/p
Dutch Organ Concert – from the Oude Kerk to Playing it Cool!– Concert organist Rhonda Sider Edgington will take listeners on a tour of Dutch organ music through the ages, starting with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck to living Dutch composers such as Bert Matter and Ad Wammes, whose “Play it Cool!” was written in 2012. Sun., May 5, 7-8p; Hope Church; $15/p
Ah!Men Lunch Show– Enjoy a delightful lunch coupled with an all new one-hour show featuring Jazz, Gospel, Show Tunes and American standards.Tue., May 7 – Fri., May 10, 11a; The Commons of Evergreen; $28/p
Dazzle! A Tulip Time Talent Showcase– The brilliantly fresh talent from four area high schools bursts onto the stage to present this vibrant medley. Enjoy this astounding variety of soloists, show choir and orchestral performances, all in one show! Tue., May 7, 8-10p; Central Wesleyan Church; $15/p
River City Improv
River City Improv – We had so much fun last year, we had to bring them back.It’s all about laughter as River City Improv returns to Tulip Time for this unique, fun and witty experience. Sat., May 11, 8p; Knickerbocker Theatre; $15/p
B-BOP – Come Swing with Us!–Tulip Time invites you to dance along to the renowned swing band B-BOP, The Big Band of Praise, one of southwest Michigan’s premier big bands. This concert will take place during the Moederdag Market. Holland Civic Center, Sun., May 12, performance from 1-3p. Free event.
There’s still a lot of planning going on at Tulip Time. Watch for more program announcements on the festival markets, art parties, culinary events and other fun ways to celebrate Tulip Time!
Join the dance as we “paint the town orange”at Tulip Time’s 90thAnniversary celebration May 4-12. Detailed program and event information for Tulip Time 2019 is available on www.tuliptime.com. Tickets for all shows go on sale November 8, 2018. Tickets can be purchased online at www.tuliptime.com, in person at the Tulip Time Festival Box Office located at 42 West 8thStreet, Holland, Michigan, or by phone at 800-822-2770.
Jackson Browne performed June 27 at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
30-second Review
Jackson Browne, June 27 at Meijer Gardens amphitheater.
With no opening act, and hitting the stage with little fanfare at just after 7 p.m., Jackson Browne and his tight, talented supporting band, played a professional and pleasing 21-song, 2-hour and 20-minute set starting with “Rock Me on the Water” and ending with his 1970s and 1980s classic-rock standards “The Pretender” and “Running on Empty” before an anti-climactic encore of two songs. The high point for most of the age-appropriate audience was him playing the decades old pop/rock songs they paid good money to hear. The highlight for me were two songs in the middle of the set I had never heard before: “Walls and Doors,” a translated cover of a song by a Cuban singer he met several years ago and “For a Dancer,” a song written for a gay friend who passed away too young – and a song Browne dedicated from the stage to victims and survivors of the Orlando mass shooting. “For Orlando,” he said. “For all of us. For our Country.”
May I have more, please?
Few performers on the American music scene, short of maybe Bruce Springsteen, is more aware and active in social issues as Jackson Browne – and Browne, in fact, was singing songs of social commentary if not outright rebellion when The Boss was still dancing in the dark.
So it was pleasing to see Browne still offering up a little something to think about, rather than just remanence about, during his concert Monday night.
Oh, the now 67-year-old delivered most of the hits people remember, and sang along to, from a career that started in the early 1970s, including the pop/rock classics that landed him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Being also of an age, I still have a thing for “Doctor My Eyes” and “Fountain of Sorrow” but still can pass on his love songs such as “Somebody’s Baby” – although it was sweet, at the gardens on Monday, that he dedicated the song to a young girl in the audience who, with her mother, was calling for the song early in the set.
But, really, Browne has always been and will always be more of a social/political singer/songwriter who made it big in the seventies and eighties on soft rock and pop/rock radio. He may actually be the last singer/songwriter from that era still standing and producing new material. His excellent “Walls and Doors,” written by Cuban singer/songwriter Carlos Varela, as well as the haunting “The Birds of St. Marks,” from his 14th studio recording, 2014’s Standing in the Breach, prove Browne and his music has aged well and he is not a pretender when it comes to his musical integrity.
From the concert on Monday, special note also needs to be given to some fine work by Browne’s guitar players, Val McCallum and Greg Leisz, whose work on the lap steel and pedal steel was sterling.
— K.D. Norris
Looking Ahead
Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park tickets still available (some limited numbers) are Femi Kuti & The Positive Force Band on July 20, Jay Leno on July 28, War and Los Lonely Boys on Aug. 10, Seal on Aug. 26, and the rescheduled Tears for Fears on Sept. 26.
Of Monster and Men recently performed at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
30-second Review
Of Monsters and Men, June 13 at Meijer Gardens amphitheater.
After opening act Cub Sport (Inbound from Brisbane; think Justin Beeber blurred with Talking Heads), OMAM played almost non-stop for 90-or-so minutes, opening with “Thousand Eyes” and closing with “Dirty Paws” as second encore. In between, the Icelandic alt-folk/rock band played songs you know – we all remember “King and Lionheart” – blended with songs off their latest recording, 2015’s “Beneath the Skin,” including the excellent “Wolves Without Teeth.” Surprising number of songs the audience knew and reacted to, considering they really only have two studio recordings in their catalogue. Songs from the new album are intriguing, but played live their big-drum sound can sound a little too similar when played one after another after another.
May I have more, please?
Maybe the best example of how Of Monsters and Men is an acquired taste was their two-song encore Monday night.
First lead singer/guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir (just Nanna, please) comes out with the sparse, haunting “Organs” off their 2015 recording, then with co-singer-guitarist Raggi Þórhallsson (just Raggi) and the entire band (all impossible to pronounce in English) belted out “Dirty Paws,” from the band’s 2012 release “My Head is an Animal” – with the trademark “big drum” sound pounding the audience.
Nanna can whisper out a song; but the band – with she and Raggi alternating or sharing vocals – can rip it up.
For the most part, the band rolled out its set at Meijer Gardens with precision and passion, often going from one song to another with the only break a quick guitar change. There was very little talk, very little audience interaction many bands use to catch their breath, and very little to disappoint the longtime fan or the OMAM newcomer. At least the crowd – mostly young, mostly female and couples; lots of selfies with the band in the background destined for Facebook or hipper – did not seem to be disappointed and stood on their feet for the entire set.
It was actually great to hear them at a small venue – they first hit the big time in 2012 at venues named Lollapalooza and Coachella and Bonnaroo. And this year they will be touring with Florence and the Machine at big venues with similar names. The music, though, may have overwhelmed the vocals a bit.
I have heard, and liked from a distance, some of the band’s earlier songs not only off their first recording but on the soundtracks of films “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, and TV’s “The Walking Dead.” After hearing most of the tracks off the new release, I may have to spring for the CD.
— K.D. Norris
Looking Ahead
What’s up next with the Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: tickets (some limited numbers) still available for Tedeschi Trucks Band on June 17, Michael Franti & Spearhead on June 22, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros on July 17, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force Band on July 20, The Goo Goo Dolls on July 27, Jay Leno on July 28, War and Los Lonely Boys on Aug. 10, and Seal on Aug. 26.
The Monkees are now the openers to the Frederik Meijer Gardens Summer Concert series. The group performs June 8.
With the postponement, and probable cancellation, of Tears for Fears’ June 5 opener of the Meijer Gardens concert season, The Monkees will be the popular outdoor venue’s opening act on Wednesday June 8 – and contrary to Grand Rapids-area urban legend, the show is one of nine concerts that still have at least a few tickets available.
While many of the concerts routinely sell out on the first day, several initially listed as sold out are actually not yet so, said John VanderHaagen, public relations manager for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
“We had a few shows that were sold out (but) have tickets returned to us by the bands, so many of the shows listed have just a few tickets available,” VanderHaagen said this week.
Grace Potter performs Aug. 3 at the Frederik Meijer Gardens.
The shows with tickets available, according to Meijer Gardens’ website, are the rock/blues powerhouse Tedeschi Trucks Band on June 17, alt rock’s Fitz and the Tantrums on June 26, Afro-pop favorite Femi Kuti & The Positive Force Band and Bombino on July 20, the always-worth-the-money Lyle Lovett – which just sold out today – and His Large Band on July 24, the comedy of Jay Leno on July 28, the indefinable Grace Potter on Aug. 3, the great pairing of War and Los Lonely Boys on Aug. 10, and the sweet sounds of Seal on Aug. 26.
The Leno comedy show may be the most surprisingly “not sold out” show, with Lovett’s annual visit is close behind. Maybe the best concert still available is Potter – who put out some great music with the Nocturnals but whose latest release, 2015’s “Midnight” is billed debut solo release.
The highlights of the Meijer Garden’s summer season, for me, are divided into new school and old school: Of Monsters and Men coming up on June 13 and The Decemberists on July 11 are favs of the new millennium crowd, while Jackson Browne on June 27 and the aforementioned Lyle Lovett may have – shall we say – a more seasoned audience. And, you know, Seal and his lovely love songs, on a late August night, is going to be hard to resist.
By the way, tickets are still available for sold-out shows if you’re willing to pay the price. I won’t tell you where because I hate scalpers, but if you search the web tickets for the Decemberists are available for between $150 and $170 each.
Remember, get their early for good general admission seating, you’ll need special low chairs, and don’t forget the cool sunglasses.
For more information on the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Summer Concert series, including tickets and up-to-the-last-minute info, visit www.meijergardens.org.
