Tag Archives: Meijer Gardens summer concert series

Meijer Gardens 2022 concert series to feature a lot familiar, a little new and some love for the community

April 13, 2022Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Reviews, Upcoming Events, WKTV ProjectsMeijer Gardens summer concert series, WKTVJoanne

How you know its summer … a concert at Meijer Gardens. (Supplied/William Hebert)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Getting back to a large degree of summertime normalcy in West Michigan, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts will have a June-thorough-September series of 33 shows that will bring “an eclectic group of artists” to the amphitheater — maybe the region’s premier open-air venue and still at an intimate 1,900 seat capacity despite the massive renovations at the park.

The concert line-up will feature some familiar local faces and sounds —Elvis’s glasses and ZZ’s beards, Lyle’s country twang and Spearhead’s reggae rock, to name drop just a few — but also some fresh faces and, maybe, new sounds.

Andrew Bird and Sam Beam of Iron & Wine. (Supplied)

Amos Lee (he of “Worry No More”, the mantra-like lead single from his outstanding new Dreamland release) may be unfamiliar to many but not to those with an ear to where alt/pop music is headed next. And while Andrew Bird and his space fiddle are no strangers to Meijer Gardens, his concert with Iron & Wine will undoubtedly be as unique and memorable as was his 2019 visit before … well, you know.

And, oh ya, an acoustic evening with Trey Anastasio, the heart and soul and jamming master of Phish, will be nearest you’ll likely come to a tie-died Woodstock evening this summer. Breathe it in …

Tickets go on sale April 23 for members and May 7 to the general public (details to follow), and many concerts sell out quickly.

And speaking of getting those sometimes hard-to-come-by tickets, in their concert season announcement, Meijer Gardens introduced its new Concerts for the Community initiative, sponsored by The Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation in partnership with the Kent District Library. The program will provide concert tickets, food and transportation to “guests that may not otherwise have the opportunity” to attend a summer concert.

Concerts for the Community is designed exclusively for those “facing economic hardship and is meant to diversify community exposure to world-class live music,” according to the announcement.

“Concerts at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park are a favorite summer activity for our family,” said Amy Van Andel. “We are … excited to help others make memories and experience the joy an evening of outdoor live music can bring.”

2022 Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens lineup

Drumroll please …

The concert series kicks off in June with Marc Cohn + Blind Boys of Alabama on June 12, followed by the aforementioned Amos Lee with Neal Francis on June 17, a doubleheader sure to have you up and dancing with Fitz & The Tantrums + St. Paul & The Broken Bones on June 19, An Acoustic Evening with Trey Anastasio on June 20, and Old Crow Medicine Show on June 23.

Then — get ready for this —Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown featuring Tank and The Bangas, Big Freedia, Cyril Neville: The Uptown Ruler, George Porter Jr. and Dumpstaphunk performing the music of The Meters and The Soul Rebels, all on June 24. Oh what title; oh what a night!

Closing out June will be The Temptations with Kimmie Horne on June 26, and Bluegrass Happening featuring Bela Fleck & My Bluegrass Heart, Sam Bush & The Jerry Douglas Band on June 27.

The summer concert season really gets hot in July with Sheryl Crow with Allison Russell on July 3, Corinne Bailey Rae with War & Treaty on July 6, ZZ Top on July 7, O.A.R. on July 8, and the first of several concerts featuring the Grand Rapids Symphony, Five for Fighting with the symphony on July 13.

Annual visits by two always welcome summer music makers are next: Michael Franti & Spearhead with The New Respects on July 14, and Lyle Lovett and his Large Band on July 15, followed by Norah Jones on July 17, Rick Springfield with the Grand Rapids Symphony on July 20, Buddy Guy + John Hiatt on July 21, America on July 27, and Arturo Sandoval with the Grand Rapids Symphony on July 28.

Elvis will be in the building to start August as Mr. Costello & The Imposters with Nicole Atkins will visit on Aug. 4, followed by Andrew Bird + Iron & Wine with Meshell Ndegeocello on Aug.5, The Dead South with Tejon Street Corner Thieves on Aug. 10, Lake Street Dive with Madison Cunningham on Aug. 12, with the The Beach Boys making it a beach party night on Aug. 15.

August closes out with The Decemberists — one of my favorite bands — Aug. 17,
Boz Scaggs with the Robert Cray Band on Aug. 22, and Umphrey’s McGee on Aug. 24.

The concert season will close strong in the fall with Emmylou Harris + Mary Chapin Carpenter on Sept. 1, Australian Pink Floyd — which is about the closest you can get to the Dark Side of the Moon these days — on Sept. 12, Goo Goo Dolls with Blue October, on Sept. 15, She & Him on Sept. 16, and (what a way to close the venue for the season) Foreigner: The Greatest Hits Tour on Sept. 18.

Trey Anastasio, in concert at Carnegie Hall in 2021. (Supplied/Rene Huemer)

The details, please

Gate and show start times vary. All information is subject to change. All shows will take place rain or shine, and weather delays are possible. Check MeijerGardens.org/concerts for more details.

There are a lot of details to getting tickets, so much so that Meijer Gardens has created an Insider’s Guide to Buying Tickets, available at MeijerGardens.org/concerts.

The bottom line is that Meijer Gardens members have a members-only presale beginning 9 a.m., April 23, through midnight, May 6. Sales to the public begin at 9 a.m., May 7. Ordering is online at Etix.com (preferred method) or by phone at 800-514-etix (3849), both with per-order handling fee.

Hint: Get a membership, for early tickets and free entry to the grounds any time. To join or renew a Meijer Gardens membership before April 23, visit MeijerGardens.org/membership or call the Membership Department at 616-977-7689.

Give in to temptation, Squeeze to bring ‘80s ‘hipster pop’, updated sounds to Meijer Gardens

August 10, 2021Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Reviews, Upcoming Events, WKTV ProjectsMeijer Gardens summer concert series, Squeeze band, WKTV entertainmentJoanne

Poster and graphic from current tour. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

It is just too easy to think of the UK band Squeeze and follow your mind’s 1980’s classic earworm memory lane to a song like “Tempted” — oh, you know it alright: “Tempted by the fruit of another. Tempted but the truth is discovered. …”

Still Squeeze founding members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook’s songbook — and catchy, moody hipster tunes — went deeper that that back then and goes much deeper today, as the audience at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park will find out when the band stops by on Aug. 22.

If you remember the 1980s, then you remember other “can’t get our of your mind” tunes such as “Cool for Cats”, “Pulling Mussels From A Shell”, and the ultimate kick-back date song for those special “Friends” nights: “Black Coffee in Bed”. If you weren’t there, time to catch up on the caffeine kick.

(Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foo Fighters founder Dave Grohl even joined the band at the Bourbon & Beyond Festival in Louisville in September 2019 to perform percussion on “Black Coffee in Bed”.)

Tickets for the Meijer Gardens show are still available. For more information visit meijergardens.org.

Founding members, and hipster heart-n-soul, of Squeeze, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook. (Supplied)

Squeeze was set to begin the U.S. leg of their 24-date Nomadband tour in early August with a headlining tour interspersed with 18 support dates for Daryl Hall & John Oates and will continue throughout the summer into early fall 2021.

And after more than a year of social isolation due to the COVID pandemic, and all those years playing the hits, more modern tunes, and whatever else strikes their Brit fancy, Difford and Tilbrook say they will be inspired and emotional.

“I’m so excited to be back on stage and in the thick of our wonderful set list of songs,” Difford said in supplied material. “Seeing an audience again will be inspiring and emotional, it’s been too long.”

And this Nomadland tour will feature a little something new in addition to its historic attractions.

“I think this is my most anticipated U.S. tour since our first in 1978,” Tilbrook said in supplied material. “Our great band is just getting greater and we are also welcoming Owen Biddle, who joins us from Nashville.”

History and musical journeys

Squeeze’s debut self-titled album was released in 1978 and at the height of the punk revolution, but its pop songwriting hooks and melodies were often compared to the 1960s British Invasion. The band continued, off and on stage and vinyl releases, through 1999, when the original Squeeze disbanded before reuniting in 2007 and releasing three new albums since then — 2010’s “Spot the Difference”, 2015’s “Cradle to the Grave” and 2017’s “The Knowledge” — as well as various solo projects.

The critically acclaimed ‘Cradle to the Grave’ was written as a soundtrack to Danny Baker’s BBC TV sitcom ‘Cradle To Grave’. One reviewer said “This album marked the complete and triumphant reintegration of the masterful songwriting axis of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, in a beautifully-observed series of fond vignettes about childhood, growing up and the absurdities of the ride through life we’re all on.”

The band has always been known for its live performances as well, and in 2016 they triumphed on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, with The Guardian saying they “[went] down a storm… Squeeze’s success is a pretty infectious thing.”

Aside from Difford and Tilbrook, Squeeze now features keyboardist Stephen Lange and drummer Simon Hanson (since 2007,) percussionist/back-up singer Steve Smith (vocalist for house music group Dirty Vegas) along with pedal/lap steel guitarist Melvin Duffy (who joined them for the 2019 tour) and Owen Biddle, former bassist for The Roots.

Tickets went fast for Meijer Gardens concerts, but GR Symphony series still available as public sales opens

July 8, 20213-bottom, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming Events, WKTV ProjectsGrand Rapids Symphony, Meijer Gardens summer concert series, WKTVJoanne

Grand Rapids Symphony’s Bob Bernhardt will be on the podium when the group plays at Meijer Gardens. (Undated photo supplied by GR Symphony)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Yes, there are already more than a dozen sell-outs of the Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens’ 28-show July-September lineup, with Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park members-only sales continuing until open-public sales start July 10.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band. (Supplied/by Danny Clinch)

And yes, some of the usual “classic rock” suspects are among the sell-outs — The Beach Boys, Kansas, America and Pat Benatar. But, for those more inclined to the “classics” — classic jazz and classic Star Wars — yes in deed, there are still some great concerts with tickets still on the board, including an opening night with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

According to a spokesperson for Meijer Gardens, since members-only opening sales opened two weeks ago about 77 percent of all possible tickets have been sold during the “members only” period.

“Many venues offer pre-sale tickets to their VIP lists, club seat holders and other groups, and we’ve chosen to offer a similar benefit to our members by including early access to discounted tickets as a benefit to being a member of Meijer Gardens,” a Meijer Gardens spokesperson said to WKTV this week. “The public is welcome to purchase tickets after our member pre-sale, as well as attend the Tuesday Evening Music Club series which runs every Tuesday night in July and August from 7-9 p.m. Those concerts are included in a general admission ticket to Meijer Gardens.”

(Visit here for the current list of concert tickets available, and already on the sold-out.)

A member of the Grand Rapids Symphony. (From An undated outdoor event, supplied by GR Symphony)

Somewhat surprisingly, though, three nights when the Grand Rapids Symphony, with other acts and as the featured act, are among those ticket that remain available.

To kick off the summer concert series, Preservation Hall Jazz Band with the Grand Rapids Symphony will be on stage July 18.

Then the Grand Rapids Symphony conducted by Bob Bernhardt, principal pops conductor, have the stage all by themselves on July 22. The symphony will be performing works by some of the most popular movie composers of all time — including John Williams’ music from the Star Wars saga, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Jurassic Park. (Music from Star Trek the Next Generation, Cinema Paradiso and Titanic, will also be on the program, we are told.)

China Forbes will be performing with Pink Martini, and the symphony (Supplied/by Chris Hornbecker)

Finally, the always popular night of partying with Pink Martini ( this time featuring China Forbes) will be accompanied by the Grand Rapids Symphony on July 29.

“We are very excited to bring the Grand Rapids Symphony back to Meijer Gardens for these special concerts,” Mary Tuuk Kuras, symphony president & CEO, said in supplied material. “Our shared mission of promoting the arts and bringing our community together makes this partnership a wonderful fit.”

Getting all ‘jazzed’ up

While all three of the symphony concerts should be great night of music, opening night with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will likely be a night not to be missed.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band — or just PHJB, for the in the groove — are proof that New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle, and resurface. The group has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, “all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history,” according to supplied material.

PHJB continues that march forward with So It Is, the septet’s second release featuring all-new original music. The album, according two supplied material, “redefines what New Orleans music means today by tapping into a sonic continuum that stretches back to the city’s Afro-Cuban roots, through its common ancestry with the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the Fire Music of Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane, and forward to cutting-edge artists with whom the PHJB have shared festival stages from Coachella to Newport, including legends like Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello and the Grateful Dead and modern giants like My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire and the Black Keys.”

Take a breath, and take that in for a moment.

Details of getting the tickets

Tickets for the concerts, via Meijer Gardens’s new new ticketing partner, Etix, will be available online at Etix.com (preferred method) with handling fee of $10 per order, or by phone at 1-800-514-etix (3849), also with a handling fee of $10 per order. There will be no on-site ticket sales at Meijer Gardens.

Gate and show start times vary. Check MeijerGardens.org/con c erts for details. All information is subject to change. All shows will take place rain or shine, weather delays are possible. There are no ticket returns or refunds.

Meijer Gardens has created an Insider’s Guide to Buying Tickets to help with ticket purchasing. The Insider’s Guide is available at MeijerGardens.org/concerts.

Members can continue to buy tickets during the members-only presale through midnight, July 9.

Sales to the public begin at 9 a.m., July 10. There is a limit of 8 tickets per show, per transaction. Again, there will be no on-site ticket sales at Meijer Gardens. Ticket can be purchased online at eTix.com with a handling fee of $5 per order (not per ticket) and convenience fee of $5.25 per ticket applies to all sales, or by phone at 1-800-514-etix (3849), also with a handling fee of $5 per order and convenience fee of $5.25 per ticket applies to all sales.

As national touring concert scene awakens, Meijer Gardens announces complete concert series

June 14, 2021Beer, Entertainment, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming Events, WKTV ProjectsChris Mautz, Meijer Gardens summer concert series, WKTVJoanne

How you know its summer … and fall this year … a concert at Meijer Gardens. (Supplied/William Hebert)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

It has been almost two years since Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s summer concert series promoter Chris Mautz last arranged an act on tour to stop in Grand Rapids — if you guessed Calexico and Iron Wine, in September 2019, you were probably there.

But with the national touring band concert season awakening as the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs a little more with every vaccination shot, and concert venue attendance limits are expanded or removed, Meijer Gardens this morning announced the complete lineup for 2021’s late-arriving season.

And despite its late start and abbreviated lineup, the Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens’ 28-show lineup, arranged as always by Mautz and his company, delivers a little something for everyone, from the opening night of Preservation Hall Jazz Band with the Grand Rapids Symphony on July 18, to the closing night of Lettuce and Galactic featuring Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph on Sept. 19.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will play with the Grand Rapids Symphony on July 18 (Supplied/Patrick Melon)

In between are 26 other shows including returning favorites The Beach Boys on Aug. 20, Pink Martini (featuring China Forbes) with the Grand Rapids Symphony on July 29, and O.A.R. on Sept. 9.

The highlights of the season — from this deprived concertgoer — may well be a great two-night blast from the ‘90s past will be The Verve Pipe on July 24 and Collective Soul on July 25, the pairing of the great Emmylou Harris and Los Lobos on Aug. 8, and the return of the “bring-the-house-down” sounds of St. Paul & The Broken Bones on Aug. 27.

Nobody, though, is more glad to see the business of live concerts returning than Mautz — after all, it is his business.

“This 14-, 15-month pause is certainly not something any of us expected to happen, right? But it sure does feel good to be coming back,” Mautz said to WKTV. “There has been a desire from both sides (music venues and touring acts) to be engaged again.”

And things have been moving, cautiously, in the right direction for opening up the national touring scene for a few months.

“For so many of us, it has been the last three-ish months that we have been on a good positive trend — for the most part — case rates going down, vaccine rates going up, hospitalization rates going gown. … That consistency of heading in the right direction has given a little opportunity, for me personally, to get that engine cranking a little bit.”

Capacity restrictions no longer in place

According to the Meijer Gardens announcement, “Consistent with current COVID-19 guidance, as of July 1 there will be no capacity restrictions and 1,900 general admission tickets will be available for each concert.”

Emily Lou Harris. (Supplied/Kat Villacorta)

And that means there is likely to be full houses for many, if not all, of the aforementioned concerts and well as the rest of the lineup.

Among the other Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens are:

The Grand Rapids Symphony conducted by Bob Bernhardt, Principal Pops Conductor on July 22; Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange), Aug. 5; Kansas, Aug. 6; Harry Connick, Jr. and His Band – Time to Play!, Aug. 9; America, Aug. 11; Umphrey’s McGee, Aug. 12; Mat Kearney, Aug. 13; Shakey Graves, Aug. 16; Blues Traveler + JJ Grey & Mofro, Aug. 18; 38 Special, Aug. 19; Squeeze, Aug. 22; Ani DiFranco, Aug. 23; Colin Hay of Men at Work, Aug. 26; Old Crow Medicine Show, Aug. 29; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Sept. 1; Indigo Girls, Sept. 2; Black Violin + Blind Boys of Alabama, Sept. 12; Toad the Wet Sprocket, Sept. 15; and Pat Benetar & Neil Giraldo, Sept. 16.

Some bands back on the road, but not all

While the Meijer Gardens lineup is well represented with different musical genres and acts, and other local venues are beginning to schedule as well, there will be a time lag for the touring bus to get back to full throttle, Mautz believes.

“A lot of people think there will be a flood of activity from the touring world, and the public will want to get back out there,” he said. “But I think, like many things with this pandemic, it will be different shades of grey. …

“Certainly a lot of bands are itching to get out there, but some are working and have been working throughout the pandemic, while others have been a little more patient and will stay that way. I would not be surprised to see that have a reflection on the business in general.”

Details of getting the tickets

Gate and show start times vary. Check MeijerGardens.org/concerts for details. All information is subject to change. All shows will take place rain or shine, weather delays are possible. There are no ticket returns or refunds.

Kansas (Supplied/Emily Butler Photography)

Meijer Gardens has created an Insider’s Guide to Buying Tickets to help with ticket purchasing. The Insider’s Guide is available at MeijerGardens.org/concerts.

Members can buy tickets during the members-only presale beginning at 9 a.m., Saturday, June 26, through midnight, July 9. Members save $5 per ticket during the presale. After July 10, members save $2 per ticket. There is a limit of 8 tickets per show, per transaction. To join or renew a membership before June 26, visit MeijerGardens.org/membership or call the membership department at 616-977-7689.

‘First four’ Meijer Gardens summer concerts includes series usual spectrum of music

February 25, 2020Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Upcoming EventsMeijer Gardens summer concert series, WKTVJoanne

The Australian Pink Floyd Show (supplied/Ben Donoghue)

By WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org

Ah, another sign of spring coming — Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park giving us a little taste of the 2020 Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts series line-up, with the first four acts announced recently.

Meijer Gardens’ annual concert series features “an eclectic mix of alternative, indie, blues and classic rock,” according to the announcement, and the first four cover that spectrum: Gregory Alan Isakov on June 7, Squeeze on July 9, Michael Franti & Spearhead on Aug. 16 and The Australian Pink Floyd Show on Aug. 30.

The complete lineup will be announced in mid-April.

Members of Meijer Gardens will have the first opportunity to purchase discounted tickets during an exclusive members-only pre-sale, April 25 through May 8. During the pre-sale, members receive a $5 discount per ticket.

To become a member or renew a membership before April 25, visit MeijerGardens.org/Membership.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on May 9. More information on prices and purchasing options will be available following the release of the full lineup in mid-April.

Brief, supplied information on the four concerts is as follows:

Gregory Alan Isakov was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and now calls Colorado home. He is a horticulturist-turned-musician and “has cast an impressive presence on the indie-rock and folk worlds.” Isakov has toured internationally with his band and has performed with several symphony orchestras across the United States. He also manages a small farm which provides produce to over a dozen local restaurants.For more information on Gregory Alan Isakov, visit gregoryalanisakov.com.

Squeeze first formed in 1973, shortly after Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook had begun their songwriting partnership, brought together by an ad in a sweetshop window. By 1977 they had made their recording debut and enjoyed a string of hits which lasted until 1982 on the back of New Wave. Over the years there have been solo careers and occasional separations, but the Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriting duo reunited in 2007 to relaunch Squeeze and have been touring, writing and recording together since.For more information on Squeeze, visit squeezeofficial.com.

Leading Michael Franti & Spearhead, Franti is a musician, humanitarian, filmmaker, and activist who is recognized as a pioneering force in the music industry. He believes that there is a great battle taking place in the world today between cynicism and optimism, so he made his most recent album, Stay Human Vol. II, to remind himself — and anyone who’s listening — that there is still good in the world and that is worth fighting for.For more information on Michael Franti & Spearhead, visit michaelfranti.com.

The Australian Pink Floyd Show performs the music of Pink Floyd “with note for note perfection” and “this critically acclaimed show has been astonishing audiences worldwide for more than three decades.” Always striving to reproduce the complete Pink Floyd experience and bring the music to new audiences, the show continues to include a stunning light and laser show, video animations, state of the art, high resolution LED screen technology and other special effects. In addition, and in true Pink Floyd fashion, there are several huge inflatables including a giant pig and their own unique Pink Kangaroo.For more information on The Australian Pink Floyd Show, visit aussiefloyd.com.

Sweet, often bittersweet, sounds of Mandolin Orange coming to Meijer Gardens amphitheater

August 15, 2019Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsMandolin Orange, Meijer Gardens summer concert seriesJoanne

Mandolin Orange is a North Carolina based band led by singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi-instrumentalist Emily Frantz. (Supplied/Kendall Bailey)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

One of the great things about the Meijer Gardens Summer Concert series is catching up with emerging bands just making their national headlining splash, or tour-tested bands making a stop between somewhere and Chicago.

Not really sure where Mandolin Orange fits into that spectrum, but the North Carolina based band led by singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi-instrumentalist Emily Frantz have a growing reputation on the alt-Americana scene (if that is such a thing?), but may well be new to most of the audience at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park outdoor amphitheater stage on Sept. 4.

I expect the introduction to be good for all of us, as their sweet-sounding music is as familiar as it is rare.

And speaking of sweet sounds … ya, I know; a little cheesy … you will probably not find two more sweet voices than that of lead singer Marlin and harmonizer Frantz, as evidenced by “The Wolves”, one of the singles off the band’s most recent release, from February of this year, “Tides of a Teardrop”.

For a video of “The Wolves”, visit here.

As evidenced by “Tides of a Teardrop”, Marlin not only writes sweet songs, he often writes bittersweet songs.

As the new release was being created, according to supplied material, Marlin wrote the songs, “as he usually does, in a sort of stream of consciousness, allowing words and phrases to pour out of him as he hunted for the chords and melodies. Then, as he went back to sharpen what he found, he found something troubling and profound. Intimations of loss have always haunted the edges of their music, their lyrics hinting at impermanence and passing of time.”

For this album, Marlin and Frantz enlisted their touring band, and, having recorded all previous albums live in the studio, they approached the recording process in a different way this time.

“We went and did what most people do, which we’ve never done before — we just holed up somewhere and worked the tunes out together,” Frantz said in supplied material.

“This record is a little more cosmic, almost in a spiritual way — the space between the notes was there to suggest all those empty spaces the record touches on,” Marlin adds.

And the record is clearly touching a receptive audience.

“Tides Of A Teardrop”, when it was released, debuted at #1 on four different Billboard charts: Heatseekers, Folk/Americana, Current Country Albums and Bluegrass.

The band’s last record, 2016’s “Blindfaller”, was their breakout, earning them raves from Vox and NPR Music, and since then they have played Red Rocks with The Avett Brothers, played Bonnaroo as well as the Newport Folk Festival.

Mandolin Orange’s Wednesday, Sept. 4, concert, With Bonny Light Horseman opening, will start at 7 p.m. (5:45 p.m. gates open), with a $40 general admission ticket price. For more information and tickets visit meijergardens.org .

Review: ‘American Made’ Margo Price shows off musical growth, grit at Meijer Gardens

August 1, 2019Entertainment, Local Entertainment, ReviewsMargo Price, Meijer Gardens summer concert seriesJoanne

Margo Price at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park outdoor amphitheater stage Wednesday, July 31. (Courtesy of Kevin Huver Photography)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

90-second Review

In early 2017, just after Margo Price released her “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter” and started receiving her long deserved Americana and County Music awards notice, it was easy to call her an “outlaw alt-country” singer — which I think I did in a previous WKTV Journal review after seeing her for the first time.

Price’s fledging career, after all, had her not only playing with Jack White (of the alt-rock White Stripes) — and signing with his Third Man Records label, in fact — but also playing with Outlaw country god Willie Nelson as well as covering the likes of Kris Kistofferson and Waylon Jennings in her solo concerts.

Margo Price and her band (with husband and musical mate Jeremy Ivey in foreground, at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park outdoor amphitheater stage Wednesday, July 31. (Courtesy of Kevin Huver Photography)

But as evidenced by her and her 5-member band’s 70-minute, 15-song set as the opening act of a double bill at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park outdoor amphitheater stage Wednesday, July 31, Price and her latest release — “All American Made” — has moved beyond labels and expectations to be a singer/songwriter of artistically diverse and emotionally powerful music.

Opening her set with three almost Allman Brothers Band-esque county-rock songs, including “Four Years of Chances” from “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter” and “Nowhere Fast” from “All American Made”, she showed off her beautiful voice with “Tennessee Song”, also from “Midwest …”, which had her almost a capella at the beginning and end.

And that was just the start of her showing off her current musical range and tastes, as evidenced by the set list.

Covers of Janis Joplin’s rock classic “Move over?” — “We were going to play this at Woodstock, but they cancelled it,” she told the Meijer Garden audience — as well as Dusty Springfield’s county classic “Son of a Preacher Man” and Bob Dylan’s forgotten classic “One More Cup of Coffee” (One of my all-time favorites!). Can you be any more diverse than that?

And diving deep into her own rapidly growing catalogue of fine songs, including several fine tunes from “All American Made”, including the album’s title track — which, when you listen close, has a socio-political bite — as well as “Don’t Say it”, “Just Like Love” and her set-closing bluesy “A Little Pain”, when she may have been giving her personal take on her life making a living in music and on the road.

“I’m breaking my back and working like a mother. Who’s to say just how it’s done? A little pain, never hurt anyone …”

One thing for sure, Margo Price — singer/songwriter, music producer, wife, mother (of two including a two-month old), and burgeoning social commentator — ain’t no farmers daughter any more.

May I have more please?

Three things: her taking care of the home fires, our political world and your entertainment finances.

To the first: Price may be all about the music, but she is a family woman as well. During the concert she sung a sweet duet with her husband, Jeremy Ivey, who wrote the tune and has an album out soon which she produced — gotta stand by her man!

And to the second: She has her own unabashed take on modern American society and politics, as the lyrics of “All American Made” attest — “1987 and I didn’t know it then. Reagan was selling weapons to the leaders of Iran … And I wonder if the president gets much sleep at night, and if folks on welfare are making it alright … It’s all American made”.

Also, finally, other remaining Meijer Gardens shows with original price tickets remaining include JJGrey and Mofro with Jonny Lang on Aug. 14, The Stray Cats on Aug. 15, Mandolin Orange — one of my early not-to-miss concerts — on Sept. 4, Dash Sultana on Sept. 8, The B-52s with ODM and Berlin on Sept. 11, and the season finale of Calexico and Iron & Wine on Sept. 18.

For more information and tickets visit meijergardens.org .

‘American Made’ Margo Price, with baby story and great music, comes to Meijer Gardens amphitheater

July 26, 20193-bottom, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsMargo Price, Meijer Gardens summer concert seriesJoanne

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

Say what you want about the alt/retro country music sounds of Margo Price, who will be opening for Dawes on the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park outdoor amphitheater stage Wednesday, July 31. But there is no doubt she is “All American Made”, both her music and her just delivered child.

Price comes to town with music from her outstanding 2016 release “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter” and her even better 2017 release “All American Made”. She also comes to the stage after giving birth to a daughter, Ramona Lynn Ivey, on June 4 — of this year.

That’s what I would call “American Made” tough.

Price and her husband, Jeremy Ivey, who plays guitar in Price’s band, have one other child, a boy born in 2010.

Price was on the road both during and, as evidenced by her current tour schedule, soon after her latest pregnancy — last November she announced the pending addition to the family at a concert in Nashville: “I’ve been hiding something behind my guitar. We’re expecting a baby,” she says on her website.

What the singer/songwriter hasn’t been hiding is her great songs, including during her 2017 stop at St. Cecilia Music Center. (For a review of the concert, visit here.)

Her list of musical honors includes winning Americana Music Emerging Artist of the Year in 2016, the UK Americana International Song of the Year in 2017 for “Hands of Time” (from “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter”), 2018 Americana Music nominations for Artist of the Year and Album of the Year as well as a win for for Song of the Year for “A Little Pain” (from “All American Made”), and just this year, a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

And with a story like her’s, and a growing musical catalogue, I’d bet she is not done with that Grammy thing.

According to her official bio, in 2015, she “was a country underdog just trying to keep enough gas in the tank to get to the next gig,” but by the end of 2016, she was one of the genre’s most celebrated new artists with gigs on late night television and at major festivals around the world. And things are not slowing down, even if her music is growing.

“People have started asking me, ‘Now that you’re having success, what are you going to write about?’” Price says in her bio. “A lot of what I wrote on my debut came out of my struggles in the music business, but we don’t have any shortage of material now. I’m just excited to finally have an audience and know that people are going to listen to our songs.”

With all due respect to Dawes, many people will be at Meijer Gardens to listen to her “American Made” songs — and maybe get a baby story or two.

For a video of “All American Made”, visit here.

Other remaining Meijer Gardens shows with original price tickets remaining include An Evening with the Beach Boys on Aug. 1, JJGrey and Mofro with Jonny Lang on Aug. 14, The Stray Cats on Aug. 15, Mandolin Orange — one of my early not-to-miss concerts — on Sept. 4, Dash Sultana on Sept. 8, The B-52s with ODM and Berlin on Sept. 11, and the season finale of Calexico and Iron & Wine on Sept. 18.

The Dawes with Margo Price concert will start at 6:30 p.m. (5:15 p.m. gates open), with a $50 general admission ticket price. For more information and tickets visit meijergardens.org .

Andrew Bird, flying on his own winds and whims, returns to Meijer Gardens

July 10, 2019Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsAndrew Bird, Meijer Gardens summer concert seriesJoanne

The cover art of Andrew Bird’s latest release, “My Finest Work Yet”. (Supplied/The artist)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

Maybe it is just clever marketing that the cover of Andrew Bird’s latest release, “My Finest Work Yet”, shows the enigmatic if not totally eccentric artiste doing his deadpan recreation of La Mort de Marat (The Death of Marat), Jacques-Louis David’s iconic 1793 painting of the failed French revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat lying stabbed to death in his bath.

But, you know, it would be just like the musical multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and whistler, and songwriter — not to mention Guggenheim Museum exhibit creator, TED Talks presenter and New York Times op-ed contributor — to be sending the not-so-subtle message that he cares little if his work lives or dies on the commercial stage.

There is no doubt, however, that Bird likes the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park outdoor amphitheater stage (and the audience reception he gets) as he will be making another visit July 18, with, surprisingly, tickets still available for a show with Madison Cunningham opening.

Bird clearly plays a tune to his own beat, from his earliest collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers in the late 1990s through his popular (for him) 2016 solo release “Are You Serious” — which he was touring in support of when he visited Meijer Gardens in 2017, and still relied upon last summer when he visited with the equally experimental Esperanza Spalding.

If you don’t already know him and his music, you probably heard but never knew Bird from the single “Capsized” from “Are Your Serious”. The recording has certainly stayed easily accessible on the top shelf of the CD racks around my house, and not just for the catchy, slightly popish “Capsized”.

Bird’s simple philosophy on music and commercial acceptance may be best conveyed by his statement about “Are You Serious”: “Here I am with my most unguarded, direct, relatable album to date. Go easy on me.”

On his new release, which undoubtedly will be heavily drawn upon at Meijer Gardens next week, he is still unguarded and direct, and maybe still trying to be a little more relatable.

Bird opens “My Finest Work Yet” with the sophisticated sly wit and easy sounds of “Sisyphus”, then takes a serious turn with the jazzy “Bloodless”, which sounds like an ode to Marat and/or a modern political statement — “I know it’s hard to be an optimist, when you trust least the ones who claim to have the answers … It’s an uncivil war, bloodless for now.”

For a video of “Sisyphus”, visit here.

My favorites off of “My Finest Work Yet”, however, at least on first listen, focus on Bird’s violin prowess, including the softly sweet “Archipelago”, the power pop of “Proxy War” and the forlorn, almost alt-country “Bellevue Bridge Club”.

Bottom line is expect the unexpected from Bird and his high-flying imagination — which, when not making music, recently has been occupied with a series of site-specific improvisational short films and recordings called Echolocations, recorded in remote and acoustically interesting spaces: a Utah canyon, an abandoned seaside bunker, the middle of the Los Angeles River, and a reverberant stone-covered aqueduct in Lisbon.

I wonder if one of the recording was made in a bath tub?

The Andrew Bird with special guest Madison Cunningham concert will start at 6:30 p.m. (5:15 pm gates open), with a $45 general admission ticket price. For more information and tickets visit meijergardens.org .

After first concert, tickets remain for 14 concerts at Meijer Garden’s summer series

June 7, 2019Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsAndrew Bird, Los Lobos, Margo Price, Meijer Gardens summer concert seriesJoanne

The new entrance gates to the Meijer Gardens outdoor concert venue. (Supplied/Meijer Gardens)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

If you were letting your summer schedule settle out before you bought tickets for the summer concert at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, there is some good news and bad news awaiting you at the box office.

The good news is that there are some great shows in a spectrum of genres with original-price tickets available through the Gardens, including this Sunday’s Rodrigo y Gabriela visit, with the fine alt-folkie Justin Townes Earle opening, as well as July shows by Andrew Bird, The Mavericks + Los Lobos, and Dawes + Margo Price.

Foreigner will strut their stuff on Meijer Gardens’ outdoor stage. (Supplied/Foreigner)

But if you waited to get your tickets for the likes of classic rock stalwarts The Beach Boys, Styx, and Foreigner, you are going to have to pay the price for indecision — tickets for the sold-out Aug. 11 show with Foreigner had an original ticket price of $84 and now the cheapest we see are $155 on StubHub.

In all, and including the Nahko and Medicine for the People show on June 6, 15 of the 30 shows were sold out as of this week — but that means tickets are still available for (in addition to the one’s mentioned) Buddy Guy + Kenny Wayne Shepherd, June 10; Steve Miller Band + Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, June 24; Gipsy Kings with Simi, July 21; An Evening with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, July 26; JJ Grey & Mofro + Jonny Lang, Aug. 14; Stray Cats, Aug. 15; Mandolin Orange, Sept.4; Tash Sultana with Leo James Conroy, Sept. 8; The B-52’s + OMD + Berlin, Sept. 11; and the season closing show of Calexico and Iron & Wine, Sept. 18.

The three aforementioned “great shows”, in our humble but semi-knowledgable opinion, are worth the ticket price and worth deeper preview discussion.

Anybody who saw Andrew Bird last year probably already have their tickets for his show. Bird has been around but you may only know him from his 2016 solo release “Are You Serious” and the single “Capsized”. His visit last year to Meijer Gardens with Esperanza Spalding was, arguably, the hippest night of the season.

Los Lobos in 2014 (Supplied by the band)

Los Lobos, the hard working, constantly touring band – led by David Hidalgo, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano and Steve Berlin – rolled into their fifth decade with 2015’s “Gates of Gold”, their first full length studio album since 2010’s “Tin Can Trust” — a great collection constantly on my playlist.

Margo Price. (Supplied/Angelina Castillo for Third Man Records)

And Margo Price is, borrowed from someone else, country as is should be. Price has played with Jack White and Willie Nelson … is there two more diverse musical mentors? At her 2017 concert at St, Cecilia Music Center, my review noted that Price came to the stage wearing a pretty pink little dress perfect for the stage of the Grand Ole Opry but with her exposed shoulders showing off a big ole tattoo, and proceeded with a rough-edged if not intentionally alt-country set of often introspective, intimate original songs and covers of the who’s who of classic and outlaw country.

As the Gardens opens its season it will do so with more audience entry gates in an expanded plaza area, an expanded and modernized concession area, and access to new and expanded restrooms first from the outside for those lined up and then from the inside.

The physical changes conclude a two-year effort of significant expansion and improvement of the venue while maintaining the 1,900-seat general seating area.

The Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater tickets are general admission. Concertgoers are welcome to bring a blanket or low-rise chair to sit on. Low-rise chairs are defined as 12-inch maximum from ground to front of seat bottom and 32-inch maximum to top of chair back in highest position — these rules are strictly enforced. No other chairs will be permitted in the venue. A limited number of standard-height chairs will be available to rent for $10 (located in designated area-may not be removed) on a first-come, first-served basis.

All concerts take place rain or shine, and weather delays possible. Concertgoers are also welcomed to bring their own food, sealed bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages in their original sealed containers.

For more information and tickets for non-sold out shows visit meijergardens.org . For those seeking aftermarket tickets, you are on your own.

Better lines, great line-up awaits Meijer Gardens summer concerts fans this season

April 11, 20193-bottom, Local Entertainment, Upcoming EventsMeijer Gardens summer concert seriesJoanne

A probably sold-out crowd that comes to Meijer Gardens Summer Concert series. (Supplied Meijer Gardens/Tony Norkus)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

The most-anticipated aspect of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s summer concert series is the quality and varied line-up but usually the least-anticipated aspect of the concerts was the lines to get in and after: the crush when the gates open, the lack of a (shall we say) ‘nearby’ line to the rest rooms, and the lines for the concessions.

This season, The Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens 2019 lineup will continue its great musical line-up featuring 30 shows ranging from the every-season sell-out of Lyle Lovett (whose summer concert streak will now be at 14 years) to the ‘Who is that?’ Garden’s debut of Mandolin Orange.

But Gardens upgrades will ease the other three issues, with more entry points due to extra gates in an expanded plaza area, an expanded and modernized concession area, and access to new and expanded restrooms first from the outside for those lined up and then from the inside.

The physical changes conclude a two-year effort of significant expansion and improvement of the venue while maintaining the intimacy of the venue, including the renovated the Steve & Amy Van Andel Terraces for sponsor seating, added new support areas for visiting artists, backstage and loading dock improvements and increased the space — but not capacity — in the 1,900-seat general seating area.

As usual, there will be multiple ways to lay down your money and get your tickets, in various technology forms, and not all of them require standing in lines. For all the details of the ticket options, which is its own separate story, check out The Insider’s Guide on the Meijer Gardens website (scroll down on the page to Insiders Guide to Buying Ticket and follow the link).

And now for the good stuff: who’s coming!

Let’s separate the list into who’s coming back for an encore, who’s into classic rock, and the who’s next in music whom you might want to catch up with — at least in my humble opinion.

Lyle Lovett keeps coming back to Meijer Gardens, and we sure appreciate it. (Supplied)

First the encores, at least a sampling of such: Lake Street Dive + The Wood Brothers, June 12; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, June 27; An Evening with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, July 26; Michael Franti & Spearhead, Aug. 23; and The B-52’s + OMD + Berlin, Sept. 11.

The classic rock (and other classic) bands offering up their classic hits, from about 40 years of such things: Buddy Guy + Kenny Wayne Shepherd, June 10 (ya, I know it’s blues but classic blues.); Steve Miller Band + Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, June 24; Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles, June 30 (as close as we’ll now ever get to the Fab Four); Three Dog Night, July 11; The Temptations + The Righteous Brothers, July 28 (OK, classic soul); An Evening with The Beach Boys, Aug. 1; An Evening with Styx, Aug. 9; Foreigner, Aug. 11; and Stray Cats, Aug. 15.

And for who’s coming that either you might want to check out or simply should not miss:

Nahko, at left, and his band. (Supplied/Meijer Gardens))

Nahko And Medicine For The People, June 6. Describing his latest release, “My Name is Bear”, Nahko says on his website: “So many dear people helped me write and live these stories. The two summers I spent in Alaska, half the winter in Louisiana and the other half holed up in my van in Portland, and then the first year in Hawaii were transformational.” Sounds to me like someone worth a listen.

Andrew Bird, July 18. Bird has been around but if you missed his 2016 solo release “Are You Serious”, and the single “Capsized”, which got the most airplay, you missed a great multi-leveled, alt-whole bunch of things, collection which featured guest vocals from Fiona Apple and some fine shredding on his electric violin. His visit last year to Meijer Garden with Esperanza Spalding was, arguably, the hippest night of the season. More recently, Bird has released a series of site-specific improvisational short films and recordings called Echolocations, recorded in remote and acoustically interesting spaces including a reverberant stone-covered aqueduct in Lisbon. Ya, someone to definitely check out.

The Mavericks + Los Lobos, July 25. I’ve yet to hear The Mavericks but they had me at Los Lobos. The hard working, constantly touring band – led by David Hidalgo, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano and Steve Berlin – rolled into their fifth decade with 2015’s “Gates of Gold”, their first full length studio album since 2010’s “Tin Can Trust”, the band’s outstanding Grammy nominated (for Best Americana Album) release that is constantly in my personal setlist. Can’t wait.

Mandolin Orange is singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi-instrumentalist Emily Frantz. (Meijer Gardens)

Mandolin Orange, Sept. 4. Don’t know much about the the North Carolina duo of singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi-instrumentalist Emily Frantz, but I really like what I’ve heard of their just released “Tides of a Teardrop” — described by one listener as “the duo’s fullest, richest, and most personal effort. You can hear the air between them — the taut space of shared understanding, as palpable as a magnetic field, that makes their music sound like two halves of an endlessly completing thought.”

The rest, and no offense to fans of, include: Rodrigo y Gabriela with Justin Townes Earle, June 9; Big Head Todd and The Monsters + Toad the Wet Sprocket, June 20; Old Crow Medicine Show, June 21; The Mighty O.A.R. Summer Tour 2019 with American Authors, June 26; Amos Lee, July 15; Gipsy Kings with Simi, July 21; Dawes + Margo Price, July 31 (Margo’s alt-country is worth the price of admission by herself); An Evening with CAKE, Aug. 7; Sarah McLachlan with Orchestra, Aug. 8; JJ Grey & Mofro + Jonny Lang, Aug. 14 (Same thing I said about Margo applies to Jonny); Tash Sultana with Leo James Conroy, Sept. 8; and Calexico and Iron & Wine, Sept. 18.

And a few details that remain the same

The Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater tickets are general admission. Concertgoers are welcome to bring a blanket or low-rise chair to sit on. Low-rise chairs are defined as 12-inch maximum from ground to front of seat bottom and 32-inch maximum to top of chair back in highest position. These rules are strictly enforced. No other chairs will be permitted in the venue. A limited number of standard-height chairs will be available to rent for $10 (located in designated area-may not be removed) on a first-come, first-served basis.

All concerts take place rain or shine (weather delays possible). Concertgoers are also welcomed to bring their own food, sealed bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages in their original sealed containers.

Air Supply’s weekend concert at Meijer Gardens postponed until Aug. 16

July 26, 2018Entertainment, Upcoming EventsAir Supply, Meijer Gardens summer concert seriesJoanne

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Announced today, the Air Supply concert at the Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater, originally scheduled for Sunday, July 29, has been postponed until Thursday, Aug. 16.

A statement from the band reads:

“It is with deep regret that for the first time in their 40-year history Air Supply has been forced to cancel a pair of dates this weekend — including the show this Sunday, July 29 at Meijer Gardens — following Russell Hitchcock’s recent emergency shoulder surgery. As a result, doctors have ordered Russell to rest and recuperate before continuing with the tour. However, this show is now rescheduled for Thursday, August 16th and we are excited that Air Supply will be able to perform at Meijer Gardens in just a few weeks! All previously purchased tickets will be honored at the new date.”

Meijer Gardens adds that fans that are unable to attend the new date may request a refund at their point of purchase. Refunds must be requested by Aug. 3. For credit card refunds, please email customerservice@startickets.com or call 1-800-585-3737. For cash refunds, please visit the main admission desk at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

For more information visit meijergardens.com .

Sweet home Alabama: benefit concert at Meijer Gardens has music, meaning

June 21, 2018Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Non-Profits, RecreationMeijer Gardens summer concert series, Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of LoveJoanne

Alabama in concert, and the concert at Meijer Gardens will be just as bright and boisterous. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Picture it now: a perfect early fall evening, classic American country-rock music blasting from the stage, and every audience member playing an important role in supporting the mission of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

That will be the scene Aug. 23 when Alabama takes the stage at the partially refurbished outdoor amphitheater for a special concert to benefit the Garden’s ongoing Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love capital campaign, as all net proceeds from the show will be contributed to the campaign.

“Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a non-profit and all of our land, facilities, Gardens and Sculpture are due the generosity of Fred and Lena Meijer, the extended Meijer Family and the thousands of people from the community that support us,” David S. Hooker, President and CEO of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, said to WKTV. “The Alabama concert represents a unique way for people to support our mission and expansion and to enjoy a performance from this legendary band. We are humbled and grateful to have Alabama be part of the Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens.”

Hooker did not mention if he was a fan of the classic American country and Southern rock band, but we would not be surprised — after all, the boys in the band are as hardworking as all the working folk buzzing around Meijer Gardens this summer.

The band’s website tell Alabama’s all-American story:

“It’s been 40 years since a trio of young cousins left Fort Payne, Alabama, to spend the summer playing in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, bar called The Bowery. It took Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook six long years of tip jars and word of mouth to earn the major label deal they’d been dreaming of, but then seemingly no time at all to change the face of country music.

“Alabama proceeded to reeled off 21 straight No. 1 singles, a record that will probably never be equaled in any genre. They brought youthful energy, sex appeal and a rocking edge that broadened country’s audience and opened the door to self-contained bands from then on, and they undertook a journey that led, 73 million albums later, to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

A sampling of Alabama’s No. 1 singles include “Love in the First Degree”, Mountain Music”, “Dixieland Delight”, “If Your Going to Play in Texas (You Gotta have a Fiddle in the Band” and “Song of the South”.

The lasting appeal of Alabama’s music is evidenced by another story from the band’s website:

“I was in Nashville,” Teddy Gentry says, “walking by this club full of young people — I’m talking 18 or 20. The band started playing ‘Dixieland Delight’ and everybody in the place started singing and sang all the way through. I had to smile at the longevity of the songs. Maybe some of those kids didn’t even know who Alabama was, but they knew the music, and so I think that’s a tribute to the fact that we spent a career putting out good songs that stand the test of time.”

You can bet that there will be plenty of older, and younger, fans of classic country-rock — as well as simply supporters of Meijer Gardens — on the amphitheater grass that August night.

And it might just be a picture-perfect night.

Tickets to Alabama are $153 member and $155 public. For tickets to the special benefit concert, visit here. For a complete list of Summer Concert Series concerts with tickets available, visit meijergardens.org .

Review: Alison Krauss brings country comfort to steamy Meijer Gardens stage

June 18, 2018Entertainment, Local Entertainment, ReviewsAlison Krauss, Meijer Gardens summer concert seriesJoanne

Alison Krauss brought her classic country sounds to Meijer Gardens on a hot summer night Sunday, June 17. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

60-second Review

Alison Krauss with Union Station and the Cox siblings, with Steve Delopoulos opening, June 17, at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Mi.

I will admit up front that I’m not much of a “classic country” kind of guy; nothing personal, just not much for a lot of Appalachian hymnals and broken-hearted love affairs.

Alison Krauss, with Union Station. (Supplied)

Actually, I made a Meijer Gardens concert series date with Alison Krauss on Sunday night primarily on the expectation of hearing a couple songs from her stunning, now 10-year-old, pairing with ex-Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant on the T-Bone Burnett produced Raising Sand, one of my favorite albums in recent years.

And while my expectations were met — with her offering fine versions of Raising Sand’s “Let Your Loss be Your Lesson” and “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us” as part of her 23-song, 95-minute set — Krauss’ mostly mellow mixture of country comfort and country sass was perfect for hot, steamy Michigan summer evening.

With the sterling vocal assistance of siblings Sidney and Suzanne Cox, Sidney’s excellent work on the dobro, and the tight accompaniment of the core of Krauss’ long-time band Union Station, the sell-out crowd clearly enjoyed a night of … you guessed it … Appalachian hymnals and songs of broken-hearted love affairs.

Krauss’ voice, one of the most unique in all music, not just country music, was sonically sweet, her violin work was fine in ensemble and, when she felt so inclined, very strong in the lead, as she relied mostly on songs from her 2017 release Windy City and her last release of originals with Union Station, 2011’s Paper Airplane.

My favorites of the night were unique covers of Willie Nelson’s “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”, Glen Campbell’s “Gentle on my Mind” (actually written by John Hartford), and, as part of her 3-song encore, Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing at All.” Ya, I know: all classic country. But, hey, good is good.

I guess the biggest compliment I can give Krauss is that her songs from Raising Sand will simply be pleasant afterthoughts.

May I have more, please?

One of the best things about well-known performers breezing through Meijer Gardens is the sometimes unknown performers they bring as opening acts. In the case of Ms. Krauss: Steven Delopoulos — a New Jersey singer/songwriter who took the stage with only his acoustic guitar, his pleasingly sparse vocal range and often raw, occasionally nonsensical, song lyrics.

Almost from the moment he took the stage during an 8-song, 40-minute set, I saw Delopoulos as the physical and musical reincarnation of one of my favorite 1970s singer/songwriters, Harry Chapin. (If your old enough, remember “Taxi” and “Cats in the Cradle”?) I liked that a lot.

I loved it, however, when, either responding to a request from the crowd or pulling it out of his regular set list, Delopoulos offered up a stripped-down version of fellow New Jerseyite Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road”.

Marched right down after the set and put down some cold, hard cash for the singer’s Straight Jacket LP. I figure Jersey Steve will go perfectly with a hit of Jamison Irish whisky on a soon-to-come cool fall night.

Also, a quick glance at the ongoing Meijer Gardens concert list, and concerts with originally-priced tickets still available, finds 10 of the remaining 23 shows have not yet sold out, including Seal this week, June 20, as well as three I’m looking forward to: Joe Jackson on July 20, Lyle Lovett on Aug. 27, and +Live+ to close the season on Sept. 3.

For more information visit meijergardens.com .

Better have tickets for ‘On fire’ Decemberists at Meijer Gardens concert series

May 30, 2018Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsMeijer Gardens summer concert series, The DecemberistsJoanne

The Decemberists’ June 4 visit to the Meijer Gardens concert series will likely be on the of “hot” concerts this season. (Supplied photo by Holly Andres)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

The first of the 31 planned concerts of the 2018 Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens begins this week with a sold-out show by the Tedeschi Trucks Band on Tuesday, May 30, with pushing 20 of the remaining 30 shows also sold out and many of the rest with very few tickets available from the original source.

While many of the “tickets available” shows are down to under 100 of the 1,900 general admission seats of the grass, the logic of which concerts are sold out and which are still up for grabs is a little bit of a puzzler, as several of the season’s best offerings still had tickets available as of the Memorial Day weekend.

One such “How can that not be sold out?” show is the Monday, June 4, visit of The Decemberists — a concert by a band clearly on the alt-rock “hot in 2018” list. (If there are any original source tickets — not from the secondary market, at increased prices — available from Meijer Gardens (at original price), check here.)

The Portland, Oregon based band — on their just released “I’ll Be Your Girl” album/CD/download, and their just begun “Your Girl/Your Ghost” world tour — are a well-established alternative rock band exploring a new sound, as evidenced by the first single off their new release, the synthesizer driven “Severed”.

“When you’ve been a band for 17 years, inevitably there are habits you fall into,” The Decemberists front man Colin Meloy said in supplied material. “So our ambition this time was really just to get out of our comfort zone. That’s what prompted working with a different producer and using a different studio. We wanted to free ourselves from old patterns and give ourselves permission to try something different.”

And when he says a “different producer,” he is referring to John Congleton, who has produced “different” musicians such as St. Vincent and Lana del Rey, and helps the band embrace “different” influences such as Roxy Music and New Order, according to the band.

The Decemberists — songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Meloy, guitarist Chris Funk, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query, and drummer John Moen — made a conscious effort to “broaden their sonic range” as a follow-up to 2015’s “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World”, which included the hit single “Make You Better”, and a history highlighted by almost folk-pop songs such as “Down By the Water” and “The Calamity Song”, both from 2011.

“On the last record,” Meloy said, “there were moments when I thought I was making familiar choices. I tried to be mindful in the songwriting process of challenging myself and being a little more critical. The idea was, how can we make unfamiliar choices, turn off the light a little and grope around in the dark a bit?

“We were talking about music and our references (and) … it kept coming back to Roxy Music and early glam, and we dove in with that in mind … we were trying to embrace that Bryan Ferry aspect, that kind of set the tone.”

Continuing on the new direction of “I’ll Be Your Girl”, and praising the input of fellow band members Funk and Conlee, Meloy said the single “Severed” was an example of a significant team effort.

“That was written as a punk song, but wasn’t really working,” he said. “Jenny set this arpeggio throughout it, and it became like an early New Order song. And I had forgotten that when we made the demo, I also started a file to turn it into more of a Depeche Mode song—I actually wanted it to be a synth song all along.”

Summing up the desire of a veteran band finding new inspiration, challenging itself to re-connect with its creativity, Meloy said: “Making music is an infinite choose-your-own-adventure, and when you go down one path, the other paths get sealed off. So every time we could, we said, ‘If this is what our impulses would tell us to do, let’s try to imagine it in a different way.’”

Can’t wait to hear the Decemberists’ new and different way.

Other concerts (maybe) not yet sold-out

Talking about concerts which may still tickets remaining available, the list includes one this weekend — Gladys Knight on Sunday, June 3 — and later nights with Jackson Browne, Air Supply and Patti LaBelle, as well as Alabama performing for a special fundraising show to benefit the Garden’s “Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love” capital campaign.

Most surprising, to me anyway, are that there are still tickets available for several more “hot” shows that I am looking forward to: the modern alt-pop darlings Fitz and the Tantrums, the late 1970s New Wave/early ‘80s Power Pop sounds of Joe Jackson, the reformed classic late ‘90s alt-rock juggernaut +LIVE+, and the always great annual visit of Lyle Lovett (with his Large Band).

For more information on Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, the concerts and all the details on what to bring and not bring to the outdoor amphitheater, visit meijergardens.org .

5 Local Things You Need to Know: Headlines for the week

May 22, 20183-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Education, Kentwood Public Schools, Kids Activities, Local Faces, Our CitiesAlpha Wolf, Festival of the Arts, Ford Airport, graduates, Meijer Gardens summer concert series, Senator peters, Wyoming High SchoolJoanne

WKTV Staff

victoria@wktv.org

More than 1,700 students set to graduate from schools in Wyoming, Kentwood

More than 1,700 students will be graduating from high schools in Kentwood and Wyoming during the next couple of weeks. Go here for a breakdown of when some of the local graduation ceremonies are taking place.

Ford Airport leader welcomes Sen. Peters’ introduction of bill to fund airport security

The bill allows airports to use Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds on state of the art surveillance cameras in public areas such as baggage claims or pick up and drop off areas. Go here for the complete story.

Glue-in, souvlaki: Festival of the Arts is all about making memories

The VOICES vintage Airstream trailer, which is a a local and regional oral history project that collects, preserves and shares stories form everyday residents of West Michigan, will be at this year’s 49th Festival of the Arts, set for June 1, 2, and 3. The trailer will be there to collect stories from Festival volunteers and participants. Go here to read the story.

Evolution of Meijer Gardens summer concert series a bit of a surprising success

The venue and the mix of musical genres and audiences has not only been a success, the summer concert series has benefited Meijer Gardens on several levels: promotional, financial and patron inclusiveness. Click here to read the story.

Wyoming High School presents its spring Alpha Wolf 11 awards

Started in 2016, the Alpha Wolf 11 Champion of Character award recognizes six students each semester and one teacher each year for character and treating others by “being kind, compassionate, and gracious”. Read more here.