Tag Archives: Summer Concerts

Cabildo: ‘A big, tropical outdoor party’

Citizen Journalism, Kids Activities, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , , ,
Cabildo brings the fun Thursday night at Kentwood. (Supplied)

By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

Ready to rock?

Better yet, ready to party?

The Kentwood Summer Concert Series goes all Latin on Thursday (July 21) as local seven-piece band Cabildo performs at the weekly, free community event on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall.

“Our music creates an atmosphere of a big, tropical outdoor party,” said Joshua Dunigan, who sings and plays congas in the group.

“Cabildo plays a fun and energetic combination of rock and traditional musical styles with lyrics in Spanish.”

No strangers to the local music, Cabildo keeps busy by headlining their own shows and playing local festivals.

On Friday (July 22) it plays at City Built Brewery (Monroe Avenue near the Sixth Street Bridge in Grand Rapids). And on Aug. 3 the band performs at the Cow Pie Music Festival in Caledonia. Earlier this year the band played at the Local Spins Fest in downtown Grand Rapids.

Founded as a Latin rock collective that delivers a fusion of cumbia, ska, folk and other genres from Latin and South America, cabildo roughly means “Town Hall” in Spanish.

“Historically, cabildos were gathering places located throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. They doubled as locations where African slaves could play traditional chants and drum parts. These were passed on through generations during Spanish colonization and continue to live on in today’s modern music,” according to the band’s bio.

The band’s lineup includes:

Julio Cano-VillaLobos (acoustic guitar, charango, accordion, vocals),

Julio Cesar Viveros (electric guitar, vocals),

Jonathon Sgromo (bass guitar),

Dustin Miller (drums, vocals),

Michael Prokopchuk (violin, vocals),

Nate Bliton (viola, keyboard),

Joshua Dunigan (vocals, congas and percussion)

Forming in 2004 from members of Electric Latin Love Orchestra, Dunigan said the band’s influences include a wide range of music, including Chico Trujillo, Violeta Para, Los Lobos and Sepultura.

“While still occasionally playing covers, we play original songs at most events,” he said.

Most of all, he loves the band’s original music.

“Our songwriters, the Julios, have written music that weaves together complex Latin beats with Rock and Roll teeth,” he said. “It’s fun to play a lot of different instruments to create those textures.”

Learn more about the band and listen to its music at http://www.cabildomusic.com/.

The Kentwood show is from 7-8:30 p.m. on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE. Admission is free. A variety of food trucks also will be on hand. You can also bring your own “adult beverages.” And don’t forget to bring your own blankets and lawn chairs.

Parking for shows will be limited at both City Hall and the Library. Additional parking is available at the Kentwood Justice Center (4740 Walma SE), Kentwood Public Works (5068 Breton SE), Kentwood Baptist Church (2875 52nd St), and there is street parking in nearby neighborhoods. 

The Kentwood Farmers Market takes place next door from 4:30-7 p.m. in the parking lot behind City Hall.

Get more information at kentwood.us.

The remaining lineup includes:

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media.

Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html.

If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.

Par-llo brings ‘old school’ to the Kentwood concerts

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , , ,

John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

Par-llo Connection performs on Thursday in Kentwood. (Supplied)

After a brief break for the Fourth of July holiday, the Kentwood Summer Concert Series is back with Par-llo Connection show band. A band with a message.

PAR-LLO stands for “Peace All Races – Live Love Others.”

“Who would have thought 40 years later it’s what the world needs today,” said original drummer Phil “Tapp” Morrow, in an email to WKTV Journal. “We always wanted our name to mean something.”


It also means “fun”!

The group performs at 7 p.m. Thursday (July 14) on the lawn behind City Hall. Admission is free.

READ: Summer revs up with Kentwood concerts, farmers market combo

A little band history

Morrow said the band performed from 1979 -87 in the heyday of the local music scene and opened for local band Switch, which featured Bobby and Tommy DeBarge of the famous DeBarge family in Grand Rapids, as well as the Bar-Kays at the Civic Auditorium. Par-llo even opened twice for Zapp at the DeVos Performance Hall, Morrow said.

“(We) got back together in 2017 not knowing what direction we were headed, more less just to catch up. Although we stayed in touch with each other,” Morrow said.

Influenced by Earth Wind Fire, Cameo, Prince, Kool & the Gang, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Gap Band, Commodores, and so many others, the group might even surprise with a little Bruno Mars or Mary J. Blige.

They love to entertain.

The band performed from 1979-87 and reformed in 2017. (Supplied)

“(We) give a show,” said Morrow, which means several sets, changed outfits for each set, a fog machines, flash boxes, etc.

They want to “create a one of a kind experience,” Morrow said.

What to expect

The band performed from 1979-87 and reformed in 2017. (Supplied)

Although the Kentwood show is an outdoor concert, which is a little different than a nightclub, he said “people can expect energized ‘Old School’ with a new twist R&B Funk Band.”

“Playing outside is like being at a free, old-school style concert,” he said. “Outside creates natural energy to share your gift.

“The reason I love playing in this band, because we are family on and off the stage, all self-taught. We just have fun because we know we are blessed to be able to get back together.”

The current band line up includes:

Phil Morrow (Tapp) Drummer, Vocals, Original Member

Leonard Burney (Toot) Bass, Vocals, Original member

Anthony Jones (Ant) Guitar, Vocals, Original Member

Tone Mosley (Tone) Lead Vocals, trumpet, trombone, Original Member

Dana Mosley (Dane) Keyboards, vocals Original Member

Isaac Rogers (Ike) Sax, Vocals Original Member

Chuck Johnson (Chuck) Keyboards, Guitar

Tina Flowers (Tina Marie) Lead vocal

Concerts take place from 7-8:30 p.m. on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE. Admission is free. A variety of food trucks also will be on hand.

Kentwood summer concert info

Parking for shows will be limited at both City Hall and the Library, according to the city’s website. Additional parking is available at the Kentwood Justice Center (4740 Walma SE), Kentwood Public Works (5068 Breton SE), Kentwood Baptist Church (2875 52nd St), and there is street parking in nearby neighborhoods.

The Kentwood Farmers Market takes place next door from 4:30-7 p.m. in the parking lot behind City Hall. 

Get more information at kentwood.us.

This remaining lineup includes:

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media. Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html. If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

Up next for Kentwood summer concerts is Soul Syndicate

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The Soul Syndicate performs this Thursday at the Kentwood Summer Concert series. (Soul Syndicate)

Popular local band Soul Syndicate returns to the area this week as the group performs at the Kentwood Summer Concert series on Thursday.

The free Kentwood Summer Concerts are located on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE.

No stranger to the area, Soul Syndicate opened the Wyoming Concerts in the Park series earlier this month. Through the years, the group has performed with such artists as The Temptations, The Spinners, The Countours, Kansas, The Guess Who, The Beach Boys, Edgar Winter, Natalie Cole, Rosemarie Clooney, Elvis Presley Jr., and the U.S. Navy Commodores Band.

READ: The Soul Syndicate performs at Wyoming Concerts in the Park

“We love to see the energy from the crowd,” said drummer Tom Taylor in an earlier interview with WKTV. ”It is really about seeing the people and having fun.”

The group is not small, with up to a 11 musicians. Besides Taylor, there is Mike Coon on guitar, Matt Fouts on bass, and John Neil on keyboard. Male lead vocal is Collin Tobin, who has performed win several Grand Rapids Civic Theatre productions, and female lead vocal is Katie Sarb a. Rounding out the group is Nate Hansen on sax and Tim DeBesten on trumpet, and Jeff Carroll on trombone.

To learn more about Soul Syndicate and see a list of shows, visit www.thesoulsyndicte.com/shows. 

Also remember that the Kentwood Farmer’s Market takes place just before the concerts, from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.

READ: Summer revs up with Kentwood concerts, farmers market combo

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media. Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html. If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

This year’s lineup includes

Musician Max Lockwood excited about returning to Kentwood

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , ,

By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

Max Lockwood opens the Kentwood Summer Concert series on Thursday. (Photo by Pia Lu)

At an early age, singer/songwriter Max Lockwood knew the stage was his calling.

It came when he was on stage at his 8th grade talent show.

His band, The Wealthy Homeless, played an original song and Green Day cover.

“I was extremely excited for (the talent show), and I have been playing ever since as much as I can,” said the 32-year-old Lockwood.

He’s not joking.

At age 16 he was playing with the local band Sweet Japonic, and after two years of upright bass performance classes at DePaul University, the Wayland native took time off to tour with Michigan band the Ragbirds.

He eventually went back to school to get a creative writing/literature degree from the University of Michigan. His debut record, “Outrider,” served as his senior thesis at the University of Michigan for his degree in creative writing.

“I guess you could say that 50 percent of my lifetime has been playing professionally,” Lockwood told WKTV Journal. “…At this point I feel very comfortable and natural. I enjoy performing very much.”

Max Lockwood will be performing original music at Thursday’s concert. (Photo by Pia Lu)

Lockwood and his band will kick off the Kentwood Summer Music Series on Thursday (June 16) on the lawn behind City Hall. The concert is at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

READ: Summer revs up with Kentwood concerts, farmers market combo

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media. Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html. If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

Lockwood will perform his original music, which is “rooted in songcraft and heartfelt lyricism and bound with elements of rock and roll, folk and pop,” according to his website bio. 

His musicianship, songwriting and experience will shine through, whether playing original or cover songs.

Those originals explore the themes of “love, adversity and growth,” in a powerful voice, akin to the likes of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.

In fact, he’ll play a couple new songs that were just released, including “Nothing to Fight” and “Lonely Gods.”

Both were recorded in Grand Rapids and feature many local musicians, including members of his side project band, The Insiders, a Tom Petty tribute band that he fronts.

He’s excited to return to Kentwood where he has performed with another band he used to front, psychedelic folk-rock band Big Dudee Roo.

“It’s fun, out on the lawn,” he said of the outdoor series. “Hopefully the weather will be great.”

The Max Lockwood Band consists of Max on guitar and vocals, Justin Dore on guitar, Eric O’Daly on bass and Daine Hammerly on drums.

Learn more about Max Lockwood, including new releases and tour schedules at https://www.maxlockwoodmusic.com/.

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.

Blind Boys of Alabama opens Gardens concerts on Sunday

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Our Cities, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , , ,

By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

Eric “Ricky” McKinnie was only four years old when he met The Blind Boys of Alabama. His mother was in a gospel group, and he had a chance to meet the legendary Clarence Fountain and other original members on the road.

The Blind Boys of Alabama perform with Marc Cohn on Sunday, June 12. (Supplied)

“I never knew that one day I would be part of The Blind Boys,” said the soft spoken singer, who joined the group as a drummer and road manager 34 years ago.

Today his band backs up The Blind Boys of Alabama, a Grammy award-winning and pioneering gospel group that began in 1939 that is revered in the industry. Over the decades it has appeared on recordings with many artists, including Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Marc Cohn and others.

They help kick off another magical season of concerts on Sunday (June 12) at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. The band opens for good friend Marc Cohn, who recorded an album with the Blind Boys in 2019.

McKinnie said they will play about a 75-minute of Gospel standards and some of their best-known songs, before giving way to Cohn. They might even join him on a song or two.

“We had the opportunity to meet Marc a few years ago; we got together, we did some recordings, we did some tours…it’s good to be back again,” said McKinnie in a phone call with WKTV Journal. “It’s just like family.”

The collaborative album with Cohn, titled “Work to Do,” features new and older material, including Cohn’s best known hit “Walking in Memphis,” as well the Blind Boys’ version of “Amazing Grace.”

McKinnie said it’s a special relationship with Cohn. They love him because he’s “an exceptional singer and keyboard player,” but more so because he’s a good person.

“He’s genuine,” McKinnie said. “What you see is what it is. He doesn’t change. We like his style. He’s just a good guy.”

Cohn said of the venerated gospel group:

“My collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama has been a thrilling chapter in my musical life,” he said in a release. “We’ve performed dozens of shows together and I was honored to co-write three songs for their previous album. Now, with the release of our new album, my early love and feeling for gospel music has come full circle. It was wonderful to both write new songs with their heavenly voices in mind, and to capture the joy that they bring to some of my older songs in a live setting.”

The Blind Boys have had a changing roster of musicians over its history, but got their name because a majority of the singers were vision impaired. McKinnie lost his eyesight to glaucoma in 1975.

Marc Cohn along with the Blind Boys of Alabama will kick off the Meijer Gardens concert series on Sunday. (Supplied)

The collaborations and accolades grew over the years and led to some prestigious awards, including five Grammy awards, induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The group also was invited to the White House during the Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.

McKinnie said “it’s always a privilege” to play for dignitaries and collaborate with other artists because “it’s good to know that someone likes your music and that someone cares.”

Performing songs “that reach the heart” has been a big part of their success, as well as their mission, he said.

“Throughout the years the Blind Boys have always tried to let people know that they are important,” he said.

“They show people that a disability doesn’t have to be a handicap because we learn that it’s not about what you can’t do that’s important, it’s about what you do. A handicap is a limitation, and we all have limitations.”

Most of all, the Atlanta native said, fans can expect to have a good time at Meijer Gardens when he takes the stage to perform with founding member Jimmy Carter, as well as Joey Williams, Ben Moore and Paul Beasley.

“We’re going to sing some songs that will make you feel good, if you feel bad, and we’re going to have you clap your hands and do a little dance. We’re going to have a great ol’ time when we get there,” McKinnie said.

Tickets are still available for the Marc Cohn + Blind Boys of Alabama, which are $52/public and $50 member. Many of the Meijer Garden shows are sold out. Shows with tickets available are:

June 24 – Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown featuring Tank and the Tan Bangas, Big Freedia, Cyril Nevil: The Uptown Ruler, George Porter Jr. and Dumpstaphunk (performing the music of The Meters and the The Soul Rebels, $93/member, $95/public

June 27 – Bluegrass Happening featuring Bela Fleck & My Bluegrass Heart, Sam Bush & The Jerry Douglas Band, $65/member, $67/public

July 6 – Corinne Bailey Rae with The War & Treaty, $53/member, $55/public

July 15 – Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, $68/member, $70/public

July 20 – Rick Springfield with the Grand Rapids Symphony, $75/member, $77/public

July 21 – Buddy Guy + John Hiatt, $80/member, $82/public

July 28 – Arturo Sandoval with the Grand Rapids Symphony, $53/member, $55/public

Aug. 4 – Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Nicole Atkins, $102/member, $104/public

Aug. 10 – The Dead South with Tejon Street Corner Thieves, $51/member, $53/public

Sept. 12 – Australian Pink Floyd, $61/member, $63/public

Sept. 16 – She & Him, $72/presale, $75/,member, $77/public

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.

Tickets still remain for 12 of this season’s 33 concerts, including opening night with Marc Cohn and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Learn more at https://www.meijergardens.org/calendar/summer-concerts-at-meijer-gardens/

Review: Lake Street Dive (and Darlingside) at Meijer Gardens

3-bottom, Local Entertainment, , , ,

Now familiar to the Meijer Gardens summer concert series after their second visit in three years, Lake Street Dive – from left, Michael Olson, Rachel Price, Bridget Kearney and Michael Calabrese – is a band of eclectic sounds and songs. (Supplied photo)
Now familiar to the Meijer Gardens summer concert series after their second visit in three years, Lake Street Dive – from left, Michael Olson, Rachel Price, Bridget Kearney and Michael Calabrese – is a band of eclectic sounds and songs. (Supplied photo)

30-second Review

 

Lake Street Dive, with Darlingside opening, Aug. 24 at Meijer Gardens amphitheater.

 

Lake Street Dive is a band of a multitude of musical styles and a sound much bigger than its lean four-member lineup would suggest – and the Brooklyn-based band’s choice of covers included as part of its nearly two-hour, 21-song set Wednesday was clear evidence of both. From a fun-filled, mostly loyal-to-the-original version of the Kinks “Lola”, to Prince’s “When You Were Mine” – a soulful version with a great standup base solo intro by Bridget Kearney, to an encore closing blast of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Lake Street Dive and most especially lead singer Rachel Price showed off their versatility. Among the highlights of the band’s original songs were a bluesy/gospel sounding “Godawful Things” as their opening number, “Mistakes” with Michael Olson stepping away from his guitar to his trumpet, and the soulful “Rental Love” – the first two off the band’s great 2016 release Side Pony and the last off 2014’s Bad Self Portraits.

 

May I have more, please?

 

Darlingside put on a surprising and pleasing opening set focused on harmonies, a single vocal mic and an alt folk sound reminiscent of the Avett Brothers or Mumford and Sons. (Suppled photo)
Darlingside put on a surprising and pleasing opening set focused on harmonies, a single vocal mic and an alt folk sound reminiscent of the Avett Brothers or Mumford and Sons. (Suppled photo)

Another great example of the multitude of musical styles the audience at Meijer Gardens was witness to was a surprising, might I say stunning, opening eight-song, 45-minute opening set by Massachusetts-based quartet Darlingside.

 

Described by NPR as bringing a “baroque folk-pop” sound – and I can do no better for definition – Darlingside’s sound featured single microphone vocal harmonies, sparse percussion sound sans a drummer, but acoustically superb use of strings other than guitar and banjo. On their latest recording, 2015’s Birds Say, bassist Dave Senft, guitarist and banjo player Don Mitchell, classical violinist and folk mandolinist Auyon Mukharji, and cellist and guitarist Harris Paseltiner have created a sound that reminds one of the Avett Brothers or Mumford and Sons, but really sounds like nothing I’ve heard before.

 

The band had me at its a cappella opening “The God of Loss” from Birds Say and cemented my attraction with its set-ending “Blow the House Down” from 2012’s Pilot Machines, the band’s debut recording.

 

After first running across the band when they were still students at Williams College in western Massachusetts in 2012, I can’t wait to fill in the blanks in my CD cabinet and keep a watch on their continued and justified exposure.

 

Looking Ahead

 

What’s up next with the Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: the sold-out Seal on Aug. 31, with tickets available only for the rescheduled Tears for Fears on Sept. 26.

 

Schedule and more info:

meijergardens.org/calendar/summer-concerts-at-meijer-gardens

‘Shout’ it out: Tears for Fears reschedules its Meijer Gardens concert

3-bottom, Entertainment, Upcoming Events, , , ,

infoboxAfter being postponed as the June 6 opener of the Meijer Gardens concert season, Tears for Fears’ sold-out show, is back on the schedule with a new Sept. 26. If you already have tickets for the original show, you already are in. If not, there is still a chance.

 

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park announced last week that tickets purchased for the June  6 concert will be honored for the new date. Refunds of those June 6 tickets will be available at point-of-purchase until August 1 – when all tickets for the original June 6 date become non-refundable. Tickets purchased for the Sept. 26 date are all non-refundable. Ticket prices are $75 during the members-only presale, and $78 for members and $80 for the public.

 

Tears for Fears comes to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture in September.
Tears for Fears comes to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Sept. 26.

Meijer Gardens members may buy tickets for the rescheduled date during a members-only presale beginning at 9 a.m., Friday, June 24 through midnight, July 1. Tickets can be purchased in-person at Meijer Gardens Admission Desk during normal business hours with no handling fees, by phone at 800-585-3737 with a handling fee of $8 per order, or online at StarTickets.com with a handling fee of $8 per order.

 

If tickets remain available after the members-only presale, sales to the public will begin at 9 a.m., July 2, the same three ways.

 

Tears for Fears’ Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith previously announced they had postpone some shows due to “family” matters.

 

The UK band formed in 1981 and have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide to date.  They have released four albums as a group. Their platinum-selling 1983 debut “The Hurting” and 1985’s “Songs from the Big Chair” produced two massive hits, “Shout” and “Everybody Wants To Rule The World.” Orzabal and Smith released “The Seeds of Love” in 1989, and after a break, reunited to release “Everybody Loves a Happy Ending” in 2004. They are currently working on material for a new release scheduled for 2017.

 

While there are plenty of goodies in their catalogue, with a fair share of audience “sing-a-longs” to their eighties hits, last year at Bonnaroo they mixed the old with the new and even reportedly preformed a great cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.”

 

We can hope they will do the same in September.

 

Schedule and more info on ticket plan is available at meijergardens.org/calendar/summer-concerts-at-meijer-gardens.

 

— Kady

Meijer Gardens concerts: The Monkees now open season; nine dates still have tickets

3-bottom, Entertainment, , , ,

The Monkees are now the openers to the Frederik Meijer Gardens Summer Concert series. The group performs June 8.
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.
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.

 

— Kady