Category Archives: Reviews

St. Cecilia jazz series returns with Cohen’s ‘Master Legacy Series’, sax master Golson

January 3, 2020Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsJoanne

Benny Golson, 90 years young, is a world-renowned composer, arranger, lyricist, producer and, arguably, one of the best alto saxophonists ever to blow his horn. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

The jazz world’s “Old School” will meet “Next Gen” later this month in Grand Rapids as St. Cecilia Music Center’s 2019-20 Jazz Series returns with Emmet Cohen’s Master Legacy Series featuring Benny Golson on Jan. 16.

Cohen, a master jazz pianist at the young age of 28, is “on mission to celebrate the last remaining legendary jazz artists,” according to supplied material, with his Masters Legacy Series, a “celebratory set of recordings, interviews and live performances honoring legendary jazz musicians.”

Golson, 90 years young, is a world-renowned composer, arranger, lyricist, producer and, arguably, one of the best alto saxophonists ever to blow his horn.

“We are very excited to bring the Emmet Cohen Trio with Benny Golson together at St. Cecilia Music Center to celebrate an evening of jazz at its finest,” Cathy Holbrook, St. Cecilia executive director said in supplied material. “Emmet Cohen has hit the mark with his superb understanding of what jazz is all about and by bringing the legendary jazz master Benny Golson on tour, the blending of creative talent will be electrifying.”

Emmet Cohen, left, with Ron Carter, center, recorded and toured on pervious Master Legacy Series collaboration. (Supplied)

In describing his reasons for establishing Master Legacy Jazz series, Cohen says that playing jazz “is enriched immeasurably by connecting and studying with jazz masters, forging backward to the very creation of the art form.”

The Masters Legacy Series, according to supplied material, is a celebratory set of recordings and interviews honoring legendary jazz musicians, which Cohen serves as both producer and pianist for each album in the series. Volume one of the “Masters Legacy Series” features drummer Jimmy Cobb and volume two spotlights bassist Ron Carter. With Cohen’s work with Golson in work, future Masters Legacy Series efforts are also planned to include work with Tootie Heath and George Coleman.

The goal of the project is to “provide musicians of multiple generations a forum to transfer the unwritten folklore that is America’s unique musical idiom,” according to supply material.

Golson, for one, certainly qualifies as a “master” of the jazz music art form.

He has recorded more than 30 albums under his own name, and innumerable ones with other major artists. A prolific teacher at several musical conservatories and universities, he is also a prodigious musical writer, with more than 300 compositions penned.

Golson’s resume includes working with the legendary masters of old — Count Basie, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie, just to name drop just a few.

Cohen, while 60 years junior to Golson, is no novice on the jazz piano himself.

He began Suzuki method piano instruction at age three, according to supplied material. While active in many musical and creative areas, Cohen says jazz is his first love — saying that playing jazz is “about communicating the deepest levels of humanity and individuality; it’s essentially about connections,” both among musicians and with audiences. He currently leads his namesake ensemble, the “Emmet Cohen Trio”, which will accompany Golson at the St. Cecilia concert.

The remaining St. Cecilia Jazz Series concerts remaining for the 2019-20 season include, on March 5, jazz vocalist Luciana Souza — of which Billboard Magazine described as “a uniquely talented vocalist who organically crosses genre borders. Her music soulfully reflects, wistfully regrets, romantically woos, joyfully celebrates …” — as well as the two time Grammy-nominated Clayton Brothers Quintet performing on April 16.

Tickets for Emmet Cohen’s Master Legacy Series featuring Benny Golson are $40 and $45 and can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE, Grand Rapids. Tickets can also be purchased online at scmc-online.org.

A pre-concert reception for $15 at 6:30 pm, with wine and hors d’oeuvres, is available by reservation in advance (reserve by Friday, Jan. 10). A post-concert party with dessert, coffee and wine is open to all ticket-holders to meet the artists, obtain autographs and purchase CDs.

Old school jazz trio, visiting voices, to debut series at The Listening Room on Jan. 4

January 2, 2020Entertainment, Going Local, Local Faces, Reviews, Upcoming EventsMax Colley III, Robin Connell Trio, The Listening Room, WKTVJoanne

Max Colley latest release, “Jubilee”, includes Jimmy Cobb, Jon Faddis and others. Locally, he has played with the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra, The Truth in Jazz Orchestra and Gumbo Nuveau, as well as leading the Max Colley III Quartet. (Supplied/Max Colley III)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

The Listening Room, one of Grand Rapids newest music venues, will debut a new jazz series this week when the Robin Connell Trio, with opening night special guest trumpeter Max Colley III, hits the stage Saturday, Jan. 4.

While the venue, located at Studio Park at 123 Ionia Ave SW, is definitely new, having opened late last year, the idea of jazz in an intimate setting where sipping a cocktail and listening to some jazz in small club setting, is perfectly old-school.

“It’s a wonderful venue for those who love live music and enjoy listening … It is designed such that it could very well function as a jazz club on a par with NYC clubs that require people to refrain from talking,” local pianist Robin Connell said to WKTV. “The (venue general manager) … described it to me as ‘a music room with drinks vs a bar with music.’ … (and) he is bringing in an eclectic mix of genres, including some jazz.

“This (new) series is loosely based on what I did at The Harris Building four years ago, which was loosely based on the old style jazz club that hired a ‘house’ trio to back touring artists such as Charlie Parker & Billie Holiday,” Connell said.

The jazz nights will start at 7:30 p.m., with doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $12, with open seating, drinks available for purchase, and a parking garage attached — “So no outdoor hassle (park on 2nd floor to walk right in),” we are told.

Connell’s “house trio”, which will usually have with Rob Hartman on bass and Keith Hall on the drums, are scheduled to feature Colley and his trumpet to open. From then, the monthly series will have Ivan Akansiima, on guitar and piano, on Feb. 6; Paul Brewer, on trombone but also a fine composer, on March 7; and wrapping up the initial winter series on April 1 with Carl Cafagna on woodwinds — “Almost all of ‘em and vocals, too!” Connell says.

Max Colley III, according to his website, received music education degree from Central Michigan University, has studies with the likes of Jon Faddis, and has won awards including outstanding soloist at the Aquinas College, CMU and Montreaux-Detroit Jazz Festivals, and won the Jimmy Forrest Memorial Scholarship.

In 2016, he released the recording “Jubilee”, which includes Jimmy Cobb, Faddis, “and many other jazz luminaries!” Locally, he has played with the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra, The Truth in Jazz Orchestra and Gumbo Nuveau, as well as leading the Max Colley III Quartet.

And while Connell is looking forward to the series and all her guests, she is also looking forward to playing the house piano.

“I played there Dec. 15 in a collage type concert … I was the only jazzer in a wonderful lineup of singer songwriters,” Connell said to WKTV. “After I waxed on about the piano, a woman reached out to me and said the piano had been her grandmother’s. A man nearby then told me the piano had been his mother’s. So I realized then that I was meeting the owners of Studio Park since I knew it was their piano in the club.”

For more information on the jazz series and all concerts at The Listening Room, visit listeningroomGR.com or call 616-900-9500. For more info on Max Colley III, visit maxcolley3.weebly.com . For more information on Robin Connell, visit robinconnell.com .

May Erlewine, on heels of new music release, plans local holiday party gigs with The Motivations

December 10, 2019Entertainment, Holidays, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Reviews, Upcoming EventsMay Erlewine, WKTVJoanne

An earlier, slightly smaller version of May Erlewine and The Motivations. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

West Michigan singer/songwriter May Erlwine will take a break from her national tour promoting her recent and splendid alt-Americana release, Second Sight, to offer up some local holiday dance party gigs fronting The Motivations.

Part of a hectic two weeks of Michigan concerts includes a stop at Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, on Friday, Dec. 13.

The Motivations is a now-9-piece band that offers up boogie jams and classic soul cuts. According to supplied material, The Motivations holiday party project was born in the winter of 2016 when Erlewine set out to make music and create a positive space “meant to get people moving, to feel connected, and to help everyone celebrate the moment — and each other” amid the holiday season rush/crush.

“It’s not an easy time for everyone,” Erlewine said in supplied material. “We invite you to shake out your holiday stressors and come on out to dance with us!”

The Motivations feature Phil Barry on guitar and vocals; Joe Hettinga on synth, keys and vocals; Eric Kuhn on guitar and vocals; Max Lockwood on bass and vocals; Mike Lynch on organ and keys; Terrence Massey on trumpet and vocals; Brandon Proch on saxophone, vocals and percussion; and Michael Shimmin on drums, percussion and vocals.

Despite the changes in band and musical genre, Elrewine will likely play a few songs from her latest alt-Americana release. (We can only hope!)

May Erlewine (Supplied/Michael Poehlman)

On her latest full-length studio album release, Second Sight, which hit the streets Nov. 1, she delivers her constantly beautiful-voiced singer/songwriter vocals with a powerful push into the realm of socio-political commentary — the first single released from Second Sight, she states, was “Written as a testimony for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. And for all of the women who have been ‘unheard’ in their truth.”

“We are living in a time where we are inundated with media, consumerism and distractions from being connected to our deeper visions,” she told WKTV in a previous interview. “The songs are a journey to reconnecting with our home, ourselves and each other while grieving the incredible trauma of our history.”

For the story on Erlewine’s Second Sight, see a WKTV story here.

In addition to this week’s gig at Pyramid Scheme, the band will play Thursday, Dec. 12, at Beards Brewery in Petoskey; Saturday, Dec. 14, at The Old Art Building in Leland; Thursday, Dec. 19, at Otus Supply in Ferndale; Friday, Dec. 20, at The Livery in Benton Harbor; Saturday, Dec. 21, at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake; and Sunday, Dec. 22, at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo.

For more information on May Erlewine, her music and tickets to announced local dates, visit mayerlewine.com.

Singer/songwriter coming to Grand Rapids with powerful stories of veterans

November 22, 2019Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, VeteransMary Gauthier, The Listening Room, WKTVJoanne

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

When it comes to supporting America’s military veterans, sometimes all you can do is listen to their stories. When you are as talented a singer/songwriter as Mary Gauthier, you can go one step further — listening and then retelling those stories in powerful and moving ways.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier will perform at Grand Rapids’ The Listening Room on Dec.13 in support of Rifles & Rosary Beads, an 11-song collection of songs co-written with U.S. veterans and their families that “reveal the untold stories and struggles that veterans and their spouses deal with abroad and after returning home.”

(A fairly new venue in town, The Listening Room is located at Studio Park, 123 Iona Ave. SW. Tickets are still available.)

“My job as a songwriter is to find that thing a soul needs to say,” Gauthier said in supplied material about her interactions with veterans through meetings of SongwritingWith:Soldiers. “Each retreat brings together a dozen or so soldiers and four songwriters, three songs each in two days. We don’t have a choice. We have to stay focused, listen carefully, and make sure every veteran gets their own song. And we always do.

“None of the veterans are artists. They don’t write songs, they don’t know that songs can be used to move trauma. Their understanding of song doesn’t include that. For me it’s been the whole damn deal. Songwriting saved me. It’s what I think the best songs do, help articulate the ineffable, make the invisible visible, creating resonance, so that people, (including the songwriter) don’t feel alone.”

SongwritingWith:Soldiers is a non-profit program that facilitates retreats bringing professional songwriters together with wounded veterans and active duty military.

Each song on Rifles & Rosary Beads is “deceptively simple and emotionally complex”. From the opening “Soldiering On”, with the line “What saves you in the battle/Can kill you at home”; to “Bullet Holes in the Sky” — “They thank me for my service/And wave their little flags/They genuflect on Sundays/And yes, they’d send us back”. And it is not just male veterans who have told her their story: the song “Iraq” depicts the “helpless horror of a female military mechanic being dehumanized and sexually harassed by fellow soldiers.”

With now 10 albums in her catalogue, Gauthier is no stranger to musical audiences, especially country music audiences — her classic track “Mercy Now” was included in Rolling Stone’s “Saddest Country Songs of all Time”. In her official biography, she states that “no stranger to pain or demons herself, Gauthier has used songwriting to work through addiction and childhood abandonment as an orphan, but this is the first album where she has focused solely on experiences other than her own.”

Mary Gauthier, with special guest Jaimee Harris, is Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m.. Tickets are $27. For more information on this show and the venue, visit listeningroomGR.com.

Grand Rapids own Jack Droppers & The Best Intentions plan EP release party at Mulligan’s

October 28, 2019Entertainment, Going Local, Reviews, Upcoming EventsJack Droppers & The Best Intentions, WKTVJoanne

Jack Droppers & The Best Intentions. (Supplied by the band)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

If you caught Jack Droppers & The Best Intentions earlier this month when they opened for Michigander at Pyramid Scheme, you know the genre-bending sounds of the local band’s Bottled Up like a Neon Light, released in April, and maybe a cut or two from their up-coming Three on Three EP.

If not, you’ll just have to wait for their CD release party Thursday, Nov. 7, at Mulligan’s Pub on Wealthy Street SE. (Of course, you could check out music from Bottled Up like a Neon Light on bandcamp.com.)

While everybody hears what they hear and calls ‘em like they hears ‘em, my first listen to their early-this-year full-length release definately “Stuck in My Head” — the title of one song ion the release — with its mix of a little alt, a little retro rock and even a little old new wave.

But Jack and the band apparently simply call themselves a “garage” band.

“With their newest set of music, the ‘Three on Three‘ EP, the band is set to take their music to a new level,” they say of themselves and the new music. “The EP showcases some of the biggest sounding songs the band has done while maintaining a consistent feel of Americana Garage Rock.”

Jack Droppers was born in Grand Rapids, but has spent almost all his life outside of the city until recently, according to the band’s own bio, “Like his new home in GR, JD’s latest musical project is a homecoming of sorts. The Americana rock & roll that Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions play reflects a blend of the Springsteen cassettes he inherited and the garage-rock scene of Central Florida where he grew up.”

Droppers is joined by Laura Hobson (of Antrim Dells), Garrett Stier (of Stationary Travelers), Devin Sullivan, Josh Holicki and James Kessel … “for an honest, rough-around-the-edges, and robust rock & roll sound.”

The party at Mulligan’s sounds like a great way to start the fall, and get to know Jack and his best intentions.

Jack Droppers & The Best Intentions will play Mulligan’s Pub, 1518 Wealthy St. SE, with Dawning opening and DJ Oracle spinning the afterparty, from 9 p.m. until they kick everybody out. For more information, visit the band’s Facebook Page or visit Mulligan’s Pub’s Facebook page.

Songs on May Erlewine’s ‘Second Sight’ speak softly, clearly of America at crossroads

October 10, 2019Entertainment, Local Faces, Reviews, Upcoming EventsJoanne

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

Anybody who has seen West Michigan’s own May Erlewine in concert, either during her in-process local and national tour or at any number local gigs in recent years, know she sings her songs with a gentle passion.

On her latest full-length studio album release, Second Sight, set to hit the streets Nov. 1, she maintains her sweet, gentle delivery but she packs a musical heavyweight’s punch with songs about an American society at risk if not in peril.

For evidence of her intent to push her music into the realm of socio-political commentary of the best — and strongest — vein, you need to listen no further than the first single released from Second Sight, and witness the power of its accompanying video, “Whole Again” — which she states was “Written as a testimony for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. And for all of the women who have been ‘unheard’ in their truth.”

Erlewine, an American woman thorough-and-through, is making clear her concern, if not open anger, at the current state of the country. And she does so unabashedly.

“There was no reluctance to being straightforward because so much care and intention was put into our message from the beginning to the end,” Erlewine said to WKTV in an email interview. “I also feel very at home with the truth. It’s not something that we can really avoid, so it feels relieving to me to create art that feels true and relevant to the times.”

“Whole Again” is about “the pain of women’s history,” she said in supplied material. “It’s about the fact that we have continued to repair and make whole what has been broken so many times, all while continuing to suffer abuses and silencing, without truly equal rights in our own country.”

That, as they say, is a punch to the heart of the matter.

The song was first written by Erlewine as a poem while watching the widely televised testimony of Christine Blasey Ford during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. Erlewine brought the poem to musical co-conspiratorTyler Duncan and together they crafted the song.

Undoubtedly, if you heard Erlewine in concert in Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids last weekend, or plan to catch her at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake on Sunday, Oct. 13, your witness to her new songs and the stories of how they came about.

From the opening track on Second Sight, the instrumental “New Morning”, with Erlewine plays piano on what seems almost like a prelude to a larger work — a play or an opera — to the final song, “Afraid”, which feels a lot like a requiem, the collection seems thematic.

“The album is a journey through what feels like a time of great regression in our leadership,” she said. “This country was founded in pain and injustice, and a lot of that pain has been passed down through the generations. We are living in a time where we are inundated with media, consumerism and distractions from being connected to our deeper visions.

“The songs are a journey to reconnecting with our home, ourselves and each other while grieving the incredible trauma of our history.”

Another punch where it hurts.

While Second Sight, taken in its entirety, has an almost all-encompassing level of quality, in its music and its messages, to me, the heart of the recording is the trio of songs “Eyes on the Road”, “How Can I Return” and “Together in My Mind”.

Sticking in my mind’s eye after first listen, “Eyes on the Road”, for many reasons, seems to me to be saying there are good things coming down the road if you just stay true to the journey.

“This song is about holding our vision for the future and not being distracted by the insanity that is surrounding us right now,” Erlewine said. “It is when things are not right that we must hold on to our dreams. Our vision is needed when the way is unclear.”

And while “How Can I Return” … which includes the lyric “all the bridges have been burned” … seems talks about the destructive path our country is on, “Together in My Mind” … “Even when the sky is falling, there is stardust to find” … finds Erlewine remaining optimistic about the future. Maybe.

“How Can I Return” is “about colonialism and the pain of how we got to where we are as a country,” she said. “When we look at the injustice of our history and all of the people our victories have wounded, it feels very hard to connect to this country, this flag. The question is, ‘How could I return after understanding what the foundation of our country is built upon?

“… ‘Together In My Mind’ is about overcoming isolation and remembering that we are all connected to each other and all living things. This song is leading into ‘Afraid’ (the final track) which asks us to dig deep into courage and love as we move forward into uncharted territory.”

Clearly, Erlewine is not afraid to look at the American landscape, the mirror of our times, and see the good and the bad. And we, her listeners and admirers, should do so as well.

“I believe in our ability to make change happen,” she said. “I believe in the power of our hearts. I believe that we have a choice, to wake up and dig in, or remain in this nightmare. I believe in the work ahead and I am committed to it.”

For more information on May Erlewine, her music and the current tour, visit mayerlewine.com .

Ballet 5:8 returns to Grand Rapids with powerful new work focused on Holocaust

September 26, 2019Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsBallet 5:8, WKTVJoanne

A scene from rehearsals of Ballet 5:8’s “Butterfly”. (Supplied/Ballet 5:8)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

Ballet 5:8, the Chicago-based dance company known for providing audiences with “a unique opportunity to engage in conversation on relevant life and faith topics addressed in the company’s repertoire”, will return to Grand Rapids Oct. 5 with a program both emotionally heavy and delightfully spiritual.

The three works including the world premieres of “Butterfly”, which evokes the emotional scenes of the World War 2 Terezin ghetto, but also “Brothers and Sisters”, which explores the “Creator’s handiwork — the simple beauty of male and female.”

The show, held at the Devos Center for Arts and Worship on Saturday, Oct. 5, starting at 7 p.m., will include both artistic director Julianna Rubio Slager’s newest works as well an older work, Slager’s “Meditations”, inspired by C.S. Lewis’ essay “Meditation in a Toolshed”.

(Last season Ballet 5:8 also held a world premiere last year in Grand Rapids; read the review here).

“Butterfly”, according to supplied material, explores the Holocaust tragedy of Terezin, “where residents created masterful works of art in defiance of their oppressors … where, from the ashes of this hellscape, glimmers of hope emerge.”

Terezin, according to the website terezin.org, was a concentration camp 30 miles north of Prague in the Czech Republic during the World War II. It was originally a holiday resort reserved for Czech nobility.

“By 1940 Nazi Germany had assigned the Gestapo to turn Terezín into a Jewish ghetto and concentration camp,” the website’s history page states. “It held primarily Jews from Czechoslovakia, as well as tens of thousands of Jews deported chiefly from Germany and Austria, as well as hundreds from the Netherlands and Denmark. More than 150,000 Jews were sent there, including 15,000 children, and held there for months or years, before being sent by rail transports to their deaths at Treblinka and Auschwitz extermination camps in occupied Poland, as well as to smaller camps elsewhere. Less than 150 children survived.”

The Ballet 5:8 work tells the story of a Jewish art teacher refused to let the children die without hope. “She challenged her students to create art that spoke of their misery but also of the hope that lies within,” according to supplied material. “Every human, male or female, desirable or marginalized, born of privilege or born of poverty, each one is precious and created with purpose.”

“The remnants of art from the nearly forgotten children of Terezin challenge us to look with clear eyes upon our potential for both evil and beauty,” Slager said in supplied material.

A scene from a previous performance of Ballet 5:8’s “Meditations”. (Supplied/Ballet 5:8)

“Brothers & Sisters” is described in supplied material this way: “We are living in an age of culture war over gender identity and ethics. In ‘Brothers & Sisters’, choreographer Julianna Rubio Slager takes a moment to step aside from the chaos and strife to revel in the Creator’s handiwork — the simple beauty of male and female. Contrast and subtlety. Difference and similarity. Overlap and distinction. The Creator must have moved with delight as he drew his children with contrasting and complementary strokes.”

The Devos Center for Arts and Worship, at Grand Rapids Christian High School, is located at 2300 Plymouth Ave SE, Grand Rapids. The performance includes a post-performance Q&A with Slager and artists from the cast. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for students and seniors, and $15 for children ages 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased at ballet58.org or by calling 312-725-4752. Performance information is available at ballet58.org/Grand-Rapids.

WKTV cable channels to air special jazz show ‘Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool’

September 13, 20193-bottom, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming Events, WKTV ProjectsMiles Davis, WKTVJoanne

Miles Davis 1963 (Historic/Antibes Juan les Pins)

By WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org

WKTV and The Kamla Show, a show known for “authentic conversations with real people,” will present a special episode focused on director Stanley Nelson’s new documentary “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool”, with three airings the week of Sept. 16.

The episode of the The Kamla Show will be shown on WKTV Monday, Sept. 16, at 3 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 11:30 a.m.; and Friday, Sept. 20, at 2 p.m.

“Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool”, according to supplied material, “makes for an absorbing watch” as Nelson uses rare archival footage, photos and interviews with musicians to paint a complex picture of this famous and complicated musician and composer.

The film is named after the 1957 seminal album “Birth of Cool”, which is considered an important milestone in the history and evolution of modern jazz. The film highlights the high and low points, as well as his complicated relationship with the women in his life.

“Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool” screened at the 2019 SFFILM festival, which is where the producers of The Kamla Show caught up with Erin Davis (son of Miles Davis) and Vince WIlbrun Jr. (nephew of Miles Davis).

“We spoke to them about their memories of Miles Davis, what music meant to him, his love for technology and his fondness for cooking,” the producers of the show state.

“Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool” releases in September in the United States.

To view the trailer for the film visit here.

WKTV broadcasts on Wyoming and Kentwood cable channels. On Comcast cable, Channel 25 is the Community Channel. On AT&T cable throughout the Grand Rapids area, viewers go to Channel 99, and then are given the choice to watch Wyoming (or Kentwood) Community (Channel 25) or Government (Channel 26) channels.

For complete schedules of programs on WKTV channels, see our Weekly On-air Schedule.

Next exhibit at Meijer Gardens blends artistic vision, garden’s bounty and local handicraft

September 12, 20193-bottom, Kids Activities, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Reviews, Upcoming EventsMeijer Gardens, Rebecca Louise Law: The Womb, WKTVJoanne

[huge_it_slider id=”92″]

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

When Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park opens its next exhibit, “Rebecca Louise Law: The Womb”, on Sept. 20, the Gardens horticultural staff and community volunteers might be excused if they feel a little ownership of the artwork.

After all, the site-specific exhibition includes about 10,000 flowers and plants gathered from the Gardens’ massive gardens and strung together in delicate wire strings by local volunteers and staff, and then added to Law’s existing collection of approximately 1 million flowers and plant material.

The resulting newly created sculptural works, as well as painted works, will be on display within, and in spaces preceding, the main gallery in an exhibition which will run through March 1, 2020.

While the British installation artist has gained international acclaim for her works and her use of natural materials, the ability to have such a wide range of local material to select from and work with is a little unusual but very pleasing to the artist.

British installation artist Rebecca Louise Law. (Supplied by the artist)

“It was amazing to have a dedicated team that would daily harvest flora from an abundant garden,” Law said to WKTV. “I felt spoilt by the horticulture team as I’ve given them my preferences and guidance as to what will work best in this installation.”

While some of new exhibit is based on previously produced material, the initial stringing of local materials by a variety of local volunteers does present the artist with a kind of variance, of randomness, that plays into her final artistic decisions as the exhibit comes together.

“I am strict with the method of wiring each flower and we prepare the flowers according to size and tone,” Law said. “Apart from this, I allow the volunteers to work naturally. I have always loved the artwork involving many hands, what makes the installation beautiful to its core is all the handmade twists of copper.”

A close-up of part “Still Life” by British installation artist Rebecca Louise Law. (Supplied by the artist)

The titles of some of Law’s other works seem to reflect or hint at a place and time in nature — “Life in Death” for example. So we asked if “The Womb”, which uses seeds or pods or early roots as well as flowers and other plant material, reflects or hints at an early stage of nature.

“‘The Womb’ studies the start of life and the human cocoon in nature,” Law said to WKTV. “I wanted to study the womb as a vessel and the first human relationship with nature. I have always had the fantasy of being enveloped in nature and through studying the womb, this artwork is the closest I have got to creating an essence of this experience.”

Law’s use of natural materials, mainly floral, will “encourage guests to experience the relationship between humanity and nature. The natural decay of the plant material makes this exhibit time based and encourages frequent visits to observe the process of drying,” according to supplied material.

A close-up of part “Community” by British installation artist Rebecca Louise Law. (Supplied by the artist)

The installation is also described as “an intimate exploration into the relationship between humankind and nature, and explores the sensation of being cocooned in nature, and the fantasy of being naturally enveloped.” The artworks surrounding the installation look in detail at the womb as a natural cocoon.

Although photography will be allowed in specific areas, Law encourages guests to “put aside their cell phones and cameras and fully engage with the exhibition,” she said in supplied material.

An advocate of sustainability, Law frequently reuses dried plant materials that have been displayed in her previous installations.

“I like to capture and treasure small, beautiful natural objects to create an artwork that can be observed without the pressure of time,” Law said in supplied material. “Preserving, treasuring, celebrating and sharing the beauty of the earth with the world is what drives me.”

That advocacy for the natural world combined with artistic vision fits in perfectly with Meijer Garden’s vision.

“We have been aware of Rebecca’s work for some time, and are very excited to be working with her,” Laurene Grunwald, Director of Sculpture, Art Collections, Exhibitions & Installations at Meijer Gardens, said in supplied material. “Her concern for the environment and practice of sustainability is a perfect fit for us along with the literal combination of sculpture and horticulture, which directly mirrors our mission.”

The exhibition will include several free-with-admission special “drop-in” programs, including:

A Director’s Walk will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m., led by Grunwald and Steve LaWarre, Director of Horticulture, as they explore one of the places where this combination of nature and sculpture is emphasized — the wildflower meadow with Mark di Suvero’s sculpture “Scarlatti” at its center.

A lecture, “The Secret Symbolism of Flowers”, will take place on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m., with Suzanne Eberle, Professor of Art History, Kendall College of Art and Design. Eberle will discuss how flowers often contain a symbolic meaning that is sometimes specific to the period of art, region or artist from which it was created.

A lecture, “The History of Environmental Art”, on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m., with Billie Wickre, Professor of Art History, Albion College. The Environmental Art movement began in the 1960s and early ’70s as a way to appreciate nature. Over time, it has become a way for artists to address the endangering of ecosystems. Wickre will highlight some important works of art in the Environmental Art movement that have been intended to evoke change in the ways in which we understand and interact with our surroundings.

For more information on the exhibit visit meijergardens.org . For more information about the artist visit rebeccalouiselaw.com .

Snapshots: Local concerts there’s still time to make plans for

August 30, 20193-bottom, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsWKTV SnapshotsJoanne

By WKTV Staff

ken@wktv.org

Quote of the Day

“Live music is the cure for what ails ya.”

Henry Rollins

Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz of Mandolin Orange. (Supplied by the band)

Bittersweet bluegrass

Mandolin Orange will be at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park outdoor amphitheater stage on Sept. 4. Visit here for the story.

High stepping’ folk

The Avett Brothers, who had the house jumping when they were last in Grand Rapids , return to the Van Andel Arena on Friday, Sept. 6. Visit here for the story.

Norwegian pop

Norway’s Sigrid performs Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. at Calvin University’s Covenant Fine Arts Center. Visit here for the story.

Fun fact:

What do you think a ‘bukkehorn’ is?

Epic folk songs are the most important form of vocal folk music in Norway and traditional Norwegian instruments include the bukkehorn (goat horn), the harpeleik (chorded zither) and the langeleik (box dulcimer). Sou rce.

As 2019-20 season draws near, St. Cecilia Music Center adds two folk concerts

August 22, 20193-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsInfamous Stringdusters, Rosanne Cash, St. Cecilia Music CenterJoanne

Rosanne Cash and her husband, musician/composer John Leventhal in concert. (Supplied by the artist)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

The pending arrival of September means the busy October beginning of St. Cecilia Music Center’s 2019-20 concert season is just a few weeks away. And while the impressive Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and jazz series lineups have been set and on sale for months, there have been two recent additions the Acoustic Café Folk Series you might have missed.

The Infamous Stringdusters. (Supplied/Aaron Farrington)

After a busy October for the folk series — with Lee Ann Womack opening the fall season on Oct. 3 followed by an encore visit by Judy Collins on Oct. 20 — the folk series has added nights with The Infamous Stringdusters and Rosanne Cash to an already busy February 2020 folk feast on the Royce Auditorium stage.

After the Stringdusters on Feb. 6 and Cash on Feb. 20, Chris Thile will visit on Feb. 25 and Raul Midón on Feb. 27 — and doesn’t a night of folk music sound perfect for a midwinter escape from the weather?

St. Cecilia also says “additional folk series concerts may be announced for the 2019/2020 season.”

While the Stringdusters are a good get for St. Cecilia, the addition of Rosanne Cash is a sure sell-out.

“We are delighted to feature Rosanne Cash and her husband, musician/composer John Leventhal in concert,” Cathy Holbrook, St. Cecilia Music Center executive director, said in supplied material. “With both of their many achievements and personal work together, this will be a very special evening.”

Cash is touring in support of her most recent release, “She Remembers Everything”, which is described as “a poetic, lush and soulful collection of songs of personal songwriting and reflection.”

“There is a woman’s real life, complex experiences and layered understanding, in these songs,” Cash said in supplied material. “I could not have written them 10 years ago …time is shorter, I have more to say.”

“She Remembers Everything” was produced by collaborator and husband Leventhal and Tucker Martine (who has worked with The Decembrists, My Morning Jacket, Mavis Staples, Neko Case).

One of the country’s pre-eminent singer/songwriters, Cash has released 15 albums of that have earned 4 Grammy Awards and 11 nominations, as well as 21 top 40 hits, including 11 No. 1 singles. In 2015, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. She also currently writing the lyrics for a musical “Norma Rae” with Leventhal serving as composer and John Weidman as book writer. (More about the artist at rosannecash.com .)

In addition to the folk series, the jazz series will open in October as well, with Fred Hersch featuring special guest Julian Lage coming on Oct. 17, followed in the new year by Emmet Cohen’s Master Legacy Series featuring Benny Golson on Jan. 16, Luciana Souza on March 5, and The Clayton Brothers — a must-hear for jazz fans — on April 16.

We will have to wait for November for St. Cecilia to raise the curtains on the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center series, with a program titled “Great Innovators” on Nov. 21. The final two concerts will be “French Enchantment” on Jan. 23 and “From Prague to Vienna” on April 30.

Tickets to all shows are still available and can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE. Tickets can also be purchased online at scmc-online.org. Many concerts have a post-concert “Meet-the-artist” party with a cash bar will be offered to all ticket-holders.

Faithful Avett Brothers high steppin’ into Grand Rapids with new record close behind

August 19, 2019Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsAvett Brothers, K.D. Norris, WKTVJoanne

The Avett Brothers, from left, Scott Avett, Joe Kwan, Bob Crawford and Seth Avett. (Supplied/PC/Crackerfarm)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

Scott Avett, who with his brother and co-conspirator Seth is the heart if not soul of The Avett Brothers, was talking about the band’s 2106 release “True Sadness” when he said “We trust and have faith in what we do, and in each other. By the time it is making it out to the world, we have already come to own our work.”

From the beginning — that sort of being the Avetts’ 2009 major label debut of “I and Love and You” — the to pending arrival of “Closer Than Together” on Oct. 4, Scott and Seth and the rest of the North Carolina based band have kept the faith if not always kept the same sonics.

“We are always confident by the time we are putting something out,” Scott said to me just before the band’s 2016 Grand Rapids stop at the Van Andel Arena, where they will return Sept. 6. “We are always confident that we have learned from what we have made, and always confident that we are going to be able to go out and put on a show with what we made. I just don’t think we would release anything we would not stand behind.”

Photo from Avett Brothers “High Steppin'” video shoot (Supplied/Ellison White)

Standing behind “Closer Than Together”, it would appear from the teaser single recently released, “High Steppin’”, as well as a “mission statement” put out by Seth and Scott also in preparation for the release, is sort of an admission that while the Avetts have lived life pretty fully and grown older in due course, they have stayed truthful to their music as it has continued to change with them.

Watch the “High Steppin’” video here.

Some may see a little bit of a dark side, or at least a dark humor side, to the video for the new single if not the lyrics of the single itself — after all, there is this little thing in the video of Scott appearing as a “rhinestone cowboy” and Seth is trailing along as what some could describe as “death.” But there is also an often recurring songwriting endpoint that love, ultimately, wins.

“My brother and I have never been more aware of our own failings in the department of golden-rule navigation,” Seth writes in the mission statement. “We see it in ourselves and we are accustomed to seeing it in our neighborhood, our state, our country, our planet. We speak daily with each other about the lunacy of the world in which we live … the beauty of it, the mystery of it, the hilarity and the unspeakable calamity of it.

“The Avett Brothers will probably never make a sociopolitical record. But if we did, it might sound something like this,” Seth writes, but adds that, musically at least, “there is no massive departure from our continued artistic language.”

And while some have suggested that the single “High Steppin’” has, in fact, a more high energy, almost rock ’n’ roll sound to it — and it does seem a million miles away from the sounds of “I and Love and You”, specifically “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise”, maybe my favorite single on a long list of band favorites — the promise and premise of the lyrics of the new single seem to keep with the same not-so-subtle artistic language.

“The best beggars are choosers. The best winners are losers. The best lovers ain’t never been loved. And first place ain’t easy. The hardest part is believing. The very last word is love.”

Anybody who knows the Avetts has heard that language, that simple-yet-somehow- deep meanings, before and will undoubtedly will again, at the upcoming night at the Van Andel and on the new release.

The Avett Brothers usual suspects. (Supplied photo)

And anybody who knows the Avetts in concert, knows that while the band often speaks softly, Scott and Seth — and usual suspects and long-time band members Bob Crawford on bass (and things) and Joe Kwan on cello (and things) — carry big sticks when it comes to live concerts. (See a review of their 2016 Grand Rapids show here.)

Tickets for The Avett Brothers at the Van Andel Arena on Friday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m., are available, ranging from $47 per to $195 on various ticket sellers and resellers. Search you favorite.

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 .

On Tap: New (to me) breweries, beer crawl coming and Two Hearted birthday

August 15, 20193-bottom, Beer, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming Events, WKTV ProjectsWKTV On TapJoanne

Grand Rapids has a great lineup of breweries and beers. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

My Beers City Passport is getting a little crowded but there are always new places to explore, and after all that’s why the passport has those blank pages in the back — pages which came in handy last weekend when my wife and I had a vision quest but needed MapQuest to find Speciation Artisan Ales in Comstock Park.

The quest was accomplished and our thirst was quenched, with a fruity sour beer for my partner and a hefty IPA for me. They are apparently known for their sour beers.

And what sort of a place is Speciation? As only one bit of evidence, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, the brewery and pub will host a Bill Murray Birthday Party when, they say, “We are celebrating the life and work of Bill Murray with a very special birthday party. Special Bill Murray themed beers served in custom Bill Murray glassware. Bill Murray themed trivia begins at 7 p.m., with Quizmaster Quinn. Costumes are encouraged.”

Not sure what a Bill Murray costume might be, but sounds like fun to me.

Check out this and other events at Speciation Artisan Ales — and how to get there — by visiting speciationartisanales.com .

Anyway, placing a new stamp in my passport got me thinking about what I’m missing these days, so thinking I have the Greater Grand Rapids area choices well in hand, and with the help of the West Michigan Tourist Association. I made a short list of places to visit not too far out to town.

In the Saugatuck-Douglas area, is the new Waypost Brewing Company in Fennville looks like a good day trip destination. You got to love their motto “Waypost brewing Co. is founded on the notion that good beer speaks for itself, and the best ones sing.” For more information visit here.

A little closer to home is Old Boys Brewhouse, in Spring Lake, which not only has a dog in their logo but also beers named “DogTail” and “Kennel King” IPAs and “His Porter is the Shih Tzu”. For more information visit here.

GR’s Beer City Fall Crawl starts at Downtown Market

Not that we’ll need a good reason to do a little bar hoppin’ on a (hopefully) beautiful fall September day next month, but the Grand Rapids Downtown Market has announced at “Beer City Fall Crawl” partnership with six other Heartside neighborhood businesses.

The crawl will take place Saturday, Sept, 15, from 1-5 p.m., and, according to supplied material, will take participants on a 1.5-mile loop starting and ending at the Market with six other stops in between — Craft Beer Cellar, Peppino’s Pizza, Tavern & Tap, The Grand Woods Lounge, Founders Brewing and The Tin Can, then returning to the Downtown Market. Each stop will have drink specials for participants, with participation costing $30.

Entry includes a t-shirt, a “Chugging Checklist” and a pint glass, with a free first drink at the Downtown Market bar, drink specials at each stop, and a $5 Downtown Market gift certificate.

With all that beer crawling, food consumption along the way is not only available but advisable, at the Downtown Market or along the route.

“Grand Rapids is known as Beer City, and we’re so fortunate to be in the midst of tons of great bars and breweries here in Heartside,” Amanda Gielczyk, VP of the Downtown Market, said in supplied material. “The Fall Crawl is a great way to partner with our neighbors and create a one-of-a-kind experience, and more importantly a reason for participants to support seven local businesses all in one day.”

For more information and a link to register visit here.

Bell’s Two Hearted, celebrating a birthday, wins national awards

Bells’ Brewery his holding a two-prong, Two Hearted celebration this week. Not only idd the beer recently gain another national award, but Two Hearted Day, Aug.15, marks the anniversary that Two Hearted Ale debuted in 1997.

“Two Hearted Ale is a special beer for us at the brewery and for many beer lovers,” Larry Bell, president and founder of Bell’s Brewery, said in supplied material. “We’re excited to celebrate with everyone this week. It’s a celebration of all of the people who work tirelessly to make Two Hearted the best quality beer it can be every day. It’s also a tribute to all of the fans who love the beer and helped make it what it is today.”

Bell’s Brewery and two of its beers — Two Hearted Ale and Hopslam Ale — were recognized again in this year’s Best Beers in America survey from Zymurgy magazine. (Ya, that’s a real magazine!)

According to supplied material, Two Hearted was No. 1 in the Top-Ranked Beers category and Bell’s Brewery itself was named top brewery. This is the third consecutive year that Two Hearted has claimed this honor. It came in second to Russian River’s Pliny the Elder for seven straight years previously. Hopslam Ale also placed in the top-ranked beers list tied at No. 7.

Full personal connection disclosure: When in doubt at an unknown pub, if there is Two Hearted on tap, it’s mine. And, in case you’ve never tried Northern California’s Russian River brews, Pliny included, you should check it out.

For more information about Bells’s Brewery, visit here.

Also, just so you know, the American Homebrewers Association (AHA), which publishes Zymurgy, annually chooses as favorites up to five of their favorite commercial beers available for purchase in the U.S. The full Best Beers in America list, which includes complete rankings on all the top beers, breweries and more, is available at HomebrewersAssociation.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 .

Nu Blu, on national tour, brings vocal bluegrass to Wyoming’s Concerts in the Park

July 12, 20193-bottom, City of Wyoming, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsWyoming Concerts in the ParkJoanne

Nu Blu, husband-and-wife duo Daniel and Carolyn Routh with their bandmates, will be making a stop at Lamar Park for Wyoming Concerts In The Park. (Supplied/The Band)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

As part of a busy summer touring schedule of the United States and Canada that includes several major bluegrass festival, but also a church or two and a pizza parlor, Nu Blu clearly believes in bringing new bluegrass to the people.

They also, it seems, believe in looking to the future, musically, while they pay respect to the past with their Americana/country sound.

Daniel and Carolyn Routh (Supplied/The Band)

Part of a long road trip, starting and ending at the band’s home in Siler City (that’s North Carolina, in case you’d like to know), husband-and-wife duo Daniel and Carolyn Routh, with their bandmates, will be making a stop at Lamar Park for Wyoming Concerts In The Park Tuesday, July 16.

“I love that we get to wake up someplace different every day,” Daniel Routh said in supplied material, about Nu Blu’s heavy road schedule. “We meet people from all over the country.”

In Wyoming, among the songs probably on the setlist at their local stop will be originals like “A Lot More Love” and “A Fool and Her Heart” — both off the band’s 2017 release “Vagabond” — as well as respectfully reworked covers of Country/Americana classics such as Waylon Jennings’ “Good Hearted Woman” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”.

They’ll likely play more off of “Vagabond”, but, to be honest, they had me at Dylan.

“We were playing this show and we just kinda decided we’d do ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.’,” Carolyn Routh said in supplied material. “We hadn’t rehearsed it; we hadn’t even played it together before. But we pulled it off that night, and the audience loved it.”

Above and beyond the musical skills of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Daniel, the banjo playing of Zach McCracke, and the fiddle/mandolin work of Justin Harrison, there is something special about Carolyn’s vocals (not to say she can’t handle a bass!).

Hearing “Knockin’ …” and “Good Hearted Woman” sung by a woman is both unique and memorable, and Carolyn’s sound on “A Lot More Love” and “A Fool and Her Heart” brings comparisons to a young Dolly Parton — a comparison I’d not argue with.

For a video of “A Lot More Love”, visit here.

All and all, “Vagabond” the band’s sixth full-length release “delivers a set of songs that range from the melancholy to the exuberant, and at every step they prove they’ve got a knack for finding their way into the deeper parts of you,” someone writes on the band’s website about the songs.

The band formed in 2003, centered around Carolyn and Daniel previous projects. Their constant traveling has also changed the way they make music.

“If anything, I feel like the road has made us a sunnier bunch. In past albums, we’ve tended to gravitate towards the songs that make you cry,” Carolyn said, “but on this one, there are a number of just happy, happy songs.”

Bottom line is two fold: Bluegrass is perfect for a hot summer night in Wyoming, and Nu Blu brings out the big guns with their bluegrass repertoire. And, while there are many great pickers in the genera these days, some say its the vocals that make great bluegrass, and led by Carolyn and Daniel, Nu Bu has the vocal chops as well.

As the Wyoming concert season winds down — with Boardman Brown on July 23, Daddyz Breakdown on July 30, and Shadows of the Night on Aug. 6 — WKTV will continue to cover the concerts and offer replays on our cable channels (see the cable channel schedule here) and WKTV On-demand.

So Nu Blu will be waiting, patiently, as they bring new bluegrass to the people.

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 .

Inbound from New Zealand, with power pop, The Beths to stop at Pyramid Scheme

June 19, 2019Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsThe Beths, The Pyramid SchemeJoanne

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

It might be real easy, if you only catch a couple videos on YouTube, to pass off The Beths as a retro pop band in search of a good musical sound bite to chew on.

But there is something, when you listen to the New Zealand threesome/foursome led by singer and songwriter Elizabeth Stokes, that says — as a line from their latest release’s title track, “Future Me Hates Me” states and that kind of eats into your brain like a good ear worm — “There’s something about you, I wanna risk going through.”

There is something about their sound, neither too familiar nor too “working hard to be different”, that makes you listen to the tracks on 2018’s Future Me Hates Me and wonder what the band’s “future them” sound might be, how really special it could be.

Local explorers of what’s possibly next new on their alt/pop satellite radio channel of choice will get a chance to listen and check The Beths out when the band stops at Grand Rapids’ The Pyramid Scheme on Tuesday, July 2.

The local concert is part of a massive American tour this spring and summer — sandwiched between dates at a Chicago arts festival and clubs in Detroit and Toronto —that started with nights at SXSW (South by Southwest Music Festival) in March.

The Kiwis’ work at SXSW, at the same time of mass shootings at two Islamic mosques in Christchurch, New Zeeland, gives another hint that the band has the will-power to work hard and grow, emotionally and musically.

As was pointed out in a review in the Austin Chronicle by Libby Webster, “the music retained the strikingly tight performance of prior sets all week, but took on a mostly unspoken, raw somberness … It felt outrageous that a band should have to process the trauma of the day at a party, but The Beths persevered, poised and gutsy, closing out their SXSW remarkably brave.”

A little history, please

The main members of The Beths studied music at The University of Auckland, according to supplied material “resulting in a toolkit of deft instrumental chops and tricked-out arrangements that operate on a level rarely found in guitar-pop. The Beths’ guitarist and studio guru Jonathan Pearce … brings it all home with an approach that’s equal parts seasoned perfectionist and D.I.Y.”

“There’s a lot of sad sincerity in the lyrics” of Future Me Hates Me, Stokes says in supplied material. “That relies on the music having a light heart and sense of humor to keep it from being too earnest.”

In addition to Stokes on vocals and guitar, and Pearce on guitar and vocals, The Beths include Benjamin Sinclair on bass and vocals, and Tristan Deck on drums and vocals.

Future Me Hates Me is the band’s debut full-length release, with 2016’s EP Warm Blood befog that. On both is the song that most catches my ear: “Whatever”, which seems to sum up the band’s mood if not their expectations — and maybe what they think of American entertainment writers.

“You think I will buy whatever you say … Whatever, yeah, whatever … But now you’re getting me started.”

And what about that name? As far as I and Google can search, nothing on their website or on any wikis shed any light, so we’ll just have to ask.

For a video of The Beth’s “Uptown Girl”, visit here.

For more information on the show at The Pyramid Scheme, with doors open at 7 p.m. and Girl Friday opening, visit here.

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.

Review: Joey DeFrancesco’s ‘People’ play it hard, sweet on St. Cecilia stage

February 11, 2019Entertainment, Local Entertainment, ReviewsJoanne

Joey DeFrancesco having fun in a previous concert. (JoeyDefracesco.com)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

60-second Review

Joey DeFrancesco and The People at St. Cecilia Music Center, Thursday, Feb. 7.

Joey DeFrancesco is known for his masterful play on the Hammond B3 organ, whether it is playing jazz or one of his pop/soul side projects, as when he recently aided Van Morrison on a project. But in a 90-minute, seven-tune set with his jazz quartet, The People, on Thursday, he showed he loves to play around and play with the audience too.

The result was, mimicking a recent pop song whose name I mercifully forget: a little bit of jazz in my life, a little bit of funk by my side, a little bit of blues is all I need, a little bit of fun is what I see.

Bottom line: Joey D and the boys — saxophonist Troy Roberts, guitarist Dan Wilson and drummer Michael Ode — had the audience feeling warm, cozy and playing along on a cold, icy winter night in West Michigan. Who could ask for anything more?

The set began with three tunes off of The People’s Grammy-nominated 2017 release “Project Freedom”, warming up the crowd and their instruments with “Better than Yesterday”, getting the audience fully into it with the funky sounding “The Unifer” and then flowing softly into the almost melancholy “Project Freedom” — a tune on which both Wilson and Roberts gave great improv solos that almost matched Joey’s.

Joey then took a short diversion off the keyboards, to his vocal and trumpet talents, when he said the band was going to “cool it down a bit” with Neil Sedaka’s “I Found my World in You” before returning to Project Freedom and getting the crowd back bouncing with “Stand Up”.

My favorite tune of the show, ending the initial set, was the rousing blues number — “Down in the Alley” (I think …) — on which everybody had a chance to jam, but Wilson really went off on the guitar.

The final tune, in encore, was “Trip Mode” off Joey’s 2015 release of the same name.

And then everybody went back to real life and the cold, but with a smile on their face.

May I have more, please?

After Joey DeFrancesco the final Jazz Series concert will be Benny Green Trio & Veronica Swift on March 7. Tickets for jazz series concerts range from $35-$45.

St. Cecilia Music Center is located at 24 Ransom NE, Grand Rapids. For tickets or more information call 616-459-2224 or visit scmc-online.org.

On the shelf: ‘Cell’ by Stephen King

January 29, 2019Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsCell, Grand Rapids Public Library, Kristen Corrado, on the shelf, Stephen KingJoanne

By Kristen Corrado, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

Stephen King is a divisive author — you either love him or hate him — but there aren’t many people who fall in the middle. I think that to really appreciate King’s work, you need to look past his reputation to see the themes in his writing: friendship, loyalty, steadfastness, a sense of fun. In many of his books, he spins modern day morality tales, only in his version, instead of wearing a scarlet A on your chest, something a little more sinister may happen to you. The great thing about King is that he never takes himself too seriously and in between the chaos and horror he creates, he will often throw in a laugh out loud moment.

In his latest work, Cell, King lets us in early on what is wrong with society today: we spend too much time talking on cell phones and not enough time talking to each other face to face. And what happens to people who spend too much time on their cells? The pulse, a frequency transmitted through their phone, fries their brains and they turn into zombie-like creatures who want to kill all the remaining unaffected people or “normies.”

The story follows down-on-his-luck illustrator Clayton Riddell, who after the pulse bands together with other normies to get back to his Maine hometown to find his estranged wife and son. As the very fabric of civilization falls down around him, Clayton and his travel partners struggle to maintain their humanity and hope. Their journey from Boston to Maine is not only a physical journey, but a mental one as well. They start out in denial of what has happened to their world but by the end of their journey they have come to the understanding that the world in which they now live is a very different place.

This is a classic King novel — fast moving, gripping and graphic. He writes relatable characters in realistic scenes. (Who would expect the apocalypse to happen as you were buying an ice cream cone? Who wouldn’t try and call a loved one in an emergency?) In the end his message is clear — bad things can happen when we start to lose touch with our humanity. And maybe cell phones aren’t all they are cracked up to be.

On the shelf: ‘The Widower’ by Liesel Litzenburger

January 24, 2019Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsGrand Rapids Public Library, Liesel Litzenburger, M. Christine Byron, on the shelf, The WidowerJoanne

By M. Christine Byron, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

East Grand Rapids writer Liesel Litsenburger’s novel The Widower weaves together the stories of several characters living in a small northern Michigan town. The widower, Swanton Robey, is trapped in his grief over his young wife’s death. Joseph Geewa came to work in Robey’s orchards after twenty years in prison. Geewa’s niece, Grace Blackwater, harbors a secret love for Robey. Ray Ford, the local emergency medical technician, questions his role in the “lifesaving business” when his wife leaves him for another man. Other characters have their own secret lives, which manage to intertwine in the most unexpected ways. Past and present lives, loves and losses are interwoven in a lyrical way.

The novel is set in motion when Joseph Geewa finds a baby abandoned in Robey’s apple orchards. Geewa and Robey set out on a quest to find the baby’s mother. The emotionally fragile men are ill-equipped for a road trip with an infant, but find in the journey a quest for redemption and an unspoken bond of shared grief.

Litzenburger’s stories and essays have appeared in magazines, journals and anthologies. She has taught writing at several colleges and universities including the University of Michigan and the Interlochen Arts Academy.

Multi-tasking troubadour Ryley Walker, inbound from Europe, set to land at Calvin

November 28, 2018Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Reviews, Upcoming EventsCalvin College, Ryley WalkerJoanne

Ryley Walker. (Supplied photo by Evan Jenkins)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

To say Chicago-based Ryley Walker is a busy man these days would be a grand understatement. Just check his passport and his album/EP catalogue and music downloads.

After gigs in Europe on Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 — in the Brighton UK, Paris and Amsterdam, respectively — Walker will likely catch a red-eye and get over a bout of jet lag before he takes the stage at Calvin College on Wednesday, Dec. 5.

And that is just his live music schedule. He has also been busy in the studio.

So far this year the 29-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rockford, Ill., has released Deafman Glance, an eclectic mix of originals, as well as the just-out The Lillywhite Sessions, a track-by-track cover of Dave Matthews’ infamously abandoned 2001 art-rock masterpiece of the same name.

So, the audience at Calvin’s Recital Hall should be prepared for a wild ride with Mr. Walker. And cheap tickets — $10 general admission — are still available.

Deafman Glance is Walker’s fifth album release since 2014, not to mention three EP releases between 2011-13, including The Evidence of Things Unseen, originally only available on cassette. (Ya, he’s worked his way up.) His 2015 album release, Primrose Green, gained a ton of buzz and included several notable Chicago jazz and experimental musicians doing their instrumental things.

While Walker is probably proud of Deafman Glance, he quickly moved on to the next thing on his non-stop musical ride.

“It’s a good record. But I can’t really listen to it anymore. It kind of broke my brain,” Walker said in supplied material. “I was under a lot of stress because I was trying to make an anti-folk record and I was having trouble doing it. I wanted to make something deep-fried and more me-sounding. I didn’t want to be jammy acoustic guy anymore. I just wanted to make something weird and far-out that came from the heart finally.”

An initial listen of Deafman left me with the feel that I was on a long road-trip with the musician, with the smooth, confident alt-pop songwriting flowing forth often in almost stream of consciousness, accompanied by long long instrumental/synth experimentations. My favorite cuts were “Opposite Middle”, “Spoil With the Rest” and, for an unknown reason, the hypnotic instrumental “Rocks on Rainbow”. But there are several soft, almost spacey ballads.

From Deafman, Walker turned to The Lillywhite Sessions, and a sometimes complete reinterpretation of Matthews songs, which Walker describes as “a record where (Matthews) and his band indulged a new adult pathos and a budding musical wanderlust … (with Walker’s covers being) one adolescent fan’s fulfillment of that possibility, a partial musical map of the places that this trio’s early interest in Matthews has since taken them.”

An initial listen to Lillywhite found interpretations filled with both smooth and jagged synth riffs, sparse almost jazzy horn riffs, and often haunting alt-pop sounds. Having little experience with Matthews’ originals, I found “Big Red Fish” to be my favorite, while “Grace is Gone” was the one original remembered, but I was still drawn to Walker’s clear, clean version.

The period of the making of Deafman and Lillywhite was, not so incidentally, actually filled with the “a new adult pathos” of Walker’s own.

“I quit drugs and booze recently,” he says. “I got sick of being a party animal — I don’t want to be 19-gin-and-tonics-Ryley any more. My brain is working a little better now, but man I was just going at it pretty wildly, and then trying to make a record (Deafman Glance) while I was drinking, it was kind of like torture.

“The songs (on Deafman) don’t really deal with any political or personal or social issues at all. Mostly it just comes from being bummed out. And there’s not a lot of musical influences on the record. I wasn’t even listening to music when I made it. … Maybe I’d say it’s a record for coming up or coming down. It’s not an album for the middle of the day. It’s for the beginning or end of it.”

Can’t think of a better way to end a work day than catching Walker at Calvin.

The concert will be somewhere in Calvin’s Covenant Fine Arts Center, 1795 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids. For tickets and information, visit calvin.edu/calendar/event . For more on Ryley Walker visit ryleywalker.com.

Review: Kenny Barron, and young horn players, deliver great jazz — new, classic

November 2, 2018Entertainment, ReviewsJoanne

Kenny Barron (Supplied/Philippe Levy-Stab)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

60-second Review

The Kenny Barron Quintet at St. Cecilia Music Center, Thursday, Nov. 1.

What can you say about Kenny Barron — jazz piano master with decades of Grammy awards to prove it — that hasn’t already been said?

Well, two things, maybe. First, he is fully comfortable in old-school and new-school jazz, and, second, he’s enough of a confident teacher to play second fiddle (piano accompaniment) to young protégés. Both attributes were on display as the St. Cecilia Music Center continued its excellent 2018-19 jazz series Thursday with the Kenny Barron Quintet on the Royce Auditorium stage.

Proof of the first observation was evident from the first note of the first of the 8-tune (you can’t really call jazz jams “songs”), 90-minute plus set — which happened to be the old-school 1941 standard “I hear a Rhapsody” — to the group’s only encore, a funky new-school number written by Barron called “I’m Just Saying.”

The second observation was evident early and often with the front men of Barron’s stellar quintet being young trumpeter/flugelhornist Mike Rodriguez and saxophonist Dayna Stephens, both of which soloed almost as often and, occasionally, as memorably as Barron himself. Rodriguez’ flugelhorn work was particularly impressive.

Not to take anything away from ensemble and solo skills of bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake — Blake, in fact, may have been the most fun to watch performer the entire evening — but clearly both Rodriguez and Stephens are young jazz figures to keep an ear out for.

Kenny Barron Quintet’s Concentric Circles. (Supplied)

As it should be, though, the night was Barron’s. From his ferocious play on the title tract from his newest recording, 2018’s Concentric Circles Blue Note release, as well as an ode to his Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood, “DPW” (Ditmas Park West), also from Concentric Circles, to his delicate solo-on-stage blurring of four ballads by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Barron was in control of the keyboard and the audience.

Barron has earned 11 Grammy awards, beginning in 1992 for Best Jazz Album with “People Time”, his duet with the legendary Stan Getz, and most recently in 2017 for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

And if the music from Concentric Circles are any indication, there will be another nomination in his near future.

May I have more, please?

My wife is always looking for new jazz, so I have an idea after hearing and being knocked out by at least four of the tunes off of Barron and his quintet’s Concentric Circles — maybe five, there is a little confusion on my part if one of the Latin jazz-influenced tunes played at St. Cecilia was actually “Aquele frevo axe” (a Brazilian dance by Caetano Veloso/Cezar Medes); but I think it was.

Guess what’s coming for Christmas?

And speaking of gifts for the new year … After the Kenny Barron Quintet, the remaining Jazz Series concerts are Joey DeFrancesco on Feb. 7, 2019, and Benny Green Trio & Veronica Swift on March 7, 2019. Tickets for jazz series concerts range from $35-$45.

St. Cecilia Music Center is located at 24 Ransom NE, Grand Rapids. For tickets or more information call 616-459-2224 or visit www.scmc-online.org.

Review: Ballet 5:8’s latest Grand Rapids dance premiere does not disappoint

October 11, 2018Entertainment, ReviewsBallet 5:8, The Space in BetweenJoanne

“The Space in Between” by Ballet 5:8. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

60-second Review

Ballet 5:8 premiere of “The Space in Between”, with “Four Seasons of the Soul”, Oct. 6, at Richard and Helen Devos Center for Arts & Worship, Grand Rapids, Mi.

The return of the Chicago-based Ballet 5:8 to Grand Rapids Christian High School’s DeVos Center for the Arts and Worship not only reinforced the modern ballet troupe’s technical prowess but also artistic director/choreographer Julianna Rubio Slager and dancer/costumer designer Lorianne Barclay’s bold ability to create emotional stage production’s that also carry moral and religious meaning.

With the world premiere of “The Space in Between” on Oct. 6, Slager successfully uses the full strength of her dancers — especially soloists Stephanie Joe, Brette Benedict, Lorianne Barclay and Antonio Rosario — as well as the thematic power of C.S. Lewis’ story “The Great Divorce” and the mesmerizing music of Phillip Glass.

The simplified storyline has lead dancers/story characters Frank and Sarah (Barclay and Sam Opsal), along with the narrator (Joe), traveling by bus and more otherworldly means to a place between heaven and hell. The section titles explain the journey as well as is possible: “Grey Town”, “Valley of the Shadow of Life” and “Heaven”.

While the program text went into great detail of the original and adapted storyline, and some in the audience may have needed it, the inner and worldly battles between good and evil were clear from the stage, via the solo and ensemble dances, even without additional explanation.

The journey on which the lead and supporting dancers take the audience on via “The Space in Between” also make clear that Slager and Barclay are not afraid to give lead dancers extensive starring rolls and not afraid to bring classic ballet dance into the modern world with very modish costume and music.

As far as Slager’s use of stage effects with her dancers, the moodiness of lighting and produced fog significantly adds to the overall affect, while a couple appearance of props representing the bus in question are less so.

But I quibble.

“The Space in Between” not only was a thing of thoughtful beauty but a powerful addition to Slager and Ballet 5:8’s catalogue. And we look forward to their continued annual visit to West Michigan.

May I have more, please?

The opening work of Ballet 5:8’s program was an older work by Slager, “Four Seasons of the Soul”, a work which should not be under-appreciated or under-performed.

The work, originally from 2014, takes inspiration from Biblical passage Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 — “… He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the who scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

The Four Seasons of the Soul, by Ballet 5:8. (Supplied)

Slager’s choreography though the seasons is admirable, as was the unique costume design of Barclay — especially almost hypnotic sun-yellow attire in Summer — and the reworked music of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” by Max Richter, with the high-point being the on-stage dance union of Benedict and Rosario in Summer and Joe’s solo in Fall.

For more information visit ballet58.org .

On the shelf: ‘Mennonite in a Little Black Dress’ by Rhoda Janzen

October 9, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsBill Hill, Grand Rapids Public Library, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda JanzenJoanne

By Bill Hill, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

Because we do stupid things, and feel that no one in the world has ever been that dumb, we are deeply grateful to anyone who shows us that we are not alone. When that person can also make us smile and laugh out loud, and wince at the truth, we feel a bond develop, and are ready to listen to her stories as long as she cares to talk.

Rhoda Janzen’s miserable story is of a life that fell apart. A successful teacher of English at Hope College, she lived in a lakeside home with a brilliant husband. In the space of a week she is smashed up in a car wreck and further crushed when her loyal husband of 15 years announces that he is leaving her for a guy he met on the internet.

What’s a sensible woman to do? She retreats.

She goes home to her Mennonite roots and family in California, and rediscovers nothing miraculous, no seventh secret, or third eye, but much that is reassuring, affectionate and hilarious. If you ever wanted a fond, clear-eyed view of Mennonite life beyond potlucks, public prayer and a reluctance to discuss sex, this is the book for you. She spends her time in neither self-pity nor self-laceration but is determined to figure out what went wrong. Luckily she comes from a family well endowed with the genes for forgiveness, humor and hard work for whatever it takes
.

Ah, but the secret is in the telling, and her stories are a delight. As a friend put it, “Big laughs & a lot of deep breaths. Loved it.”

On the shelf: ‘Grand Rapids in Vintage Postcards: 1890-1940’ by Thomas R. Dilley

October 5, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsGrand Rapids, Grand Rapids in Vintage Postcards: 1890-1940, Grand Rapids Public Library, M. Christine Byron, on the shelf, Thomas R. DilleyJoanne

By M. Christine Byron, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

This volume by local author Tom Dilley is a wonderful contribution to the growing number of books about the history of Grand Rapids. Postcard collectors, historians and researchers will find this a useful and interesting book with its black and white reproductions of 228 postcards from Dilley’s personal collection, many of which are quite rare.

Dilley begins the volume with a concise overviews of Grand Rapids history and the history of postcards. Short explanations are given for the various types of postcards: postal mailing cards, real photos, white border cards, linen and chrome cards. He points out the importance of postcards as historical documents capturing the social history of a certain time and place.

The book is divided into three sections: “The City,” “Life in the City” and “The City at Work.” This structure works well in categorizing the wide array of postcards. Dilley starts by showing aerial views of the city. He proceeds with street scenes, individual buildings and bridges. Dilley does an excellent job of identifying buildings, giving the location, interesting details, the architect when known, and the lifespan of the structure. Dilley often refers to the contemporary counterpart of a historical building, giving readers a real sense of “then and now.”

The section “Life in the City” includes the commercial, religious, educational and social activities of the growing city. There are wonderful views of museums, theaters, retail stores, cafes, hotels, hospitals, churches schools and parks. The author spotlights social organizations such as the YMCA, the Ladies Literary Club and the St. Cecilia Music Society. Dilley’s book includes rare interior scenes of the YWCA gymnasium and the clothing department of May and Sons.

Section Three, “The City at Work,” shows Grand Rapids as a leader in “wholesale, retail and manufacturing enterprise.” The furniture industry is given prominence, but other industries are also included. The Grand Rapids Brewing Company, Grand Rapids Brass Company, the Cargill Company, and Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company stand out as a few fine examples.

Grand Rapids in Vintage Postcards includes many cards that most people have never seen. Included is a rare double card of the Majestic Theatre, a real photo card of the Fanatorium Bowling Alley and a scene of visiting airplanes lined up for the 1919 dedication of the Grand Rapids Airport. Besides the wonderful visual images, a strong point of the book is the accompanying text, which is very helpful in giving a historical perspective on the postcard views. Dilley’s book will serve as a valuable reference work as well as an enjoyable walk down memory lane.

On the shelf: ‘Serpent’ by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos

October 2, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Reviews'Serpent' by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos, Grand Rapids Public Library, Megan Andres, on the shelfJoanne

By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch

Serpent, Clive Cussler’s first National Water & Marine Agency Files book, gives readers a new hero for a new age. Kurt Austin has a master’s degree in Systems Management from the University of Washington and much experience in marine recovery. In Serpent, Austin and his Special Assignments Team of Joe Zavala and Drs. Paul and Gamay Trout find themselves conquering a mystery of legendary caliber.

“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue”; Austin and his team soon find that there were a lot of things left out of the popular children’s rhyme. With the help of Nina Kirov, the team investigates industrialist Don Halcon. Halcon is dedicated to carving a new country out of the southwestern United States. To do so, Halcon needs a priceless pre-Columbian antiquity buried in the battered remains of the sunken Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria, and he’s prepared to do anything to get it.

Admiral James Sandecker, from Dirk Pitt fame, sends Austin and his team all over the world to stop Halcon before he can get his hands on the artifact. Austin and Zavala soon find themselves diving the Andrea Doria itself in order to gain access to a secured vault left behind when the liner sank fifty years before.

With a hefty dose of actual historical fact and fictional license, Cussler dishes out a wonderful first episode in the lives of the new heroes of NUMA. The subsequent novels in the series, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death, Lost City and Polar Shift, all follow Austin as he pursues a life of intrigue and danger. Fans of Cussler’s Dirk Pitt will find much to love in Kurt Austin.

On the shelf: ‘Bodies in Motion and at Rest: On Metaphor and Mortality’ by Thomas Lynch

September 28, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsBodies in Motion and at Rest: On Metaphor and Mortality, Funeral director, Grand Rapids Public Library, on the shelf, Stephanie M. White, Thomas Lynch, UndertakerJoanne

By Stephanie M. White, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

Funeral home director Thomas Lynch’s essays are as much about poetry as they are about undertaking, as much about life as they are about death.

Acclaimed essayist and poet Lynch runs the family funeral home in Milford, Michigan. Bodies in Motion and at Rest is a collection of essays that addresses both of Lynch’s professions but, more importantly, links them wholly to one another. Lynch writes about the struggles of each profession and the struggles of mixing them. “Reno,” an essay that touches on marketing strategies for a poet/undertaker, contains moving passages comparing words of a poem to words spoken at a funeral.

In essays such as “Bodies in Motion and at Rest” and “Johnny, We Hardly Knew You” Lynch writes with the knowledge of an undertaker and the wisdom of one who has experienced the death of loved friends and family. He speaks against those who pretend that death may never affect them, and against those who allow the drama of celebrity deaths to overshadow their own losses.

Lynch doesn’t shy away from other serious topics. In “The Way We Are” he describes the alcoholism that runs in his family, writing with honesty about his own collisions with the disease and, more tragically, his son’s. As a victim of and a witness to alcoholism, Lynch writes with sensitivity and honesty about the grief of alcoholism.

These essays contrast with the funny, lighthearted tone found in the other essays of this collection. “Notes on ‘A Note on the Rapture to His True Love’” is a step-by-step approach to writing a good poem. With humor and satire, Lynch makes it clear that he is a humble, sincere poet. “Y2Kat” is a hilarious account of Lynch’s despised pet and adored son.

Like good poetry and good funerals, Lynch’s essays contain some death and some life, some humor and some sobriety, and plenty of honest wisdom.

On the shelf: ‘Eleven on Top’ by Janet Evanovich

September 25, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsEleven on Top, Grand Rapids Public Library, Janet Evanovich, Laura Nawrot, Mystery novel, on the shelfJoanne

By Laura Nawrot, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

Although her novels are classified as mysteries, Janet Evanovich really deserves a category of her own. Her stories fall somewhere between soap opera and a cheesy whodunit by combining over-the-top drama with a healthy dose of humor and a Nancy Drew twist or two.

The beauty of this series is that readers don’t need to read each book in succession to get a sense of the characters. Stephanie Plum is a moderately successful bounty hunter with a little too much spunk and not quite enough common sense who can’t seem to commit to a permanent relationship. The difficulties between Stephanie and the men in her life, Joe Morrelli and Ranger, pale in comparison to the difficulties she encounters in her job, all of which brings her to a life changing decision: time for a career move.

In Eleven on Top, Stephanie convinces herself that life in the law enforcement field is over for her, so she attempts to start a new career. While this is great in concept, she just can’t seem to adapt to the mundane and finds herself doing office work for Ranger instead. The tension escalates as Stephanie walks the line between Ranger and Joe and tries to maintain her balance while seeking the identity of the stalker who is trying to kill her.

On the shelf: ‘Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette’ by Sena Jeter Naslund

September 21, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsAbundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette, Grand Rapids Public Library, Kristen Krueger-Corrado, on the shelf, Sena Jeter NaslundJoanne

By Kristen Krueger-Corrado, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

I am new to the world of historical fiction, having assumed that it would be similar to a very dry history course full of esoteric facts and dates. I selected Abundance to read because I was interested in seeing the recent film about Marie Antoinette and thought this might be a good primer. Imagine my surprise when I read the entire book (over 500 pages) in one day, dragging myself away from the engrossing story only to eat dinner or to tell my husband to stop talking to me while I was reading. For days afterwards, I delighted him with interesting facts I had picked up until he begged me to stop.

Marie Antoinette gets a bad rap in history textbooks — the frivolous young queen who cares little about her subjects, an attitude that ultimately leads to her demise. But in Abundance, the queen is portrayed in a much more flattering light. The story begins with her marriage to the Dauphin, Louis August, at the age of 14 and chronicles their 22-year marriage, the births of their four children, the fall of their monarchy and their beheadings.

Marie Antoinette was a devout Catholic, dedicated to her family and friends, determined to keep her marriage together and lived to serve the people of France. The book is told in the first person, and it is very evident that while Marie Antoinette had good intentions, she could not even begin to understand the plight of her people. And although I knew how the story would end, I was rooting for her to succeed. Abundance is a good read, but not one to lose your head over.

On the shelf: ‘The Terror’ by Dan Simmons

September 18, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsAmy L. Cochran, Grand Rapids Public Library, Historical novel, Main Branch, on the shelf, The Terror by Dan SimmonsJoanne

By Amy L. Cochran, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

In this historical novel The Terror, Dan Simmons weaves known facts, extrapolation, and Inuit beliefs into his own vividly harsh version of the fate of the lost Franklin Expedition. The book is part thrilling arctic survival fiction, part horror, part nautical adventure, and completely impossible to put down.

Back in 1845, Sir John Franklin led an expedition in search of the Northwest Passage and disappeared completely along with two ships and 128 men. Simmons uses the last known whereabouts of the ships Erebus and Terror to alternate between the present in 1847, as the men try to make it through their second icebound winter, and flashbacks that show how badly informed route decisions and cheap supplies have left the expedition stranded and low on food.

You’d think that being stuck in two wooden ships in pack ice 1200 miles from any chance of rescue would be enough to handle, but Simmons just keeps increasing the tension. After expedition leader Sir John Franklin dies, Captain Francis Crozier of the Terror must somehow get his men home in spite of encroaching scurvy, -82 degree daily temperatures, rotten canned food, and the constant fatal attacks of a terrible beast that seems to be a 14-foot polar bear impervious to bullets. Just about the time the beast appears, Lady Silence, a mysterious Inuit girl with no tongue, comes aboard. She alone can find fresh meat; unfortunately, none of the surviving men have any luck hunting during even the slightly warmer summers. A last-ditch attempt to build morale by staging a winter carnival goes horribly awry, and on top of the deadly natural conditions and animal attacks, human nature shows its ugly side and turns sailor against sailor.

Simmons does an amazing job of providing in gritty detail the nasty, smelly uncomfortable conditions on board ship and the symptoms of advanced scurvy, as well as the harsh realities of surviving for any length of time in the Arctic. In conditions almost beyond comprehension, the men fiercely struggle to stay hopeful and escape their doomed situation. And after reading this excellent historical novel, I have to say that, despite our nasty Michigan winters, we’ve got it pretty good. Compared, at least, to the plight of the men of the ships Erebus and Terror.

On the shelf: ‘Capital Crimes’ and ‘Short Straw’

September 14, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, ReviewsCapital Crimes by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, Grand Rapids Public Library, Laura Nawrot, Main Branch, mystery, on the shelf, Short Straw, Stuart WoodsJoanne

By Laura Nawrot, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

I was feeling rather sluggish and thought a good mystery would get my blood moving, so I decided to try something by an author I hadn’t previously read. I turned to bestselling authors to help with my selection.

Short Straw by Stuart Woods seemed to fit my criteria; Woods is a bestselling author and the synopsis promised an intriguing, fast-paced mystery, and I looked forward to diving into my first Stuart Woods novel. Unfortunately, this will also be my last Stuart Woods novel. While there were a couple of interesting twists in the plot, overall I found it to be very dull and predictable. The characters were flat and lifeless, and I found myself not caring what happened to any of them. In fact, I felt like they got what they deserved for the most part.

Apparently, a familiar character from an earlier book, Ed Eagle, resurfaces in Short Straw only to be taken to the cleaners by his soon-to-be-ex-wife. A pair of incompetent men, hired by Eagle, follow Barbara all over Mexico to prevent her from getting her hands on all of Ed’s money. If this is typical of his work, I certainly don’t plan to read any further.

On the other hand, I found Capital Crimes by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman to be just what the book jacket promised: “…a gripping pair of original crime thrillers…” This was my first experience with Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, also bestselling authors, and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this time I wasn’t disappointed.

Although I didn’t initially realize that Capital Crimes was actually two novellas combined under one cover, both stories stood well on their own, and I will definitely read more of their work. The characters were far more colorful than those in Short Straw, and the pace moved much quicker. I felt more involved with the stories and interested in the outcomes.

The only criticism I have is that the language in Capital Crimes was a little rough. While the usage of rough language was well within the boundaries of keeping in the voice of the character, I sometimes find it distracts from the story when the dialogue is spotted with conversational swearing. I didn’t find it distracting enough, however, to put this book down and recommend it for a taste of both Jonathan and Faye Kellerman.

On the shelf: ‘Rescue My Child’ by Neil C. Livingstone

September 11, 2018Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Reviewsabduction, Grand Rapids Public Library, kidnapping, Megan Andres, Neil C. Livingstone, on the shelf, Rescue My Child, Seymour BranchJoanne

By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch

When Betty Mahmoody’s story first came to light, the United States was confronted with a problem of epic proportions: international parental abduction. Countless parents around the county were finally heard. Author Livingstone wrote Rescue My Child to help inform an entire generation of the cruelty these parents face every day.

Livingston focused on Corporate Training Unlimited (CTU), an organization composed of ex-Delta Force commandos, who would intervene in international cases. This book tells of four such cases. The stories detail the rescues of five children and one mother from various countries and situations. Laurie Swint Ghidaoui and her daughter Leila were rescued from Tunisia. Lauren Mahone was recovered in Jordan. Brittney Chowdhury was located in Bangladesh while Jeremy Hefner and his sister Amy were rescued in Ecuador.

Rescue My Child endeavored to alert the world about international parental abduction at a time when such a crime was hardly imaginable. CTU risked much to be able to help these families: prison, injury and even death. Had these men and women been discovered while on foreign soil and in possession of a child of a citizen, the United States could not have helped them. It is a reminder that some children do come home and also a reminder that some are still missing.