The Kalamazoo Django Reinhardt Festival
This is an 18+ seated event | 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Advance tickets may also be purchased in person at the General Store by card only (no cash) Prepare to be transported into the scintillating world of hot club music , as Djangophonique hosts the first ever Kalamazoo Django Reinhardt Festival at Bell’s Back Room! Joined on stage by some of the most captivating musicians on the Michigan jazz manouche scene, including members of The Birdseed Salesmen and Third Coast Swing. Djangophonique honors the legacy of Django Reinhardt while breathing new life and creativity to the craft. The result is a sound that’s unmistakable to fans of the music, and alluring to the uninitiated—a sound that can bring the lively energy of a Parisian dance hall to the quietest listening room or captivate a buzzing festival audience with the aching nostalgia of a shimmering ballad.Experience the legacy of Django Reinhardt through this unforgettable evening!
Shakespearean, Not Stirred
Advance tickets may also be purchased in person at the General Store by card only (no cash) THIS IS A 21+ SHOW “Tipsy actors. Drinking games. Audience participation. A raffle. General hijinks. And somewhere in the mix… a Shakespeare play. Absolutely no fun will be had.” 🎭🍻 Seating & Ticket Options: GA: Table seating on the main floor. VIP: Take your seat on stage with the actors!
Payton & Annabelle: The Songs of Simon & Garfunkel
This is an 18+ seated event | 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Advance tickets may also be purchased in person at the General Store by card only (no cash) Award winning Kalamazoo based duo Payton&Annabelle are thrilled to return to Bell’s Backroom with their previously sold-out show, Payton&Annabelle: The Songs of Simon & Garfunkel. After having spent years enjoying and casually performing the music of the well-known singer-songwriters, the pair have dedicated a full set to their fantastic song craft. Featuring popular favorites, deep cut gems, an outstanding backing band, and special guests, this experience promises to be one that can be enjoyed by all. The duo honors both their full band songs and intimate duets, providing both in their memorable live set. The duo have sold out multiple duo nights at Kalamazoo’s Clover Room and have sold out a previous night at Bell’s Back Room with their full band and guests. The pair are quickly making a name for themselves in Michigan and around the Midwest. Their original song “projection” won the first ever state-wide New Moon Songwriting Competition, and their music also garnered them first place in the 2023 Battle of the Bands at the Kalamazoo State Theatre. The duo currently have their debut album For the Willows streaming everywhere, and are working on recording their second full length album. https://www.paytonandannabelle.com https://www.instagram.com/paytonandannabelle/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/20Pz0ky33gWdsPScb8goBi https://www.facebook.com/people/Payton-Annabelle/61579818767274/
Payton & Annabelle: The Songs of Simon & Garfunkel
This is an 18+ seated event | 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Advance tickets may also be purchased in person at the General Store by card only (no cash) Award winning Kalamazoo based duo Payton&Annabelle are thrilled to return to Bell’s Backroom with their previously sold-out show, Payton&Annabelle: The Songs of Simon & Garfunkel. After having spent years enjoying and casually performing the music of the well-known singer-songwriters, the pair have dedicated a full set to their fantastic song craft. Featuring popular favorites, deep cut gems, an outstanding backing band, and special guests, this experience promises to be one that can be enjoyed by all. The duo honors both their full band songs and intimate duets, providing both in their memorable live set. The duo have sold out multiple duo nights at Kalamazoo’s Clover Room and have sold out a previous night at Bell’s Back Room with their full band and guests. The pair are quickly making a name for themselves in Michigan and around the Midwest. Their original song “projection” won the first ever state-wide New Moon Songwriting Competition, and their music also garnered them first place in the 2023 Battle of the Bands at the Kalamazoo State Theatre. The duo currently have their debut album For the Willows streaming everywhere, and are working on recording their second full length album. https://www.paytonandannabelle.com https://www.instagram.com/paytonandannabelle/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/20Pz0ky33gWdsPScb8goBi https://www.facebook.com/people/Payton-Annabelle/61579818767274/
Elephant Revival
This is a 18 and over event. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Elephant Revival is a unique collection of multi-instrumentalists blending elements of Celtic, Americana, Folk and Indie Art Rock. The band consists of Bonnie Paine (vocals, cello, djembe, washboard and musical saw), Bridget Law (fiddle, vocals), Dango Rose (upright bass, mandolin, vocals), Charlie Rose (banjo, pedal steel, mandolin, vocals) Darren Garvey (drums, percussion, vocals) and Daniel Sproul (guitars, vocals) of Rose Hill Drive. The music they create together is like weather systems meeting in the sky, Bonnie’s warmly haunting voice either merging with the rhythms and melodies of the band or providing a counterpoint and transforming it.
Payton & Annabelle: the songs of Simon & Garfunkel
This is an 18+ seated event | 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Advance tickets may also be purchased in person at the General Store by card only (no cash) Local duo Payton&Annabelle are bringing their previously sold out Simon & Garfunkel concert to bells, equipped with a full band and special guests. Having drawn inspiration from the pair for years, Payton&Annabelle bring new life to their well known and loved songs. Featuring a full band consisting of Alex Sherk (drums), Bradyn Weatherwax (guitar), and Michael Austin (bass), and special guests including Kait Rose, Mike Fuerst, Jeff Hale, and many others, they could not be more excited to bring their cover show back and better than ever. Payton&Annabelle are a dynamic duo blending folk and alternative genres, characterized by rich harmonies and intricate acoustic guitar arrangements. Their musical partnership blossomed at The Kalamazoo Academy of Rock band program in 2021, where a shared love for artists like Simon&Garfunkel and Taylor Swift ignited their creative spark. Payton&Annabelle are quickly making a name for themselves in Michigan. Their original song “projection” won the first ever state-wide New Moon Song Competition, and their music also garnered them first place in the Battle of the Bands at the Kalamazoo State Theatre. With over four years of performing together, and more than 80 performances, Payton&Annabelle recently had the honor of opening for four-time Grammy winner Sarah Jarosz at Bell’s Beer Garden in July 2024, which helped them expand their growing fan base. In addition, the recent performance at Bell’s Beer Garden, Payton&Annabelle also recently had the opportunity to perform at The Ark in Ann Arbor Michigan for the Battle of The Bands competition. Within the next year, you will be able to see Payton&Annabelle performing at Spring Fest in Ann Arbor, Bell’s Brewery, Buttermilk Festival, and many more places! https://www.paytonandannabelle.com https://www.instagram.com/paytonandannabelle/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/20Pz0ky33gWdsPScb8goBi https://www.facebook.com/people/Payton-Annabelle/61579818767274/
Kitchen Dwellers w/ Sicard Hollow
This is a 18 and over event.17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian $1 from every ticket goes to Backline, a nonprofit that provides mental health and wellness resources for music industry professionals and their families Kitchen Dwellers VIP Meet & Greet- One (1) General Admission ticket- Meet & Greet with The Band- Professional Photo with The Band- Commemorative VIP Ticket- Commemorative VIP Laminate- Access to Merchandise Shopping Prior to Doors Opening To The Public- Early Entry Into The Venue Kitchen Dwellers In Dante’s Inferno, the author grapples with sin, its various manifestations, and its consequences. This time ultimately traces a trajectory of self-realization, acceptance, and accountability. Kitchen Dwellers embark on a similar odyssey over the course of their fourth full-length offering, Seven Devils. The Montana quartet — Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [Banjo], Joe Funk [Upright Bass], and Max Davies [Acoustic Guitar] — thread together an immersive and inimitable conceptual arc inspired by Dante’s Inferno and set to a soundtrack of folk-infused bluegrass spiked with psychedelic vision and rock energy. Continuing their own journey as brothers, they deliver their most ambitious and anthemic body of work yet. “These tunes deal with the human experience, and Torrin initially drew a parallel between the music and Dante,” Max states. “We explored the connection by correlating each song with a sin. Some of these connections are only apparent if you dive deep into the lyrics. Our goal is to essentially take the listener through our own interpretation of the Inferno story.” “We didn’t go into the studio with the intent of making a concept album,” recalls Torrin. “I was driving around listening to everything, and I noticed these parallels. To dive deeper, we’re discussing topics like mental health, the human condition, and what we go through on the road. In life and music, everything is recurring and universal. I was reading Dante at the time, and it naturally fit.” It proved to be a logical next step as well… Thus far, Kitchen Dwellers have engaged and enraptured listeners with albums such as Ghost In The Bottle [2017], Muir Maid [2019], Live from the Wilma [2021], and Wise River [2022]. Of the latter, Holler. praised how “Kitchen Dwellers have preserved their sense of youthful experimentation,” and Relix proclaimed, “The songs on the new record build on this range, while also reflecting on the group’s Bozeman, Montana home.” Between tallying millions of streams, the band ignited hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and graced the bills of Telluride Bluegrass, Northwest String Summit, WinterWonderGrass, and beyond.
KATHLEEN EDWARDS
This is an 18+ event with standing room only17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian For decades, Kathleen Edwards has been a cornerstone of North American roots music. Since making her debut with 2002’s Failer, she’s spent the 21st century occupying the grey area between genres, swirling together her own mix of alt-country, folk, and heartland rock & roll. It’s a sound that has earned its creator more than a half-dozen Juno nominations, as well as Top 40 success on both sides of the Canadian/American border. Now in her third decade as an artist, Kathleen Edwards has done more than carry the torch of songwriting heroes like Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Lucinda Williams — she’s opened the door for others, too, inspiring a new generation of artists who, like her, blur the boundaries between genre and generation. A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Edwards was still in her early 20s when she released the critically-acclaimed Failer. The album’s warm, woozy sound — crystallized on radio hits like “Six O’Clock News” — quickly turned her into one of the era’s alt-country heroes. From the very start, though, Edwards’ music seemed to exist somewhere out of time, resisting categorization even as Failer received a Juno nomination for “Roots & Traditional Album of the Year.”
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades with special guests Full Cord Trio
This is a 18+ event with standing room only 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian After nearly fifteen years, six albums, innumerable sold out shows, and countless libations, Americana mavericks Horseshoes & Hand Grenades appropriately consider themselves a “family” on a wild, wonderful, and often whacky roller coaster. The bond between the quintet— Adam Greuel [guitar, vocals], David C. Lynch [harmonica, accordion, vocals], Collin Mettelka [fiddle, vocals], Russell Pedersen [banjo, vocals], and Samual Odin [bass, vocals]— fuels their creativity and chemistry on stage and in the studio. “Sometimes, it feels like we’re modern day cowboys on some kind of strange journey,” Adam affirms with a laugh. “We’re five friends who set out to do something we enjoy doing, meet interesting people, see old friends, and make some new buddies along the way. Because of that sense of friendship, everything seems to happen organically.” That’s been the case since these five musicians first met in Stevens Point, WI at college, joined forces, and hit the road harder post-graduation in roughly 2013. They have ignited stages alongside everyone from Billy Strings, Greensky Bluegrass, Trampled By Turtles, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Railroad Earth, to Merle Haggard and Marty Stuart in addition to appearances at festivals and venues such as Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Delfest, High Sierra Music Festival, Blue Ox Music Festival, Red Rocks Amphitheater and Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Their six albums—Another Round [2012], This Old Town [2013], Middle Western [2015], The Ode (2018), Miles in Blue (2020), and For Old Time’s Sake (2022) take the listener through a wide range of musical and emotional landscapes, something surely provoked by the five different members all sharing songwriting duties. Their most recent album, “For Old Time’s Sake” is a 13-track album that celebrates their nearly 15 years together as a band, while nodding to the musical roots that have laid the foundation of the band. Greuel says, “We always joked about making a “new time, old time” album. At some point we realized it was a pretty good idea and things fell into place for it to happen. Man, we just love making music together. It’s always a fulfilling and interesting process watching one another come up with the parts that make up our sound. We really do our best to honor one another’s musical curiosities, and it feels like that’s what makes us sound uniquely “us”. It’s also just a joy to be able to be yourself, and that’s been something we’ve always tried to keep at the forefront of this band.”
Barbaro
Standing Room Only This is a 21 and over event. The heralded Minneapolis-based group Barbaro forges an exciting new musical path on About the Winter, their inaugural outing for StorySound Records. Featuring guitarist Kyle Shelstad, bassist Jason Wells, and violinist Rachel Calvert, the gifted, young band developed a strong following for their modernist bluegrass sound on their 2020 debut, Dressed in Roses. Their new album, however, represents a “coming of age” for Barbaro, according to Shelstad, as it more authentically reflects the band’s adventurous musical evolution over the past few years. About The Winter showcases the dynamic interplay arising from Shelstad’s string band roots blending with Calvert’s and Wells’ backgrounds in classical music. The album’s ten tracks also reveal the group deftly integrating electric instrumentation into the group’s acoustic-grounded music. Barbaro, together with the pivotal assistance provided by producer Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens), has fashioned a captivating pastoral Americana sound on About the Winter that is both traditional and progressive.
