Geordie Greep (of black midi) with NNAMDÏ
18+ Standing Room Only Show / 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Is The New Sound a tonic for these times? Let’s ask Geordie Greep. “Music can be so much more than learning to play the same as everybody else. It can be anything you want. With recording The New Sound, it was the first time I have had no one to answer to. Being in a band (black midi), we often have this ‘we can do everything’ feeling, but you are also kind of limited in that approach, and sometimes it’s good to do something else, to let go of things.” Geordie’s debut solo album boasts a brand of high quality, all-embracing alternative pop fun not heard in a very long time, walking the line between the ridiculous and brilliant with a teflon-coated aplomb. How the record came about is a thing to marvel at. Over thirty session musicians were involved in its making, on two continents. Greep says, “Half of the tracks were done in Brazil, with local musicians pulled together at the last minute. They’d never heard anything I’d done before, they were just interested in the demos I’d made. The tracking was all done in one, maybe two days.” The spirit of Greep’s increasingly febrile and furtive soliloquies simultaneously calls to mind both Frank Zappa and Frank Sinatra, with a healthy dash of Scott Walker sprinkled throughout. The instrumental title track is a jazz-funk workout that could double as a soundtrack for a TV series or the intro music for a Broadway musical. Brass, wah-wah pedal and bass stabs, choruses and polyrhythms, all fizz and tumble around the place creating a sense of excitement and expectation. Tracks often oscillate from whispers to shouts, and start and end on a bang. The stories themselves act as a shopping list of the Active Male Imagination. A series of vignettes, where Geordie Greep plays the role of emcee and conductor. The characters we hear from are engaged in wild fantasies and situations in which they inevitably falter. “The main theme of the record is desperation; someone who is kidding themselves that they have everything under control, but they don’t.” Here Greep gives color to a set of imaginings which include cannibalism, being boiled alive, and a woman giving birth to a goat. Street life is all around The New Sound: the listener is thrown into a world of cafes, bars, rented rooms, cabarets and strange museums. Here we see our heroes carry out a series of naughty assignments, military cosplay or socio-economic triumphs. The lines between parody and sermon are often blurred. The urbane romantic fantasy of single ‘Holy Holy’ tells the story of an imaginary liaison in a nightclub, soundtracked by ’noughties indie chords and bravura Latin big band arrangements – including a three-piano attack.
Will Wood Slouching Towards Bethlehem! Tour w/ Shayfer James
This is a 18+ event with standing room only Generally associated with hallucinations and dead rats, singer-songwriter and pianist Will Wood has been described as something of a recluse, quote “because I told my publicist to.” Wood’s dramatic songwriting is characterized by a sense of humor that whiplashes between too dry to detect and aggressively absurd, as well as a combination of both intensely emotional and surrealist lyricism, and his solo performances follow suit. His work has only increased in popularity since beginning a hiatus after the release of his “musical suicide note” In Case I Make It, and the Slouching Towards Bethlehem tour is his first time playing live in two years. Will Wood lives in New Jersey, likes to read, and has three pet rats, named “Snooter Man,” “Mister Bubbles,” and “Bastard.”
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.
PRETORIA WSG. GET TUFF, THE DOOZERS
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only event. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Pretoria (Grand Rapids) Pretoria is a five-piece indie-rock band from Grand Rapids, Michigan that’s known for their guitar-driven sound, three-guitar harmonies, and catchy hooks. The band’s style incorporates elements of post-punk, retro rock, and power pop, and some say their music is both smart and energetic. Get Tuff (Lansing) Bio – drama-pop for the devil in you. When the going got rough, Get Tuff was born out of necessity. RB Roe, a touring musician for the better half of a decade, traded their guitar for GarageBand demos while on the road. Inspired by the glitchy witchcraft of POPPY and Hayley Williams’ multimedia therapy, Get Tuff is a respite, an outlet, and a backbone drenched in pop production. According to Roe themselves, Get Tuff exists as “a reminder that there is strength in vulnerability and there is an innate humor in the depths of despair that, as a person with mental illness, can come from things that others may deem small and benign.” The Doozers (Detroit) The Doozers are a high energy indie/new wave band hailing from the suburbs consisting of four members: Sean Donnelly (Vocals, Guitar), Parker Grissom (Guitar), Melanie Kelley (Bass), and Kyle Garland (Drums). Wherever the Doozers are, the dancing follows. The Doozers’ sound is influenced by bands like Cage the Elephant, The Districts, Hippo Campus, and Catfish and the Bottlemen. Their performances are known for their energy, dancing, and stage diving. https://www.facebook.com/TheDoozersBand/
Emo Nite Fright Nite
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian $1 per ticket transaction sponsors Emo Nite Gives A F*ck. Donations are allocated for worthwhile organizations focusing on Mental Health, Harm Reduction, Children & Families, Poverty & Homelessness, Disenfranchised Communities and Terminal Illness Since they threw their first party at an East L.A. dive bar, Morgan Freed and T.J. Petracca, and a dedicated crew of regular attendees, built Emo Nite into a phenomenon. Top-tier emo artists, old and new, curate playlists and perform, with guest lists boasting members of blink-182, All Time Low, Dashboard Confessional, The Maine, and Good Charlotte. Scene-friendly pop culture mavericks often participate, like past attendees Post Malone, Demi Lovato, Machine Gun Kelly, and Skrillex. Somehow on its journey from a melodic post-hardcore subgenre, built on earnest emotional expression, to a mainstream moniker assigned to anything remotely angsty, “emo” became a dirty word. Despite the positive impact ushered in by waves of bands, from the crucial “Revolution Summer” and Sunny Day Real Estate through Taking Back Sunday and My Chemical Romance, accepting “emo” as a dismissive designation or identity invited polite embarrassment and even scorn.But Freed and Petracca grew up loving the music associated with emo and the people like them who similarly embraced outsider art and subculture, regardless of changing fashions or pretentious snobbery. Petracca told The New Yorker the idea behind the first Emo Nite celebration was to center a happy, communal experience on the music they once listened to when they were upset and alone.As emo reenters popular culture with a blend of adoring nostalgia and optimistic forward- thinking, Emo Nite remains an authentic space to celebrate diversity, experience passionate catharsis, and champion authentic expression. Emo Nite isn’t a band or a DJ crew. It’s an idea, one as simple as the urge to throw a party for a beloved style of music. Often imitated but never truly duplicated, Emo Nite’s founders and supporters are fond of saying, “If you don’t see the grave, it ain’t our rave.”The co-founders continue to look ahead. “Emo Nite definitely impacted culture,” Freed notes. “But we have no plans to stop changing the way we view the evolution and expansion of the genre.”
Flynt Flossy And Turquoise Jeep
18+ Standing Room Only Show 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Flynt Flossy Biography by David Jeffries Besides being the rapper behind the viral hits “Did I Mention I Like to Dance” and “Treat Me Like a Pirate,” Flynt Flossy is also head of the strange, fun, and mysterious Turquoise Jeep record label/collective. Flossy claims the TJ crew were born on the Internet and not based in any geographic location, but he does admit that he launched the label with R&B singer Whatchyamacallit. Flynt kicked things off in 2009 with an upload of his party rap song “Stretchy Pants,” while the beginning of 2010 saw Whatchyamacallit and Flynt join TJ artist Yung Humma on his massive viral hit “Fried or Fertilized.” That same year saw the trio come together for another viral Humma hit, “Lemme Smang It.” Both tracks landed on that year’s Turquoise Jeep compilation Keep the Jeep Ridin’, which also featured Flynt’s electro-dance number “Did I Mention I Like to Dance.” Considered more Lonely Island than Odd Future at this point, Flossy and Humma “went legit” in late 2012 when they joined Childish Gambino for the single “F*ck Your Blog.” A year later, Flynt would release another solo single, the party rap track “Treat Me Like a Pirate” (“and gimme that booty”)
Lower Leisure Class w/ The Wild Woodys
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian With whole-hearted soul and voice, Kalamazoo’s Lower Leisure Class write, release, and perform energized earworms grounded in rock ‘n’ roll while sailing through the sonic stratosphere. The sextet’s acclaimed debut LP, Stories from the Lower Leisure Class, supplies “an unmistakable, identifiable restless sound” to listeners who’ll keep “spinning this record… over and over again”, according to Local Spins’ Ryan Boldrey. “To see this group shape their music around those stories is where things take off,”, writes Derek Phillips at Glorious Noise. “It’s new, but steeped in nostalgia and references any good midwesterner will recognize.” Their stage skills burnished to a fine shine as members of powerhouse Michigan bands including King Tammy, the Sinatras, and the Sleestacks – all of whose Leppotone recordings command a cult following to this day – the LLC move audiences to dance, sing along, activate, and engage. The Wild Woodys The Wild Woodys are a rockabilly, blues, surf band formed in 1984 by Scott Spears (guitar) and Phil Glennie (upright bass), and shortly after drummer Bruce Gioacchini. The band played extensively throught the Midwest until 2012 with a home base in the Kalamazoo area. With the departure of Bruce and Phil in 1998 brought in Kirk Harrier (now with Delilah DeWylde) and later Dan McCoy (now with The Moon Rays) on drums and Greg Cohen on bass. The band finished in 2012 with Phil Glennie back on bass and Jim Murphy (Johnny Apollo) on drums. The band did shows opening for: The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnny Winter, Jimmie Vaughan, Lonnie Mack, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Mason Ruffner, The Stray Cats, The Blasters, Mojo Nixon, Chubby Checkers, BR549, The King Bees, Big Sandy, The Smithereens, Edgar Winter, The Kentucky Headhunters, & Montgomery Gentry. The band produced albums in 1986 (self titled), 1987 (WWII), and 2003.
Michigan Metal Fest presents: BRUTALLITY @ BELL’S featuring HEMLOCK w/ killcrown & Implicator
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only event. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian YOU ASKED FOR IT!!! We’re gonna BRING IT TO YOU!! Michigan Metal Fest is STOKED to announce this BANGER!!! FRIDAY THE 13TH OF SEPTEMBER 👑 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 @ 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋’𝐒 👑 HEMLOCK will be traveling here to perform along with 2 HOMETOWN HEAVY HITTERS, Killcrown, and Implicator!!! We’re going to have a night to remember at the beautiful BELL’S in Kalamazoo!!
Sam Grisman Project
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian A Note From Sam– The music that my father David Grisman and his close friend, Jerry Garcia, made in the early 90s (in the house that I grew up in) is not only some of the most timeless acoustic music ever recorded, it also triggers my oldest and fondest musical memories. What I find most inspiring about this material is the way their camaraderie and their love and joy for the music, simply oozes out of each recording. It is also impressive how deeply they get beneath their favorite songs—whether they are originals, covers or traditional/old time tunes—and how expertly that material was curated. My goal in starting Sam Grisman Project is to build a platform for my friends and me to showcase our genuine passion and appreciation for the legacy of Dawg and Jerry’s music. By playing some of their beloved repertoire and sharing the original music that our own collective has to offer, we will also show the impact that this music has had on our own individual musical voices. Ultimately, there is nothing that makes me happier than playing great songs with my best friends and my hope is to share that happiness with audiences all over!”
KAIT ROSE & CO. PRESENT CELEBRATING SHANIA!
18+ Standing Room Only Show 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Kait Rose, an original singer, songwriter and guitar player, is kicking us back to the nineties with hits from Shania Twain. Kait Rose & Co. Presents: Celebrating Shania! Time to get out those cowboy boots and dance along with an eleven piece band that brings their all-star talents to the beat of Shania’s greatest songs. Let’s go girls!
