The Accidentals
This is a 18 and over event.Standing Room Only VIP Ticket Includes: Merch BundleMeet & GreetEarly Entry Digital Show DownloadExclusive Posters, Stickers and Glasses for the show! All female, multi-instrumentalist, indie power duo, The Accidentals, Sav Buist, Katie Larson added powerhouse, Katelynn Corll, on drums last year and blew the doors off the Festival scene. Launching hard off their debut album, Odyssey, with Sony Masterworks. They followed the album release with two-hundred days of touring nationally, seventeen festivals, sync placement with Turner Classic Movies and FOX sports, and a RAM Trucks BANDvan #tourtough commercial. They followed that up with a self-titled LIVE album and a single collaboration with Lily and Madeline on New West Records, and toured the UK. They scored the indie film “ Almost Home”, and taught workshops across the country. The band toured 150 dates, including backing up Keller Williams, Gabriel Kahane, Martin Sexton, on strings. They wrapped the year as guest artists with the TSO Orchestra on original pieces they scored and arranged. They released TIME OUT 1, an album of co-writes with legendary writers, Dar Williams, Tom Paxton, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Kim Richey, Maia Sharp, and Gretchen Peters, artists that inspired them to become artists (Wildfire went to #1 at Folk Radio for the year and the album #8) and they finished their much anticipated studio Album, Vessel, co-produced by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Lana Del Ray) and Tucker Martine (Nico Case, Decemberists) touring the album all of Oct and November before Covid shut down the live shows again. Their songs Cityview and The Line won first place in the prestigious USA Songwriting Contest, Songwriter Serenade, and Kerrville Folk Festival competitions. They barely took a breath in 23 as they kicked the year off with a covers album spanning their collective interest in women that influenced them, the first single, Blonde’s Heart Of Glass released at the end of Jan. They released and toured the TIME OUT album in March with Gary Burr (Pure Prairie League) Georgia Middleman, and Mary Bragg. Hosted their first SOLD OUT FAN Cruise and Bike Tour in Croatia in June and played a packed summer of shows w/ occasional bassist/guitarist, Patty Pershayla. Keep your eyes on that covers album coming out in April 24’ and the brand new TIME OUT 3 album release (produced by Mary Bragg) out in October 24’. Their music can be found online, all the streaming platforms, Barnes and Noble, and at their shows. Show schedule can be found at Bandsintown and on their website at www.theaccidentalsmusic.com
Jay Gavan and The Flying Leaps w/ Helen Yee
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only Jay Gavan is a Kalamazoo musician who has dabbled in rock, jazz, klezmer, surf rock, folk, soul and classic album cover projects. He has played in a variety of groups, produced several records of original music, and currently shares the stage with The Birdseed Salesmen, Guitar Up Surf Band!, The Corn Fed Girls, and the Kalamazoo Academy of Rock. The Flying Leaps is his latest group endeavor, performing an eclectic mix of original music and cover tunes and featuring Kalamazoo greats Mike Shimmin, Ben Lau, and Mike Fuerst. And always keep an eye/ear out for guests! Helen Yee is a violinist, multi-instrumentalist, composer whose regular stomping grounds include the worlds of music between traditional and new, “high” and “low,” East and West. Over the years in New York City she expanded beyond the confines of classical training to improvise and compose in multiple styles. Now residing in Kalamazoo, MI, her explorations continue with solo works incorporating violin with live looping and electronics.
Alejandro Escovedo w/ James Mastro
This is a 18 event with standing room only No one has really ever been able to define themselves and their music like singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo does. His life in music of all kinds sometimes feels like a swirl through the sky, where his songs point out all the majesty and mystery of how he sees the world. The sounds he makes take him places that he might not even predict, but once there, greatness always follows. It’s just the way Escovedo is. It has happened over and over for decades, almost like a fateful agreement he has with the cosmos. There is a good chance it cannot be explained, especially by him. Maybe that’s because this is a musician who feels magic, both in himself and the world around him, and is open to the experience of whatever comes his way. It is not always easy, and can have a high demand on how a person lives. But it is the way that Escovedo is always moving forward. On this new album, Alejandro Escovedo has taken a road rarely traveled, which is totally in keeping with how he has lived his life in music. Echo Dancing is an experiment in how to use the past to shape the future. By recording completely new and repurposed versions of songs from his past, Escovedo actually gets a chance to rewrite his own history. It’s also an idea that pushes growth into the present, and asks an artist to see themselves anew. “I always feel that a well-written song can withstand a lot of abuse,” Escovedo says. It is an area of creativity that the man has always honored. “Turning a past song inside out leads to discovery of new ideas you might not have understood about the song,” he says. “Even lyrical refurbishing has proven helpful and effective. It’s like interpreting your own work anew. The songs never seem to be complete. They are always evolving.” Deeply embedded in the burgeoning Austin scene in the 1980s, Escovedo was a prime architect in the new band True Believers, which included his brother Javier and Jon Dee Graham. In many ways the band helped build the gateway to the whole burgeoning Americana music scene which prospers to this day, but it was also the turning point for Alejandro Escovedo to take his life in his control and record solo albums. In the thirty-plus years since that decision has come a wild roller-coaster ride of groups, spinoffs, tribute albums and even original dramatic projects and experiments. In 1998, No Depression Magazine named him Artist of the Decade. “I said goodbye to certain phases of my life as I have grown,” the musician says. “I greeted new acquaintances musically. And I was extremely surprised by the outcome. That is the thrill of being alive. I feel we have now made a beautiful collection of songs recorded in an effortless vibe of collaboration and camaraderie. I can’t give Nicola and Antonio enough credit and thanks for their musicianship and wide-open approach to making this album. And I should also mention Ivano Giovedi, who incredibly engineered the recordings. He did an amazing job.” Echo Dancing makes sure Alejandro Escovedo’s evolving circle remains unbroken.
Tim Kinsella & Jenny Pulse wsg Fred Thomas
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse have spent years making thoughtful and unpredictable art, whether musically as Joan of Arc or Spa Moans, or under their given names as writers and visual artists. On Giddy Skelter, their debut album as the unadorned “Tim Kinsella & Jenny Pulse,” they once again take an unexpected turn, but aim for something more direct. They’ve crafted a swirling, past-future, future-past, sorta-rock, collage-rock, melange borne from the confined anxiety of the pandemic. It’s a full-length undeniably of its moment, rich with musical references while radiating a visionary path forward. To assemble Giddy Skelter, Kinsella and Pulse aggressively culled their tracklist until they had a lean and impactful 11 songs, unlike anything either musician has released before. Opening track “Unblock Obstacles” chugs along on a three-chord riff and dubbed-out drums before venturing into a hypnotic, feedback-filled drone that channels pre-Loveless My Bloody Valentine. “Over and Over” imagines a world where Slowdive or Lush collaborated with Prefuse 73. On “Nena,” one minute features loops of classical piano, the next Spacemen 3-style psychedelic drone, and the next contemporary R&B. The majority of songs on Giddy Skelter foreground Pulse’s yearning, ethereal vocals, giving the music a distinctly feminine overtone. The title Giddy Skelter alludes to both Gimme Shelter, the infamous documentary about the Rolling Stones’ disastrous Altamont free concert, and the Manson Family’s Helter Skelter scenario. But none of this is an homage to a bygone era. And there’s another dimension to the title: It can be interpreted alchemically, combining two of the most popular songs in rock history — “Gimme Shelter” and “Helter Skelter” — both of which have sinister associations that give them greater gravity. Sometimes the thing that makes great rock n’ roll is the ineffable and the intangible, something you can only describe as alchemy; other times it’s the rigors of process. On Kinsella and Pulse’s Giddy Skelter, it’s both — and it sounds unlike anything else you’ll hear this year.
Beaton, MacGillivray, and MacNeil: A Cape Breton Trio
This is a family friendly event Beaton, MacGillivray, and MacNeil: A Cape Breton Trio Andrea Beaton, piano, fiddleTroy MacGillivray, piano, fiddleTracey Dares MacNeil, piano, fiddleAndrea Beaton, Troy MacGillivray, and Tracey MacNeil hail from the isolated beauty of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their joyful style of dance music is defined by its improvised folk piano tradition. Expect instrument-switching, solo dancing, and inspiring harmonies, as they explore the traditional music of Ireland, Scotland, and Cape Breton, along with original compositions. Their performances offer a shared sense of fun and years of making music together. Enjoy the band in their natural habitat in Bell’s Back Room, with plenty of room for dancing! If you would like to purchase tickets to this show click here 7pm Concert
Craft Music: Great American Songbook
21+ and over seated performanceTickets sold here Matthew Aubin, Conductor Craft Music is locally sourced, from the bar to the stage. Featuring entertaining, casual, and truly eccentric flavor profiles, Craft Music is an experience you’ll want to sample. Grab a ticket, raise a glass, and join us for the final Craft Music of the season featuring favorites from the Great American Songbook!
Craft Music: Folk Songs
21+ and over seated performanceTickets sold hereBruce Uchimura, Conductor Craft Music is locally sourced, from the bar to the stage. Featuring entertaining, casual, and truly eccentric flavor profiles, Craft Music is an experience you’ll want to sample. Where there are beer halls and taverns, vibrant music is usually not far away! This eccentric musical experience celebrates the folk tunes, folk tales, and historical moments that inspired some of classical music’s most incredible works. Grab a ticket, raise a glass, and join us for Craft Music: Folk Music!
Willi Carlisle w/ Golden Shoals
18+ Event standing room only WILLI CARLISLE is a poet and a folk singer for the people, but his extraordinary gift for turning a phrase isn’t about high falutin’ pontificatin’; it’s about looking out for one another and connecting through our shared human condition. Born and raised on the Midwestern plains, Carlisle is a product of the punk to folk music pipeline that’s long fueled frustrated young men looking to resist. After falling for the rich ballads and tunes of the Ozarks, where he now lives, he began examining the full spectrum of American musical history. This insatiable stylistic diversity is obvious in his wildly raucous live performances, where songs range from sardonic trucker-ballads like “Vanlife” to the heartbreaking queer waltz “Life on the Fence,” to an existential talkin’ blues about a panic attack in Walmart’s aisle five. With guitar, fiddle, button-box, banjo, harmonicas, rhythm-bones, and Willi’s booming baritone, this is bonafide populist folk music in the tradition of cowboys, frontier fiddlers, and tall-tale tellers. Carlisle recognizes that the only thing holding us back from greatness is each other. With a quick wit and big sing-alongs, these folksongs bring us a step closer to breaking down our divides.
Steppin’ In It w/ Zak Bunce
This is a 18 and over event.Standing room only Formed out of love for traditional American Folk & Blues music, Steppin’ In It has been playingshows and packing dance floors for over 20 years. No stranger to Kalamazoo, the band hasplayed Bells countless times together and was one of the first bands to play the beer gardenyears ago.
Arkansauce w/ Fireside Collective
This is a 21 and over event.Standing Room Only Arkansauce calls forth melodies of the Ozark Mountains’ rolling hills and raging rivers with their distinct blend of newgrass. This progressive string quartet features Tom Andersen on bass, guitarist Zac Archuleta, Ethan Bush on mandolin, and Adams Collins on banjo. Their music features improvisational string leads matched with complex melodies, intriguing rhythms, and deep thumping bass grooves. Each member sings lead and harmony parts as well as contributes to the lyrics, which offer authentic, intelligent songwriting with hard-hitting hooks. The band was founded in 2011 after Zac and Ethan, who had grown up across the street from one another in Johnson County, Arkansas, moved to Fayetteville. Tom and Adams were slowly introduced to them through the tight-knit Fayetteville music community. During a fateful gig at a Riverstomp Music Festival in 2014, the band was down a couple of members, and Adams and Tom filled in on the fly—magic was made on the stage that night, and the lineup was forever changed. Having played shows from California to Connecticut over the last several years in addition to two tours in Europe, the band is no stranger to the road. They supported Yonder Mountain String Band for a leg of their summer tour in 2019, played mainstage spots on festivals with bands (including but not limited to) Greensky Bluegrass, Railroad Earth, The Del McCoury Band, Billy Strings, Leftover Salmon, Tauk, The Wood Brothers, and shared the stage with the legendary Sam Bush as a guest. Fireside CollectiveA quintet who cheerfully disregard every kind of one-dimensional label that might be attached to their music, Fireside Collective has been on a roll since emerging from the fertile roots music scene of Asheville, North Carolina. In quick order, the progressive bluegrass group released its debut album, won the 2016 Band Contest at MerleFest, earned an International Bluegrass MusicAssociation Momentum Band of the Year nomination and embarked on an ambitious touring schedule that’s earned an enthusiastic reception from traditional bluegrass to wide-ranging, eclectic music festival audiences alike. Blending the characteristic interplay of bluegrass instrumentation and harmonies with strong original material and exuberant energy, Fireside Collective has drawn on folk, blues, funk and a wide variety of bluegrass sounds to create a distinctive body of work that’s all their own.
