OVERLY POLITE TORNADOES with Fiona Dickinson and Three Grebes
18+ Standing Room Only Show 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Overly Polite Tornadoes are a husband & wife duo from Kalamazoo, MI (featuring Mark Andrew Morris & Holly Klutts-Morris from Tambourina). They play a mix of Introspective Bedroom Pop and Shoegaze. They are celebrating the release of their 3rd full length album, available on Vinyl and CD! Three Grebes is a project born out of a mutual love of improvisational music, exploring new ways to create delicate music, and making sure they eat at the best empanada place in every town. Beth McDonald (tuba and electronics) plays in the Ken Vandermark-led Edition Redux, and is well-entrenched in Chicago’s improv scene; her solo work stands as a testament to sonic exploration. Franki Hand (guitar, violin, accordion, vocals) has been a cog in Kalamazoo’s new music scene for a decade (she’s a member of Petrillo, Kalamazoo Drone Society, Wowza, and handturner). Ike Turner can be seen riding his bike throughout town, probably with Sleep’s Dopesmoker playing in his ears; he’s in a million bands, too (Wowza, Out, Kalamazoo Drone Society, New Standards Men). They have a new album out that they’re happy to share with you at this show! This performance will feature their dear pal Kenni Dankert providing visual elements throughout the show.
May Erlewine & The Motivations Winter Dance Party
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian On a few special dates each year, singer-songwriter May Erlewine breaks from her Americana and folk roots to front The Motivations: a seven-piece dance-party funk band that dishes up boogie jams and classic soul cuts. The project was born in the winter of 2016, when Erlewine set out to make music and create a positive space for the weary and grieving. That idea eventually took shape in the form of retro-groove dance parties meant to get people moving, make them feel connected, and help them celebrate the moment — and each other. The result? Shows that deliver feel-good fun and small revolutions to shake things up, just enough. 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 and Michael Shimmin on drums, percussion and vocals.
Dopapod at Bell’s wsg Earth Radio
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Since 2007, Dopapod has been known for their eclectic style and complex arrangements. Composed of Eli Winderman, Rob Compa, Chuck Jones, and Neal “Fro” Evans, the band thrives on live improvisation and has built a devoted fan base. Their energetic performances and innovative sound are reflected in a series of albums that chart their musical journey. They bring a vibrant energy to the stage, captivating audiences with their technical skills and creative interplay. Dopapod’s live shows are a testament to their ability to blend structured compositions with spontaneous improvisation, creating a unique experience every time.
Dopapod at Bell’s wsg Desmond Jones
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Since 2007, Dopapod has been known for their eclectic style and complex arrangements. Composed of Eli Winderman, Rob Compa, Chuck Jones, and Neal “Fro” Evans, the band thrives on live improvisation and has built a devoted fan base. Their energetic performances and innovative sound are reflected in a series of albums that chart their musical journey. They bring a vibrant energy to the stage, captivating audiences with their technical skills and creative interplay. Dopapod’s live shows are a testament to their ability to blend structured compositions with spontaneous improvisation, creating a unique experience every time.
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/
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.
Charlie Millard Band and Elisabeth Pixley-Fink
18+ Standing Room Only Show Charlie Millard Band From Michigan’s northern lower peninsula, the Charlie Millard Band has developed a unique sound, voice and thought-provoking lyrics/poetry of their own. Always playing lots of festivals and venues, mainly across the Midwest and Canada, percussionist Will Harris, Jercat Millard on guitars, and Charlie on the keys/organ/Rhodes bass, strive to give you a musical experience, like small movies for the ears. Elisabeth Pixley-Fink Elisabeth Pixley-Fink is a Michigan-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. Her blend of distinctive folk and bratty garage rock hits you in the chest with guts, trust and hunger. Heartbreaking and heart-making.
Craft Music: Songs in the Summer
2024 Bell’s Beer Garden Summer Concert SeriesFor tickets to this performance click here Bruce Uchimura, Conductor Guest Vocalist, To Be Announced Craft Music is heading to the Beer Garden for the first time! Locally sourced from the bar to the stage, Craft Music features entertaining, casual, and truly eccentric flavor profiles. It’s a concert experience you’ll want to sample again and again. Craft Music: Songs in the Summer pairs jazz, pop, and show tunes from the Great American Songbook with hits from the Broadway stage. Didn’t get tickets for the sold-out Craft Music: Great American Songbook performance on May 22? Join us for Songs in the Summer! Must be 21 years or older to attend this performance. GET TICKETS FOR THIS IN-PERSON CONCERT $10 College Student Tickets can be purchased with a valid student ID on the day of the performance at the venue’s ticketing window or purchased in person at the Epic Center’s Community Box Office. College Student Tickets are intended for students 18 years or older and can be purchased individually. Under 18 Tickets can be purchased at any time for children who will be accompanied by a guardian. These can be purchased at any time with an adult ticket. Bell’s Eccentric Cafe requires all children under the age of 18 to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. By purchasing tickets, you agree to these requirements. For tickets to this performance click here
Adjy w/ Tambourina, The American Hotel System
This is a 18+ event with standing room only The mythical retelling of your summer camp romance, only the Greek chorus is the school band.” Adjy is a musical mythopoic apparatus based in undisclosed locations in the blessed, wild land of Appalachia. With it’s emphasis on storytelling, Adjy cants deeply sincere hymns commemorating doubt, philosophy, and the toil and trauma of attempting connection with others. After being approached by Triple Crown Records, the Project signed with the label, and after several tours, Christopher Noyes -composer and writer- recluse like an alchemical hermit and has spent the past 2 years writing and recording their debut full-length record. Adjy ‘s live musical performance is generally 5-6 musicians, who’s goal is to create moments of wonder and aporia though passionate performances, the inclusion of several idiosyncratic instruments and audience participation/bewilderment… While at times they’ll find themselves somewhere between an Andy Kaufmen bit, and a Punch Brothers concert… they feel perfectly at home amongst an “Emo,” “Indie,” or “Punk Rock” Show with their use of sing-along gang vocals, raucous climaxes, and emotional sets.
Earth Radio, After Ours & Fake Baseball
This is a 18 and over event.Standing room only EARTH RADIO Earth Radio are storytellers of a future yet to be realized. This Grand Rapids Future-Soul group consists of Justin Avdek (bass, vox), Hannah Laine (keys, vox), Dutcher Snedeker (keys, synth), and David Ward (drums, percussion). The band formed in 2017 when Avdek brought these unique West Michigan musicians together for a spontaneous recording collaboration, which turned into a progressive project, birthed from a shared passion of neo-soul and sonic ingenuity. You’ll hear elements of funk, rock, soul, and progressive jazz, reminiscent of Hiatus Kaiyote, Erykah Badu, Radiohead, and Knower, melded together into a sound that is uniquely Earth Radio AFTER OURS After Ours is a two-man wrecking crew with influences ranging from modern jazz to grunge to instrumental hip hop & experimental music. Hybrid 7-string guitarist Eli Kahn creates sonic layer cakes with loops atop drummer Arthur Schroeder’s ever-expansive jazz beat backdrops to create a unique sound that is all their own. FAKE BASEBALL Fake Baseball is an eclectic art-pop band based in Kalamazoo, MI. Fake Baseball bends pop music on its ear, and builds engaging soundscapes, with consideration toward making those booties drop. Come be bathed in the sweet and uneasy melancholy of a glitchy, introspective dream-zone, and wiggle your hips to an intricate groove with dazzling keys.
