PRETORIA WSG. HEADBAND HENNY, 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. Headband Henny (Kalamazoo) Solo music project of Henry Edward Parwoth Kalamazoo, Michigan. Not afraid to incorporate key changes, play with dynamics and combine ideas, Headband Henny draws inspiration from the likes of Frank Ocean, Isaiah Rashad and Tyler, the Creator, adding innovative takes on the band’s style to engage fans. The music reverberates on an R&B wavelength, with a smooth, psychedelic, even bedroom-pop vibe. That doesn’t make their songs sleepy, operating instead on a concentrated wall of sound with varied instrumentation that lays out a universe of music to soak in. 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.
Minor Element w/ Aaron Smith & RDAA
This is a 18+ event with standing room only Minor Element is an all-instrumental jazz fusion band out of Battle Creek, Michigan. They have been playing Jazz together since 2012 where they originally started as a jazz trio. As they grew in their musicality, so did their band, their musical taste, and distinct sound. Minor Element is heavily inspired by bands like Snarky Puppy which drove their sound direction in 2014. Their sound is inspired by Jazz, Rock, Gospel, Fusion, and anything they can draw inspiration from. Minor Element prides themselves in being music for the musician. Not only can you find a grove, but you can also hear the complexity in the original compositions. Now Minor Element consists of 9 members. They have a very diverse group of musicians that come from all sorts of musical backgrounds and experiences which is part of what makes their sound so unique______________________“Meet “Aaron Smith & RDAA,” a dynamic band founded by Aaron Smith, driven by a passion for original jazz, fusion, and soul music. The lineup features Aaron Smith on drums/vocals, Deron Bell Jr on bass, Antuan Walker on main keyboards, Daria Raymore on vocals, Evan Taylor on trumpet, AJ Tyus on guitar, and Raymond King-Redding III on auxiliary keyboards. Hailing from the Midwest, with roots in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky, the band has captivated audiences in cities like Cleveland, Akron, Indianapolis, and Nashville. Their unique and inspiring sound, crafted by each member’s distinct style, has garnered a growing fan base, with overwhelming love from audiences at every show. Stay tuned for their debut project, “Organic Vibes,” set to release in 2024 “
DRINK THEIR BLOOD w/ RipVanRipper, Flood The Desert, Bronson Arm
This is a 18+ event with standing room only Hailing from the Kalamazoo area, DRINK THEIR BLOOD takes listeners through a vast landscape of sounds. You may hear them entrancing audiences with atmospheric ambiance at one moment, then pummeling them with unfathomable brutality the very next instant.Whether you like to tap your foot to a complex harmony or fight for your life in the pit, DRINK THEIR BLOOD has something to offer every listener.
Lucius Fox w/ Bike Tuff and Fedaykin
This is a 18+ event with standing room only Lucius Fox is a loud two piece from Kalamazoo, MI that plays heavy, progressive music that touches on post-rock, psychedelic, electronic, math-rock, doom, black metal, and death metal. By layering frantic, melodic guitar and synthesizer over intricate, driving drums Lucius Fox create a wall of sound that dwarfs that of projects with twice the personnel.
Kalamashoegazer
This is a 21 and over event.Standing Room Only “Yes, There Really Is A Kalamashoegazer.” After a 3 year hiatus due to the pandemic, Kalamazoo’s own Dreampop and Shoegaze music festival, KALAMASHOEGAZER, returns, Saturday, October 14th, at Bell’s Backroom. This year’s line-up features 6 bands from the Midwest and beyond, including… Bluhm Melodic, ambient dreampop duo from Detroit, MI. Bluhm.bandcamp.com Cult of Lip Noisy, alternative, Shoegaze from Madison, WI Cultoflip.bandcamp.com Tambourina Jangly, Post-punk-ish (C86 type twee) dreampop from Kalamazoo, MI. Tambourina.bandcamp.com Brief Candles Noisy, alternative, Shoegaze from Milwaukee, WI Briefcandles.bandcamp.com Dead Leaf Echo Nouveau wave, Alternative, Shoegaze from Brooklyn, NY Deadleafecho.bandcamp.com ….so what exactly IS Kalamashoegazer? Not *exactly* a full-on fest, more of once a year family gathering of “The Scene that Celebrates Itself” where fans and bands can meet each other, hang out, enter to win effects pedals and prizes, dance, listen to Shoegaze djs, and have an all around awesome time.
