Basic Comfort wsg Charlie Millard Band and Elisabeth Pixley-Fink
18+ Standing Room Only Show Basic Comfort: Basic Comfort is an indie alt-bedroom-pop band from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Their music is described as having a universal sound, with some songs like “Slow My Step” featuring light drums, vocals, and a cinematic atmosphere. 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.
The Krelboynes wsg Charles the Osprey & Glass God
This is a 21 and over event.Standing Room Only The Krelboynes are back and better than ever with a brand new album and a brand new sound. This quartet from Kalamazoo is creating apocalyptic post-rock with doomy dreamscapes and Lovecraftian lyrics. Their new album “Boyne Again” tells the tale of prehistoric monsters resurrected by the appearance of the asteroid that wiped them out centuries ago. The revelations revealed in their recordings may frighten you–but worry not, Dear Reader! The Krelboynes act not only as harbingers of horror but also as forerunners of fun! No one knows how to have a good time more than the wild party animals that make up Kalamazoo’s premiere indie rock band: The Krelboynes!
Basic Comfort w/ Finkel and Headband Henny
This is a 21 and over event.Standing Room Only Between some lineup changes and the reception of a grant from the Kalamazoo Arts Council, BC has had a turbulent yet positive past year. With support from the grant they are currently in the process of recording their second full length album as well as producing a music video and other goodies to go along with the album. The group takes inspiration from artists like Daniel Caesar, Parcels, Gil Scott Heron, and Daft Punk. They approach their music writing from more of a personal perspective, letting the grooving music juxtapose therapeutic lyrics. They believe that music is healing, and with each release, they hope to give people a sonic space to connect with themselves and be their most present. Basic Comfort is more than just a band or catalog of music— they are a perspective in growth. BC is also known for their work on season 10 of the “Something Was Wrong” Podcasts. The group reworked the show’s theme song “U Think U,” initially written by Glad Rags. You can also hear their work with the band, Finkel, on their remix for Finkel’s 2020 song, “Sense of Humor”.
