The Baseball Project Featuring members of R.E.M. and The Dream Syndicate with The Minus 5
2025 Bell’s Beer Garden Summer Concert SeriesThis is a 18 and over event. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian The Baseball Project are 5 friends who are veterans of the Alternative / Indie Rock scene (and who in fact helped create it), starting in the early 80’s. The band features members of R.E.M., The Dream Syndicate, The Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows and Filthy Friends. These are just a FEW of the countless bands that Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Linda Pitmon perform in. They come together in this “supergroup” to focus on the fascinating stories that baseball spawns – character studies of both the heroic and the oddball variety. You don’t need to be a student of the game to dig them though – often times baseball is just a jumping off point for deeper stories of triumph or failure….or hilarity – all while playing their infectious and rockin’ brand of power pop/ jangle folk / Indie Rock that they do so well! The Baseball Project formed in 2007 when all 5 band members were attending a party for R.E.M.’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Steve and Linda were there as guests of Peter Buck but were only passing acquaintances of Scott, who was a touring member of R.E.M. At some point in the very wee hours of the party, McCaughey and Wynn found themselves leaning against the same bar and struck up a raucous conversation that ricocheted from music talk to baseball. They both confessed a longstanding and hitherto unrequited desire to write and record an entire album of songs that would dig deeper into the game and the psyche of the more eccentric characters that have played it. Linda (drummer in Steve’s band, The Miracle 3) wandered past and heard the promises being made to “maybe one day try to do it”. Being a huge baseball fan herself, she threw down a challenge to the pair to finally do it. They immediately set about writing and sharing tracks long distance (Steve and Linda live in NYC and Scott is in Portland, OR). Within a few weeks the trio of baseball fanatics with killer record collections had booked studio time at Jackpot Studios in Portland. After a couple of short writing and acoustic rehearsal sessions in Scott’s living room (Linda played a peach crate), they commenced recording and in 4 short days completed the 13 tracks that would soon become their first release, “Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails”.
THE WALLFLOWERS with EARLY JAMES
2025 Bell’s Beer Garden Summer Concert SeriesThis is a 18 and over event. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Rock ‘n’ roll is often hard to define, or even to find, in these fractured musical times. But to paraphrase an old saying, you know it when you hear it. And you always hear it with the Wallflowers. For the past 30 years, the Jakob Dylan-led act has stood as one of rock’s most dynamic and purposeful bands – a unit dedicated to and continually honing a sound that meshes timeless songwriting and storytelling with a hard-hitting and decidedly modern musical attack. That signature style has been present through the decades, baked into the grooves of smash hits like 1996’s Bringing Down the Horse as well as more recent and exploratory fare like 2012’s Glad All Over. Even so, in recent years, Dylan – the Wallflowers’ founding singer, songwriter and guitarist – has repeatedly stepped outside of his band, first with a pair of more acoustic and rootsy records, 2008’s Seeing Things and 2010’s Women + Country, and then with the 2018 film Echo in the Canyon and the accompanying soundtrack, which saw him collaborate with a host of artists classic and contemporary, from Neil Young and Eric Clapton to Beck and Fiona Apple. But while it’s been nine long years since we’ve heard from the group with whom he first made his mark, the Wallflowers are silent no more. And Dylan always knew they’d return. “The Wallflowers is much of my life’s work,” he says simply
Drive-By Truckers & Deer Tick ‘Charm & Decadence Tour’ w/ Thelma and the Sleaze
2025 Bell’s Beer Garden Summer Concert SeriesThis is a 18 and over event. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Since their inception in 1996, Drive-By Truckers have carved out a unique niche in the music scene with their raw, unflinching storytelling, heavy-hitting guitar riffs, and blend of Alternative and Southern rock. Founded by Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, Drive-By Truckers have released 14 studio albums and played more than 2,500 shows in the last three decades. Notable members include long-time drummer Brad Morgan and current members Jay Gonzalez and Matt Patton, who have helped define the band’s evolving sound. The band’s work has often reflected the state of American society, particularly through their celebrated trilogy of albums: American Band (ATO, 2016), The Unraveling (ATO, 2020), and The New OK (ATO, 2020). This series marked a bold foray into politically charged and topical songwriting, earning acclaim for its insightful commentary and fearless expression. Emotional Contracts, the latest full-length album from Deer Tick, catalogs all the existential casualties that accompany the passing of time, instilling each song with the irresistibly reckless spirit that’s defined the band for nearly two decades. Before heading into the studio with producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Spoon, Sleater-Kinney), the Providence-bred four-piece spent months working on demos in a perpetually flooded warehouse space in their hometown, enduring the busted heating system and massive holes in the roof as they carved out the album’s 10 raggedly eloquent tracks. Emotional Contracts fully echoes the unruly energy of its creation, ultimately making for a heavy-hearted yet wildly life-affirming portrait of growing older without losing heart.
Future Islands
2025 Bell’s Beer Garden Summer Concert SeriesThis is a 18 and over event. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian If Future Islands’ songs once seemed like invitations to witness scenes from someone else’s life, People Who Aren’t There Anymore presents the whole absorbing saga, transmuting hurt to hope in the triumph of this band’s career. Here is excitement, devastation, understanding, and the dawn’s rays of redemption in 44 minutes—a record that, at last, commits the full rapture of Future Islands to tape. From their start, Future Islands have been singular and instantly identifiable. Samuel T. Herring’s life-worn croons and cries backlit by Gerrit Welmers’ melodies and charged by the rhythms of William Cashion and Michael Lowry. That premise hasn’t changed on People Who Aren’t There Anymore, but the people have. There’s a pain and a joy that’s in Herring’s voice that’s only been rivaled by their legendary live performances, but never captured in their studio albums, that feels like it’s been untethered for the first time. Future Islands have played nearly 1,500 shows – shows that have bruised bodies, frayed vocal cords, provided escapes for audiences, and healed their messengers. People Who Aren’t There Anymore is a major work from a band at an inflection point: they’re discovering new ways to experience the world, because the old ways weren’t working. That freedom has led to the most fully realized, most transparently honest statement in their 17 years as a band. People Who Aren’t There Anymore VIP Experience• One (1) General Admission ticket• Invitation to an exclusive pre-show experience with Future Islands, including:• Access to the last 2-3 songs of the band’s soundcheck• Q&A Session with the band• One (1) VIP exclusive 7″ with previously unreleased music, signed by the band• One (1) commemorative VIP laminate• Merchandise shopping prior to doors opening to the public• Priority entry into the venue
Katy Needs A Life + Hollywood Makeout + Yellowhouse
18+ Standing Room Only Show 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Katy Needs A Life is an electronic, sad-pop band from Kalamazoo, MI that’s been bringing down parties in one form or another for over a decade. Hollywood Makeout are the Grand Rapids visionary surfpop band led by Erin Lenau. Yellowhouse are the winners of Kalamazoo’s 2024 Battle of the Bands round at Bell’s
Emo Night LIVE w/ All American Throwbacks – SOLD OUT
18+ Standing Room Only Show 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian ••All American Throwbacks•• will be performing your favorite pop punk and emo throwback hits from all the scene bands such as Fall Out Boy / Blink-182 / Panic! @ The Disco / Sum 41 / Good Charlotte / All Time Low / Taking Back Sunday / My Chemical Romance / AFI / The Used / Metro Station / Falling in Reverse / Pierce The Veil / 3OH!3 / & SO MANY MORE! If it’s a song you cried to in middle school, we probably play it (; Don’t identify as an emo kid? That’s fine! We play tons of hits that you’ll be sure to know. We’ll have you cryin’ in da club to Mr. Brightside, or dancing to a few surprises. Come party! This band is more than just a show – it’s a full on party! With complete crowd interaction & non-stop banger after banger, they’ll have you singing along, dancing, and party song after song all night long. Emo attire is highly encouraged! Wear your emo best & let’s prove it was NEVER A PHASE </3
The Arcadian Wild wsg River & Rail
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only. 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian The Arcadian Wild is a four-piece indie folk/pop group from Nashville, TN. Led by songwriters Isaac Horn and Lincoln Mick and Bailey Warren on fiddle, The Arcadian Wild confidently inhabits and explores an intersection of genre, blending the traditional with the contemporary. Combining elements of progressive bluegrass, folk, and formal vocal music, The Arcadian Wild offer up songs of invitation; calls to come and see, to find refuge and rest, to journey and wonder, to laugh and cry, to share joy and community and singalong. The band’s 2023 album Welcome marks the start of a captivating new chapter for the genre-bending trio, who returned to the studio with renewed purpose and insight after devoting the last few years to a series of critically acclaimed singles and EPs. Like much of the band’s catalog, the album blurs the lines between chamber folk and progressive bluegrass, drawing on everything from country and classical to pop and choral music with lush harmonies and dazzling fretwork, but this time around there’s a rawness to the writing, an embrace of candor and simplicity that cuts straight to the heart of things like never before. The result is perhaps the most arresting collection yet from a band known for its ability to stop listeners dead in their tracks, an exquisitely beautiful celebration of community, connection, and the power of belonging that feels tailor-made for these challenging times.
Levels House Party a 2000’s EDM party
This is a 18 and over event with standing room only event.17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Levels House Party brings you a night of non-stop throwback electro-pop bangers straight out of the party scenes of your favorite college movies. Come dance your face off to everything from the best Avicii and David Guetta remixes to Ke$ha, LMFAO, and Cobra Starship. It’s all the energy of neon, black lights, shutter shades, and spring break but without the noise complaints!
Electric Six w/ Supersuckers and Volk
This is a 18+ event with standing room only Electric Six. The band that put out an album a year for what seemed like 666 years. The most reliable act in show business, there was simply no question that each year would bring another E6 record on Metropolis Records. Mayans based their calendar on Electric Six. Flocks of migrating birds used the new Electric Six record as a homing device. Small time criminals were sentenced to four to seven E6 albums with time off for wonderful behavior. In a business so fickle, so unreliable, so difficult to navigate…the only constant was Electric Six. There was always an album a year…….until there wasn’t.Five years has gone by since the last Electric Six offering and we’ve heard the chatter. “Electric Six just doesn’t have it anymore.” “Electric Six has really let me down.” “Gotye will have an album before Electric Six does.”As we all know…talk is cheap. And bullshit walks. And now there’s a new goddamn Electric Six record ready to go and it’s good, Jack. Real good.Behold Turquoise is here, the long awaited studio album return of Electric Six!!! Perhaps the catchiest, brightest album in their catalog, Electric Six reminds you how profoundly fun they can be, hitting you over the head with fourteen pop explosions guaranteed to burrow their way into your dance hole.The recording of Turquoise began in January of 2020, but you know, something distracted us for a couple of years shortly after starting the record. The pandemic tacked a bit of time onto the schedule of this project and Electric Six certainly felt the need to tap into the collective feelings of the time in tracks like “Panic! Panic!” and the title track “Turquoise”.The overall vibe of Turquoise ranges from the infectious pop of “Take Me To The Sugar” and “Staten Island Ass Squad”, to the heavy rock of “Child Of Hunger” and “Skywriting”, to the Springsteeny goodness of “Units of Time”. Electric Six is a band for all tastes, all times and all sizes.The pandemic slowed us all down and ripped time into shreds. It forced Electric Six to take a little time to look at itself in the mirror. And who did Electric Six see staring back? The answer? It saw Electric Six. It saw Turquoise. When a band finally makes an album this exciting, it doesn’t need to do anything else anymore anytime soon ever again.But it will…..Electric Six can never die. And we are still the band that does one album a year….if you re-define “year”. Which we do.Turquoise is Electric Six’s long awaited 15th studio album and it is available on Metropolis Records on September 8, 2023.
