Grand Rapids musical culture happens in waves, not just along a continual line. This means we will, like any city, experience moments of being hot, followed by a cooling off period. This is true of most cities, like Detroit’s Motown sound of the 1960s to Seattle’s grunge rock scene of the 1990s.
But at this moment in time, with the democratization of tools needed to create music, Grand Rapids, like so many places around the country, is experiencing a boom of music releases with one caveat: many of our groups are actually beginning to get national attention.
An act that is really warming up critics and audiences around the country is Dizzybird Records’ Heaters. This local three-person band has been touring extensively over the last couple years, but with the release of Holy Water Pool (September 2015) they are now performing at larger venues, as well as expanding to Europe in the weeks ahead.
What this means for you is that your opportunities to see this band from a reasonably close distance is probably coming to an end. Luckily for you, there is one more chance before their European tour to catch Heaters, as well as Lady Ace Boogie, on stage at the newly opened (and tiny 150-person) venue at Long Road Distilleries.
Heaters' psych-defying sound is a mix of distortion rock soundscapes with a groove at once familiar but with all the urgency of punk. They are difficult to place in a box comfortably as they continue to evolve their complex sound.
Lady Ace Boogie is joining the night’s line up with her unique brand of hip hop as she attempts in her music to repair what can often be seen as the hopelessness of this music genre with a fresh spin where positivity rules.
The results are simply stunning as she weaves stories that transcend the boundaries of race and even gender orientation. She is a rare rapper in this city and can charge via the microphone, thus inspiring the audience to sit up, lift up, and dance to her infectious beats and lyrical rhythms.
Her new releases do not drop until later this year with one in March and another in June.
Admission: $7 in advance / $10 day of
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