Over the past few months, Rapid Growth has devoted more than one article to the topic of the exciting local outdoor music venue at our very local, but internationally significant Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.
We have looked at the diversity of this new season (
I See No Clouds Ahead…) and also heard from our local music critic extraordinaire, John Sinkevics, as to why this destination is THE PLACE for making music memories in the 616. (
The Gardens Effect...)
But when I look over the calendar, I notice something quite extraordinary.
Over the next two weeks, there will be more than 12 musical acts at their venue that to miss mentioning this fact would be like committing a music crime. You have to know, and you should go to at least one or two of these shows.
These acts range from the well-known like Huey Lewis & The News, Brandi Carlile and American Legacies: Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Del McCoury Band. Local acts will also be appearing in the newly expanded Tuesday Evening Music Club with Funktion, Garrett Borns, Groupo Aye and one of my personal favorites, Cabildo.
However, it is the addition of three very unique acts over the next two weeks that I want to press upon you to consider attending at any cost.
First up is the always-brilliant American music treasure, Emmylou Harris, who, in her 60s, is showing no signs of slowing down as she churns out critically acclaimed and Grammy award winning material.
Her last release,
Hard Bargain (2011), is a touching tribute to the passing of time as she dedicates many of these songs to those individuals who helped shaped her musical voice including the late Gram Parsons, her musical mentor who died in 1973.
With more than 15 million albums sold over the last 30 years, you can be sure this will be a very mixed and eclectic crowd of fans who simply love her heartfelt and honest sound.
Next up on my recommendation is the chance to see Rufus Wainwright right as he is about to grab the reigns of the award season and ride it with his latest and possibly greatest release since the Want cycle of songs. On his new release,
Out of the Game, Wainwright is full of life, a joyous reflective tone and even a bit of modern angst that makes him such a treasure to the contemporary music scene.
This new release is a return to his breezy, but never shallow pop style that dips both feet into that great moment of music history from the 1970s when California was known more for their export of singer/songwriters than they are for wine.
Need more of a nudge? Of all the acts performing this summer at The Gardens, Paste Magazine only named Game as “One of the Best of the Year (so far).” (http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/06/the-best-albums-of-2012-so-far.html
Lastly, there was a time when you could not mention Fiona Apple’s name without evoking some diva-like reference as America’s most misunderstood singer/songwriter became the subject of late night jokes because of her lengthy album titles and onstage breakdowns.
While her last release was back in 2005, she is now returning to the stage. She is truly one of the most amazing artists to grace the stage, proving this with her unwillingness to shed her rawness in performance, as evident by her low-key, but never low-energy debut of her newest material at the recent SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas.
She may have shed a lot of the onstage dramatics, but she clearly has kept her knack for intriguing work, including yet again another finger cramp-inducing album title for her June 2012 release,
The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do.
But don’t be fooled. This release, just out a little over a week, is already gaining well-deserved praise and will translate flawlessly to the Meijer stage.
I am even going to predict that Apple’s show will become one of those great music moments that John referred to in his piece.
Her new album is rich with innovative new ways of approaching music and songwriting.
I can only imagine how incredible the new "Hot Knife" tune will be for the audience attending. Sometimes, the chance to see an act in an intimate setting is well worth the cost and Apple’s is a pricey ticket.
The beauty of live music is that the artists don’t get a do-over and for all the camera phones we hoist in the air to attempt to capture it, sometimes the best part of seeing an act live (these three, or any of those coming to the Gardens) is that you get the eternal bragging rights as you retell your story as "I was there."
(And if they don’t believe you, show them your ticket stub. BOOM!)
Admission:
See web for prices.