AUGUST 18 UPDATE: Calvin has recently added electro pop duo Cut Copy to perform on Sept. 21, as well as Gardens and Villa (Oct. 6) and Michigan All Star Latin Band (Oct. 1).
Calvin College has added a couple of familiar acts to its fall 2011 concert series.
The Grand Rapids college, known for its adventurous music bookings, has added Blitzen Trapper and Over the Rhine to the schedule.
Portland Americana quintet Blitzen Trapper, which appeared at Calvin's Ladies Literary Club venue last fall, will co-headline a Nov. 11 show at the school’s Covenant Fine Arts Center with Los Angeles-based roots-rock act Dawes. Best known for its critically acclaimed 2008 release, Furr, Blitzen Trapper has bounced “from indie folk to art rock to experimental folk before settling into a rich, dusty brand of Neil Young-inspired alt country,” writes the All Music Guide. Dawes, lead by brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, creates a roots-rock sound that’s heavily influenced by the bands like CSN&Y and Joni Mitchell, as well as contemporaries like Conor Oberst. General admission tickets to the show are $20, and are available at the Calvin box office or online.
On December 9, Over the Rhine returns to the Covenant Fine Arts Center, which it helped re-open last year with the renovated venue’s first live music show. The Cincinnati band has described its sound as "post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged art-pop." Ticket information for this show is not yet available.
The recent announcement add to an already strong fall music season at Calvin, including upcoming shows by Switchfoot and Anberlin, Gillian Welch, and the up-and-coming Seattle band The Head and the Heart. The season kicks off with a free show on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. on campus at the school’s Knollcrest lawn, featuring singer-guitarist Vieux Farka Toure. A native of Mali in West Africa, Toure plays a blend of reggae, soul, blues and African pop music.
Photo: Over the Rhine "Family Portrait" (courtesy of OTR)
