Expressing emotions, adding beauty to the world, bringing people together, not getting paid enough—the arts and music communities have a lot in common, and West Michigan is a great place for both.
While we may not have the massive crowds and wealthy patrons of a Big City, what we do have are incredible arts organizations who frequently punch above their weight, along with tightly knit communities and a highly supportive audience. People here love to come out for great art and music, hungry for talent, expression and togetherness.
In my opinion, that’s why ArtPrize gets so much guff (and so much attendance at the same time)—not because we’re an anti-art community, but because the standards are high and art brings out strong opinions rooted in real emotion. And if ArtPrize’s true purpose is to start a conversation, it’s certainly done that over the years!
In this annual Arts & Music Issue, you’ll find our guide to all the plays, musicals, concerts, performances and exhibitions happening over the 2024-25 season. You could just yank those pages out of the mag and keep them on the coffee table as a handy reference all year.
You’ll also find our Q&As with just a few local artists producing excellent art across the region. We could run a dozen of those every single month and still not run out anytime soon. To discover more great artists, check out our gallery rundown (we didn’t even have room for all the top-notch spots along the lakeshore).
Not to mention the top-notch arts organizations we have, from professional ballet to equity theater companies, artist residencies and workshops, touring Broadway shows and more.
As for the local music scene, we’re seeing a big resurgence of new projects, bands and events coming together after the pandemic put a cork in the bottle. Check out our 10 Bands to Watch that we put together every year if you want to be on the cutting edge (or if you just like great music). Any one of those bands could blow up to be internationally-known hometown heroes like La Dispute or The Crane Wives, both of which we have interviews with in this issue as well.
The great thing about supporting local art and music is that you get a whole lot of bang for your buck. Financially, yes, but even on an emotional and interpersonal level, that artist at a makers market selling prints or that band celebrating their first EP with a show at The Pyramid Scheme will appreciate your support so much more than someone selling out arena concerts.
So get out there! Buy (or at least look at) some art! See a play! Listen to some music! You might even make some friends along the way.
'Til next time,
Josh Veal, Managing Editor