If there’s anything the past two years have taught us, it’s that the world can be a chaotic place. Thankfully, music can help make sense of it all, in its own harmonic way. 

The pandemic affected everyone in different ways. But for a high-octane, full-volume live act like Grand Rapids’ own Jesse Ray & the Carolina Catfish, the experience was particularly terrifying.

There’s nothing normal about the so-called “return to normal.” And there’s definitely been nothing normal about the return of live music, which has suffered through fits and spurts, as endless, elusive variants and shifting public health policies have made it nearly impossible to resume concerts in any sort of confident, conventional fashion.

They say you can never really start over again. But that sure doesn’t mean you have to stop learning and growing.