These days, Mike Posner might be one of the most soft-spoken superstars on the pop charts.

Mark Lavengood has come a long way. The multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter/bandleader first rose to fame playing resonator guitar for the award-winning, Michigan-based Americana outfit Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys. 

Now something of an ambassador for GR’s roots music scene, Lavengood will return this month with his third LP, We’ve Come Along. 

At just 25 years of age, country music star Hunter Hayes is already reinventing himself. Following the release of his major-label debut album in 2011, which has since gone Double-Platinum and boasts three No. 1 singles, Hayes has attained a dizzying array of accolades. Despite his success, Hayes discovered that he was not immune to yearning for the one thing all young adults do: change.

While the duo no longer needs any introduction in the Grand Rapids hip-hop scene, ConvoTronics wants its new album, IllKillSchematics, to serve as something of a reintroduction. The group has reduced in size from when MC Cory Harris started the crew nearly a decade ago, but that doesn’t mean its retro-futuristic sound has stopped expanding.

In the mystical, musical universe of Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers, everyone is invited to the interplanetary dance party.

Funk has been making a significant comeback thanks to modern bands that are helping to propel its popularity. One such group, Turkuaz, has been a major player in the genre’s resurgence. This nine-piece ensemble out of Brooklyn enjoys a dedicated national following with its relentless touring schedule and aggressive, yet accessible songs.

In the fleeting world of music, Dawes believes there’s only one guarantee: We’re all gonna die. 

That might sound awfully dark or even outright bleak, especially for a chilled-out folk-rock record released in these trying times. But for Los Angeles band Dawes, it’s a beautifully communal statement, capable of reassuring us that we’re all the same. That’s why the band titled its latest LP, We’re All Gonna Die. 

Alt-rock, noise-pop legends the Pixies are officially slated to perform at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids on Oct. 7 this year.

• Breaking News
• Grand Rapids
• Pixies
• Mitski
• 20 Monroe Live
• Van Morrison
• Korn

The International Chopin Piano Competition has launched the careers of many internationally-renowned artists.

As a college dropout, the irony of performing on a campus isn’t lost on Cloud Nothings vocalist/guitarist Dylan Baldi.

The 25-year-old musician only spent two months at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University, where he majored in music and audio recording technology, before starting Cloud Nothings in his parents’ basement at age 18.

Music soon became his escape — both from college and Cleveland — as the tracks he created at home on Garageband generated buzz via MySpace back in 2009, when it was still capable of breaking bands into the indie-rock blogosphere.