Presented by community radio station WYCE 88.1 FM, the Jammies remain a rare kind of event: a marathon showcase where genres mix, generations mingle, and dozens of Michigan artists—from emerging performers debuting their first singles to revered local veterans—share the same spotlight.
“It’s kind of true when people call it the biggest night of music,” WYCE Station Manager Phil Tower told Revue. “I don’t know any other event like this that happens in one night, for five hours, in one very intimate space.”
This year’s edition brings the same eclectic energy The Jammies are known for, with 15–20 artists expected to perform across The Intersection’s three stages on Feb. 20.
While the full lineup, curated by WYCE Music and Program Director Chris Cranick, will be announced in January, he confirmed the mix will feel both familiar and fresh.
“We’re about halfway booked,” Cranick said. “There’ll be some new covers, as I like to bring in, and some old favorites that haven’t played the Jammies in a while. It’ll be a nice mix of new and old… and obviously all of our different genres. We’re really trying to get even more diversity in the lineup than years past.”
As always, that diversity is intentional, and no easy feat.
“There’s definitely some finesse involved,” Cranick said. “There are so many artists in the state that fall into certain genres—like a lot of Americana and folk, a lot of rock—so trying to represent those numbers while still bringing in world music, blues, more urban music, and hip-hop… it’s a matter of making sure those other genres get represented.”
WYCE’s recent introduction of a dedicated hip-hop category has also opened new doors.
“We’ve been playing hip-hop here for 10 to 15 years,” Cranick said. “But giving it its own category and shining a light on those underrepresented artists again is really important.”
Despite its growth and evolution over the decades, the core purpose of the Jammies has never changed.
“The real legacy is community building,” Tower said. “We created something that became a community-celebrating event. Anyone who has had the honor of leading a radio station knows what it means when your station is responsible for creating community through music.”
And the community shows up, literally.
“It’s the most frenetic, electric, crazy fun event I’ve ever been to with live music,” Tower said. “Everybody just seems happy. The demos are like eight years old to 81 years old. I love that aspect. A lot of parents bring their kids—ear protection on—and they’re out on the dance floor dancing.”
That family-friendly energy wasn’t planned, but it’s become something special.
The Jammies remain deeply connected to WYCE’s identity as a volunteer-run, listener-supported community station.
“This is very much a grassroots event,” Tower said. “It’s all volunteer staffed. We have about 40 volunteers from the station, our on-air hosts, our programmers, there that night.”
GRTV will once again film and stream all three stages live, with the footage later turned into exclusive YouTube content throughout the year.
While Cranick keeps the lineup under wraps each year, he did offer one hint.
“There are some artists from quite a few years back, before COVID, who might be returning,” he said. “If you take a look at our old lineups, you can maybe guess.”
The full roster will be announced in early January on WYCE’s airwaves and social media.
The Intersection, a long-time partner, has made the event possible by donating use of the full venue each year.
“That’s no small price,” Tower said. “If we had to write that check, it would be insanely expensive.”
Beyond the music and celebration, the Jammies remain WYCE’s single biggest fundraiser of the year.
“First and foremost, it really is a fundraiser for the station,” Tower said. “We’re the only volunteer-run, listener-supported station on this side of the state. It’s a big deal.”
For the second year, tickets for the Jammies will $10 in advance or at the door.
“15 to 20 bands for 10 bucks? Yeah—not a bad deal,” Tower said with a laugh.
A hallmark of the Jammies is its dual voting system: a critics’ ballot and a listener’s choice vote, both culminating in nearly 20 awards handed out the night of the event.
One of the most heartfelt honors, the Against All Odds Award, returns again this year. The award recognizes an artist who has overcome extraordinary personal challenges to create their music.
Tower still thinks about last year’s recipient, singer-songwriter Caitlin Cusack, whose story of loss, illness, injury, and resilience deeply moved the community.
“She personified the Against All Odds Jammie without question,” he said. “Just about everything that could have been thrown at this young woman… she persevered.”
Tower, who first led the station in the late ’90s—before streaming, before social media, before Spotify—sees the Jammies as not just entertainment, but as cultural preservation.
“In an era before streaming existed, music discovery through the radio station was a huge thing,” he said. “WYCE was built on that. And the Jammies became an extension of that mission.”
As the lights rise on The Intersection at 11 p.m. on Feb. 20, Tower hopes attendees feel part of something bigger.
“I hope they realize they were part of a community-building event,” he said. “And that the community doesn’t dissipate after that night. It continues—through listening, through interacting, through attending other station events. That’s the beauty of it.”
WYCE 88.1 FM Presents: Jammies 26
The Intersection, 133 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW, Grand Rapids
Feb. 20, 6 p.m., All ages, $10
Grcmc.org/wyce, Sectionlive.com
