When the members of the Spektral Quartet say they have a broad appetite for different styles of music, they mean it. 

A few years back, musicians Bruce Ling of Hawks and Owls and Mark Stoltz of Benzie Playboys were lamenting the sort of lull that winter typically brings to the music scene. While venues may keep their stages warm with the shows they can, festivals seem to disappear altogether. So Ling and Stoltz reached out to longtime member of the Wheatland Music Organization, Marilyn Hummel, to see what could be done about bringing a little slice of Wheatland to the winter months. So began the Winter Wheat music festival, now in its eighth year.

The revival of the Third Street corridor in Muskegon is well underway with the opening of Third Coast Vinyl in October 2016. Owned by Pete Pretzer, the store brings new and used records, as well as refurbished stereo equipment. 

Pretzer hopes that avid collectors and beginners alike will feel welcome in his new location. One can anticipate a collection of classic rock, soul, funk, newer indie releases and hidden gems galore. 

Pretzer spoke with Revue on Muskegon’s rebranding, opening Third Coast Vinyl and changes in the vinyl industry.  

College is the perfect place for many people to discover new music, expand their horizons and explore new sounds.

But for the more entrepreneurial, like Winspear Records co-founders Ben Wittkugel and Jared Jones, college is the place to be the ones spreading that music to everyone else. 

In 2014, during Wittkugel’s freshman year at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., Winspear started as a way of booking shows at friends’ houses in the area.

“Winspear first existed only to put on shows,” Wittkugel said of the label’s beginnings. “We didn’t start with too many goals. Jared and I were just happy to be doing something.” 

It's near impossible to sit down for a show at the Kalamazoo State Theatre and not marvel at its artistry. The uniqueness of its architecture, as well as its starry-skied ceiling, really bring a new dimension to performances of all types. That's especially true for an act like The Wizards of Winter, a Christmas-themed progressive rock group who last week brought its symphonic holiday rock opera to Kalamazoo's historic stage.

If one new band has been making waves — dreamy, synthy, bassy waves — in Grand Rapids this year, it’s PARTS.

When Northern vocalist Ryan Valero decided to come up with the title for his band’s new EP, he wanted to find the saddest phrase in the English language. After a profusion of research, Valero landed on these four words: “It Could Have Been.”

The New Year always presents a time for reflection and rebirth. Old habits can change, new goals can be made, and the future can rise up on the horizon wider and brighter than ever before.

Such is the case for longtime Grand Rapids jam band Ultraviolet Hippopotamus. 

From its beginning in spring 2004 in Big Rapids, the five-piece has made a name for itself with a tight mix of funky jams, explosive improvisations, unconventional covers and other “onstage musical alchemy.” 

After almost a year of touring the U.S., The Outer Vibe returns home to Grand Rapids with a new EP.

Hundreds of bands come through Grand Rapids every year, but some stand out, providing an unforgettable experience. Here are five of those shows for Nicole LaRae, venue and booking manager for The Pyramid Scheme, founder of dizzybird records and volunteer programmer at 88.1 WYCE.