For Grand Rapids songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Nathan Kalish, show No. 146 of 2013 at The State Room in Salt Lake City, Utah, came off as a rousing and satisfying affair amid a hectic year of touring the United States and Europe. After all, the drummer for the Deadstring Brothers got a chance to play an extended one-hour opening set for a sold-out crowd with frontman Kurtis Marschke and bassist J.D. Mack, both Detroit natives.

In 1949, the famed Welsh poet Dylan Thomas moved to a little town called Laugharne, and there had a small writing shack where he sought inspiration for his work during the last four years of his life. And it was to this very same shack that Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, the husband and wife duo that make up folk/Americana outfit Over the Rhine, went seeking inspiration themselves.

When it comes to seeing live music, a little dose of shut-the-hell-up-and-pay-attention is a good thing. This is not a concept lost on West Michigan, which has seen its share of listening rooms find success over the recent months and years.

In another generation, they would be called Deadheads. But lately, devoted fans of Donna the Buffalo have endeared themselves to the band as "The Herd." The name is fitting.

I am not a Juggalo. I have never been a Juggalo. So when I was presented the opportunity to journey to the Mecca for all of Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope’s loyal followers, I was initially hesitant.

"Transformative,” is a title that encompasses The Appleseed Casts' longevity, habit of playing musical chairs quite literally and ability to transition smoothly between many genres under post-rock.

Last summer’s much-expanded Cowpie Music Festival didn’t work out the way organizers hoped. Plagued by heavy rains on the festival’s opening day at Shagbark Farm south of Grand Rapids, the turnout for the 43-band lineup covering 17 genres fell far short of expectations.

One of heavy metal music’s veteran ambassadors has set out to prove there are still new ideas to explore in what’s becoming a mature genre. 

As the former frontman of Pantera and the current vocalist for the New Orleans-based supergroup Down, Philip H. Anselmo could have tapped into one of his many creative wells from the past 25 years in the music business for his debut solo album Walk Through Exits Only, which dropped on July 16.

After nearly 10 years on Division Avenue, volunteer run music venue and art gallery The Division Avenue Arts Collective (The DAAC) is being forced to close its doors on Aug. 1 due to a change in building ownership.

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Like with her music, ZZ Ward follows a classic style by incorporating fedoras into her wardrobe, paying homage to her blues heroes like Robert Johnson, while adding a twist of her own. "I have, like, 60 fedoras," Ward said.

"I started singing in a blues band when I was 12 and I would always wear a fedora because it would remind me of the blues. So I wear a fedora to pay homage to the blues artists that I grew up listening to."

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