The Midwest is no foreign place for the wildly successful alternative pop-rock titans of Minnesota, Motion City Soundtrack. The band played at the Intersection long before its location on Grandville Street during a 15-year career of manic touring and five albums, two of which were produced by Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus.

More than 40 billion years ago, a group of extraterrestrial war gods were banished to Earth and frozen in the Antarctic for the unspeakable havoc they were wreaking on the galaxy.

Noted modern day philosopher Kanye West once famously stated, "I'm livin' in the 21st century," and that is certainly true of Walk Off the Earth. The Ontario-based five piece pop ensemble has videos on YouTube well into the millions.

Deadwood Stone opened for Slash last month. Yeah, that's right. The same Slash you're thinking of. The one with the top-hat and the crazy hair. The one who played during last year's Super Bowl Halftime Show. You know – he used to be in a little band called Guns 'n' Roses.

If James Young could tell his younger self anything, it would be to have a little more discretion with promotional photos. Well, that and when things get tough, to just hang in there.

Luckily for us, hang in there he did because about 13 years and a lot of hard work later, the Eli Young Band has released five albums, two chart-topping singles, and one recently named "Song of the Year" by the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Dropkick Murphys did not start off pursuing the Celtic-punk sound that's made the band famous. The members were originally looking for more of a straight-punk feel.

In the mid-'80s, Dinosaur Jr. emerged on the underground music scene with a style unlike any other. With an entire catalog of influences that ranged from folk rock to hardcore punk, mixed with wailing guitar solos and powerful metal riffs, the group was defining its own sound.

The Soil and the Sun has been absent from the Grand Rapids music scene the past couple of months due to a tour which brought the band through North Carolina, Washington D.C., Tenessee and all across the Midwest, not to mention South By Southwest.

In August we introduced you to the Already Dead Tapes and Vinyl label. This month, we get a chance to see some of the label's bands in action. On Sept. 20, Already Dead — which releases albums on cassette tapes — hosts its second annual Family Reunion Music Festival in Kalamazoo.

The impending sound of August Burns Red's blistering guitars, monumental breakdowns and anti-chorus screams will resound throughout the Orbit Room on Sept. 6.