
What's Going On This Month: September 2025

Laughter On the Lakeshore: Wave after Wave of Laughs

This December, Cirque du Soleil is bringing its newest show, OVO, to Van Andel Arena.
Individual shows and discounted subscription packages are now on sale for the entire upcoming season of Opera Grand Rapids.
If you asked a teenage Michael Kosta what tennis meant to him, he’d tell you, “It’s no laughing matter.”
After all, the now 36-year-old comedian grew up in Ann Arbor playing competitively before going on to win four Big Ten titles with the University of Illinois. It was getting serious. But when it came time for the pro circuit, Kosta topped at number 864 in the world, earning around $11,000 over four years. That’s when he began to see some humor in competition.
The votes are in. Revue’s inaugural Best of the West poll came to a close on June 25, meaning we’ve had a month to tally the ballots and analyze the results.
We asked anyone and everyone passionate about West Michigan to vote for their favorite local establishments and/or people in 127 categories, from New Restaurant and Best Bartender to Farmers’ Market and Best Record Store. Find out who won!
Revue dining writer Troy Reimink provides his own hot takes of our Best of the West dining and drinking winners. Plus: the full winners list from readers and staff picks!
Revue beer czar Joe Boomgaard analyzes our Best of the West drinking winners, and provides his own editor's picks.
Here are the results in Arts & Music categories of the inaugural Best of the West Awards, as well as a few staff picks.
See the full list of Best of the West Nightlife & Activities readers picks, plus Revue's Associate Editor Josh Veal discusses the results.
Here are the results in People & Services categories of the inaugural Best of the West Awards, as well as a few staff picks.
Here are the winners in the Best of the West Shopping categories, as well as Revue Style Writer Missy Black's picks.
Any road trip that’s worth a damn must include roads that are fun to drive.
And if we’re being honest, we need to drop this bombshell: Despite being the state that put America on wheels, Michigan has precious few engaging roads for the discerning driver. Here are three worthy and engaging “drivers’ roads” around Michigan that will get your heart racing, whether you’re piloting a capable sportscar or just a mundane family truckster.
This summer, resist the urge to sit in your air-conditioned abode. Get out of town and hit the highway before the roads are iced over once again.
To get you started, Revue’s staff offers up some of our favorite off-the-beaten-path destinations outside of West Michigan.
Music comedy legend and pop culture icon “Weird Al” Yankovic has titled his latest adventure the “Mandatory World Tour.” It’s a joke, of course, on the cyclical nature of the entertainment industry, which he finally found himself free from after 32 years under a major label recording contract. His latest LP, 2014’s Mandatory Fun, was his first to ever debut at Number One on the Billboard Charts, and solidified his status as the biggest-selling comedy recording artist in history. REVUE had the rare chance to pick Al’s one-of-a-kind brain last month, and found out why he reluctantly embraced social media, why he turns to his teenage daughter for tips on new targets to spoof, and more.
Trouble Boys: The True Story of The Replacements is as much a dissection of the music industry as it is the compelling narrative of an era’s media darlings.
Memphis-based author Bob Mehr is a no-frills communicator, crafting a moving chronicle that kept the interest of a reader who doesn’t even dig the alt-Americana that put the book’s subjects on the pop culture map.