REVUE West Michigan April 2023

Idon’t know about you, but eating and drinking are two of my favorite activities.

Sure, it was a bit more effort for a couple years, and there are lingering effects to deal with (inflation is very real, and I’m not sure they ever fixed the infamous supply chain) but for the most part, restaurants and bars are back in a groove. I don’t see quite as many people yelling at service workers lately, which is a win!

If you want to hear how things are going from the other side of the business, this is the Dining & Drinking Issue for you. We talk with head chefs and line cooks around West Michigan about what they love about their job, what they don’t, and what they want you, the diner, to know. We also hear from a local restaurant owner about why he’s gone tip-free (and why maybe all eateries should).

Visiting from out of town? Check out our Tourist’s Guide to Food. It’s not a full directory of every great eatery in town, but rather a look at some of the most beloved institutions around—

the bucket list spots. As for drinking, we take a look at specialty beverage stores and everything they have to offer, as well as our suggestions for bars around West Michigan that are perfect for certain occasions.

And check out our Festival Guide, the first one in years, believe it or not!

This issue also is filled to the brim with musicians, including touring artists like Ruston Kelly and Tunde Olaniran and local artists like Super Future—not to mention two very unique plays onstage this month.

With things warming up, the pandemic receding and life getting back to some semblance of normal, I really encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and try dining and drinking somewhere new, maybe followed by a return to seeing live performances. I’ve been getting out more and more despite, well, everything, and never regretted it once.

Simply put, don’t let the time pass you by.

’Til next time,

JOSH VEAL Managing Editor josh@serendipity-media.com

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WHAT’S GOING ON, APR '23

4/14

VINTAGE PARLOR ORCHESTRA: CLASSICAL BREWS AT CRESTON

Creston Brewery

1504 Plainfield Ave. NE, Grand Rapids

April 14-15

vpogr.com

4/1

ODDITIES & CURIOSITIES EXPO

DeVos Place, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids

April 1, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. odditiesandcuriositiesexpo.com

Explore all things spooky, spectacular, and strange at this panorama of peculiarities featuring vendors and artists from across the U.S. Jewelry, antiques, taxidermy, clothing, collectibles, and unusual specimens are just part of what you’ll find. You’ll also be in the company of like-minded folks who appreciate the dark side of things.

4/8

PEEPS & PINTS 2023

Ed Dunneback & Girls Fruit Farm

3025 6 Mile Rd. NW, Grand Rapids

April 8, 12-2 p.m. facebook.com/dunnebackgirls

Join Ed Dunneback & Girls for the third annual Adult Easter Egg Hunt! Why let kids have all the fun? Grab your friends for a holiday afternoon on this farm that produces excellent craft beer. Ticket includes entry to raffles, door prizes, appetizers and music. You could win concert tickets, gift certificates, goodies from the barn and more!

The Vintage Parlor Orchestra returns to Creston Brewery for two nights of classical music and brews, featuring soloists Emily Peterson and Alain Sullivan. Grab a beer and experience classical music like never before! The night will feature a relaxed atmosphere, clapping between all movements, a 35 member orchestra, 2 soloists, and some seriously tasty Creston brews. They will also be engaging the audience in a game of Random Instrument Challenge, with instruments courtesy of sponsor Meyer Music.

4/15

JIM GAFFIGAN: DARK PALE TOUR

Van Andel Arena

130 W. Fulton St., Grand Rapids April 15, 7 p.m. vanandelarena.com

The king of pale is back! Jim Gaffigan is one of the most popular comics in the biz thanks to his highly relatable, self-effacing humor that’s full of stories, opinions and observations on everyday life. See him here on his Dark Pale tour to experience it live.

CULTIVATE GR 2023

Grand Rapids Art Museum

101 Monroe Center St. NW, Grand Rapids April 15, 7 p.m. artmuseumgr.org

Join Pirate Club & The GRAM

Visionnaires for Cultivate Grand Rapids 2023, a networking event designed for the creatives, entrepreneurs, and young professionals of Grand Rapids. Guests will explore local offerings

throughout the museum while enjoying an evening of rotating activities, panelists, catered dinner, and an open bar—all with live music from DJ Adrian Butler and Jordan10k.

WIZ KHALIFA

Wings Event Center

3600 Vanrick Dr., Kalamazoo

April 15, 8 p.m.

wingseventcenter.com

Wiz Khalifa is a highly successful rapper known for chilling, smoking weed, and making music about those two things. His new single is called “Don’t Text, Don’t Call,” featuring Snoop Dogg, and in 2022, he released his seventh studio album, “Multiverse.” Now he’s coming to Kalamazoo at the Wings Event Center with Joey Bada$$ and BERNER in tow.

CHELSEA HANDLER:

LITTLE BIG BITCH TOUR

Kalamazoo State Theatre

404 S. Burdick, Kalamazoo

April 15-16

kazoostate.com

This show sold out so fast, they had to add a second night! Chelsea Handler is a comedian, activist, TV

host and author who may be best known for her talk shows, Chelsea and Chelsea Lately. Handler is returning to West Michigan this month on her Little Big Bitch Tour, diving into the comedian’s past and what made her the person we’ve grown to love.

4/22

BRIDGE STREET MAKERS

MARKET & BAR HOP

Bridge Street

April 22, 1-6 p.m.

Join Bridge Street in Grand Rapids to shop 30 local vendors across multiple stores with a drink in hand! Locations include One Bourbon, Bridge Street Market and Küsterer Brauhaus. Products will be a wide variety of handmade goods such as jewelry, knit goods, home decor, metal working, prints, soap, paintings, candles and so much more!

EAT, DRINK & BE MERRY

WINE TASTING FUNDRAISER

St. Cecilia Music Center

24 Ransom Ave. NE, Grand Rapids

April 22, 6 p.m. scmcgr.org

With tastings on the main and

upper level of SCMC’s historic building, you’ll have the chance to choose from over 100 varietals and enjoy delicious food from Martha’s Catering. There will be a lot of great silent auctions items to bid on, too. All proceeds benefit St. Cecilia Music Center’s mission-based programming in the community.

4/23

TULIP CITY COMICS & TOY FAIR

Holland Civic Center

150 W. 8th St., Holland

April 23

hollandciviccenter.com

Back bigger and better than ever, now hosted at Holland Civic Center, this comic-con and toy show is in its 6th year. With more space, they have added artists and vendors, and the concession stand will be open all day. Come through for cosplay, a kids art contest, panel discussions, Magic the Gathering, and so much more.

4/27

7TH ANNUAL BIRDS AND BREW

Saugatuck Brewing Co.

2948 Blue Star Highway, Douglas

April 27, 6 p.m.

saugatuckbrewing.com

It’s the 7th Annual Live Birds of Prey & Beer Show at Saugatuck Brewing. Get up close and personal with the raptors of the Outdoor Discovery

Center. You’ll see and learn about 5-6 different Birds of Prey and “pair” each bird’s personality with the characteristics of one of SBC’s beers. You will also receive a welcome pint on your way in, just to get you comfortable while you wait for the show to start!

4/29

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER: ADULT PROM

JW Marriott

235 Louis Campau Promenade NW, Grand Rapids

April 29, 8:30 p.m.

Prom. Reimagined, remixed, and inspired by the world of James Bond. Grand Rapids’ biggest recurring event in recent years is designed for 21+ crowd that’s ready to dress in their finest and party on level 7,000! Expect elevated creativity in all aspects of this event, from the fashion show and VIP booths to the space design and projections— and of course, the cocktail menu. Shaken, not stirred. With music from AB and DJ Composition.

Oddities & Curiosities Expo, Ed Dunneback & Girls Fruit Farm, Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale Tour, Cheslea Handler: Little Big Bitch Tour, Saugatuck Brewing Co.; 7th Annual Birds & Brew. COURTESY PHOTOS

CANNABIS on a Budget

| by Josh Veal

Whether you use cannabis or not, everybody’s feeling a bit broke lately. Prices for just about everything on Earth have skyrocketed in recent years, and our wallets are hurting. Luckily, cannabis prices have been kept in control by the heated competition from growers and dispensaries across Michigan. Still, you might be feeling like you need to cut back on your canna budget regardless, just to keep affording things like gas and eggs. Regardless of your financial situation, it never hurts to be economical, so here are our tips for saving money while enjoying cannabis.

BUY IN BULK

Once you’ve found a strain or two you know you like, the simplest way to save is buying in bulk! Let’s say a strain sells for $15 an eighth (such as Pharmhouse’s flower), you can typically get an ounce of that for $100 or less, when it would cost $120 if you kept buying eighths. Of course, just make sure you like it enough to finish!

EXTREME COUPONING

Okay, you don’t actually have to clip coupons, but with a tiny bit of effort, you can become a master of deals and special offers. At the moment, cannabis companies offer nearly constant deals, from happy hour specials to clearance sales to featured brands— and they’re easy to find when you sign up for your favorite dispo’s newsletter.

SHAKE IT UP

Shake (or trim) is the excess cannabis taken from harvest, typically used in producing edibles, vapes and distillates. While it’s not ideal for smoking, it’ll do in a pinch, but our advice is to use it to make your own edibles! That’s an article for another time, but you can find plenty of tutorials online for “decarbing” your shake and making it into cannabutter or oil.

BOWLS, NOT JOINTS

Slim, sexy, disposable—we love joints for a reason. Sadly, they’re possibly the least efficient way to smoke flower out there, and pre-rolls are even more expensive. Switch to a bowl to cut costs, as it’s widely considered to be the best way to get the most out of your bud. The smaller the pipe, the better, as you’re letting less weed burn off in between hits (it also helps psychologically, with portion control). Sidenote: Dry-herb vaporizers are also extremely efficient!

TOKE THAT ROACH

If you are smoking joints, don’t toss them the moment they get down to the filter. Smoke that roach (a term for the last little bit of a joint) until there’s nothing left to hit, because there’s still weed in there, and it’s been basking in THC smoke. Consider picking up a “roach clip” to help hold on even when there’s barely anything left.

GO MID (OR LOWER)

If your sophisticated palette can handle it, consider shopping a little less premium than you’re used to. Instead of picking up another $35 eighth, try a strain that costs $20, or even $10! Best case scenario, you realize you actually enjoy “mids,” as many cannabis users do. Worst case scenario, you decide you absolutely can’t smoke that stuff and discover a newfound appreciation for your usual premium product.

MAKE IT MEDICAL

If you need the good stuff but want to pay less, and use cannabis to ease mental or physical symptoms, one great investment (around $60 upfront) is a medical card. With a med card in Michigan, you can purchase more potent products than recreational users, and you don’t have to pay the 10% excise tax on every purchase! Deals on deals on deals.

GET COMPETITIVE

We’re not asking you to pit the cannabis shops against each other—they do that themselves through the magic of market forces! That means shops clustered together in the same area have reason to vie for “competitive” pricing, a.k.a. cheap. If you live in the boonies, consider heading to the city and buying bulk to have a nice, affordable stash at home. ■

RUSTON KELLY: Mending Through Music

Growing up, there was always music around,” said Ruston Kelly, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter.

If Kelly had a soundtrack to his childhood, it would certainly include his father’s guitar and mother’s harmonies.

“Steel guitar was a sound that I heard my entire life growing up. It was peripherally there, just kind of part of our family environment,” said Kelly.

“A lot of family moments happened when we gathered around. Dad would be playing something, and then mom would come in and sing harmonies.”

Kelly’s upbringing gave him more than a musical ear; it taught him how to create community through song, and it gave him the gift of self-expression.

“When we were going through something difficult as a family, we would sing it out. It’d be like this reinforcement of whatever emotions were going on, whether it was to help us feel better about them, or even to sustain our joy together,” Kelly said.

“That really affected the way that I saw the purpose of music as a personal, emotional tool that you can apply in your life.”

Alongside his family, Kelly found an early musical connection with American folk—a genre he discovered as a teenager while living in Belgium.

“The intent behind folk music was so community based, and, in a lot of senses, politically based, to rally people together for a cause. I felt very connected to that

when I was displaced from what I knew,” Kelly said.

Bolstered with inspiration from artists like Woody Gutherie, early Bob Dylan, and the Carter Family, 17-year-old Kelly uncovered these records with pride.

“I just felt like I had found this secret, that no one had ever heard this music before, even though it was recorded in the 1920’s,” Kelly said.

“Basically, this music was able to say that the human condition can be tough, but it’s worth it when we come together. We can find joy in it somehow.”

It’s hardly daring to conclude that Kelly’s musical childhood and early inspirations founded his robust artistic career. Named one of Billboard’s Top 50 Emerging Artists in 2020, his album Shape & Destroy peaked at number 17 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart in the same year. With four records released and another on the way, Kelly has solidified himself as a cherished voice in contemporary songwriting.

One of Kelly’s strongest musical instincts is his vulnerability. While many artists have to wrestle away layers of selfprotection to express themselves, Kelly wears his honesty like a favorite jacket.

“I didn’t see songwriting as this craft. I just saw it as this second nature. To me, it was understanding my place in the world, from when I was 14 and got my heart broken, to when I was 24 and needed to go to rehab,” Kelly said.

“My mode of operation when it came

to sitting down and expressing myself has always been with the most clear cut expression, and rawness, and realness of what was happening in my life at a time, whether it was good or bad. I’ve never known how to write any other way than that.”

His upcoming album, The Weakness , falls in line with this narrative approach. Kelly wrote the record while navigating familial and personal upheavals, as well as rebuilding a home he’d moved into during the pandemic.

“I’d been writing this batch of songs as a way to understand what was going on in my life, and to retool what my foundation was as a person.”

While these songs weren’t originally meant for a record, Kelly realized their potential after his label approached him to start planning the next release cycle. Even with tens of tracks to choose from, something still wasn’t right.

“There was, I felt, a capstone song missing. That’s when I told the label, ‘Hey, why don’t you send me out to Joshua Tree, and I’ll write my opus, or the most

masterpiece song I can think of.’”

Fast forward to day six of his weeklong trip, and Kelly hadn’t written anything. On his final morning in Joshua Tree, he bought a baritone ukulele from a small music shop near his cabin.

“The first thing that came out when I got back, after I had turned my, quote ‘writer’s brain,’ off and was just sitting on the bed looking out the window, was the riff for Mending Song ,” said Kelly.

He continued to write Mending Song from his hotel room in LA, where he traveled to after Joshua Tree to begin making his next record. But before he actually reached the studio, Kelly needed to capture a blueprint of the track.

“I got out my little battery-operated Tascam and recorded two different tracks for the same thing on vocals and on the ukulele, and then panned them really hard left and right, so it kind of gave this eerie quality. Not to mention there’s this hiss to it, and this kind of distance to it, because the mic was pretty low fidelity.”

To finish it off, Kelly recorded a synthesizer he found from a YouTube video,

The Intersection - Stache

133 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW, Grand Rapids April 28, 7 p.m. sectionlive.com

RUSTON KELLY

Ruston Kelly. COURTESY PHOTOS

| by Michaela Stock

which consisted solely of a sustained F sharp note, and mixed it into the demo.

“And then I realized that I didn’t have the technological know-how to be able to send this demo to the producer,” said Kelly.

“So I just opened my headphones, and I pushed record on my voice memos on my phone, and I recorded the output of the headphones.”

This iPhone recording is what landed on the final record—YouTube synth, microphone hiss and all.

“We tried to do a high fidelity version of it, and it just sucked,” Kelly said.

“We added some stuff around it, but that recording I did in my hotel room ended up being the track that is on the record for Mending Song.”

The album’s April 7th release is in tandem with Kelly’s The Weakness Tour, where he will be performing at The Stache in Grand Rapids on April 28th.

From singing with his family and listening to American folk, to becoming a chart-making artist, Kelly hasn’t lost sight of how songwriting has–and can–better himself and his community,

“I’ve always said that art is a way for us to be more in touch with our center, and expressing ourselves can be a route to becoming a better person, because when you understand yourself better, you can become better.” Kelly said.

“The point of music is being able to bring people together through your own experience.” ■

Dave Mason is bringing his 2023 Endangered Species Tour to Grand Rapids with one night only at DeVos Performance Hall on Thursday, May 25, 2023. Along with special guests The Outlaws.

Dave Mason left Traffic in 1969 to pursue a solo career in the U.S. Dave has penned over 100 songs, has 3 gold albums: Alone Together, Dave Mason, Mariposa De Oro, and platinum album Let It Flow, which contained the top-ten single “We Just Disagree”. In addition to cranking out hits, Dave has performed on, or contributed to, a number of famous albums, including: The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet, George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, Paul McCartney and Wings’ Venus and Mars, and Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland. Mason is featured playing acoustic guitar in “All Along the Watchtower” on Electric Ladyland, a favorite in Dave’s live shows!

Singing all the songs that first hit the airwaves in the 60’s and 70’s along with new song Dave’s 2023 Endangered Species Tour is a not to miss live music event.

For The Outlaws , it’s always been about the music. For more than 40 years, the Southern Rock legends celebrated triumphs and endured tragedies to remain one of the most influential and best-loved bands of the genre. Today, The Outlaws have returned with new music, new focus, and an uncompromising new mission: It’s about a band of brothers bound together by history, harmony, and the road. It’s about a group that respects its own legacy while refusing to be defined by it’s past. But most of all, it’s about pride.

MORE ON THE EVENT!

Tunde Olaniran has been pushing the boundaries of pop music for more than seven years. The Flint-born, multidisciplinary artist began to take their music seriously in 2016 after a particular performance in Detroit–the city they now call home.

“My first lightbulb moment was performing at Allied Media Conference. It was, and still is, this really amazing gathering point of

TUNDE OLANIRAN: Whipped Cream & Daydreams

| by Michaela Stock

queer media makers and artists that came from all over the country to Detroit,” Olaniran said.

The conference exposed Olaniran to creators that inspired and reflected their identity.

“I think artists from West Michigan can probably relate to this, but when you’re in a smaller city, sometimes it’s hard to get a sense of what’s possible,” Olaniran said.

“Being around Black and brown queer people, queer artists, who were giving this love back to the work I was doing, really pushed me.”

This performance became one of many concerts that continued to lay the groundwork for Olaniran’s artistic self discovery. Now adorned with elaborate costumes and choreography, Olaniran’s shows also inspire those who attend them.

“I’ve had people come up to me

after shows and be like, ‘I wish I could do that,’” Olaniran said.

“I’m like, ‘You can do that!’ I think that society really traps us into thinking we can only express ourselves and live in certain ways.”

As a songwriter, Olaniran fuses pop music’s verse-chorus blueprint with unexpected soundscapes, resulting in catchy melodies marbled with sonic surprises.

“You can map out pop music like a math equation. I like filling that equation with different variables, like different sounds, different lyrical approaches, and different approaches to using my voice that are not traditional pop music,” Olaniran said.

This musical mixture ushers listeners into an entanglement of desire, identity, and storytelling.

“It’s a mixture of really unfamiliar sounds and unfamiliar melodies, but in a very familiar format, so that it becomes easy to listen to and understand what’s coming next,” Olaniran said.

and various artists, which further pushed their exploratory approach to songwriting.

Despite featuring more than 20 musicians, producers and writers, Ephemerreality was a completely virtual project that came to life during the pandemic. “No one was ever in the same physical room together.”

Beyond surmounting these logistical hurdles, Olaniran also wanted to use the project to provide Black women with a larger platform on digital streaming services.

“I was also really frustrated being on Spotify and just seeing so few Black women artists on playlists, especially in 2020,” Olaniran said. “I had this desire to bring together a lot of really powerful Black women, who I really admire, and see if we could make some cool music together.”

say, ‘I wish I was on a lavender cloud, dripping honey into your mouth.’ That’s just such a random thing that couldn’t have happened in the real world.”

This metaphor founded Whipped Cream Daydream , the song that not only sparked the 12-track mixtape, but was playlisted by high profile artists, spun on BCC One, and played at World Pride.

“Someone contacted me and said that their nine-yearold twin boys love the song Whipped Cream Daydream, and so I’m going to be their first-ever concert,” Olaniran said. “That’s the song they play every day before they go to school. I just love that.”

TUNDE OLANIRAN

The Pyramid Scheme

68 Commerce Ave. SW, Grand Rapids April 15, 7 p.m.

pyramidschemebar.com

“I like to surprise and put in sounds just to make you go, ‘What was that? What was that texture? What was that noise?”

Olaniran’s most recent project, a mixtape titled Ephemerrreality that was released in 2022, brilliantly captures this element of surprise. Each song hosts a collaboration between Olaniran

One of the tracks that inspired the mixtape was Olaniran’s own Whipped Cream Daydream , which features an upbeat pop melody with whimsical lyrics about having a crush.

“I was actually doing a virtual visit for a University of Michigan class about music business, and I was talking to them about songwriting. I was trying to give them an example of not feeling like you have to write metaphors that are based in reality,” Olaniran said.

“Let’s say you have a crush on someone, and instead of saying, ‘I have a crush on you,’ you could

Olaniran’s upcoming record, titled Chaotic Good , is slated to be released this fall. Preceding the release, Olaniran is performing at the Pyramid Scheme on April 15th. As Olaniran’s music is written for the live experience, they hope to see faces both fresh and familiar come to their show.

“When I write music, I am imagining what it would be like to perform it. That really affects the music and the way I produce it,” Olaniran said.

“I think the live performance is a big part of what makes the song fun for people. We love dancing, and we love having costume reveals. We love just delighting people.” ■

Tunde Olaniran. BACKGROUND PHOTO BY STEVEN PIPER/ BOTTOM PHOTO BY BREANN WHITE

Brit Floyd returns to the DeVos Performance Hall stage on Monday, May 15th

with an all-new production celebrating 50 years of the ground-breaking and iconic musical masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon.

The show will feature classic tracks in a two and a half hour plus setlist that includes highlights from Pink Floyd’s magnificent catalogue of albums, including The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Animals , The Division Bell, Medal and more! Brit Floyd has made a name for themselves as one of the greatest Pink Floyd tribute bands to ever exist performing note for note renditions of the classic Pink Floyd tracks. Brit Floyd features long time guitarist/ vocalist and musical director Damian Darlington, who has played over 2,500 Pink Floyd music related concerts as well as Ian Cattell, Edo Scordo, Eva Avila and other expert musicians.

The Brit Floyd show has become a phenomenon, widely regarded as the world’s greatest rock tribute show. Faithfully recreating the scale and pomp of the final 1994 Pink Floyd tour, complete with a stunning light show, iconic circular screen, lasers, inflatables and theatrics.

RETURNING TO THE DE VOS PERFORMANCE HALL STAGE ON MONDAY, MAY 15, 2023 AT 8:00PM. TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW AT DEVOSPERFORMANCEHALL.COM AND TICKETMASTER.COM.

Rising DJ, producer and electronic music artist Nick Rowland— aka Super Future—wants to take listeners on a journey with the release of his new EP, Full Spectrum Transporting audiences through time, space, and sound, he aims to venture through a wide array of styles and sonic emotions, as well as his own personal journey, when he returns to Grand Rapids to release the record and kick off his upcoming tour.

“I do to sound what a prism does to light,” Rowland said of his far-reaching, forward-thinking music. “Sound waves go into something and I just spread it out and blow it out into a million different fragmented colors to make a really beautiful moment.”

Although originally from Rochester Hills, near Detroit, and now once again residing on the East side of the state, Rowland considers Grand Rapids something of a second hometown as it’s where he first found his footing in music.

After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in Chemical Engineering back in 2012, Rowland said he really got into EDM, citing big names like Skrillex, Zed’s Dead and others. He decided he wanted to start DJing as a hobby, and began playing bars by MSU.

“I really fell in love with it pretty quickly, which is weird because I used to be really against it because of being like a pure guitarist, a music purist and metal head,” Rowland said, adding that he grew up playing guitar. “But then I started to see the parallels, and really started to enjoy the energy that heavy electronic music created.”

Almost getting fired as a DJ for playing subgenres and sounds that hadn’t really caught on commercially at that time, Rowland knew early on that he wanted to make his own music, and he found more welcoming opportunities to develop his sound and network with other likeminded DJs in Grand Rapids.

He moved here in 2015, and played his first shows at The Intersection in 2016, where he became a regular opener for touring EDM acts, until he left West Michigan in 2021.

“I became a really good asset for tours who wanted more of a vibe-y, chill opener, who could still make people dance,” Rowland said. “And I think I found my pocket right there. And that little space where I exist, I’ve expanded and helped build some underground trends myself in the national experimental bass format throughout the states.”

Co-founding the Samsara Family Collective here in West Michigan in 2017, Rowland fondly looks back on the many

SUPER FUTURE:

Over the Rainbow and Back Again

| by Eric Mitts

connections he has to the electronic music community even as he’s ventured out onto his own solo endeavors.

In 2018 Super Future performed at major electronic music festivals like Chicago’s Spring Awakening and West Michigan’s own Electric Forest for the first time, broadening his fan base.

“(Electric Forest) was really the first festival that I felt was a home to me,” Rowland said.

He’s continued to perform and appear at the festival in official and unofficial ways ever since, DJing after-parties in the campgrounds, and even recording a song, “Sherwood Forest,” inspired by the festival’s famed woods, that appeared on his last EP, 2022’s Moon Stone

“The newer thing that is becoming a mainstay for me is sunrise sets,” Rowland said of his experiences at Electric Forest. “Which as I get older, it’s not my favorite time to be awake. But like when you’re in the throes of a festival, time doesn’t even exist. So I’ve really enjoyed the feeling that I bring to that.”

He started developing that more downtempo bass side of his sound during COVID-19 lockdown, exploring the more emotional side of electronic music.

“It’s like what people say when they go through a breakup,” Rowland said. “They write their best music, right? And the pandemic was on an equal scale to the anxiety of a breakup, maybe even more. You just broke up with the whole world, basically. You had to. So that was my breakup… and I’m thankful for that, honestly.”

Just before the pandemic started, Super Future had just finished his first national tour with fellow Michigan electronic artist Wreckno, who he continues to collaborate with closely now.

He’s also gone on to land numerous opportunities across the country, and the world, working with the likes of CloZee, Liquid Stranger’s Wakaan label, and Rezz, who Super Future will be opening for at a huge show in Brooklyn coming up on June 9, following his own Full Spectrum Tour.

Upping his production and stage design for his show in Grand Rapids April 1, including adding extra speakers, lighting and lasers, Rowland said he wants to make the event feel massive even while the music feels more introspective.

SUPER FUTURE

Full Spectrum EP Release Wsg. Mindset, Miilk, Arcadian Sound

The Intersection, 133 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW, Grand Rapids April 1, 8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show, $15 advance, $20 day of show sectionlive.com, superfuturedj.co

“I’ve really been touting the fact that this is – in sort of a vulnerable way –not the music people would go see for a main stage show,” Rowland said. “But I’m trying to bring the feeling of a dynamic experience to my set and I’m curating it as such so that people can feel something a little bit deeper, more engaging than just one style of music.” ■

Nick Rowland, Super Future. COURTESY PHOTO

JOE GATTO:

Practical Parental Advice from an Impractical Guy

| by Eric Mitts

For actor, comedian, and producer Joe Gatto, family is everything.

The famous funnyman—best known for the hit TruTV show “Impractical Jokers”—has made spending more time with his two small children his top priority.

After nine seasons, Gatto announced in December 2021 that he would be stepping away from the massively successful hidden camera reality show following his divorce from his wife Bessy that same year.

He pivoted his career so he could spend more time at home, co-parenting his daughter Milana and son Remington, only heading out on the weekends to do solo standup shows, which he’s calling Joe Gatto’s Night of Comedy (coming to Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo April 21).

“They’re going to laugh,” Gatto said about what audiences should expect. “As a fan of me on TV, they get to know more about me. I tell stories from my time on the show, my friendship with the guys and how I have messed with people throughout my life. But I also share my experiences with fatherhood, my rescue dog obsession and what it was like growing up with a crazy Italian mother.”

Gatto’s mother also serves as something of the source of inspiration for his new podcast, “Two Cool Moms,” which he launched with fellow comedian Steve Byrne early last year. The

tongue-in-cheekily titled show features the two comedians discussing dilemmas submitted by listeners and then dispensing their own “motherly” advice inspired largely by their own strong moms.

“It’s fun on two fronts,” Gatto said about the podcast. “I get to talk about my mom, which has been a great way to celebrate her memory. She was such a great mother, and to pay homage to her is phenomenal. And I have no shortage of stories about my legendary mother. But to also help people has been a side benefit. I hear from listeners that our advice has helped them. So to spread comedy and actually help people makes me happy.”

Gatto lost his mother in 2012, after having already tragically lost his father to pancreatic cancer back in 1995 before he had even started in comedy.

“Growing up is important, but remembering that life is short is key,” Gatto said about how the childlike silliness of his comedy remains therapeutic for him. “Trying to have as much fun as you can before the lights get shut off is how I live. Losing my dad at an early age has engrained that in me. So I try to make the most of it all.”

He’s definitely made the most of his time as a comedian, reaching millions worldwide with “Impractical Jokers,” TBS’s “The Misery Index,” and other successful projects.

When asked if his own kids think he’s cool, he said they do, for now.

“They’re young, so I think all kids think that,” Gatto said. “I am hoping that lasts. I always thought highly of mine, so I think it is genetic to be a cool parent.”

He explained that neither he nor his kids are prankers at home, but life in their house is definitely silly.

“They are two little best friends and the things they say to one another always cracks me up,” he said. “They are quirky and silly, and that’s all me.”

Looking back on all the silliness he got into on “Impractical Jokers” with his lifelong friends and collaborators James Murray, Brian Quinn, and Sal Vulcano, Gatto said he’s very proud of what they created together as the show continues on without him.

“It’s not lost on me that I’ve helped people to find a reason

to laugh when life made it very hard to,” he said. “I hear that from fans all the time, and I love that people welcomed me in their homes to laugh along with their family.”

He explained that he sees the guys as often as most middle age men do, and that they will always be close because they have such a long history that goes back to their days at Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island, well before their TV success, or their legendary comedy troupe The Tenderloins.

Turning to standup, Gatto said it’s taken some getting used to, and it’s taken a little while to adapt to being on his own onstage after working with his friends for so many years.

“It has been one heck of a journey,” he said. “I really enjoy doing standup comedy, because at my core I love making people laugh. And this is the format in

which I am fortunate to do it right now. But the coolest thing for me is that everyone in the audience are a fan of me. And I love my fans and the amazing support they’ve given me as I’ve been figuring out what is next.” ■

JOE GATTO’S NIGHT OF COMEDY

Miller Auditorium, 1341 Theater Drive, Kalamazoo April 21, 7 p.m., $39.75- $92 Millerauditorium.com, (269) 387-2300

Joe Gatto. COURTESY PHOTOS

FOR THE LOVE OF

VINTAGE

| by Missy Black

If you learn one thing in this article, it’s that a curated collection makes all the difference.

BETTER AGED

Really old things just happen to be in Austyn Daggett’s blood. He’s been thrifting and antiquing with his grandmother for years and believes, “old things tell a story, a pair of Levis from the 70s have been around for 50 years and leave you wondering what they’ve seen and what they’ve been through.” Dagget is the owner, operator and one-man show at Better Aged and loves history and things with patina so it’s no wonder he’s been collecting clothing for years and understands having a sustainable purpose. “Let’s keep the earth as green as possible. Vintage is something that’s already been made and already been used in terms of materials to help combat these factories making clothes and the unfair wages.”

A visit to Better Aged will show you the intuitive inventory that leans toward a genderless vibe of unisex items that range from jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, jackets and workwear items. “We look for quality vintage that’s Made in the USA and try to keep prices around 30 to 40 dollars for an average item.”

Better Aged is located at 413 Eastern Ave. SE in Grand Rapids. Cruise through their Instagram at @betteraged.

LIVED

When sourcing a vibe, it can be hard to figure out where to get the best vintage items. At Lived, you can shop beautifully lived-in clothing thanks to the 16 plus years of experience from owner Amanda Westerhof. She’s an expert at mixing modern and vintage and loves fashion, good fabrics, textures and unique pieces. “What’s being made now isn’t the quality of what was being made back then. I’m saving things from going to the landfill and these items have stood the test of time and continue to do so.”

The shop is filled with treasures from the 50s to the 90s and started online in 2017 where Westerhof would build racks for styling appointments by mixing in a few vintage pieces. She likes blending blazers with vintage dresses and long 50s housecoats with a band tee and mom jeans and ultimately likes giving things new life. “There was a stigma about vintage back in the day but I’m finding this generation truly cares about the environment. I can’t stress enough how terrible fast fashion is, how much more cautious we need to be about who’s making our clothing and where it’s being made.”

Lived is located in Elevated Antiques at 1750 Clyde Park Ave. SW in Grand Rapids. Check the shop out on Instagram at @shoplived. ■

INSIDE THE KITCHEN

| by Josh Veal

Unlike bartenders and servers, restaurant cooks tend to do all the work behind the scenes, where their incredible work can go unappreciated by guests.

That’s why we wanted to talk to these chefs, and get their perspective what it’s like working back there—prepping, cooking, plating, portioning, and doing the nonverbal dance of the kitchen. Is it anything like The Bear on Hulu? We’ll let them tell you.

sound cliché or naïve, but seeing and making a dish evolve from a concept to an incarnation on a plate is fun as hell. A massive amount of the food we make at Basalt is from scratch and raw ingredients. When you taste our green chicken chorizo, you’re tasting chicken that I’ve ground myself. It’s been mixed with a handful of different peppers, herbs, and spices. You toss it on the grill, scramble in an egg, crumble up a hashbrown and top it with some cheese and you have our Mommy Dearest taco.

What’s your favorite part of working in a kitchen?

There’s actually a lot I love and I could probably go on forever about our kitchen and staff, but for the sake of time, I’ll try to narrow it down to my top three.

Predictability. On face value, it’s a boring word that elicits images of mundane drudgery, but it’s the best feeling in the world to predict and address a need before it becomes glaringly obvious. If I had a motto to emblazon next to my nonexistent coat of arms, it would be “No Surprises.” One of my chief goals in inventory and prep and all the work that leads up to the marathon of weekend brunch-rush is to have my team not walk into any ambushes. No unexpected shortages. No accidents that waste a bunch of product. Having everything go exactly as planned is the sweetest feeling in the world, especially when you’ve experienced the opposite. Teamwork. It’s sublime when the line is running like a machine. When you’ve worked with someone else long enough to be able to read and understand each other. To be able to not say anything at all and see a teammate go right so you go left. You’re reaching out your hand and I’m already leaning over to catch. But as cool as nonverbal communication feels, verbal communication is absolutely necessary. My friends watch The Bear and joke about the kitchen shorthand jargon: “Corner! Behind! Heard!” It’s like having blinkers on your body and allows us to move effectively and efficiently. I love that I work in a field that has a dialect that is understood in nearly every other kitchen.

The Process. This is my favorite. It may

What is on your plate at Sunday morning brunch is the culmination of a week-long process and I’ve witnessed every step of it. Every kitchen has its chemistry, alchemy, and sorcery and I feel privileged to be initiated in the mystical arts of ours.

On the flipside, what’s your pet peeve?

Our restaurant is on the smaller side, and our kitchen is tiny in comparison to other popular spots in town. As we’ve grown busier as a brunch spot on the weekends, the wait time between ordering and receiving food has obviously grown proportionally. While the vast majority of our wonderful customers understand this concept, a small minority fail to realize the correlation. It makes no logical sense to complain about the amount of time you’ve had to wait for your food when every seat in a restaurant is full, but people do it anyway. Another thing that annoys me is that a handful of people in our region have a preconceived notion that Mexican food = cheap. They will audibly balk at our prices without considering the quality of our ingredients and products, let alone the somewhat racist logic behind thinking that ethnic food must naturally be inexpensive.

What’s your favorite dish at Basalt?

My personal favorite dish to eat is our Breakfast Burrito. And I’m not alone - it is by far and away our most popular item. Many other spots in town have their own version, but ours is phenomenal. While it may not necessarily be complicated or intricate, it is my number one go-to after a long shift of working the grill. It is tasty. It is filling. And it’s an amazing cure if you ever have a hangover.

COMMISSARY CHEF JAMESON MASPAITELLA, All In Hospitality Catering

What’s your favorite part of working in a kitchen?

At this point in my career, teaching is my favorite part of the job.

What’s your pet peeve?

I wish customers would tell the servers when things are wrong so we can correct it immediately.

What’s your favorite dish at your current place of work? Staff meal.

What do you wish more people knew? Most cooks are adult children.

end product. Whether that be meat and fish production or making a sauce from a homemade stock.

What’s your pet peeve?

I have no negative thoughts on customer requests or feedback. My least favorite part is the ornery cooks.

What’s your favorite dish at your current place of work?

My favorite dish at Seventy Six is the Duroc Pork Chop, served with bacon hashbrowns, and a brown butter maple glaze.

What do you wish more people knew about restaurant cooks?

That for the most part, we are very passionate about what we do. We enjoy serving the public, yet it often feels like we are thought of and treated like second class citizens.

CHEF DE CUISINE SHELLY RASH, 1983 Restaurants

What’s your favorite part of working in a kitchen?

Actually, it is preparing food. I really enjoy taking food from a primal raw state and taking it through the process to its

KITCHEN STAFF,

What’s your favorite part of working in a kitchen?

The kitchen staff at Linear would suggest that the best part of working in a kitchen would be the amount of challenges you face on a daily basis. There is so much to learn, physical body management, multiple cultures and cuisine to pull from and the techniques involved in all the preparation that there is never a dull moment. The chaotic atmosphere in which we work to take raw ingredients and transform them into beautiful edible finished products in such a hot and dangerous with very little time offers a rush unlike any other.

KITCHEN MANAGER ANDREW MANION, Basalt

What’s your pet peeve?

Collectively, it’s a sense of entitlement and miseducation when it comes to food and drink. We get an abundance of requests to alter composed dishes that the hardworking chefs these days spend hours thinking about, working out R&D and finalizing. A large amount of time and thought goes into flavors, plating, honesty, integrity and let us not forget cost. There’s a rise in the cost of goods and a desire from the general public to continue to pay the same prices. Let’s keep in mind to please be nice and considerate to the folks who serve you food and drinks, we’re all just humans working toward the same goal: Good food, drink and service!

What’s your favorite dish?

The favorite dish that we prepare based on the current menu and after a fun interview process has turned out to be the duck breast. We use an 8 oz. Maple Leaf duck breast from a family-owned company in Indiana, we sear the skin to a nice crispy texture rendering out some of the fat but leaving some for added flavor, being finished to a nice medium rare. The rest of the dish is composed of a blend of fresh summer squash, sugar snap peas, braised pearl onions, duck glacé and wrapped up with a nice pea purée.

sustenance anywhere, but do you walk away feeling that you had a good experience? Our part is to create food that is pleasing to the senses, not just filling the stomach, and if that means working with the guest on their dietary restriction, we’ll do our best to accommodate.

with ambition and motivation to stay busy and productive. It is a job that simply can exhaust you. This is largely what my favorite part about working in a kitchen is. I go home feeling accomplished. I work all day making good food and putting smiles on customers’ faces and at the end of the day, I feel like I have done something with my day.

What’s your pet peeve?

a few different things and share, explore and get something new.

What’s your favorite dish?

Hard to pick a favorite since our menu changes every week, but I really enjoy making the pasta. We try to have at least one or two pasta dishes on the menu, and learning new shapes and techniques each week is a lot of fum.

SOUS CHEF DAN KNAPP, Café Mamo

Favorite part of cooking?

Lately, it’s been the opportunity for a connection back to the land where we live and the agricultural side of the industry. We are spoiled here in West Michigan in terms of our access to great farms and the variety of quality food that they bring so working directly with farmers like we do at Mamo and understanding the bigger food picture better is exciting to me.

What’s your pet peeve?

The lack of trust or adventure that is sometimes displayed by guests. Kitchens work endless hours to create dishes and menus a certain way to reflect how they feel about food, so modifications or substitutions due to preference can be annoying. Asking for more salt falls under that umbrella for me as well.

What would you like people to know?

My largest pet peeve would have to be the lack of organization with those who are around me. With every station I work on, I tend to find an efficient way to create the highest quality product in the shortest amount of time. I find working with others who might not organize like me to be troubling. At the end of the day, I have worked in restaurants long enough to be able to overcome this pet peeve and make the best of what I have.

What’s your favorite dish?

Our killer mac. Simply put, it is the best thing on our menu simply because of our rewardwinning cheese sauce. It is also one of our products that is easy to manipulate. Adding marinated tomatoes or brisket are some great options.

What would you like people to know?

Being a cook can be rough sometimes. Most of the time we work shifts that can prevent us from being with our families. During those holiday dinner times when you are eating with your family, we are the ones making your food. Also, be nice to your servers and always leave a tip.

What would you like people to know?

For most chefs, it’s not just a “job”, it’s a career and way of life. We’ve worked long, hard hours over the years learning what we do. Our menus are written the way they are because we put a lot of time and thought into them. Trust that we know what we’re doing in trying to create the best experience for you.

EXECUTIVE CHEF HENRY DITMAR, Salt of the Earth

What’s your favorite part of working in a kitchen?

Creativity and camaraderie.

What’s your pet peeve?

When guests have an unfavorable visit and don’t allow us the opportunity to make the situation right (by not informing us of the problem) but run home and leave a one-star review.

What’s your favorite dish?

Vegan curry risotto served with black beans, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, with a maple chile sauce. Or: Scallops served with farro, brussel sprouts, parsnips topped with sweet chili oil.

What would you like people to know?

The heart of the kitchen is a machine that works hard in difficult environments to produce a meal that adds to the experience of dining out. Cooks want to be appreciated for the work they do. In addition, you can get

The amount of hard work that goes on day in and day out. Kitchen life, and restaurant life in general, is rarely glamorous and involves a lot of long hours in a hot, fastpaced environment to make it all work. We wouldn’t work as hard as we do without loving food in some way though.

CHEF DE CUISINE CHLOE GOEBEL,

What’s your favorite part of working in the kitchen?

There’s always something going on (whether it’s good or bad). Also having the opportunity to always learn new things, new produce, skills, and adapt to different situations keeps things interesting. Working in an open kitchen and being able to interact with people and see their reactions is really cool.

What’s your pet peeve?

EXECUTIVE CHEF LORNE MAY, The Winchester

What’s your favorite part of working in a kitchen?

The challenge. I’m someone that requires a constant challenge to be able to perform. In a kitchen, there is always something that is challenging my ability to be a better leader/ chef/manager. I learn something on an almost daily basis, whether it’s from one of my dishwashers, or all the way up to an owner. It’s a great way to be challenged and learn, in a relatively “low stakes” environment.

What’s your favorite dish at Winchester?

Got to be the Butter Chicken. My team and I worked really hard on creating a very traditional and excellent tasting creamy tomato butter sauce, yogurt marinated chicken, with some beautifully cooked rice and naan bread. It’s a must try.

What would you like people to know?

Favorite part of the kitchen?

Working in a kitchen requires someone

Rude, entitled people. We’re people too, and a little respect goes a long way. Also when a four top comes in and everyone orders the same thing. We have a really small menu, get

How hard this job can actually be. Many people are working long hours, difficult shifts, with low staff in a fast-paced environment, on their feet all day. The job can feel thankless at times and really beats people down. I wish more people understood how hard working in a kitchen can be. I spent almost 8 years as a Combat Medic in the Army, and I have had some of my most challenging and hard days as a restaurant employee. These guys really grind out and work so hard to give people an amazing experience with great food. ■

LINE COOK TRAINER, TYLER HULET,

TO FOOD IN GRAND RAPIDS A TOURIST’S GUIDE

| by Allison Kay Bannister

Greater Grand Rapids has begun to make a name for itself for its dining scene, but before it was ranked as a Best Foodie City or crowned Beer City, there were institutions that paved the way for these esteemed designations. For out-of-towners, the choices are endless, and it can be overwhelming to decide where to go to get a meal that’s classically GR—or is simply darn good grub. Here’s a roundup of some of our favorites.

GAIA CAFE gaiahousecafe.com

1553 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505

Though they’re no longer in their initial Easthills location that was once the haunt of writers, musicians, and artists, this vegetarian- and veganexclusive café has enjoyed a second coming in its new spot in the Creston Neighborhood. Featuring much of its original menu (Hello, veggie hash!

COTTAGE BAR cottagebar.biz

18 LaGrave Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

The restaurant, the myth, the legend! The moment you grab the hefty cleaver that serves as a door handle and enter this cozy, dimly lit space, you know you’re in for something special. Whether it’s one of their infamous olive burgers (they’re kind of a Michigan thing), a side of cottage fries, or a bowl of their award-winning chili, you’ll quickly learn why they’ve maintained a presence in the city since 1927.

ROSE’S thegilmorecollection.com/roses

550 Lakeside Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Dating back to 1901, this waterfront restaurant is the only remaining structure from what was once Ramona Park on Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids. Secured by the Gilmore Collection in 1992, it remains beloved among city residents and visitors. Sit on the outdoor patio in summer, or enjoy the four-season deck, and order the traditional Rose’s burger, potato-crusted walleye, a wood-fired pizza, or the farro salad, and take a bag of caramel corn home to snack on later.

SAN CHEZ sanchezbistro.com

38 Fulton St W, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Talk to anyone who’s lived in the region for a few decades and they’ll likely bring up San Chez as one of the early places to get truly inspired dishes. And, because of the authentic Spanish tapas style menu, be able to have a taste of several. They continue to draw in those who love to try new things and also like to have a communal dining experience. More recently, they opened ROAM, also downtown, which features street food from across the globe.

WOLFGANG’S mattwolfgang.com

1530 Wealthy St SE, Grand Rapids, MI

This Eastown fixture for more than 45 years (originally called Just Breakfast) is one of THE spots to grab a morning or noon-time bite and a cup of coffee. Benedicts, skillets, omelets, frittatas, and

more have people forming a line—but it’s all worth the wait! They also serve up some mighty delicious tiramisu pancakes and strawberry Belgian waffles. Stop in and find out why they’re called “Home of the best breakfast in Grand Rapids.”

REAL FOOD CAFÉ realfoodcafe.com

2419 Eastern Ave. in Alger Heights

3514 Plainfield Ave. in Grand Rapids Township

But… Wolfgang’s isn’t the only place to rise and shine—or have a hearty lunch. Real Food Café, run by a husband and wife team, owns up to their name with freshly made, from scratch dishes sourced with high-quality ingredients. Breakfast standards, plus an array of sandwiches and sweets are on the menu, including milkshakes, malts, and floats— plus plenty of tasty baked goods. They have two locations.

CHERIE INN cherieinn.com

969 Cherry St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI

We do like our breakfast here! This quaint spot, housed in a 100-year-old historic building, is Grand Rapids’ longest-running restaurant, having opened in 1924. With a distinctly European flair that balances the poshness of fresh flowers, vintage décor, and finely appointed tables with an air of welcoming comfort, the Cherie serves homemade cuisine from breakfast specialties to lunch classics. And, the service is superb!

ELECTRIC CHEETAH electriccheetah.com

1015 Wealthy St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

You might stop into this lunch, brunch, and dinner eatery because of its curious name, but they’re betting you’ll stick around to give their equally interesting menu a try. From the Pickle Tickle to the Whippy Dippy, there’s a dish to test your imagination and tempt your tastebuds. They also have their own in-house root beer; are GF, vegan, and vegetarian friendly; and they have several sister establishments around town, including The Old Goat and Uncle Cheetah’s Soup Shop.

Hola, Mean Green Burrito!), it also has new items and specials, plus fresh-pressed juices. They’ve also brought back poetry night on the last Tuesday of every month. Ah, nostalgia.

LEO’S leosrestaurant.com

60 Ottawa Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

There are plenty of places to get a little fancy in West Michigan, but Leo’s has stood the test of time for nearly 20 years. Stylish and sophisticated, with a distinctive menu to match, it’s been voted the best seafood restaurant in Grand Rapids. They pride themselves on using in-season ingredients and local produce, and bringing in fresh, notfrozen seafood. They also have an impressive wine, cocktail, and craft beer selection.

FOUNDER’S foundersbrewing.com

235 Grandville Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

It wouldn’t be a true visit to River City without a stop at our hometown hero: Founders Brewing Company. Whether you’re a KBS sipper or an All Day swigger, they have an extensive tap list to please any beer enthusiast. The venue is plenty spacious, with indoor and outdoor seating, and they have great pub eats to boot, including munchies, handcrafted sandwiches, and pizzas, many of which feature their signature ales. Try the Devil Dancer sandwich—if you dare! ■

Gaia Cafe. COURTESY PHOTOS

FINDING THE BAR FOR YOU

| by Josh Veal

West Michigan is chock full of places to grab a drink, but the experiences those places offer range from “formal attire required” to “no door on the bathroom stall.”

Here at Revue , we’re big fans of both ends of the spectrum, but we’re typically in the mood for one or the other. When you’re going out for a drink nowadays, you likely have a specific reason in mind—maybe a friend is in town, or it’s a first date, or you need to blow off steam after a rough day at work. Each requires a different atmosphere and drink selection. While there are too many watering holes in town for us to list here, we want to help guide you to a few favorite bars for life’s various occasions.

FUN WITH FRIENDS

THE HOLIDAY BAR | 801 5th St. NW, Grand Rapids | theholidaybargr.com

In addition to a killer back patio and affordable drinks, The Holiday Bar hosts tons of fun nights that make it easy to get a group together and go wild all week long. Wednesday offers karaoke, with a crowd leaning younger; Thursday also has karaoke, typically drawing the “professional” karaoke singers; Friday and Saturday have a DJ and dancing from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. every single week, occasionally with a theme like ’90s night or Latin night. Singing, dancing, drinks—what more could you and a group of friends ask for?

FRIENDS IN TOWN

STELLA’S LOUNGE | 53 Commerce Ave. SW, Grand Rapids | stellaslounge.com

Whether your friends are visiting from a small town or a big city, you want to impress them with what West Michigan has to offer. For a large majority of people, Stella’s will do just that. The bar’s menu alone is known for a massive whiskey lineup and award-winning stuffed burgers, with tons of vegan/vegetarian options. The aesthetic is retro—dark neon, graffitied walls, vintage sci-fi on the TVs, and old-school arcade cabinets giving a big city vibe, but not at all in a haughty way. There’s something for everyone.

LIVE MUSIC

TURNSTILES | 526 Stocking Ave. NW, Grand Rapids | turnstilesgr.com

Last time we featured Turnstiles, we recommended them for great bar food. That’s still the case, but their music scene has exploded into events and performances nearly every single day of the year. Weekends have live music of all kinds, Sundays are jazz and soul sessions, Monday is karaoke, Tuesday and Thursday are both open mics, and Wednesday is DJ night. Not to mention the music-inspired cocktails!

CRAFT BEER

KÜSTERER BRAUHAUS | 642 Bridge St. NW, Grand Rapids | grbrauhaus.com

There are many reasons to visit Cedar Springs Brewing’s Küsterer Brauhaus, including the beautifully renovated space that encourages socialization among groups—meant to give the same feel as beer halls in Germany. But chief among them is the incredible beer, which follows the Reinheitsegebot with time-tested recipes that let the ingredients really shine through. For a taste of history and a trip to Munich without the plane ticket, this is the place to be.

FEELING FANCY

LUMBER BARON BAR | 187 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids | amwaygrand.com

This hidden gem inside Amway Grand lets you settle into the warmth and charm of a historic bar, complete with fireplace, leather club chairs, and an incredible selection of premium drinks. It’s a cozy little spot perfect for small groups and special occasions—and you can add a smoke infusion to any drink for that extra level of mystique.

FIRST DATE

GRNOIR WINE AND JAZZ | 35 S. Division Ave., Grand Rapids | grnoir.com

If your relationship didn’t survive the pandemic (many such cases), you might finally be back on the apps, ready to find new love. Find someone you actually want to impress? Take your first date to GRNoir, where you can chat, snack, and sip from a curated wine selection, all while enjoying live jazz from talented artists. The atmosphere is plush but extremely welcoming, fitting with the bar’s mission to help introduce “regular” people to wine and jazz, two pursuits often seen as high society in today’s world. Essentially, the whole place is a conversation piece.

GREAT FOOD

SPEAKEZ LOUNGE | 600 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids | speakezlounge.com

SpeakEZ has become known as the soccer hub of Grand Rapids, filling up to capacity before the sun rises during the World Cup. But the rest of the time, this bar and restaurant is focused on serving up unique drinks, unforgettable brunch food and crowd-pleasing dinners. If you ever need a bold cocktail and meal that makes you feel warm and cozy, there’s something about SpeakEZ that hits just right. ■

The Holiday Bar, Stella's Lounge, Turnstiles, Lumber Baron Bar, GRNoir Wine & Jazz, SpeakEZ Lounge. COURTESY PHOTOS

SPECIALTY DRINK STORES ELEVATING THE PARTY:

| by John Kissane

Specialty drink stores: What are they, exactly? Unlike a typical party store, specialty drink stores offers customers a curated experience. Party stores offer you the same things you can get anywhere else. Specialty drinks offer those things, too, but they also offer products that are different—that are special. And they’re staffed with knowledgeable people eager to help you find what you’re looking for or what you didn’t know you wanted.

Grand Rapids is fortunate enough to have several specialty drink stores. Recently, Revue spoke to staff at three of them: Rishi’s, Siciliano’s, and Martha’s Vineyard.

Bryan Gomez, who’s worked for Rishi’s for three years, said that two things set the store apart: outstanding service and outstanding selection. When it comes to service, the goal is to be warm, welcoming, and helpful. When someone comes in the door, they’re greeted warmly by staff members who are more than happy to help.

Rishi’s has a wide selection of beer, wine, and spirits, including those of the non-alcoholic variety. Non-alcoholic sales can be somewhat seasonal; Dry January has become popular in recent years. But it’s not limited to one month. Year-round, customers who appreciate the taste of alcoholic beverages but who want to avoid alcohol can find a strong selection at the store.

Mezcal has also increased in popularity over time. Gomez describes it as tequila’s smokier cousin. “If a customer mentions wanting to try mezcal, I let them know what to expect. I don’t give them a TED talk,” he said, laughing, “but I talk about the flavor profile, how some are smokier than others, some not as fruity as others.” The store has expanded its selection of the drink in the last year or so.

In terms of wine, Rishi’s highlights many regions, including Spain and Portugal. Both offer big, bold reds. While the store carries wines from traditional regions like France and California, it sees an opportunity in educating customers about great offerings from other areas.

Rishi Makkar, owner, is humbled when considering the 26 years the store has been open. “In some cases, I’m now serving a third generation of a family. That’s amazing.”

While he’s running a business, and knows that profit is essential to providing employment opportunities for his staff, he said that the business’s role is ultimately not about money but about relationships. “Learning about other people, valuing them, ultimately growing those relationships: that’s what it’s all about.”

Katie Spayde, the manager of Siciliano’s , has worked at the store for 16 years. “We try our best not to carry items you can find everywhere,” she said. “We offer a higher quality product.”

When she started at Sicilano’s, the beer selection was a quarter of the size it is today. The expansion in variety, and the sheer amount of products available, has grown significantly. “It’s been very interesting to watch as new styles have come about. Milkshake IPAs: those weren’t a thing ten years ago. It’s been fun to watch the evolution.”

She said of the store’s beer selection that “we carry all the imports we can get our hands on, but we particularly like German beers, Czech lagers.” Asked to describe Czech beer, she said, “Think of Budweiser but actually really good.”

Each Wednesday night, Sicilano’s offers wine tastings. There are various beer and/or liquor tastings on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. And the store has a large annual homebrewer’s competition. Homebrewing is an important part of what Siciliano’s supports; anyone looking to get into the craft can find all the ingredients and equipment he or she needs at the store.

Will Sanchez, who’s worked at Martha’s Vineyard for five years, has seen real growth in people’s interest in natural wine. The term itself is hazy; “no wine is unnatural,” he said. The hallmark of natural wines is minimal intervention by the winemaker. Something as simple as leaving the skin of a white grape on (something not traditionally done) makes a huge difference, resulting in what the industry terms an “orange wine.”

But Martha’s Vineyard offers traditional wines as well. The bread and butter of their business remain traditional wine, from inexpensive bottles to the most luxurious Beaujolais and Burgundys.

As do Rishi’s and Siciliano’s, Martha’s Vineyard prides itself in the knowledge and helpfulness of its staff. That knowledge extends not only to the drinks themselves, but to the customers and their preferences. “That’s how we set ourselves apart,” Sanchez said. “We hang our hat on knowing what our customers enjoy.”

That individualized service is something the big box stores, for all their endless shelf space, can’t offer. By knowing their customers, curating their selections, and offer warmth, guidance, and human connection, specialty drink stores have earned their place in the community, one interaction at a time. ■

A RESTAURATEUR'S UNLIKELY CASE

| by Alec Payleitner, owner of GROW Café + Bistro

M

WHO WINS?

This is how it works at GROW. We raised menu prices approximately the amount of a standard gratuity and re-distributed that extra income as substantial hourly wages (between $20 and $30) for servers, and overall wage increases for the entire kitchen team. Our gratuity-free mission is printed right on the menus. We don’t just ‘not expect’ tips, we actively discourage them. Why? As it reads on our menu, “we want the costs to our guests to remain the same.”

If we take a pragmatic look at the larger issue of tipping vs. standard wage, let’s consider: who wins? Perhaps it is the business owners who rely on guests to carry the burden of providing the front-of-house income. Well that, simply put, blurs the notion of employee. Who works for whom? When a guest sits down to dine, they enter into an unruly contract with the server, and the guest has all the power. In that, there is no comparable industry.

Public-facing workers in skilled trades, healthcare, and education (just to name a few) routinely provide excellent service for their clients, patients, and students without need or expectation for wage-enhancing gratuities. Suppose your plumber or phlebotomist completed their task and then sat there, waiting, hands open for their customer-determined compensation. Absolute lunacy.

The quality of their professional performance is rooted in self-preservation, if not self-pride. The public can certainly assess and express their feelings through the frequency of their patronage. In the worst scenarios, folks can issue a formal complaint, or (gulp) leave a review. They should not, however, have the power to control the wages of the worker.

CAN IT WORK?

The concept of a gratuity-free restaurant is far from novel. In Europe, gratuity practices range from mandatory inclusion in listed prices (the Netherlands) to a few bucks for afterwork libations (trinkgeld, the German word for ‘tip’ means ‘drinking money’). In eastern Asia, tips are generally unexpected and sometimes politely refused. Here in the states, Danny Meyer, a highly influential New York restaurateur, led a brief gratuity-free charge in the mid-2010s. It didn’t work, and the efforts were mostly abandoned by the time the pandemic hit.

I said earlier that tips mean the business owners win—that’s not entirely true. In today’s industry, I know not a single restaurant owner whose financial success is contingent on preserving the tiny payroll of front-of-house employees. In fact, that decrease in payroll is likely passed along to the consumer as lower prices, which the consumer then raises, at their discretion, in the form of a tip. It is circular logic.

These anachronistic practices are kept in place partly by misguided organizations that fight for the profits of business owners (such as myself). The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association routinely lobbies for the preservation of the tip credit, which allows businesses with tipped employees to circumvent the minimum wage (in Michigan, $3.84/hour vs. $10.10/hour). In 2018, the MRLA successfully prevented the MI One Fair Wage Ballot Proposal from reaching the ballot— an initiative that would have had the 2022 minimum wage at $12/hour and the tip credit effectively eliminated by 2024. They proudly prevented voters from voicing their opinion that workers should be protected. In their own words: “As demonstrated in other states, if the MI One Fair Wage ballot proposal had gone to the November 2018 General Election Ballot, it would have passed with overwhelming support.”

y name is Alec. Since 2016, my wife (chef) Lindsay and I have owned and operated GROW Café + Bistro, a contemporary American brunch and lunch spot in downtown Saugatuck. In 2022, we moved to a gratuity-free model. Yes, that’s right: No more tips. For a moment, I’d like to ask you to set aside your preconceptions and reconsider the accepted notions of restaurant tipping (and pricing) culture in our country.WHAT NEXT?

The solution is simple. We as restaurant owners should raise prices and give our employees the guaranteed wages they deserve. I submit that the gratuity-free model is essential to this new frontier—offering consistency and transparency in wages and pricing. It also eases the guest’s burden of higher prices; the amount you see is the amount you pay.

To again reference the MRLA’s statistics, the restaurant industry has “razor-thin profit margins of just 4 percent.” Please understand that in no way am I implying that restaurants should raises prices to increase profit margins. Our business is one rooted not in greed but in creativity and hospitality. The best of us feel fortunate to exist.

In raising prices, the power is in solidarity. Admittedly however, in the challenging business of restaurants, it is difficult to see the forest for the trees. With tiny margins, a new refrigerator may be the difference between a quarter in the red and one in the black. Naysayers ask: how can we pay our employees more if we can’t even afford our fixed costs? To impel these wage changes, legislation is needed to enact higher minimum wages for all employees. Remember, higher wages are the will of the people. These forced wages will force higher prices across the board—the solidarity we’re looking for.

At GROW, we’re being the change we want to see. If restaurants adapt higher prices and a gratuity-free model, I believe the guests will still come, and their experiences will ultimately improve. While your burger will cost a few more dollars, the employee that smashed it on the griddle can (and deserves to) afford rent. The restaurant you sat in? That neighborhood anchoring, job providing, passion project? It will live to see another service. Thank you for that. ■

SOMETHING NOT SO ROTTEN

at GR Civic Theatre

After other such entertaining productions as School of Rock, Mary Poppins, and Once On This Island, the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is finishing out their mainstage season with yet another musical: “Something Rotten!”. A nominee for the Tony Awards’ Best Musical in 2015, Something Rotten! is a musical farce with endless anachronistic quips revolving around its central antagonist: William Shakespeare. For two unknown, dissatisfied playwrights living in the 1590s, grasping fame means somehow escaping the shadow of this rockstar, The Bard himself.

“The central character, Nick, is trying to run a theatre, he’s trying to compete against the celebrity of his day, which in this case happens to be William Shakespeare,” said Bruce Tinker, executive director of Civic Theatre and director of Something Rotten!. “But he’s trying to survive, and he kind of goes out of his way to take a shortcut. The chaos that ensues from that, that’s where I don’t want to give too much away.”

Whether it’s getting entangled in conflict with the British authorities

or a growing wave of judgemental Puritans, the story of Something Rotten! certainly twists and turns in ways you may not expect, and a variety of warring personalities amongst its eccentric cast of characters leads to the show’s memorable and hilariously unexpected finale.

“It really has fun with the concept of a musical,” Tinker said. “There are nonsensical parts of them. Some people can’t get past the fact that someone just stops and starts singing.”

Indeed, the absurdity of musical theatre itself is one of Something Rotten!’s major storylines. For the Bottom Brothers (Nick and Nigel), the popular markets of tragedy and romance seem to be monopolized by their great adversary, William Shakespeare. But, after seeking help from an unexpected source, Nick Bottom forms an epiphany on what the future of contemporary theatre may be: Musicals. And while Nick continues down his path toward usurping The Bard, his brother, Nigel, pursues a newfound love in the character Portia, a Puritan woman. Their duet, “I Love the Way”, is a funny, innuendo-filled love song, revealing each character’s deepest

desire. Scenes likes these exhibit alarmingly direct humor that shares similarities with some of the best examples of musical comedy in the past 20 years, from The Producers to The Book of Mormon.

“One of our alums, Kate Reinders, initiated the role of Portia in the Broadway show, which is one of the principles,” Tinker said. “So anytime one of our Civic children is out there, we hear what their big project coming up is.”

While big, spectacular musical productions are a reliable commodity within Civic Theatre, their fondest supporters and passionate performers would likely agree that what makes the company special is this same trait: The lifelong community and bond Civic Theatre fosters. With hundreds of volunteers involved onstage, backstage, and right in their front box office lobby, this theatre truly enables the community its surrounded by to contribute toward wonderful, theatrical art.

“What’s remarkable about community theatre is these are your friends and neighbors, and they’re really good,” Tinker said. “They can sing, they can dance, they can act, and

they can make you feel something. Because they’re really good.”

The result is a fine-tuned musical production with gut-busting segments of ridiculous dance breaks and group numbers, from a fun romp through The Black Death to William Shakespeare’s sonnet-filled rock song. And, while all of England seems enraptured by The Bard’s star power, Nick Bottom struggles to find his own way to the top. As he pushes away his ethics in favor of his own pride, the loved ones he’s surrounded by and their relationships with him are tested. Since Nick already sees himself as someone at the bottom, he’s willing to do anything to win.

“He tells his wife and his brother that they can’t help him, and he has to do everything himself,” Tinker said. “I think there’s a little message there, too. It pokes the bear of the misogyny that was rife in Elizabethan England at the time.”

Of course, this sort of misogyny in characters like Nick is one of the main ideas our heroes must understand and grow from throughout Something Rotten!, including other lessons around deceit and standing up against the ones you love.

“It modernizes the topics,” Tinker said. “There’s a lot of anachronism, which that’s okay, since there’s this great commentary and satire as a result of that. I think it’s highly entertaining, but it does have a few things to say.”

The musical’s madcap group numbers and raunchy one-liners will have you roaring in the seats and humming each song on your drive home.

“The memories are all based on the cast and crew, they’re all based on the volunteers,” Tinker said. “It’s an incredible experience when you get 20 to 60 people who have this event to share with their friends and neighbors, in the case of community theatre. It’s humbling to be a part of all that.” ■

SOMETHING ROTTEN!

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre

30 N. Division Ave., Grand Rapids April 28-May 21 grct.org

| by Zachary Avery

One hundred years ago, a play called God of Vengeance made its Broadway debut.

Written by Sholem Asch, it told the story of a Jewish brothel owner looking to join respectable society. The play featured prostitution and lesbian love, not common subjects for the time; upon reading it, fellow writer I.L. Peretz urged Asch to burn the manuscript. Asch refused.

New York Yiddish newspapers were divided by the play: some described it as “filthy” and “immoral,” while others praised it as “moral” and “beautiful.”

A little over two weeks after its Broadway premiere, the cast, producer, and one of the theater owners were arrested for obscenity. The chief witness of

GETTING INDECENT with Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids

| by John Kissane

the play, Rabbi Joseph Silberan, said of God of Vengeance that the play “libels the Jewish religion. Even the greatest anti-Semite could not have written such a thing.”

That controversy is explored in Indecent, a 2015 play written by Paula Vogel. It’s onstage at Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids April 20th – April 30th. Vogel’s play takes place over more than four decades, carrying the story from its 1906 origins, through the stage productions and their attendant controversy, and to the wake of the House Unamerican Activities Committee, in 1952.

Caitlin Hart, director of JTGR’s production, spoke to Revue. She sees a great deal of contemporary relevance in the play. “Censorship is still with us,”

she said. “There are lots of plays being pulled. Indecent itself was pulled recently.”

It’s true; in January, Duval County Public School canceled a production of Indecent, stating that the play is inappropriate. Vogel spoke out against the decision, as did several free speech organizations, including Pen America. In a statement, the organizations praised the play’s exploration of themes related to LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, censorship, and anti-Semitism, and said that “if vaguely defined ‘adult sexual dialogue’ is reason enough to ban plays from school productions,” Romeo and Juliet, Oedipus Rex, and other works of lasting literary merit would be banned as well.

Those themes, and their social

relevance, drew Hart to the production; she prefers works with something to say. She was drawn as well by the structure. “It’s very feminine, for lack of a better term,” she said. “It doesn’t have the traditional point-topoint plot structure.”

It’s a challenging play to produce. Multiple languages are spoken; multiple dialects within those languages are employed. (Fortunately for audience members, Vogel requires titles to be used; without them, most viewers would be lost). A band plays onstage throughout the show. Each actor plays different characters.

Music is key to the show. “It’s its own character,” Hart said. “It brings it all together.” Music is fundamental to Judaism, a

presence at joyous familial and community celebrations. In the play, that music is used, at times, with irony: a contrast to break your heart.

Indecent offers audience members a thought-provoking play dealing with themes that are still all too relevant and a remarkable piece of stagecraft demonstrating how much talent we have in our city. It offers, too, a bit of advice: what they don’t want you to see is often what you most need to see. ■

INDECENT

Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids 2727 Michigan NE, Grand Rapids April 20-30 jtgr.org

Mary Rademacher & Katherine Searcy, Mike Smolinski & Noah King-Bates, Mike Dodge & Ashley Kooistra. COURTESY PHOTOS

On View: May 1-6, 2023

Opening Reception: May 2 / 4-7 PM

Explore

17

| by Revue Staff

APRIL ARTS Calendar

In 2023, arts organizations are largely back on their feet and offering full seasons of art, conversations, fun and community involvement. The season ahead has an incredible lineups of concerts, symphonies, dance performances, art exhibitions, musicals, plays and more. This month, you can visit the ballet for a classic tale of love and loss, the symphony for an incredible piano concerto, and the theater for a certain beloved musical with a controversial film adaptation. Check it out.

FARMERS ALLEY THEATRE KALAMAZOO

221 Farmers Alley, Kalamazoo farmersalleytheatre.com

CHICKEN & BISCUITS, April 21-May 7

FONTANA CHAMBER ARTS

359 Kalamazoo Mall Ste. 200, Kalamazoo fontanamusic.org

CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER,  April 28

FRAUENTHAL CENTER

425 W. Western Ave., Muskegon frauenthal.org

NORSE BEATS 2023, April 20-21

GILMORE THEATRE/ WMU THEATRE

1903 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo wmich.edu/theatre

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, April 7-16

GRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM

101 Monroe Center, Grand Rapids artmuseumgr.org

PRESENCE: THE PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION OF JUDY GLICKMAN LAUDER, Through April 29

RETHINKING MONUMENTS: AMERICAN SCULPTURE IN ITS TIME, Through April 8

GRAND RAPIDS BALLET

341 Ellsworth Ave. SW, Grand Rapids grballet.com

BALLET + BROADWAY, April 21-30

GRAND RAPIDS CIVIC THEATRE

30 N. Division Ave., Grand Rapids grct.org

SOMETHING ROTTEN!, April 28-May 21

GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY

300 Ottawa Ave. NW Ste. 100, Grand Rapids grsymphony.org

BRASS TRANSIT: THE MUSICAL LEGACY OF CHICAGO,  April 1 HAYDN’S LONDON,  April 14

PROHIBITION: THE RISE OF THE JAZZ AGE,  April 21-22 DVOŘÁK 7 + SITAR CONCERTO,  April 28-29

HOLLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

96 W. 15th St. Ste. 201, Holland  hollandsymphony.org

ROMANTIC MASTERPIECES,  Apr. 22

KALAMAZOO INSTITUTE OF ARTS

314 South Park St., Kalamazoo kiarts.org

ART, MUSIC & FEMINISM IN THE 1950S, Through May 7 EXPRESSIONS IN PAPER AND CLAY, Through May 14

LINES THAT…, Through June 11

KALAMAZOO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

359 Kalamazoo Mall Ste. 100, Kalamazoo kalamazoosymphony.com

CRAFT MUSIC, April 5

BRAHMS: A REQUIEM TO HOPE, April 15 AFTERNOON ON BROADWAY, April 30

MILLER AUDITORIUM

2200 Auditorium Dr, Kalamazoo millerauditorium.com

OUR PLANET LIVE IN CONCERT, April 5

MUSKEGON MUSEUM OF ART

296 W. Webster Ave., Muskegon muskegonartmuseum.org

GOLDEN LEGACY: 80 YEARS OF ORIGINAL ARTWORK FROM GOLDEN BOOKS, Through April 30

DAVID LUBBERS: THE MYSTERIOUS LANDSCAPE, Through May 14

POSTCARD SALON 2023, April 1-21

SAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS

400 Culver St., Saugatuck sc4a.org

THE JOURNAL PROJECT, Through May 12 HOME BODY, Through May 12

ST. CECILIA MUSIC CENTER  24 Ransom Ave. NE, Grand Rapids  scmc-online.org

EAT, DRINK, BE MERRY, April 22

JOSHUA DAVIS, April 27

WEST MICHIGAN SYMPHONY

360 W. Western Ave. Ste. 200, Muskegon  westmichigansymphony.org

LOUIS ARMSTRONG TRIBUTE, April 28

FESTIVAL GUIDE FESTIVAL GUIDE

Art

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair

Kalamazoo | June 2-3 kiarts.org

This annual start to summer in Kalamazoo began 72 years ago and it’s back once again, featuring the work of over 100 fine artists, music, food trucks and a beer garden filling Bronson Park.

Festival of the Arts

Grand Rapids | June 2-4 festivalgr.org

Grand Rapids’ biggest celebration of local art, music and food is one of the longestrunning festivals in the state. Completely free to the public, it features six music stages, plus theater, poetry, dance and much more.

Grand Haven Art Festival

Grand Haven | June 23-25 grandhavenchamber.org/ grand-haven-art-festival

Lakeshore Art Festival  Muskegon | June 24-25 lakeshoreartfestival.org

South Haven Art Fair South Haven | July 1-2 southhavenarts.org

West Shore Art Fair Ludington | July 1-2 visitludington.com

Sand Sculpture Contest Grand Haven | August 12 grandhavenchamber.org/ sand-sculpture-contest

Art on the Riverfront Grand Haven | August 19 galleryuptown.net

ArtPrize 2.0

Grand Rapids | Sept. 14-Oct. 1 artprize.org

Beer + Wine

Donut and Beer Fest Grand Rapids | May 6 donutandbeerfest.com

Suds on the Shore Ludington | August 19 sudsontheshore.com

Burning Foot Beer Festival Muskegon | August 26 burningfoot.beer

Burning Foot Beer Festival is a celebration of beer, beach, art, and music. The festival is held in August along Lake Michigan’s beautiful lakeshore in Muskegon, offering the perfect way to end the summer. Beach camping and barefoot entry make it unique, the Brewers’ Ring makes it extraordinary.

Paw Paw Wine and Harvest Festival Paw Paw | September 8-10 wineandharvestfestival.com

Oktoberfest GR Grand Rapids | September 29-30 oktoberfestgr.com

Music

Beaver Island Music Festival

Beaver Island | July 20-22 bimf.net

Head by plane or boat to Beaver Island for a music festival like none other. Family friendly activities, games, food, camping, and of course, lots of music! This year’s lineup includes Rags and Riches, The Rubies, Aqua Cherry and more.

Buttermilk Jamboree

Delton | June 16-18 circlepinescenter.org

A three-day showcase of regional musicians, Buttermilk benefits the Circle Pines Center, a nonprofit working toward peace, social justice and environmental cooperation.

B-93 Birthday Bash 30 Lowell | June 17 b93.com

Electric Forest Rothbury | June 22-25 electricforestfestival.com

Ludrock Ludington | July 8-9 ludrock.com

Lansing Jazzfest Lansing | August 2-3 jazzlansing.com

Michigan Bluesfest Lansing | September 21-23 michiganbluesfest.com

Smiling Acres Music Festival

Trufant | June 30-July 2 smilingacres.org

Unity Christian Music Festival

Muskegon| August 9-12 unitymusicfestival.com

Shagbark Music & Arts Festival

Caledonia | August 3-5 facebook.com/shagbarkfarmmi

Hoxeyville Music Festival Wellston | August 18-20 hoxeyville.com

Sprawling across 150 acres of farmland surrounded by Manistee National Forest, this naturally tranquil fest in Northern Michigan boasts some of the best roots music around, including Marcus King, The Wood Brothers, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, and more.

Breakaway Music Festival Grand Rapids | August 18-19 breakawayfestival.com

This annual two-day festival brings a variety of hip-hop and electronic to in Grand Rapids’ Belknap Park.

Upheaval Festival Grand Rapids | July 14-15 upheavalfest.com

Wheatland Music Festival Remus | September 8-10 wheatlandmusic.org

Wheatland is more than a music festival, it’s a nonprofit and a community organization. Every fall, the main event comes around, bringing folk artists from all over to West Michigan.

Walk The Beat Grand Haven | August 12 walkthebeat.org

Cultural

Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival

Grand Rapids | June 9-11 grapf.org

The annual Asian-Pacific Festival celebrates as much Asian and PacificIslander culture as it possibly can in one weekend. You’ll find traditional attires, martial arts demonstrations, fashion shows, Luau and much more, including (of course) all kinds of Asian-Pacific food.

Irish Festival

Kalamazoo | June 18 kalamazooirish.org

Danish Festival Greenville | August 16-20 danishfestival.org

Black Arts Festival Kalamazoo | July 8 blackartskalamazoo.org

Support black art, literature, businesses and people with this celebration full of music, dancing, food and much more.

Caribbean Festival Battle Creek | July 15 battlecreeklive.com

Yassou! Greek Cultural Festival Grand Rapids | August 18-20 grgreekfest.com

Michigan Irish Music Festival

Muskegon | September 14-17 michiganirish.org

Everyone and everything is a little bit Irish here. Indulge in Irish cuisine, shop Irish goods and learn about the culture, all while dancing and singing along to incredible music.

Tulip Time Festival Holland | May 6-14 tuliptime.com

Food

National Asparagus Festival Hart | June 10 nationalasparagusfestival.org

Cereal Festival Battle Creek | June 10 bcfestivals.com

Taste of Muskegon Muskegon | June 9-10 tasteofmuskegon.org

All the best food and family fun fills Muskegon’s Hackley Park, including beer, powerboats, music, bounce houses and more.

National Cherry Festival Traverse City | July 1-8 cherryfestival.org

National Baby Food Festival

Fremont | July 19-22 fremontcommerce.com

National Blueberry Festival

South Haven | August 10-13 blueberryfestival.com

Kalamazoo Ribfest Kalamazoo | August 4-5 kalamazooribfest.com

Restaurant Week GR

Grand Rapids | November TBA experiencegr.com

Try a new taste with special deals at area restaurants during this week-long celebration of the art of fine dining.

Film

Japanese Animation Film and Art Expo

Grand Rapids | June 9-11 jafax.org

JAFAX is back this year with cosplaying, board games, guest artists from the fantastical worlds of anime and manga, and more.

Grand Rapids Film Festival

Grand Rapids | September 22-24 grandrapidsfilmfestival.com

Traverse City Film Festival

Traverse City | July 29-August 3 traversecityfilmfdest.org

Eclectic

GRIDLIFE Midwest

South Haven | June 2-4 grid.life/midwest-tickets

Kalamazoo Pride

Kalamazoo | June 2-3 pride.outfrontkzoo.org

Greater Grand Rapids Pride Festival Grand Rapids | June 17 grpride.org

Celebrating the LGBTQ community, this year’s Pride Festival will have all the music, performers, rainbows and other fun of years prior, with local bands performing.

Harborfest

South Haven | June 16-17 southhavenharborfest.com

Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival

Battle Creek | June 29-July 4 bcballoons.com

Dozens of hot air balloons from around the world join forces with hypersonic jets, food, fair rides and other family fun.

Riverwalk Fest

Lowell | July 6-8 riverwalkfestival.org

Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival Grand Haven| July 28-August 6 coastguardfest.org

Honoring the men and women of the United States Coast Guard, this festival celebrates with ship tours, live music, food, a carnival and street dancing throughout Grand Haven.

Red Barns Spectacular

Hickory Corners | August 5 gilmorecarmuseum.org

Michigan Fiber Festival  Allegan | August 16-20 michiganfiberfestival.info

Arts and Drafts Festival

Norton Shores | August 19 shoresartsanddrafts.com

Confluence Festival

Grand Rapids | September 22-23 confluencefest.com