Modern Rock

Beach Boys Help Celebrate The Fourth

By Kristi Kates | July 1, 2017

A Capitol Fourth, the free annual concert performed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. in celebration of Independence Day will feature classic ’60s California-rockers The Beach Boys, Broadway actress Phillipa Soo, Disney Channel actress Sofia Carson, country performer Trace Adkins, and this year’s The Voice winner, Chris Blue. A Capitol Fourth will air on PBS on July 4 …

Some great music shows are heading our way locally and downstate. Two to watch in the Grand Rapids area are the St. Cecilia Music Center’s jazz series and its sister acoustic café folk series. Hosted by Acoustic Café radio show host Rob Reinhart, the unplugged side of the series will bring in returning virtuoso guitarist Leo Kottke on Oct. 26 and folk singer Judy Collins on Feb. 1, 2018, with additional shows soon to be announced. The jazz series starts on Nov. 16 with a performance from Christian McBride, and will also include shows from Gregory Porter, Brad Mehldau, and Kurt Elling …

Last week we mentioned that U2 added a Detroit tour stop to its current trek (Sept. 3 at Ford Field); this week you can snag a massive box set of their The Joshua Tree album (the one they’ll be playing in its entirety on this tour) that includes the original album, plus a previously-unreleased concert recording from a show in New York City, B-sides, outtakes, new remixes by the likes of producers Jacknife Lee, Daniel Lanois, and Flood, and a book of photography by U2’s guitarist The Edge …

Electronica artist Bonobo, known for scoring TV shows like House of Cards and The Newsroom, has hardly cooled off since releasing his sixth studio album, Migration, earlier this year; he’s already releasing a new three-track EP titled Bambro Koyo Ganda, which includes much of Bonobo’s tribal influences and also includes a collaboration with the NYC-Moroccan musical collective Innov Gnawa. The first single, “Samurai,” is stuffed with layers of electronic sounds, and can be heard on streaming services now …

THE BUZZ
The new Arcadia Ales Riversedge Summer Music Series is underway In Kalamazoo, with one big show taking place each month this summer. On July 22 the headliner will be Red Sea Pedestrians, Aug. 12 will feature The Crane Wives, and Sept. 16 will feature The Go Rounds, with each night also including support acts …
Michigan pop-rock band Parti! played its first live show back in March at the Pike Room in Pontiac, and now its reportedly working on some new music with plans for at least a single release later this year …
The 16-year-old Marshall, Michigan blues-rock guitarist Jake Kershaw, who’s been called a “guitar wunderkind,” will release his first album, Piece of My Mind, this month …

Detroit rapper Nolan Chapman, aka Nolan the Ninja, is set to release his sophomore full-length album, Yen, this upcoming September …

The 39th Hiawatha Music Festival is set for July 21–23 in Marquette, with performances from The Sweet Water Warblers, Sone de Mexico Ensemble, The Barley Jacks, The Bucking Mules, and more … 

Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.