Bon Iver, National, Staples, Headlining Mo Pop

Moder Rock

By Kristi Kates | July 7, 2018

The Mo Pop Music Festival is heading back to Detroit, specifically to West Riverfront Park for this year’s outing (July 28–29), where they’ll be cranking out the jams right across the river from Canada. In a festival setting full of a wide variety of food and beverages — plus free arcade games — you’ll be able to catch standout live sets from the likes of Bon Iver (pictured), Portugal. The Man, Vince Staples, The National, and many, many more…

West side Grand Rapids venue 741 (formerly known as Kuzzins Lounge, 741 Leonard St. NW) has been in business since the 1950s, and it was recently taken over by Kevin Farhat and Third Coast Development. Farhat and his crew started the process of revamping and amping up the venue late last year, with the intention to give more stage time to local bands. Live music nights started at 741 a couple of months ago, featuring such local GR performers as The Westside Rebellion, Feral Frankensteins, and Maggie May. They’re planning to continue live music all summer on Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm …

The Grammy Salute to Music Legends will be happening later this week (July 14) at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Presented by The Recording Academy, these are live acknowledgements of the 2018 Special Merit Awards recipients via an awards ceremony and live tribute concert. This year’s honorees are Emmylou Harris, The Meters, Queen, Tina Turner, Neil Diamond, Louis Jordan, and Hal Blaine. Also being honored are John Williams, Bill Graham, and Seymour Stein; Technical Grammy Award winners Richard Factor and Tony Agnello; and Music Educator honoree Melissa Salguero …

Death Cab for Cutie is set to return with its ninth studio album, Thank You For Today, on Aug. 17 on Atlantic Records. The set, which includes singles “Gold Rush” and “When We Drive,” was produced by Muse/Fiona Apple collaborator Rich Costey (who also produced the band’s last album, Kintsugi), and includes DCC’s newest band members, Zac Rae and Dave Depper, who joined the touring version of the band in 2015 after founding member Chris Walla departed. Death Cab is getting its summer festival appearances underway now, and will then embark on a fall tour of North America, and then a trek through Mexico and South America in November …

LINK OF THE WEEK
Apple has purchased the worldwide rights to the new Ed Sheeran documentary, Songwriter, with plans for the doc, which includes footage of recording sessions and recorded/live versions of songs like “Perfect,” “Galway Girl,” and “Shape of You,” to be screened in theaters as well as on Apple’s digital platforms …

THE BUZZ
Grand Rapids band Olivia Mainville and The Aquatic Troupe is in Los Angeles recording at EastWest Studios, known for sessions by the likes of The Mamas and The Papas and Nancy Sinatra …
Shows are getting booked for the Wharton Center in East Lansing, including November shows by The Dustbowl Revival (Nov. 1), Steve Martin and Martin Short (Nov. 4) and the Soweto Gospel Choir (Nov. 18) …
The Common Ground Music Festival is happening this week in Lansing, with performances from Halsey, Gucci Mane, Logic, and more …
Jessie J will be in concert Oct. 14 at the Royal Oak Music Theater … and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

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