Bryan Bolea, Author at Bluegrass Today

Sarah Jarosz in Kalamazoo, MI

Sarah Jarosz Band at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI (7/11/24) – photo © Bryan Bolea

Sarah Jarosz at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI (7/11/24) – photo © Bryan Bolea

Despite a sketchy weather forecast, a near capacity crowd of ardent Sarah Jarosz fans filled Bell’s Brewery’s outdoor venue in Kalamazoo, MI long before she took the stage. Singing along and interacting with Ms. Jarosz throughout, these fans were not at all bothered by a little rain, the faint smell of a non-too happy skunk, or a few trains passing right behind the stage – the last of which blew its whistle just as Ms. Jarosz and the band hit the last beat of their much demanded encore.

An employee was overheard saying to another, “I’ve never seen a crowd stay so engaged with an artist through the whole show. She has them in her palm.”

Billy Strings and the Van Andel Scramble

Hulk Hogan, aka Billy Strings, at the Van Andel Scramble (11/1/23) – photo © Bryan Bolea

Last night in Grand Rapids, MI, Billy Strings threw a Halloween party for himself and about 12,000 of his closest friends at the Van Andel Arena. Billed as the Van Andel Scramble, the theme was professional wrestling, with Billy done up in highly convincing Hulk Hogan attire, and his bandmates – and special guests – following suit. The audience was encouraged to participate as well.

Bryan Bolea was on hand with his cameras, and shared this terrific gallery of images from the show, where the stage was set up as though it was a wrestling match, and Billy and his guests were introduced WWE-style, complete with commentators ringside.

As Billy’s team hustles out pit photographers after the first few songs, with only the team’s official shooter, Jesse Faatz, allowed to continue, they were kind enough to share a few more photos of the various guest artists who joined mid-concert.

Billy Strings at The Pine Knob in Clarkson, MI

Billy Strings at The Pine Knob in Clarkson, MI (6/16/23) – photo © Bryan Bolea

With a heavy out-of-state RV and VW bus presence in the parking lot, inspired tailgating all around, and grilled quesadillas on Shakedown Street (sorry, no grilled cheese), it was clear that Friday’s sold out crowd was in full festival mode before Billy Strings even thought of taking the stage. And, the vibe only intensified as he did, as most of the crowd was on its feet for the duration of the two set, three hour show that bounced between traditional bluegrass and his guitar driven jamgrass/psychedelic stuff.

Strings seemed to enjoy playing in his home state, and one of the loudest cheers of the night came when he said he was going to make a point of getting back more often.

Greensky Bluegrass at The Intersection in Grand Rapids

Greensky Bluegrass in Grand Rapids, MI (2/22/23) – photo © Bryan Bolea

With a slow moving ice storm closing schools, knocking out power, and making driving treacherous (and walking worse), the boys of Greensky Bluegrass and the management of The Intersection surely considered cancelling Wednesday’s show. But a badass Michigan band can’t let a little winter weather stop them, and you don’t cancel “Casual Wednesday,” so they plowed on and, from the looks of things, nearly everyone who had purchased a ticket to the sold out show showed up.

Whether because of the storm, because it was a midweek show, or because there was not an opener, it seemed like it took a bit to get everyone’s heart rate up, but after a few songs, the band and the crowd began to feed off each other, and for a few hours, it was Spring and we were at a festival.

Billy Strings in Kalamazoo

Billy Strings at K Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, MI (11/3/22) – photo © Bryan Bolea

This past Thursday, Billy Strings brought his powerhouse bluegrass show to Kalamazoo, MI at the K Wings Stadium, home of the Kalamazoo Wings ECHL hockey team.

Bryan Bolea made the trip as well and shared this gallery of images from the show.

Full Cord Bluegrass at Founders Brewery in Grand Rapids

Full Cord Bluegrass at Founder’s Brewery in Grand Rapids, MI (9/16/22) – photo © Bryan Bolea

Winning this year’s Telluride Bluegrass Contest put West Michigan-based Full Cord Bluegrass on more fans’ radar, and their music on more cultivated playlists, than ever before. Their inclusion as a 2022 IBMAA Momentum Band Award Nominee, and upcoming performances there, will only accelerate this growth.

So it was very cool to see the band play a show for its loyal and dedicated “hometown” fans at Founder’s Brewery on September 16. Sitting in with the band on banjo, and accompanying them to Virginia the following week, was George Guthrie (formerly of the Wooks).

Founding member Katie Kirchner also joined the group on vocals for several songs during the show

Arkansauce at Bells’ Brewery in Kalamazoo

Arkansauce at Bells’ Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI (8/26/22) – photo © Bryan Bolea

Kalamazoo, MI will always have a warm spot in the minds of bluegrass musicians for being the birthplace of Gibson banjos and mandolins, the instruments that defined the bluegrass sound in the 1930s and ’40s. Though Gibson has long since decamped to Nashville, the mention of Kalamazoo still brings a smile.

On August 26, Arkansauce brought their modern bluegrass show to Kalamazoo for an appearance at Bell’s Brewery. Bryan Bolea was on hand and has shared this gallery of images from the show.

His comments on the show…

“Arkansauce made its way to the indoor stage at Bell’s Brewery last Friday where a mix of longtime fans sporting T-shirts from previous tours called for their favorites, and a group of first timers bounced to old favorites turned new like the band’s bluegrass version of Billy Idol’s White Wedding.”

You can always see more of Bryan’s photos online.

Photos from Béla Fleck’s Bluegrass Happening in Grand Rapids

Photographer Bryan Bolea was on hand when Béla Fleck brought his Bluegrass Happening Tour to the Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapid, MI.

The tour included Béla’s superstar My Bluegrass Heart band – featuring Sierra Hull, Michael Cleveland, Bryan Sutton, and Mark Schatz – along with the Sam Bush Band and the Jerry Douglas Band. Needless to say, there was plenty of interaction with everyone sitting in with everyone else.

The brief Happening tour has concluded, but there are still many My Bluegrass Heart supergroup shows scheduled for the rest of this year.

Old Crow Medicine Show in Grand Rapids

Old Crow Medicine Show high-stepped their way into Meijer Gardens’ amphitheater from stage left and quickly let the sold out crowd know it was time to party. While the band’s characteristic banter and hijinks can sometimes make it seem that the lug nuts are about to come off, its musicianship, song selections, and willingness to address serious and potentially controversial matters always brings order to the chaos. It was notable that, aside from Wagon Wheel, the crowd’s biggest response came after a solemn song written and performed in support of the citizens of Ukraine.

Jaime Wyatt opened the night with a very strong and engaging performance which included many songs off her recent Neon Cross album.

Josh Rilko photos from The Listening Room in Grand Rapids

Josh Rilko and his bluegrass mates carved time from their other ongoing projects for a brief five stop tour that concluded with a June 6 show at Listening Room in Grand Rapids, MI. Little jokes, steady eye contact, relaxed body language, and easy rotations around the center mic for appreciated solos combined to make it seem that the boys really enjoyed the opportunity to play together.

Some of the most interesting performances of the night were bluegrass arrangements of songs off the “rock and roll” side of his 2021 double EP Lost Soul/Rock and Roll, such as Lost Soul.