SuburbsFest Grand Rapids

I attended one evening of one day of the annual Rockin' the Suburbs SuburbsFest. Having already blown through 96 or so hours of vacation time for Europe, I wasn't sure I'd have enough for two days, plus I need to save up for trips to Baltimore and Savannah. So even though the fest was in Michigan (or maybe because the fest was in Michigan) I only went for one day. I'm not sure why I feel the need to explain myself, but there it is.

The one night I was there (Saturday night) I was pretty, pretty, pretty good (as Larry David might say). I saw several podcast friends, as well as the RTS "house band" Frank Muffin, the Stick Arounds (from Lansing), and an excellent young band from GR/west Michigan called Money Soup. When I say they're young, I mean it. I'm not sure any of them are over 21 years old. They play a funk/soul/jazz/pop hybrid and write their own material. I'm astounded at how good they are at such young ages. Their drummer, Lainey, is a pure jazz drummer and is phenomenal. Maybe it's my own entrenched ageism and/or misogyny, but I never expected that this cute young blonde woman would rule her kit like Elvin Jones. The rest of the band has equal or almost equal chops, AND they write their own material. I'm not sure if their style of music will result in commercial success, but they have the talent to have long careers in music.

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