koipondcondo bio

Connor Gregory is koipondcondo, but koipondcondo is not Connor Gregory. It is dense, patient, atmospheric headphone-intensive sound in a world dominated by 30 second clips. It is an accessible slab of modern progressive music, recommended for fans of Tool or Porcupine Tree, but with a sweetness and clarity of purpose born in the unique collaborative environment of west Michigan. Debut EP, i:Know, released on Halloween 2022, was recorded with Kevin Kozel at Third Coast in Grand Haven, and mastered with Ian Gorman at La Luna in Kalamazoo. Planned as the first in a trilogy, it features a murderers' row of top players: Geoff Hansen (Melophobix, Shimmie Pearl) charting vocals, strings, and horns; also featuring Kevin Kozel, Dutcher Snedeker, Nate Hansen, Jordan Hamilton, Ashley Kooistra, Steve Harris, and in a tour de force master class of drumming, Scott Pellegrom. These epic compositions explore the nature of consciousness and understanding: what makes us...us? Connor's massive sonic ideas are made reality in these spiraling sonic tornadoes, dropping masterful instrumental interludes and vocal harmonies along their path like so many windborne Buicks. Come along for the ride: you may end up somewhere you never planned to go, but what a wild journey.

Harvest Gathering Bios 2023

It can seem odd to see Alex Teller in full color and not in sepia tones. The Lansing based troubadour's warm, lived in voice and guitar tones evoke a distant American past, and times not necessarily simpler but certainly less frenetic. Living is hard but always worth it in Alex Teller's songs, and love is right around the corner, hopefully bearing fresh baked biscuits.

Have you ever seen a herd of bassists raining thunder upon a defenseless northern meadow? Well, here's your chance.  Basses Loaded is a preposterous assemblage of as many bass players as possible, jamming their little four-string hearts out, en masse. This extremely rare phenomenon returns to Harvest Gathering after a 16 year absence. Are you ready to be rumbled?

Ditch Lily has a thing for loons. All their music pages feature donation links to help these beautiful but awkward and ungainly birds. And this is very much in character: Ditch Lily make handcrafted melodies that lurch and plink and bwang and do anything but what you expect. This is fun time music in the finest tradition of bedroom freak folk: as they put it, singalongs for the chronically sentimental. Albums available: Go Lightly (2020), By The Prairie Songs (2021), and numerous EPs and demos. James Champion, Willem Mudde, Zac Abid, Frankie Spring, and Leah Sienkowski make music with low stakes and high return on emotional investment. Come chill.

Elisabeth Pixley-Fink makes a lot of different noises: acoustic, electric, plaintive, strident, rockin', and soothing. But they all reflect a singular personality, a basic understanding that humans have emotional needs and they deserve to have them met. Whether making snotty garage rock with her brother, or tender minimalist folk with Sam Cooper (Hearth And Hymn, look for "Lullaby Bangers"), the sounds serve the story, and the story is what's in her heart, and yours. Available from the Kalamazoo bred, Ann Arbor based artist: the landmark Bloodroot (2013) and, later this year, the long awaited, triumphant Heartskin. Get in loser, we're going crying.

Emilee Petersmark has a central, semi-secret motivation: she's always angry. That doesn't mean she's not friendly or pleasant; it means she burns with compassion for the wronged and contempt for the wrongers. And she spares no wrath for herself, looking inward with razor sharp clarity, since only by exposing our uglier emotions can we come to terms with them, and move on to a healthier outlook. Though the Crane Wives are still very much a thing, Emilee will be stepping forward soon with a stunning set of solo songs, and this is your chance to hear them before most of the world. Come take a peek into the soul of a fierce and restless heart.

Emily Rose has been crafting her worlds in miniature for almost twenty years, and a whole village of songs rises above her, with eight Detroit Music Awards as tangible proof. Dense lyrical thickets and intricate guitar work are the building blocks of melancholic melodies that haunt all the forgotten corners of her native Detroit. These songs defend the powerless and sing the unsung. Available: Cocoon Stew (2009), Porchlight Tragical (2011), Wake Up Brave (2018), and numerous EPs and singles, including the new heartbreaker "Alma", as well as a book of poetry, Cemetery Tea Party. Accompanying Emily is Audra Kubat, a fiery and imposing presence who howls and croons with twenty years of earned intensity. These friends have collaborated often, the yin and yang of honey and vinegar making the best dang aural salad around.

Eric O'Daly, late of Ann Arbor's Appleseed Collective, paints aural pictures of places and times and moments spent and misspent, and sings them in an astonishing vocal range. Stepping out on his own solo, Eric is bravely mining his past and his present for the American music of the future. Debut EP, Catching Light, released last year to glowing reviews. Take heart and take flight across the indigo sky with a singular voice of crystal clarity.

Fake Baseball, having arisen from the Kalamazoo swamp, is living proof that deep weirdness still has a place in the hearts of the people. Like a heartland Beefheart with a big dollop of Thundercat, this is music to make you confused about how hard you're dancing. The roost is ruled by Maggie Heeren (vocals, guitar production, engineering), with Adam Danis of the Go Rounds (guitar, vocals), Jarad Selner of the Saxsquatch and Bridge Band (saxophone, percussion), Grayson Nye of Lushh (keys), Ethan Bouwsma (drums) and Matt Milowe of Cold Mountain Child (bass). Those assigned roles are by no means rigid, and on the amazing 2022 record, In With The Id Crowd, instruments are swapped and voices are blended with dizzying ease. Come bathe in a dreamscape conjured by eating rich food way too late at night. Come get drafted into Fake Baseball: they're way out of our league.

Tom and Angela Sheppard make meditative folk rock that whispers of the intersections between urban and rural, between the inner world and the wider horizon. Classical training harnessed to whimsy and adventure makes FeRn Whale a unique experience.

Funktion is a loose crew of Kalamazoo groove devotees, constructed around main man Andrew Schrock and the mighty horn of Terrence Massey, that has convened at more or less regular intervals since 2007 to bring you the hot sweaty funk and roll you didn't know you needed.

The music of G'itis Baggs has to be heard, preferably either live or through really good headphones, to be comprehended. Robust yet plaintive, fragile and built to last, ephemeral flourishes tied inextricably to rock solid melodies, with doodling all over the margins. A one time member of the Go Rounds, Kalamazoo's Grant Littler IS G'itis Baggs, and he is here to turn your world gently on its side and shake till the snow floats through the water. New single "Wounded Love" is out now, and an epic all star album is slated for release this year. Who is G'itis Baggs? Open your mind and come find out.

Grace Theisen has learned to stop apologizing for being herself. She will take up a lot of space, in fact she will wear heels. Her name is pronounced "Tyson," but she is not going to change it to make your life easier. She will revel in the sweet dirty Americana rocky twang sound she has settled on, whether you liked her old politer songs or not. She returned from Nashville to Kalamazoo, and will lead her own revolution of melody from here, thanks. Come down to the river with Grace Theisen, wild woman, and be baptized in your own power. Also,check out her new girl band, the Rebel Eves, when they come to your town. Now available from Grace Theisen: Down to the River EP (2021) and four new singles; the Rebel Eves' album is coming soon.

HuDost is music for passing between worlds: city and country, east and west, heaven and earth, Montreal and North Carolina. Moksha Sommer and Jemal Wade Himes bring love and light to a driving world music sound that makes room for the entire spectrum of human emotional experience. Also activists fighting extreme poverty, HuDost seeks a better world through the spreading of both melody and advocacy. Like a Charles de Lint novel come to life, this is folk music for a new age. Albums available: Eastern Rose Garden (2005), Seedling (2006), Trapeze (2009),Waking The Skeleton Key (2010), 4th Way Folk (2013), The Word Is... (2015, a collaboration with Steve Kilbey and featuring Jon Anderson of Yes), Sufi Kirtan (2015), Of Water+ Mercy (2019), and Anthems of Home (2021).

The music of Jessica Wolfbird is at once soothing, in its gentle evanescent permanence, and overwhelming, as in the sheer volume of material this classically trained free spirit has produced over the decades, also under the names Cloudlight and Jessica In the Rainbow. Newly rechristened Wolfbird, Jessica (based in St. Joseph) steps forward with a new focus, a renewed vigor, but happily the same dreamy voice and piano. New album, Everything's True, coming summer 2023.

In addition to her restless genre-hopping music, Jo Serrapere works as a psychotherapist. That may be why, even as you grin and stomp along with the good time music, universal emotional truths are whizzing by your head like lovingly blown poison darts. The sound this year will be primarily western swing and country inspired, showcasing Jo's original songs and country classics. Come on up to the farm for a hoedown of intimate proportions. New double album, first in seven years, coming soon!

Kait Rose is always moving, always restlessly propelling herself toward the next sung note, the next strummed chord; if you tied her feet together, I'm not sure she could play. That kinetic energy plays itself out across her music, a kind of Americana with a spiked brontosaurus tail, a land of wanderers and bad mothers and awe at the vastness of the universe. Never one thing, Kalamazoo's Kait also plays with the All American Funk Parade, tributes to Bob Dylan and Fleetwood Mac, and a newly launched Shania Twain revue. But her original tunes, introspective, haunting, and utterly original, keep you going back to the beginning of the album for one more spin. Seven albums to date, most recent being Balance (2022).

Kate Pillsbury tells the truth. The absolute truth. At all times. If she's being very quiet, it's because you don't need to hear it. But if she's singing it loud and clear, reverberating from the rooftops, best you pay attention and learn something, possibly about her, possibly about yourself. After being gifted a guitar by her songwriter dad as a teenager, she has followed her muse where it leads, primarily as co-leader of Grand Rapids' beloved Crane Wives. But songs have piled up that don't quite fit the band, more personal or sonically different, and Kate will soon let these out of her voice memos and into our heads and hearts via a solo album. On the farm this September we will have the rare chance to hear this emotional music, crooned or howled with fury, but always absolutely the gawds honest truth. Kate Pillsbury is coming out of her shell, and the shards will pierce the veil between you and the lies you tell yourself.

Kevin and Sierra LaRose, of Kingsley, began doing livestreams during the Rona as Our Selves, and are now stepping out into the world as LaRose. Sierra is an herbalist and educator; Kevin, an Interlochen alumnus, spent five years in the Lansing funk band The Blue Effect, and also plays with StoneFolk. These diverse influences are distilled down into folk music as pure as a northern Michigan stream.

You know what they say about books and covers. When Loren Johnson starts singing, you may be surprised by the deep warm rich sound that comes out of her slight frame, like being submerged in jalapeno honey. Her epic new album, years in the making, is called How To Change, and it's sprinkled with signposts, signifiers, and naked vulnerability about navigating to a place where your life should go, and how to cope once you get there. Loren, also a world class photographer, operates Sunfire Studios, an incubator of creativity for music, wellness, and imagery. Also available are 2 EPs: Into The Morning (2020) and Sleepsick (2016). Loren Johnson is a chronicler of the journey her mind takes while finding a better way to be home and free. Listen in.

miglodesh sounds like an ancient word, one that conjures up ancient rituals or sacred texts. But it was invented as a stage name for guitar wizard Mike Savina, to give his woozy sonic explorations a bit more exotic mystique.  (Mike is a perfectly good name, for the record.) miglodesh recordings conjure up arcane rituals performed under full moons, and miglodesh live performances melt faces as gently and melodically as possible. Time will only tell where this devotional dance music will end up, but come on out to the farm and get in on the ground floor.

Monte Pride does not deal in volume. His strummed melodies and hushed, haunting vocals rarely rise above the decibel level of a rushing brook. But you lean in, and you listen, and you learn something about yourself. These are lush and complex songs, but the dynamic is Extreem Introspection, not Party Time....not that you won't enjoy being baptized in Monte Pride's ambient soundscapes. Available from the Lansing artist: Hawthorne Morning Sound (2016) and Even In Absence (2020).

Moss Manor is a name that conjures a feeling: being enveloped, ensorceled, engulfed in the deep green of nature, usually but not always benevolent. Moss Manor is a Michigan supergroup comprised of three tall fellows with magnificent hair: Seth Bernard, activist tunesmith; Michael Dause, of Treeskin, and proprietor of TreeTone Studios; and Dan Rickabus, human grin/Crane Wives drummer. This music developed and circulated during the pandemic as a way to process some of that experience: the isolation, the return to nature, the rediscovery of free time, and the making of music for its own sake. And now, freed from their homes, Moss Manor is learning how to play their intricate songscapes in a live setting. Come on out and watch them construct a tower of melody in a very green world. Self titled album available now.

Nathan Walton touched down with a splash, on the big American Idol TV show. But since then, he has proven, over and over, that he can swim home on his own. A voice that conjures up hard times and good vibes, hard living and thanks-giving. A band, the Remedy, that is just stacked with talent from top to bottom, the prime vehicle to drive these messages home all night. Nathan Walton has the remedy for what ails ya with his pure American music. Available: Nathan Walton EP (2018), Childlike (2019), Nathan Walton and the Remedy (2021), Daybreak (2022) and Nightdrive (2022). From a growl to a whisper, from a gentle strum to a soulful roar, this is music for a great night out.

Normal Mode, three bespectacled young jazz wizards from Grand Rapids, wear a lot of NASA gear while performing. This is fitting, since their ethereal yet earthy sound is best heard in a planetarium as much as on a concert stage. You're bopping along, digging the groove, when you suddenly find yourself in outer space, hanging with Pluto: the planet or the dog, take your pick. Dutcher Snedeker on the keys, Ian Thompson on the bass, and Nathan Coles on the drums. Debut album, Downlink, escaped to the ionosphere at the end of 2021.

PHABIES is a name that leaves you no idea what to expect. Sounds kinda punk. Then the needle drops on their full length debut, "Fire Seed," and the sky around you explodes with technicolor visions of wildly growing vegetation and emotional kaleidoscope Rorschach tests. Laura Hobson leads this Grand Rapids quintet with a high winsome voice and a strong hand on the creative rudder, spinning an aesthetic that owes as much to Celine Dion as it does modern alternative rock. In short, this music has to be experienced, as an inoculation against cynicism, and a celebration of the fever dream of life.

Laik Abernathy Uticone, an extremely capable young human from Ithaca, NY, crafts music under the name Positive Wonderland, because that is what they hope to create on this earth: a DIY paradise of practical love and impractical dreams. In life, we must run toward the storm, toward the sunlight, toward the future. And sometimes barter with chickens.

Rachael Davis is a big personality with a huge voice. She might punch you in the shoulder within minutes of meeting you. She might fill a room with raucous, contagious laughter, both her own and yours. And she might bring you to your knees with her astonishing voice as it soars, whispers, pleads and demands your attention. Deep Michigan roots, Nashville's gain is our loss, but music travels everywhere. Albums available: Minor League Deities (2000), Live In Bremen, Germany (2004), Antebellum Queens (2008), Bandbox Jubilee (2014), plus releases with Shout Sister Shout! and The Sweet Water Warblers.

Liam Robinson and Jean Rohe have been combining their wondrous powers into a reliable source of neo-folk goodness for fifteen years now, with no signs of slowing down. They may live in Brooklyn, but their sound evokes mountain streams, barn raisings, and tasty casseroles. If that sounds snoozy, listen closer: these lyrics are sharp enough to draw blood if you don't handle them wisely. Each has an impressive list of accomplishments away from the duo, but together Robinson and Rohe create unforgettable magical melodies meant to burn like an autumn campfire. New album, Into The Night, now available from Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records.

John Mark Hanson is the driving force behind Saltbreaker, an organic ambient musical project that aims to tell tales and weave sonic tapestries that transport you great distances, all without the use of lyrics. The unique aspect of Saltbreaker is its acoustic approach to a genre often dominated by soulless bleeps and bloops. This is music for chilling out while lying face up in a woodland meadow, looking for shapes in the clouds. Brand new EP, Root Sugars, released last month. Come find your bliss on the farm with Saltbreaker.

When you're in a room with Sarena Rae, you know it. She has a huge multi-octave voice, a magnetic presence, a compelling story to tell, and about six foot something worth of the space around you. But it's what she does with what she's been given that draws you in: with confessional original songs and well-curated covers, she spins stories of her life, her times, and her hopes for the future we all have to share. Sarena is also the founder and driving force behind Music That Raised Us, a stunning revue of songs detailing the history of Black women in American song, from Ma Rainey through Billie Holiday right up to today, that has been performed at numerous venues around Michigan, and will be again. Available: Heaven EP (2020) and holiday EP River (2022). Sarena Rae will make you open your eyes wide, and match her outpouring of joy into the room around you both.

Sari Brown is actually one of the original Earthwork Music artists, having released her debut, For What Is The Journey, in 2004 at the age of 17. Now she has released The Holy Broken Heart, her third, this year. But in between, hoo boy, some detours did occur. She became an ordained minister, lived in Colombia for many years, had a child, and served as a pastor in Michigan's Thumb. Now back in her home of Ann Arbor, she has taken all those miles and the wisdom (and questions) accumulated along the way and poured it into The Holy Broken Heart, a more mature and grounded work that is still unmistakably that same precocious poetic voice. These are songs for the healing of hearts, yours and her own. Sari Brown: the prodigal bird has returned to the promised land.

Sierra Skye Baker is an experience. Ethereal vocals and delicate guitar float toward you on gossamer wings of melody, emanating from an unusually accomplished and poised young performer. She sees the beauty in the world and lets you rediscover it with your own eyes and ears. She can deliver a trusty standard, or make up a new song on the spot (seen it happen). Performances notable for the space between the notes as much as the notes themselves: the perfect festival immersion. Set em free, let em be.

Sl!m Pickins String Band is a 4 piece mobile hootenanny from northern Michigan, just a year old, coming in to give us some of that old time folky goodness with a lot of energy and enough grinning to make a Cheshire cat jealous. Matt Zimmerman, Joe Lattimore, Trent Breithaupt, and Kevin Gills will be giving us the business down on the farm.

Americana this ain't: you may be seeing the Idiot Kids play in a barn or a field, but notice how the cornstalks bend away from the sheer force of the monolithic glam punk sound. Chill out elsewhere, because when the Idiot Kids are playing, you will be dancing madly with a big dumb grin on your face. Proud inheritors of the tradition of loud n snotty Detroit rock n roll in the spirit of the Stooges and the MC5, with art pop flourishes and hardcore energy. Come rock out with us. Jon-Mikal - Guitar/Vocals Nicholas Zambeck - Bass Andrew Maslowsky - Drums/Vocals Latest EP: Nothing (2021).

The Schrock Brothers, an Americana/blues/roots band from Fennville, has a slightly misleading name: brothers Jasen and Andrew Schrock are invariably joined by their father, Mark, and frequently joined by a rotating cast of honorary brothers, including Michael Shimmin, Peter "Madcat" Ruth, and Terrence Massey, among others. Slippery linguistics. But what's beyond doubt is the honey sweet sound of chiming mandolins, strummed guitars, and glorious three part harmony served up on a bedrock of soul and respect for the audience. New debut album (after over a decade as a band), Faith In Love, available everywhere.

The Thirties deal in what they consider "educated angst": short sharp shocks of rock n roll, all push no pull, lean as a whippet, leaving only what they need to drive their melodies ice pick deep. This is the sound of Marquette when you make it angry. Available: Twenty Eighteen (2019) and No Future, Tell The Kids (2021). Raymond Little, Liam Joyce and Marv Kantola come together to rock the distant conifers, and also your town.

Whorled may be based out of Grand Rapids, but it sounds like the whole world. Elements of Irish, African, Japanese, and American bluegrass music twirl around the room as they play, melodic elements dancing the do-si-do with each other and coming together in a way that's vibrantly alive. Thom Jayne has been making music since the 70s with a hard-to-categorize blend of African, celtic, jazz, and Latin influences; Keala Venema is a multi-instrumentalist who plays fiddle, guitar, piano, mandolin, ukulele, tin whistle and Irish drum; and Mariko Venema has studied piano since age 5, but now makes it her quest to master, and teach, the humble accordion. Available: Reimagined (2023). Already the winner of multiple awards, Whorled has nowhere to go but up, out, and everywhere.

Love Is Water

Love is water
You can't destroy it or create it
You can try to freeze it out
You can try to sublimate it
It always finds its way
Through every crack and every wall
Deny it all you want
Like a cascade it will fall
And then you're swept along
You're caught up in the tide
Till all your protestations
Have all been washed aside

Love is water
You cannot live without it
It might be so polluted
You can't do a thing about it 
It might have turned to ice
Abrading frostbit skin
It might have burned too hot
And blown off in the wind
But always it's been there
To carve a wand'ring path
Across your personal landscape
With stormy aftermath

Why do I try to stop it?
Why do I build a dam?
Why do I close the faucet
Denying everything I am?

Love is water
It drowns you when the floods arise
It makes a garden of all your life
Then it gushes from your eyes
When all you wanted was just a sip
Some joker turned on the hose
When all you wanted was desert sands
Then suddenly grew a rose
It can't be stopped, slowed or overcome
No matter how you pretend
It washes over you, makes you clean
Won't leave you alone till the end

How can I escape the riptide?
How can I stay on dry land?
How can I ride the thunderstorm
In my castles all made of sand?

Love is water
It's what we all have inside
Once in a while we take the plunge
And then we wash ashore on the tide

Fall Out Of You

Long ago you fell into me

When I was too blind to know

Eventually you'd ship out to sea

And leave me adrift below

We had a ball while living it all

You made a good match for me

But then the match created a flame

That burned you right out of me

I thought that we were tied for life

I didn't see or feel the knife

I rolled along, singing my song

I didn't see you cut free

And when you left, I thought that you fell

But you jumped away from me

You found a way to make it okay

To sever yourself, get free

But how did you fall back into you

And tumble right out of me

I thought the bond would hold till beyond

But you couldn't stay another dawn

So tell me where's the magical switch

That wiped out a love so true

Show me how you fell out of me

So I can fall out of you

Ovation Awards 2023

 John Bommarito is looking out for you.  He brings his passion for music, especially Michigan music, to the airwaves with an evangelistic fervor belied by his gentle public radio tones.  Having caught the bug as a teenager, a long career in Ann Arbor radio has brought John a reputation as a tastemaker, an advocate, and a mentor. It's said that John's passion for music can only be matched by his love of helping people enjoy and discover the soundtrack to their lives. John is behind the scenes at WEMU these days, but a generation of radio industry professionals and discerning listeners have benefited from his stewardship of the airwaves.  If you love that new band, or discovered that old song you never knew before, and you heard it on 107one or the Q or Acoustic Alternatives, then John has been a small part of your life.  Acoustic Alternatives can be found every week on YouTube, usually live on Sunday mornings, and as a podcast on your favorite player.  We honor him tonight for his knowledge, his encouragement and recognition of artistic excellence, and his unceasing support for the music of our state.  

Chip and Karen VanKlompenberg had an idea.  They saw an ancient auto repair place on far south Division Avenue, and they envisioned a unique haven for relaxation and entertainment.  After a lot of hard work, the Stray opened, and a lot more hard work has made it the most exciting up and coming venue in west Michigan.  A coffee house, a cafe, a place for respectful enjoyment of great local musicians, the Stray can accommodate all, whether you're parked in the back with your laptop all day or queued up at the door for a night out.  The Stray's model takes in both free shows made up of rising talents, and ticketed shows with your favorite established artists, all of whom are served the same hot coffee, cold beer, and tasty food.  The emphasis is always on striving for the best experience possible, from the comfortable furniture to the well equipped stage to the walls festooned with local art for sale to the professional team producing the shows, including musician Marley Ferguson as the sound tech and Chip and Karen's son Hunter doing the booking. Chip takes special delight in asking performers insightful questions during the shows:  be ready, no two are the same!  Everyone who discovers the Stray makes plans to come back again.  Chip and Karen earned this award by giving us a space to dream in.

Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert never stops moving.  As a lifelong dancer, she can't sit still for long, always finding new outlets for her energy, and the biggest grandest outlet yet is Sounds of the Zoo, Michigan's newest and most ambitious festival:  an entire week of programming, at various venues throughout Kalamazoo, all absolutely free to the public.  Having worked as a performer, a choreographer, a booking agent, and an event coordinator, Jen saw an opportunity to put all her passions into one cauldron and stir with a big stick.  With the help of enthusiastic sponsors and a dedicated team, notably including photographer Chelsea Whitaker, an entire week of autumn 2022 saw the air of the city filled with music of every genre, in locations ranging from intimate taverns to hotel lobbies to the huge stage at Bronson Park. Planning has already begun to bring Sounds of the Zoo back in a big way this year, with a focus on Michigan music, but open to all.  Look for performances by her band, Jenuine, and keep your eye on what she does next....if your eye can follow how fast she moves.

Nate Dorough gets artists.  And he gets them on a stage, in front of you, as quickly and efficiently as possible.  From his earliest days booking house shows in Livingston County, through moves into Blue Collar Booking, Fusion Shows, Audiotree Presents, and now Kickstand Productions, the odds are very good you've attended a bill that Nate put together.  Booking and promoting were incredibly difficult before, with the economic pressures felt by artists, venues, and attendees, then covid turned all that up to 11, but Nate kept the fires burning, and returned to giving us our money's worth as soon as he possibly could.  Also during Covid, Nate found a pile of money in the Livingston Underground account that he put back into community charities, proving that the musical community gives as well as it gets.  Nate is renowned for his transparency, his honesty, and his unflagging enthusiasm for your band on that stage in that town.  Nate Dorough earned this award by being one of the good ones.

Live Music Log, January 2023

1 6 23 Anna P.S. #26  Distant Whistle Brewhouse, Vicksburg

1 7 23 Domestic Problems #4/Knee Deep Shag #3/HOUSE BANDITS  The Intersection, Grand Rapids

1 12 23 Grace Theisen #10  Broad Leaf Brewing, Kentwood

1 13 23 Samuel Nalangira #3/Laurel Premo #7  Alger Park Church, Grand Rapids

1 14 23 WINTER WHEAT at the Intersection, Grand Rapids: Ruth & Max Bloomquist #2/Round Creek String Band #2/Full Cord #5/CROSSBOW/Roosevelt Diggs #4/Patty PerShayla & the Mayhaps #37

1 15 23 Patty PerShayla & the Mayhaps #38/Grace Theisen #11/Celeste Allison #3  Bell's, Kalamazoo

1 19 23 GR LIVE:  Kari Lynch #4/Kate Pillsbury #13/Olivia Vargas #27

1 19 23 THE AMERICAN HOTEL SYSTEM/THE DARLING SUNS/August #28  Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids

1 21 23 Kari Lynch #5/Kate Pillsbury #14/Olivia Vargas #28  The Stray, Wyoming

1 26 23 Earth Radio #29  Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, Grand Rapids 

1 27 23 Max Lockwood #16/ADDISON AGEN  House show (at Mime Manor), Grand Rapids

1 28 23 KENNADI HESTER  Rake Beer Project, Muskegon

Live Music Log, December 2022

12 1 22 Nathan Walton & the Remedy #7/Beth Bombara #4  Midtown GR, Grand Rapids

12 3 22 Grace Theisen #7/CARRIE STEFFEN/Audrey Pearson #2/ADA LEANN  The Stray, Wyoming

12 8 22 Josh Rose #9/Kyle Rasche #8  Midtown GR, Grand Rapids

12 9 22 Grace Theisen with Carolyn Koebel #8  Hops At 84 East, Holland

12 10 22 Ebird & Friends Holiday Show with Erin Zindle, Jen Sygit, Emilee Petersmark, and many more  The Ark, Ann Arbor

12 10 22 Carrie McFerrin & the McFerrinheits #50 Distant Whistle Brewhouse, Vicksburg

12 14 22 Stovepipe Stover #16/MADDY PETERS  Midtown GR, Grand Rapids

12 15 22 Holiday Soiree:  Grace Theisen #9/The Incantations #9/The Nathan Moore Affair #3  Clover Room, Kalamazoo

12 17 22 Darcy Wilkin (#44) Holiday Whatzit Hour with Aaron Wright and the Fuerst Family  Dormouse Theatre, Kalamazoo

12 18 22 Rachael Davis #9/Alex Teller #2  Midtown GR, Grand Rapids

12 29 22 JUSTIN WIERENGA with J.D. Jones and Greg Miller  The Book Nook & Java Shop, Montague

12 30 22 Nordy #2/McWeakerton #2/Common Molly #2  Unruly Brewing, Muskegon

Live Music Log, November 2022

11 6 21 Cole Hansen #11/IZUBEL  Listening Room, Grand Rapids

11 7 21 Cameron Blake #7/Nathan Walton #6  Greyline Brewing, Grand Rapids

11 10 21 Carrie McFerrin #48  The Holiday Bar, Grand Rapids

11 11 21 Dede and the Dreamers #13  The Mitten Bar, Ludington

11 12 21 FATHOM XIX/COMMON MOLLY/Stovepipe's Caravan #15  Billy's Lounge, Grand Rapids

11 12 21 THE DREAM SYNDICATE  Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids

11 17 21 Something Borrowed, Something New:  Elisabeth Pixley-Fink #7/Brian Koenigsknecht #26/Audra Kubat #6/Darcy Wilkin #43/BENNETT YOUNG/Jessi Phillips #4  Clover Room, Kalamazoo

11 18 21 BEDROOM CEILINGS/August #26  Founders, Grand Rapids

11 20 21 Kate Pillsbury #12/Kyle Rasche #7/Kait Rose #22  Salt of the Earth, Fennville

11 23 21 Austin Benzing #4/Grace Theisen #6  Midtown GR (formerly the Listening Room), Grand Rapids

11 25 21 Carrie McFerrin #49  Green Door Distilling, Kalamazoo

11 25 21 Matthew Borr #21/Lisa Mackie #8/LAURIE LAING  Old Dog Tavern, Kalamazoo

11 27 21 Darcy Wilkin #43  ArtRat Gallery, Grand Rapids

11 27 21 SONGTELLERS: Sierra Skye Baker #7/Dylan Tolbert #3/Nicholas James Thomasma #33  Midtown GR, Grand Rapids

Live Music, October 2022

10 1 22 Sounds of the Zoo:  Kalamazoo Academy of Rock student bands/Bootstrap Boys #2/Dani Darling #3/Carrie McFerrin #47/Grace Theisen #4/BLVCKSHEEP  Bronson Park, Kalamazoo

10 2 22 Sounds of the Zoo:  Jordan Hamilton #8/Music That Raised Us #2/Earth Radio #28/Nathan Walton & the Remedy #5/Laura Rain & the Caesars #2  Bronson Park, Kalamazoo

10 4 22 Folias Duo #5/Olivia Vargas & Michael Pierce #24  Kretschmer Recital Hall, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids

10 7 22 BOB MOULD/H.C. McENTIRE  Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY

10 9 22 DEAN JOHANESEN  The Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans, LA

10 14 22 Folias Duo #6/Olivia Vargas & Michael Pierce #25  Livestream

10 14 22 They Might Be Giants #4  Livestream for Flymachine

10 15 22 Emilee Petersmark #24/RIN TARSY/Chris DuPont #4  The Stray, Wyoming

10 20 22 August #26/QUILTER  Broad Leaf Brewing, Kentwood

10 21 22 Kait Rose #21/Serita's Black Rose (duo) #2  Alger Park Church, Grand Rapids

10 22 22 Darcy Wilkin #42  Iron Fish Distillery, Thompsonville

10 27 22 Anna P.S. #24  Thornapple Brewing, Grand Rapids

10 28 22 Anna P.S. #25 Dablon Vineyards, Baroda

10 28 22 Grace Theisen #5/Samuel Nalangira #2  Liquid Note, Otsego

10 29 22 Steve Leaf plays Weezer's Blue Album, with Bill Chesney, Nathan Coles, and Ian Thompson  Listening Room, Grand Rapids

10 31 22 Celebration of Life for Gary Hanks at Seven Steps Up, Spring Lake, with Ruth & Max Bloomquist, Jack Leaver, and others

Live Music Log, September 2022

9 1 22 KAMASI WASHINGTON/JESSICA IVEY  The State Theatre, Kalamazoo

9 2 22 Open Stage at the Listening Room, Grand Rapids

9 8 22 GR Live:  Enrique Olmos #3/Olivia Vargas #24  Listening Room, Grand Rapids

9 8 22 Carrie McFerrin #46  The Holiday Bar, Grand Rapids

9 9-11 22 WHEATLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL, Remus  Seth Bernard #22/Frank Youngman #5/Darcy Wilkin #40/song circle with Kyle Rasche, Kait Rose, Mike Ward, and Samantha Cooper/Via Mardot #48/Drew Nelson and Hwy 2 #5/Sweet Water Warblers #8/NORTHERN KENTUCKY BROTHERHOOD/Annie & Rod Capps #4/LINDEN THOBURN

9 16-18 22 EARTHWORK HARVEST GATHERING, Lake City  Amber Hasan #2/Hawks & Owls #4/Hearth & Hymn #2/Scott Cook #2/Seth Bernard #23/Earth Radio #27/Gregory Stovetop #7/Chris Bathgate #2/Laurel Premo #6/BREK ROSENGREN/T MULE/Anne Erlewine #2/Charlie Millard Band #4/Ben Traverse #9/Stepladders#6/Elisabeth Pixley-Fink #6/Molly #9/Michael Waite & the Adam Sawfox Band #2/Daniel Kahn #5/The Crane Wives #85/The Go Rounds #15/Heavy Color #4/Public Access #13/Frank Youngman #6/Steve Leaf #16/Blake Elliott #4/Nicholas James and the Bandwagon #31/The Antivillains #2/Jive At Five #5/Samantha Cooper #10/Audra Kubat #5/Chris Dorman #4

9 24 22 Cadillac Craft Beer Festival:  Emilee Petersmark #23/Charlie Millard Band #5/Melophobix #2

9 27 22 Sounds Of The Zoo:  Songwriters In The Round at Hilton Garden Inn in Kalamazoo  Kanin #3/Kait Rose #21/Nicholas James Thomasma #32/Darcy Wilkin #41/DYLAN TOLBERT/Brian Koenigsknecht #25/Carrie McFerrin #46

9 29 22 Fake Baseball #2/Jes Kramer #3  Broad Leaf Brewing, Kentwood

9 30 22 The Lower Leisure Class #2/WOWSA IN KALAMAZOO  Bell's, Kalamazoo

Live Music Log, August 2022

8 2 22 FLEXADECIBEL  Montague Bandshell

8 4 22 Patty PerShayla & the Mayhaps #36  The Commons, Hart

8 5-6 22 FARM BLOCK FESTIVAL, Ahmeek  Misty Lyn #2/Seth Bernard #20/M SORD/BLANCO SUAVE/SAAJTAK/Heavy Color #3/Ian Link #3/HEARTH & HYMN/Breathe Owl Breathe #2/VISHAPS/THE ANTIVILLAINS/May Erlewine #30/Nashon Holloway #4/The Go Rounds #14/LALO CURA/TURTLEDOVES

8 9 22 HANSON/ALLEN MACK MYERS MOORE  GLC Live at 20 Monroe, Grand Rapids

8 11 22 Erin Zindle & the Ragbirds #10/Deerfield Run #5  Listening Lawn at Studio Park, Grand Rapids

8 12 22 Mustard Plug #2/The Sailor Kicks  #2  Listening Lawn at Studio Park, Grand Rapids

8 13 22 The Crane Wives #84/Seth Bernard #21  Listening Lawn at Studio Park, Grand Rapids

8 14 22 AL OLENDER/JAMES FELICE  Listening Room, Grand Rapids

8 16 22 Chicago Farmer & the Fieldnotes #3/Josh Rose #8  Caledonia Community Green Park

8 19 22 The Accidentals #27  Thornapple Plaza, Hastings

8 20 22 The Ryne Experience #4/Lazy Genius #5/August #23  Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids

8 25 22 Valentiger #4/BRIE STONER  Listening Room, Grand Rapids

8 26 22 "Weird Al" Yankovic #2  Mendel Center, Lake Michigan College, Benton Harbor

8 27 22 Darcy Wilkin Whatzit Hour with Mark Sahlgren (#4)  Dormouse Theatre, Kalamazoo

8 31 22 Hannah Laine #5  Mylan's Waterfront Grille, Whitehall

Live Music Log, July 2022

7 1-2 22 SMILING ACRES MUSIC FESTIVAL, Trufant:  Erin Zindle & the Ragbirds #9/Jen Sygit #5/Barbarossa Brothers #3/TYLER SJOSTROM/DICK SIEGEL/THE LOCAL COMMUTERS/Nicholas James & The Bandwagon #30/ROUND CREEK STRING BAND/THE REVEREND PEYTON'S BIG DAMN BAND/Earth Radio #26/Patty PerShayla & the Mayhaps #35/Mark Lavengood Band #16/Djangophonique #2/King Possum #2/Deerfield Run #4/Lighting Matches #4/Wild Honey Collective #2/Ben Traverse #8/Nathan Walton & the Remedy #4/HAZY PAST/JACK ELLIOTT/Eric Engblade #10

7 6 22 CORINNE BAILEY RAE/The War and Treaty #4  Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids

7 7 22 The Crane Wives (duo) #83  Rosa Parks Circle, Grand Rapids

7 12 22 SPOON/BODEGA  The State Theatre, Kalamazoo

7 15 22 The Verve Pipe #8  Listening Lawn at Studio Park, Grand Rapids

7 20 22 Cole Hansen #9  Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners

7 21 22 "THE MUSIC MAN"  Circle Theatre at Aquinas College, Grand Rapids

7 22 22 August #22  Unruly Brewing, Muskegon

7 23 22 Walk The Beat White Lake, Montague and Whitehall

7 23 22 Darcy Wilkin Whatzit Hour with JAY GAVAN  Dormouse Theatre, Kalamazoo

7 24 22 SHINY SHINY BLACK  Livestream

7 26 22 Jesse Ray & the Carolina Catfish #4  Montague Bandshell

7 28 22 Anna P.S. #22  Stormcloud Brewing, Frankfort

7 29 22 Anna P.S. #23  Middlecoast Brewing, Traverse City

7 30 22 Cole Hansen #10  Wonderland Distilling, Muskegon

Live Music Log, June 2022

6 2 22 Grace Theisen #3  North Grove Brewers, Montague

6 3 22 Knee Deep Shag #2/Max Lockwood Band #14  Elevation at the Intersection, Grand Rapids

6 9 22 Who Hit John #2/THE KETTLE BELLES  Old Dog Tavern, Kalamazoo

6 10 22 August #21  The Livery, Benton Harbor

6 11 22 The Accidentals #26/U'NEEK  Bronson Park, Muskegon

6 15 22 Hannah Laine #4  Mylan's Waterfront Grill, Whitehall

6 17-19 22 BUTTERMILK JAMBOREE:  Via Mardot #47/HANDMADE MOMENTS/The Mainstays #2/Nicholas James and the Bandwagon #29/Dede & the Dreamers #12/Max Lockwood #15/GREAT LAKES BRASS/Last Gasp Collective #4/Aspen Jacobsen #4/Jive At Five #4/Monte Pride #5/Megan Dooley #24/SERITA'S BLACK ROSE/FAY BURNS & THE EMBERS/Deerfield Run #3/Carrie McFerrin #45/SELWYN BIRCHWOOD/THE HOOTEN HALLERS/The Schrock Brothers #3/Elisabeth Pixley-Fink #5/Annie & Rod Capps #3/Earth Radio #24 

6 23 22 Earth Radio #25/Normal Mode #3  Cherry Park, Grand Rapids

6 24 22 August (duo) #22  Horrocks Market, Kentwood

6 24 22 CRACKER  The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids

6 25 22 22nd Jammie Awards:  Ralston Bowles, Lipstick Jodi, Rin Tarsy, The Skinny Limbs, The Ryne Experience, Brie Stoner, Lazy Genius, Cameron Blake with Majestic Praise, The Hacky Turtles, Major Murphy, Austin Benzing, Michigan Rattlers, Molly, The Accidentals, and Pink Sky

6 28 22 CHRIS BATHGATE/Samantha Cooper #9  Listening Room, Grand Rapids

6 29 22  Open Stage at the Listening Lawn, Studio Park, Grand Rapids

6 30 22 Beth Bombara #3  North Grove Brewers, Montague