Huntington Bank Summer Concert Series in Kollen Park - Holland, MI

HollandNightOut.com Entertainment News

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The Huntington Summer Concert Series was coordinate by Adrienne Wallace, MPA, MS, Recreation & Special Events Coordinator, The City of Holland Recreation Division, and sponsored by Huntington Bank.

The Huntington Summer Concert Series offers Holland residents and surrounding communities great family fun, now with a new and improved venue! Fun additions include a bandshell, brand new boardwalk, boat docks/launch, children's playground, pavilion, grills for family dinner outdoors, delish food vendors and TONS of parking!!! Join the Department of Leisure & Cultural Services in presenting the Huntington Bank Summer Concert Series on the waterfront Friday nights beginning June 11 6:30-8:30 p.m. @ Kollen Park (VanRaalte & Kollen Park Drive-near Boatwerks Restaurant)

 The "Who's" and "When's"

June 11:  6:30-8:30p  The Ragbirds-Ask The Ragbirds how to describe their hard-to-define Folk Rock and World fusion and they’ll tell you it’s “infectious global groove”. Led by fiery front-woman Erin Zindle, they put on a show that is designed to engage the audience on many levels - to get people thinking, listening and dancing. As the band’s founder and songwriter, Zindle is like a bright excited tour guide through a beautiful foreign world of sights and sounds. Her earthy-sweet voice is the center of the storm of energy around her - the whirlwind of guitarist T.J. Zindle and dynamic bassist Dan Hildebrandt spinning over the ethnic grooves of drummer Randall Moore and percussionist Tim Dziekan. Amidst this blissful, restless energy Zindle skillfully switches between violin, mandolin, banjo, accordion, and percussion in addition to singing lead vocals (all while dancing!)

The musical roots of The Ragbirds sound are complex - with Gypsy, Middle-Eastern, Americana, Rock, and Latin influences, all stirred with a Celtic fiddler’s bow. In live performances the band incorporates variations on traditional African drum pieces, each member trading their instrument for a hand drum. The Ragbirds craft their songs carefully weaving joy and hope into honest lyrics, while keeping an ear always open to improvisation. The songs carry a positive message that appeals to listeners of all ages. For all the intensity of their live show, this is a band that is not afraid to show their softer side with acoustic tunes that are anything but typical folk.

The Ragbirds began in 2005 with the release of their debut CD, Yes Nearby, an independently produced and released full-length album. After receiving overwhelming local praise for Yes Nearby, the band began touring the country. In June 2007 The Ragbirds released their second studio release, Wanderlove, which has a world-travel theme with a pop appeal and was the number one selling album on Homegrown Music Network by the Fall of 2008. In February of 2009 Wanderlove was released on Buffalo Records in Japan.

Described as “Astounding International Eclecticism!” by Reveal Arts Magazine, The Ragbirds have become one of the most popular touring bands in their home state of Michigan, and can also be seen performing all over the Mid-West and beyond, growing a loyal fan base in regions all over the country. The Ragbirds have played between 120-150 shows per year for the past few years, and have no intention of slowing down. In 2009 they went abroad to tour Japan and perform on the main stage at the Green Room Festival in Yokohama.

Traveling in a van that runs on Recycled Vegetable Oil in order to promote sustainability, The Ragbirds have performed to enthusiastic audiences in 20 states so far, including major markets such as New York City, Nashville, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Indianapolis and many more. They have been featured at some of the Mid-West’s largest music festivals and have shared the stage with Mickey Hart, Sam Bush, Tony Rice, George Clinton & P.Funk, Railroad Earth, Toubab Krewe, Hot Buttered Rum, Giovanni Hidalgo, Donna The Buffalo, Jeff Daniels, Tea Leaf Green, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Mamadou Diabate, The Duhks, Wookiefoot, and more.

June 18:  6:30-8:30p  ULTRAVIOLET HIPPOPOTAMUS-is an explosive six-piece jam rock band from Grand Rapids, MI with a rapidly growing fan base all over the MidWest and Colorado, as well as online with thousands of listeners nationwide. Recently described by Recoil Magazine as "one of Michigan's most promising bands," UV HIPPO mixes tight funky jams with new dance beats and strange effects for a killer musical experience. The band performs an eclectic array of composed and improvised original material, dancing between genres of funk, jazz, electronica, reggae, bluegrass, and progressive rock.  The word is out, and the band is seeing more and more repeat offenders traveling further distances to develop their MidWest following into a national sensation. 

FestivalFamily.com "They've got a big beefy sound, with some soulful riffs and exemplary songwriting chops. This band is a beast!"

Detroit Free Press "... music Frank Zappa would be proud of."

Lansing State Journal "Ultraviolet Hippopotamus is all the rage these days... and fans all over are

hooked."

A significant part of the national 200-show agenda ULTRAVIOLET HIPPOPOTAMUS has planned for 2010, will be promoting green principles and sustainable touring. An important step in making this goal a reality is investing in a used diesel shuttle bus and converting the bus to run on veggie oil, obtained through the discarded oil from FastFood joints! Coined, the "Hippopota-bus", this vehicle will greatly reduce tour costs, lessen the band's overall carbon footprint and remove themselves from the global oil crisis. To promote their cause and raise funds, while educating their fans about sustainability, UVH will launch a new line of organic, recycled clothing and other cool products throughout 2010. All profits from this new green line of clothing will go towards the purchase of the "Hippopota-bus" and veggie-oil conversion. There will also be a donation jar, a limited addition poster and other sustainable 'Help Hippo Go Green' merchandise available, to support the band's new direction.  For more information about ULTRAVIOLET HIPPOPOTAMUS, please visit uvhippomusic.com

June 25  6:30-8:30p Peter Oprisko as Frank Sinatra-

Often described as the "American Michael Buble" or the "next Frank Sinatra," Chicago's pop standards sensation Peter Oprisko enjoyed a successful career in national radio broadcasting before embarking on a musical path that has led him to become one of the country's most in-demand entertainers.

In addition to performing 300+ engagements annually for theatres, colleges, corporations, casinos, fundraisers,  weddings, and other venues and occasions nationwide, Peter is celebrating his 6th year as an official entertainer for the public and private events of the Chicago White Sox, and NASCAR.

Legendary Grammy-winning jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis has called Oprisko the "Rolls Royce" of singers today, and in addition to headlining the 2008 Rosemary Clooney festival in Maysville, Kentucky, Peter's opening for the Beach Boys at MGM's Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi on New Year's Eve 2007 drew high acclaim. 

Peter is a voting member of NARAS(the Grammy Awards) and ASCAP and is president of Retropolis Records for which he prolifically writes and records. 

July 2  6:30-8:30p  Full Cord  Full Cord started as a project between band members Todd Kirchner, Eric Langejans, Paul Kirchner, and Kurt Westie. All seasoned bluegrass musicians, they wanted to build a musically diverse band using traditional bluegrass instruments.

The band has an extraordinary song base, with songs ranging from traditional country and bluegrass to modern pop hits, big band era tunes and everything in between (and we do mean everything!). With hundreds of songs in their repertoire, they never run out of songs to choose from.

The band’s performances are done using a single microphone traditionally seen on the Grand Ole Opry. Instrument solos and vocal parts are all choreographed around the single microphone bringing an old-timey feel to their performance.

Based in West Michigan, Full Cord has had the privilege of performing all over the state, from private parties and events to breweries, barns and bluegrass festivals.

With the talent of over 100 years combined musical experience, Full Cord has brought their own style to traditional bluegrass. They are introducing bluegrass music to the masses in a way that keeps everyone coming back for more. 

July 9  6:30-8:30p End Times Orchestra-End Times Orchestra is a genre spanning, multi-instrumentalist, theatrical rock opera outfit based in West Michigan. Led by Corey Ruffin, polymath artist by his many duties including teacher, writer, producer, actor, director, artist and host of the popular Super Happy Funtime Burlesque Show, has been writing and playing music for years, beginning in grade school with the saxophone before evolving into an accomplished free jazz artists, singer/songwriter and leader of a band that, at times, contains up to twelve members. His original music stands out on its own, with lyrics about the end of the world and intimacy, bizarre time signatures and key changes, massive horn arrangements and unpredictable twists and turns. Influenced by concept albums by groups like the Kinks, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, and David Bowie; the ETO has developed a unique style that spans many decades and influences in a new style of music and storytelling they call 'Pop Operetta'.  Unlike any other band in W. Michigan, The End Times Orchestra is as talented as it is outrageous, as funny as it can be dark, and as inventive as it is strange.

July 16 6:30-8:30p The Macpodz-Ann Arbor's jazz rock outfit, The Macpodz, throw some of the coolest parties around. With a little bit of everything in its musical grab bag, The Macpodz easily please music lovers, from fans of far out jazz to those rootsy jam band-style grooves. The inventor and namesake of its own brand of funky dance music, coined 'disco-bebop,' The Macpodz pay homage to kinky musical concoctions like the groovy, unstructured big band instrumental works of the late, great Frank Zappa with psychadelic tinges of sunglasses-and-afro era Miles Davis. With two solid albums under its belt and a slew of foot-shuffling fans across the region, The Macpodz impress as only an open-minded band can, taking the core of genuine American music and tossing in tasteful touches of world music grooves and lots and lots of swinging horn licks that rouse and comfort all at once." -RAB, Toledo City Paper

The Macpodz released their debut album, Genius Food for Super Heroes, on January 2, 2007 and Orcastrate, on March 1, 2008.    Their latest album "Live At The Ark" was released in June of 2009.

July 23  6:30-8:30p  James Reeser-With great enthusiasm and over 20 years of stage experience James Reeser keeps audiences alive and asking for more. Keeping focused on traditional, electric, Chicago-style blues has always been his musical goal. He tries hard to keep himself surrounded by the best musicians possible both on stage and in the studio.

Having started out as a lead guitarist, James went on to become a master of the "fat-toned harp" sound and is exceptionally adept at playing chromatic harps. He has also honed his skills in the lead vocal category by performing many gigs around the US.  James has played Blues clubs coast to coast in the US and also has played in Europe. Currently James and His Hot Blues Quartet perform primarily in the Midwest area.

James got started playing the Blues in the early 80’s while living in New England. Living very close to many Blues based clubs he spent much time there developing a love for the music.

James and his Bass player, Scott “Buck” Robinson have been together for more than 17 years.

On occasion, James is fortunate enough to have a second guitar player, Pat Hansen, and or Hammond B3 player, Paul Hauschild with the band. Their talent is such that they only add to the already great lineup of the James Reeser band.

James has mastered the "fat-toned harp" sound. He uses Victoria amplifiers exclusively along with Astatic microphones.

The band, at this writing, is working on a CD. Please check back from time to time to see when it will be released. We will be having a CD release party and we will be making it available on this site. You can check out and dowload some older demo songs on the downloads page and I have live cuts at my myspace page,

July 30 6:30-8:30p Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys- With all the popularity and interest there is today in what is referred to as “New Country” , what would possess four seasoned musicians to go entirely the other direction?  Call it integrity, going against the grain, being niche-y, whatever.  Delilah Deqylde and the Lost Boys march to the country shuffle of a bygone era; before country was on FM radio, before country artists had personal trainers, and most certainly, before country sounded like rock and roll with fiddle.  Mixing self penned songs with old country hits (and unknown gems) Delilah and the Lost Boys come out on stage looking and sounding like a 45-year step back in time.  Dressed to the n inies in the tradition of pre-color television country singers and musicians, donning matching western suits and playing the finest vintage musical instruments in the finest old school way.

August 6 6:30-8:30p Creolization- Creolization is a high energy, improvisational, Zydeco-influenced band made up of a revolving roster of West Michigan musicians. Whether this ensemble is performing a concert of David Molinari’s original songs – all dressed up in accordion, washboard, and funky Louisiana backbeats – or providing driving Zydeco versions of roots music classics for private wedding parties, Creolization shakes things up and infuses all of their music with a life and urgency that gets bodies out of the chairs and into the aisles.

August 13 6:30-8:30p StarFarm- Do you want your MTV of old?  Are you spending your Saturday nights watching VH1 count down your favorite retro videos?  Then Starfarm is what you need.  Starfarm brings the most “totally awesome” collection of 80s songs that you can dream of.  Every song played instantly captures that nostalgic feeling, sending you back to the best decade of your life.  From the very first chord of the night you will be dancing and pumping your fist in the air, singing along to the much-loved songs of yesterday.  Always ready to break a sweat, Starfarm comes complete with cardboard, old-skool Adidas tracksuits, legwarmers, headbands and British Knights shoes.  Audiences will be captivated as Starfarm gives them a true interpretation of their beloved hits in a fun and “physical” atmosphere.

Starfarm is based in East Lansing, MI and has been performing together since November 2001.  Starfarm is a hardworking band, performing weekly at various venues across Michigan and the Midwest.  Starfarm is co-lead by vocalists Whitney Spotts and Dan Malnar, opening a much broader spectrum of song choices to be performed.  In addition to male and female diversity on vocals, Starfarm has some of the best talent from Michigan (if we don’t say so ourselves) on keyboards, drums, bass and guitar.  These musicians actually play their parts and capture the integrity of each song.  Well you may hear a loop from time to time, but come on it’s the 80s.  Starfarm is devoted to accommodating all aspects of entertainment for the venue and audience.  If you are looking for the perfect band to make your next event a night to remember, look no further than Starfarm!

August 20  6:30-8:30p Last Call Band- The members of the Last Call Band don’t mind whenever someone tells then that “their roots are showing” because those roots run deep into the topsoil of the West Michigan music scene. Comprised of 6 veteran musicians who’s previous or current bands include Cabbage Crik, The Hill People, Iowa Rose, Jive at Five & Wild Thyme (among many others) Last Call has been spreading their “electracoustic” mix of classic rock, folk, blues and country tunes all over the area for nigh onto 30 years. Given that they’re dedicated to “uncovering” tunes that just need to be done there’s no tellin’ what you might hear!”

August 27  6:30-8:30p  Tejano Sound Band- Tejano Sound Band, one of Lansing Michigan’s premier Tejano acts, has had a long and rich history. Co- founders Johnny and Richard Vasquez remember playing with their brothers “Los Hermanos Vasquez.” This led them in the path in which they are in today. Years later when the older Vasquez siblings decided to retire from music, Johnny and Richard, eventually, went on in their own respective bands. In 1994, Johnny asked Richard if he wanted to start their own band like they had before. Richard accepted the invitation at which point they also picked up a partner, brother-in-law, and co-founder Frank Medellin. News spread quickly about Tejano Sound Band and they were instantly embraced by the public. Their focus was to be a crowd pleasing band that would be as professional as they could. Tejano Sound was known for their stage presence, large sound, and light show! The band also has a lengthy list of bands that they have shared the stage with from Texas and across the country. Now, TSB is still kicking with a fresh new line up. Lupe Moreno, AJ Garcia, Andy Pizaña, Rolando Revilla, Richard Vasquez, and Johnny Vasquez and (Manager) Mark Garcia make up what is now Tejano Sound Band. Week in and week out, these guys play their hearts out to their crowds whether it’s a full stadium or a lonely couple on the dance floor. They have the passion and the drive to keep Tejano Music kickin.

We Hope you attend and enjoy this summers Huntington Bank Summer Concert Series!
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