Kalamazoo Academy Of Rock
This is an all-ages event Kalamazoo Academy of Rock is back at Bell’s! These youth bands have been wow-ing audiences for years – come on down for a show like no other! For more information about KAR visit www.kzoorock.com
Kalamazoo Academy Of Rock
This is an all-ages event Kalamazoo Academy of Rock is back at Bell’s! These youth bands have been wow-ing audiences for years – come on down for a show like no other! For more information about KAR visit www.kzoorock.com
Charlie Hunter Trio
This is a partially seated show 18+ or 17 under with a parent or guardian LINEUP: Hybrid Guitar: Charlie Hunter / Drums: Corey Fonville / Saxophone: Nate Clark Charlie Hunter is a guitarist, producer, and composer celebrated for his innovative approach to the instrument. He gained widespread recognition for his pioneering technique on an eight-string guitar, which he custom-designed to simultaneously play bass lines, melodies, and chords. Currently, he performs on 6- and 7-string guitars built by Hybrid Guitars Co., a company he co-founded in 2015 with luthiers Clay Conner and Wes Lambe to create fanned-fret instruments tailored to his specifications. Hunter’s eclectic style seamlessly blends elements of jazz, funk, blues, and rock, creating a distinct sound that has captivated audiences worldwide. His mastery of rhythm, tone, and improvisation has earned him critical acclaim and a devoted following. Over the course of his thirty five year career, he has released numerous albums and collaborated with a diverse array of artists, from jazz legends to contemporary innovators. A defining force in contemporary jazz, funk, and blues, Hunter has established himself as a versatile collaborator, producer and bandleader. His work with SuperBlue, alongside vocalist Kurt Elling, has received critical praise for its electrifying fusion of jazz, funk, and groove-driven improvisation. In recent years, Hunter has been touring extensively, with notable appearances at major international festivals, venues and performing arts centers. In 2024, he continued to work with artists including Victoria Victoria, Butcher Brown, Jubu Smith & Calvin Napper, Sam Fribush, Maritzaida, and Candice Ivory. Hunter appeared on Tiny Desk alongside Carrtoons, Kiefer, and Nate Smith, further showcasing his ability to fuse genres and push musical boundaries. Beyond performing, Hunter is also deeply involved in music production and education. During the 2019 pandemic, he launched Wheelhouse Beats, a revolutionary metronome app featuring some of today’s top drummers. He also founded SideHustle Records, a label and artist development house dedicated to nurturing emerging talent and ensuring artists retain control over their creative output. Since 2022, Hunter has immersed himself in the music of Arthur “Blind” Blake, sharing his discoveries and interpretations on his Patreon page. With an ever-evolving sound and a relentless drive to explore new musical territories, Charlie Hunter remains one of the most forward-thinking and influential guitarists of his generation.
Celeste Allison “Ghostlore” EP release benefit concert for OutFront Kalamazoo
This is a standing room only show 18+ or 17 under with a parent or guardian After experiencing the tragic loss of her friend and bandmate to suicide, Celeste recorded her debut EP, “Ghostlore.” Understanding the need for dialogue about mental health and suicide prevention, Celeste chose to use her art as a means for healing and change. The project received grant funding from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, which enabled her to record the EP and organize a benefit show to raise funds for OutFront Kalamazoo. OutFront is dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ individuals and serves as a resource where everyone can find mental health support and advocacy, something Celeste is very passionate about. The trauma that follows Celeste after losing her friend is a feeling that she knows others in the community carry, and therefore, hopes this benefit show can be a symbol of solidarity, understanding, and healing. Most importantly, she wants the community to know it’s ok to talk. It’s ok to feel. And that no one is alone. Celeste Allison is an independent artist from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her breakthrough song, UGLY, has over 180k streams on Spotify alone. With sweet but surprising powerhouse vocals paired with sassy lyrics, listeners are left captivated and wanting more. Embracing her queer identity, she actively strives to create music that resonates with individuals and promotes a welcoming environment, particularly for the LGBTQIA+ community. She is presently immersed in the production of her inaugural EP, slated for release in 2025. Jonah Why (she/her) is a 23-year-old singer/songwriter/producer from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Over the years, Jonah has explored multiple genres under various names in her search for authentic self-expression. In January 2023, she embraced the identity of Jonah Why, a project dedicated to being undeniably herself. Unbound by a single style or genre, Jonah channels vulnerability through the discomfort of the unknown, ensuring each piece of work stands uniquely on its own. From pop-punk to psych-rock to electro-funk, her debut album “nevertheless” is the culmination of everything she’s become. Jey Starcross’d is a hip-hop artist and lyrical storyteller from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Focused on introspective raps, genre-homaging beats, and emotionally resonant themes, he accomplished his earliest life goal in 2024 by releasing a rap album, his debut LP, Withdrawal Symptoms. The project features collaborations with fellow rising talents and explores themes of identity, mental health, and creative struggle. With a background based in community and an eye toward the cosmos, Starcross’d crafts music that’s both grounded and expansive—bridging his local roots with a universal sound.
Two Hearted Paint Along : A BELL’S PAINTING NIGHT
It’s officially Two Hearted Day! 💚🐟 And we’re celebrating with a special Two Hearted Fish Paint Along event led by our creative, artistic, and very talented co-worker Maria, who will guide you through the process step by step until your masterpiece is complete! This paint along will take place outside in our Beer Garden weather permitting. If needed, it will move indoors to the Back Room. For just $20, you’ll get: Supplies 1 drink ticket to keep the creative juices flowing A night filled with laughter and great vibes Spots are limited—grab yours now!
FUTURE LIVING W/ SHAI-LI & BEATRIX
This is a standing room only show 18+ or 17 under with a parent or guardian Shai-Li is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her music blends neo-soul, R&B, folk, pop, and indie styles to create a unique fusion of their own. With songwriting used to process her own emotions and life, Shai-Li’s goal is simply to make you feel. https://shai-li.bandcamp.com/ Beatrix is three-piece punk-rock-and-roll hailing from Marquette, Michigan. Their music blends heavy and delicate rock stylings reminiscent of 90s powerhouse bands lead by fierce, confident, inspired women. Beatrix stuns with their calculated rhythmic strength, beautifully compressed and precise riffs, and dripping vulnerable unparalleled harmonies. https://beatrixmqt.bandcamp.com/album/beatrix Future Living is a densely packed sonic swirl of layered space rock that tip-toes into basement realms of DC-inspired punk, sharing the talisman of Lake Michigan with stomping grounds in Kalamazoo, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois. Future Living is celebrating the release of their 2nd LP, Get Vasectomy, produced by Silent Co-op (Chicago, IL) and will be available for purchase. https://futurelivingkzoo.bandcamp.com/ + https://silentco-op.bandcamp.com/artists + Future Living Spotify + Apple Music
BATHS
18+ Standing Room Only Show 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Will Wiesenfeld has been recording original music for more than 15 years, most notably under the moniker Baths. Will has had albums, collaborations and remix work released on dozens of independent labels, and toured around the world. He maintains a philosophy of keeping his work as personal as possible, with the majority of his music created in his home studio. For his fourth full-length album Gut, Will embraces a new personal ethos of writing “from the stomach” versus writing from the heart. “I’m sketching my strongest and most pervasive feelings out quickly and treating their roughness as gospel, then exploring them in greater detail with the added sheen of time and perspective.” The most impressive Baths album of Wiesenfeld’s career, Gut spans a breathtaking spectrum of lacerating hopelessness to lustful joy, inspired by the more unforgiving oeuvre of post-punk and noise music, and any music that works its magic through blunt force rather than careful introspection.
THE LEMONHEADS: LOVE CHANT WORLD TOUR
18+ Standing Room Only Show 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian The Lemonheads return in 2025 with Love Chant (out via Fire Records, October 24th), their firststudio album in nearly two decades – a bold, melodic reaffirmation of Evan Dando’s singularsongwriting voice. Written across continents and recorded primarily in São Paulo, Brazil, whereDando now resides, Love Chant finds the frontman reconnecting with longtime collaboratorswhile introducing new creative voices. It’s a record of fresh starts and familiar sounds -emotionally raw, melodically rich, and unmistakably Lemonheads. The new album features contributions from J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Juliana Hatfield, Tom Morgan,Bryce Goggin, Erin Rae, and Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond. It’s a diverse but coherent work -from the full-throttle hooks of “Deep End” to the spectral softness of “The Key Of Victory,” andthe Modern Lovers-like drive of the title track. Co-released alongside Dando’s forthcoming memoirRumours Of My Demise (via Faber, November 6th), Love Chant marks both a return and areckoning – the sound of an artist who’s lived, lost, and located the thread once again. Formed in Boston in 1986, The Lemonheads have long thrived on that intersection between chaosand charm. With a revolving cast built around Dando’s melodic instincts and ragged charisma,their early punk roots were forged across three scrappy albums on local label Taang! beforesigning to Atlantic Records and releasing 1990’s Lovey. It was on tour for that record in Australiawhere Dando connected with Tom Morgan and future bandmate Nic Dalton – a meeting thatreshaped the band’s songwriting and sound. Their commercial breakthrough came with 1992’s It’s A Shame About Ray and 1993’s Come OnFeel The Lemonheads, both records that married punk energy with melodic pop, and establishedDando as one of alternative rock’s most compelling figures. National TV appearances followed,and so did the tabloid glare – by the late ’90s, the music sometimes took a backseat to Dando’sunpredictable, chaotic public persona. He disbanded The Lemonheads in 1997 following aturbulent performance at Reading Festival. In 2003, he released his acclaimed solo album Baby I’m Bored – quieter and more introspective, ithinted at a new phase. But it wasn’t long before The Lemonheads were reborn. In 2006, a self-titled album marked a head-on collision of wordy ’70s punk and cosmic country, followed byVarshons (2009) and Varshons 2 (2019), two mixtape-like collections of cover versions thatspanned Townes Van Zandt to GG Allin, Leonard Cohen to The Bevis Frond – always with thesame emotional clarity and melodic magnetism that defines Dando’s output. Over the years, The Lemonheads’ shape has shifted – Descendents, Dinosaur Jr, Blake Babies andmembers of Fuzzy have all passed through the ranks – but at its core has always been Dando’ssongwriting: wry, vulnerable, catchy, and true. With Love Chant, that core burns brightly oncemore. Recent years have only deepened the band’s influence. Artists like Courtney Barnett,Waxahatchee, Phoebe Bridgers and MJ Lenderman cite The Lemonheads as touchstones,covering their songs and praising their emotional candor and melodic economy.
KALAMASHOEGAZER 2 DAY PASS
18+ Standing Room Only Show | 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian TWO DAY PASS! Admission to both days of the festival. FRIDAY, 9/5 Doors: 5:30/Music at 6 Origami Phase (Detroit, MI) Cardboard Highway (Kalamazoo, MI) Fern Murphy (Indianapolis, IN) Overly Polite Tornadoes (Kalamazoo, MI) Lightfoils (Chicago, IL) SATURDAY, 9/6 Doors: 4:30/Music at 5 Desert Liminal (Chicago, IL) Cigarettes for Breakfast (Philadelphia, PA) Snowcuffs (Chicago, IL) Vida Eterna (Kalamazoo, MI) Brief Candles (Milwaukee, WI) Waves Crashing (Olympia, WA) Seashine (St. Louis, MO)
Real Laughter Local Comedy Showcase
18+ Standing Room Only Show | 17 and under admitted with a parent or guardian Oba the Artist is a Kalamazoo-based comedian, actor, and writer known for his bold humor, quick wit, and thought-provoking punchlines. Whether on stage or behind the mic, Oba brings a fearless energy that blends personal storytelling with sharp social commentary. As the host of Real Laughter Oba sets the tone for a night of unforgettable comedy, keeping the crowd engaged and the laughs rolling. His charisma and commanding stage presence make him a standout in Michigan’s growing comedy scene. Landon Horne is a dynamic comedian whose bold humor and personal storytelling have quickly made him a fan favorite across the Midwest. With performances spanning clubs, colleges, and festivals, Landon brings a relatable, fast-paced set that keeps audiences laughing from start to finish. His material draws from everyday life, family, and growing up Black in America — delivered with wit, warmth, and an unmistakable charm. Micah Dailey-White is a 21-year-old artist and content creator from Michigan who gained significant attention through his humorous TikTok videos, amassing over 3 million followers. Despite facing homelessness as recently as early 2024, Micah utilized his platform to not only entertain but also to seek support, launching a GoFundMe campaign to assist with housing needs. Demonstrating his commitment to giving back, he pledged 10% of the proceeds to various charities, even while in need himself.
