Music is an integral part of our lives. It gets us through our homework, blocks out the cacophonous snores of roommates and is used to fill up those times when work and homework are set aside, whether it comes from an mp3 player or live on a stage.
I’ve been searching for the music offered to us at Ferris and out in Big Rapids. For now, the list I’ve compiled will consist of just a few relatively local acts. In the future, it could be open to anything.
The Turnips are a constant presence in Big Rapids, both making music together and hitting the folk/acoustic nights in local establishments in smaller groups. The last notes of their August album release show has only recently faded. Now, the availability of that album on all the expected platforms such as Spotify and iTunes makes it the perfect time for students (once again brimming with music lovers with an unquenchable thirst for the bottomless well of music readily available) to check out the jangly, super-fun folk rock of The Turnips. They also play a number of local shows, which are fun alternatives to boring nights that would otherwise be used for studying or some other similarly unfulfilling thing.
Overdrive Orchestra, the most frequent suggestion and whose name seems to promise bombastic things, is a rock band that offers a number of different approaches. Their album 407 is available on those same platforms (Spotify and iTunes) and provides music ranging from a somewhat soulful, mainstream rock sound, to groovy throwbacks, to fun, twangy little instrumentals. Overdrive Orchestra also has a number of shows lined up for the fall, making them another worthy outlet for study time.
Kabare and King Rut are both rappers attending our university, each of whom has numerous songs streaming free on Soundcloud, one of which features both artists. Kabare has a great flow, which is often accompanied by laid-back beats that are entertaining in and of themselves (rather than being overbearing or overly simple, which I run in far too often).
King Rut actually has an entire album, 10 whole tracks, available for name-your-price on Bandcamp, with some tracks that reveal real skills and passion, along with some tracks that are simply constructed very well.
I don’t actually know that much about A Lot Like Villians –only a single, recent song on Bandcamp and a few folks’ endorsement of them as a good local band. That one song called “2 Cent” is pretty fun, though. It’s a jazzy little song of yearning with some real groove to it that I imagine would play quite well live.
This is hardly everything available to us. There’s so much more to find, for the reader and myself. This is simply a start, one that will most definitely lead to a number of other talented musicians both on campus and off.
If you find yourself disappointed that someone wasn’t on this list, you know how to contact us. Help us bridge the gap between eager creators and waiting ears.