Turn it Down: A survey of Lansing’s musical landscape

Lindsay Lou plays free Lake Lansing concert

The Lake Lansing Community Band Shell has been hosting free outdoor concerts this summer, touching on many genres and styles. The stage is located near the tyke track and playground at Lake Lansing Park South (across from The Watershed Tavern and Grill on Marsh Road).

This Friday features a performance by local bluegrass-folkies Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys, playing Americana tunes with a vocal style that sometimes reflects old-school jazz vocalists. There is free parking at Lake Lansing, and for the kids there’s free entry to play on a moonwalk and a giant slide. It’s suggested to bring a lawn chair, or even a picnic.

Friday, Aug. 19 @ Lake Lansing Community Bandshell, 1621 Pike St., Haslett, all ages, FREE, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Fahrenheit hosts Friday night dance party

Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge has hosted a variety of themed nights since opening in June. Friday’s theme is “Night 2 Envy,” which features resident DJ Skitzo spinning the hottest dance and hip-hop hits, with some mash-ups and requests. There’s also a dueling flair-bar competition at 12:30 every Friday night.  

Friday, Aug. 19 @ Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge, 6810 S. Cedar St., Lansing, 18 and over, $5 for 21 and over, $10 for 18-20 year olds. Doors at 9:30 p.m., open to 2 a.m.

Feel the noise with Jucifer

The obnoxiously loud sounds of Jucifer return to Mac’s Bar on Saturday. The duo is gigging in support of its new album “Throned in Blood,” one of the its most acclaimed albums to date. The Athens-based doom-metal band has been blowing out eardrums for 18 years, thanks to an extravagant wall of speakers.

Opening the show is The Plague Years, a Lansing-based instrumental outfit specializing in thrash metal and crushing down-tempo sludge rock. The band describes its loud, riff-heavy sound as “the bastard child of Motorhead and Black Sabbath.” 

Saturday, Aug. 20 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, 18 and over. $10, 9 p.m.

LeRoy’s got the blues

Motor City blues singer Cee Cee Collins is known for powerful vocals and a dynamic stage presence. This Friday she brings that swagger to Leroy’s Bar & Grill.

Collins has performed around the world with Detroit’s “Queen of the Blues” Alberta Adams. Her latest album, “Don’t Mess Around,” has received high praise from numerous blues publications. Backing Collins will be award-winning drummer RJ Spangler, along with bassist Chris Rumel and Lansing guitarist Harry Oman.

Saturday, Aug. 20 @ Leroy’s Classic Bar & Grill, 1526 S. Cedar St., Lansing, 21 and over, 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., $5

Pump House spins you right round

Three Michigan-based Americana singer/songwriters — Drew Nelson of Grand Rapids, Jen Sygit of Lansing and Dave Boutette of Ann Arbor  — will play “in the round” (taking turns playing songs, telling stories) on Sunday at The Pump House. All donations collected go to the musicians.

Nelson is known for his storytelling style of folk. He escaped the confines of his small-town, Midwestern upbringing by joining the Navy and exploring the world. Those experiences provide inspiration for his songs that are often filled with discovery, revelation and hope.

Sygit is a busy local folkie who writes “the music of front-porch America.” She’s become a staple in the Lansing roots music scene, playing frequent shows across the city and beyond. Her album, “Leaving Marshall St.,” was nominated for a Detroit Music Award for Best Acoustic/Folk Album in 2007 and made nine independent roots music charts the same year.

Boutette, a veteran player at the Ark in Ann Arbor, got started jamming with the Detroit-based alterna-rock bar kings The Junk Monkeys. The band toured the nation relentlessly, supporting such acts as The Goo Goo Dolls and Hootie and the Blowfish while recording on the Warner Bros./Metal Blade label from 1990-93. However, by 1994, Boutette was in Ann Arbor, where he became intertwined with the acoustic scene. Influenced by songwriters that span from Chuck Berry to Chuck Brodsky, his sets reflect are often peppered with stories culled from his times in Detroit and on the road.

Sunday, Aug. 21 @ Pump House, 368 Orchard St., East Lansing, $10 suggested donation (kids are free), all ages, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.