On Halloween 2016, The Dicks played its final show at Grizzly Hall in Austin, Texas—the city that birthed the trailblazing hardcore punk band. This last hurrah came 36 years after the raucous band’s formation in 1980—the onset of the Reagan era. more

Greenwood District Studios, founded by a Lansing-based comedian and filmmaker known only by his stage name Amaru, is a Black-owned independent film studio that has made a home in the former building that housed the Lansing Mall Cinema, located across the street from the Lansing Mall.   more

Willow Tree, a nonprofit organization that offers family services, has created a special pride event in order to give people an opportunity to celebrate both LGTBQ pride and Black culture. The event will have free LGBTQ-themed books for the first 30 families to arrive, literature with history about Black pride and free barbecued food, including vegetarian options, for all. more

It appears the pandemic may be nearing its final chapters as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted across Michigan this week. In a strange way, I think I’m going to miss the government forcing me to have lazy afternoons at home with a bong. I’m still not quite ready to start shaking hands.  more

Jaime Bozack is a Michigan State University graduate who travels between Los Angeles and Michigan as a producer and writer. In 2017, she interned with Conan O’Brien’s talk show on TBS, “Conan.” Her favorite thing is a coffee mug O’Brien left to her as a memento for her time on the show.  more

It’s finally time to break out the beach towels and enjoy a good book while soaking up the summer heat.  more

Over the years, as a music journalist, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with dozens of creatives with amazing, sometimes heroically brave backstories. One of my most memorable conversations was with Grammy and Academy Award winner Melissa Etheridge.  more

A pair of Lansing State Journal headlines capture the paper’s evolving coverage of Lansing-area queer folk in the 1980s and ‘90s. more

Danny Kroha is probably best known as a member of The Gories, the legendary Detroit-based blues-punk band. But his resume is much deeper than that. Over the last 30 years, he’s also co-founded The Demolition Doll Rods and recorded and produced stacks of other projects. A somewhat newer terrain for Kroha is his venture into performing stripped down traditional gospel, blues, and folk songs—played on a range of instruments, including mouth harp, diddley bow, and slide guitar. more

The devastation of the pandemic took away live music for much of 2020 and the first half of 2021, but now live music is starting to slowly trickle back. One Lansing venue, UrbanBeat, has been … more

The East Lansing Food Co-op shuttered its doors in 2017. Since then, locals have been wondering when it would ever return. Well, the wait is almost over.  more

The first thing a real, live audience will hear from a real, live Lansing Symphony Orchestra at its 2021-’22 season opener Oct. 9 will be the blinding neon smack of Leonard Bernstein’s “On the Town” — brash New York chords that bark “open for business.” more

Michigan is known for its iconic brands: Vernors, Sanders, Better Made, Stroh’s, Faygo and you can add Pewabic Pottery to that list. Long known for its gorgeous tiles and decorative pottery, Pewabic Pottery is rarely recognized outside of Michigan. I asked Susan Bandes, former director of Michigan State University’s Kresge Art Museum and an expert on local Pewabic installations, why that was the case. more

Owosso’s Lebowsky Center for the Performing Arts’ newest show is “Icons: The Show Must Go On!” After about a year and a half of no inside stage shows, due to the COVID … more

Across the Northern Hemisphere at about this time, garlic plants are reaching for the sun. Each clove planted last fall has divided and swollen into a bulb of cloves, while the flowers emerge in a circuitous path.  more

A new Juneteenth festival will arrive in REO Town this weekend, featuring a massive lineup of live Black music, Black-owned food vendors and an in-depth panel discussion about living the Black experience in Lansing. more

One of Mandi Peterson’s prized possessions is her late mother’s jewelry box. Since her mother’s passing, the little heirloom has been a powerful tool for Peterson to reconnect with her memories and experience a warming sense of comforting nostalgia.  more

The Lansing Art Gallery’s public art project Art Path is back for its biggest year yet, featuring 20 new installations along the Lansing River Trail from artists all across Michigan.   more

Founder Jerry Norris started The Fledge with just $1200 and a dream. Since its inception, the organization has grown in size and scope. It provides free food, guideship for beginning entrepreneurs, cryptocurrency advice, a space to hold political rallies or a quiet room for local recovering addicts to meet up.   more

While shopping at ALDI the other day, I heard a young girl beg her mother, “Can we go to the farmers market? Please?” more