GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announces the return of the popular concert series: Concerts Under the Stars, an immersive full-dome experience curated by the GRPM’s Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, highlighting local musicians and visual artists. Concerts Under the Stars has quickly become a staple of the underground West Michigan music scene.
Each performance pairs a local musician with a local visual artist, who creates custom visuals that are then projected onto the Planetarium dome during the performance, creating a powerful multi-sensory live-music experience. These shows are vibrant artistic collaborations, and every one is different.
The full lineup is as follows:
How to Live Together with visual artist Kristin Zuller | February 12 & 13, @ 7:30 p.m.
Clawfoot with visual artist Will Mosqueda | March 12 & 13 @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunken Melody with visual artist Joe Zook | April 9 & 10 @ 7:30 p.m.
“The experience in the Planetarium during a concert is intimate, immersive, and unique,” said Jack Daleske, the GRPM’s Planetarium and Theater Manager. “If you have never attended one of these shows, you’re in for a real treat. We recommend buying your tickets soon, because they typically sell out.”
The first show, featuring How to Live Together and Kristin Zuller, is coming up fast, less than a month away. How to Live Together is a moody electro-synth pop project blending playful digital textures with dark analog tones. Their name is part of their ethos— exploring how we create community. Zuller is a designer, illustrator, lettering artist, and graduate of Kendall College of Art and Design, fascinated by psychology, anthropology, and cosmology. Together, these artists will take audiences on a journey through sound and visuals.
The second set of shows will showcase the music of Clawfoot, a cryptic darkwave synth rock project that tells audiences to expect “brooding electronic sermons and gothic cathedral songbirds that kiss your cheek before vanishing into a black velvet curtain.” Visual Artist Will Mosqueda is an experimental filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist whose work has been exhibited across the state. Both call Grand Rapids home.
The final shows in March bring together Sunken Melody and Joe Zook. Sunken Melody is an ambient project from Steve Leaf, who has also collaborated with The Ex Pats, Public Access, and The Crane Wives. His sound blends drum machines, synthesizers, vocals, and guitar into dreamy minimalist beats and melodies perfect for relaxation and introspection. Joe Zook is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and radio host. He’s directed films, co-hosts a podcast called “The Long Road Home Alone,” and is a Production manager at GRTV.
Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., including access to the Museum’s first two floors of exhibits. Performers will play two sets with a short intermission in between. Beer, wine, and other refreshments will be available for purchase. Tickets are $24, with discounted pricing of $20 for GRPM members.
To learn more about this series or to purchase tickets, visit grpm.org/concerts-under-the-stars.
