This phrase has become a bit of a cliché in recent years, but I’m using it anyway. You will find it plastered all over the city: on stickers, magnets, and even a painted seal statue in the middle of the Kalamazoo mall. At the time of writing, Kalamazoo currently boasts a population of about 73,000. If you’re even a hobbyist musician, you’ve surely heard of it—225 Parsons Street is the former home of the Gibson guitar factory, now housing the no-less-prestigious Heritage Guitars. It’s been name-checked by artists as diverse as Glenn Miller, John Fogerty, and Luna, among others.
I spent six years in Kalamazoo, Michigan—I lived there from 2018 to 2024, growing up in Grand Rapids and moving about 50 miles south for a change of pace. I arrived as a somewhat IT-handy musician, fumbling around for a bit before enrolling in an undergraduate program at Western Michigan University, finally achieving a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. In those six years, I spent a great deal of my time both playing and attending shows, immersing myself deeply in Kalamazoo’s rich and adventurous music scene. I formed my band Moon Orchids—whose original run lasted from 2021 until 2025, producing two records and a non-album single along the way—with some of the most incredible artists, musicians, and human beings I have ever known, many of whom are featured in this article under their own authorial guises.
Moon Orchids performing at Bell’s Eccentric Café on August 10, 2023 (photo credit: Jessica Simons)
If there is anything I’ve learned about this scene in Kalamazoo, Michigan, it’s that its participants are some of the most genuinely weird and weirdly genuine musicians I have seen in any city I’ve inhabited. People in Kalamazoo are loud, radical, and freaky, and I mention this only as a compliment to the scene. They are fiercely independent and generally uninterested in commercial attention, fostering an impressive DIY/DIT and house venue network that rivals anything I’ve seen in any other corner of the state (with Detroit as the one possible exception). It’s a scene that has largely stayed out of the spotlight, though anyone who’s spent any significant amount of time there can surely attest to this.
In light of all this, I thought I would place the spotlight on a few active artists in Kalamazoo who have made my time there memorable, acts that continue to bring me joy and proud associations with this lovely, beautifully offbeat city. As such, my write-ups will obviously be slanted by my personal experience with these artists—also, it’s a pretty intimate little society, and there is a good deal of cross-pollinating among these acts, my own included. I’m sure I will inevitably end up leaving someone out, but this list is only the tip of the iceberg. Please do be sure to explore this music scene further. You are sure to be rewarded.
Blood at Ease
Blood at Ease performing at Factory Coffee in October 2024
Blood at Ease is the current vehicle for the songs of Bailey Miller, originally hailing from Battle Creek, Michigan. I first met Bailey at a house show in 2019, performing with a previous band called Super Tan. His primal energy, command of the stage, and seemingly endless well of material captured me immediately, and we became fast friends, corresponding regularly afterward. Post–COVID-19 pandemic, I asked him to join my band Moon Orchids, where he acted as an invaluable contributor throughout our initial run. Outside of this arrangement, we can also lay claim to having attended the last-ever Brian Wilson concert (RIP) at Pine Knob, the Bill Callahan show in Chicago that later became the Resuscitate! 2xLP, and five Bob Dylan performances in a two-week span amidst senior-year midterms, among tons of others. To say that Bailey is one of my best friends is an understatement; truly, he is more like blood to me.
That’s all, a very long-winded way of saying that his current band, Blood at Ease, is a singularly excellent group. Bailey is uniquely capable of accessing both pathos and sentiment—often simultaneously—in his visceral, cathartic performances, which is to say nothing of his songwriting habits, both prolific and increasingly profound. His 2023 album The Holes That House the Seeds is a fine example of this, alternating between gently plucked folk melodies and raucous explosions of sound. These songs were written and recorded when the band was still in the process of forming; since then, the group has expanded to a quintet that recalls an alternate universe in which the Magnolia Electric Co. signed up for a leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue. If their next album is even half as good as some of their more recent performances, then we’re all in for a treasure.
Overly Polite Tornadoes
Mark Andrew Morris and Holly Klutts-Morris of Overly Polite Tornadoes performing at Bell’s Eccentric Café
Another band at the top of my list—additionally, perhaps the best-named band on this list—is Overly Polite Tornadoes, a husband-and-wife duo comprising Mark Andrew Morris and Holly Klutts-Morris. I have often referred to the OPTs as our sister band, as we seem to have an eerily similar release schedule. Moon Orchids were honored to provide support for them at their release show for 2022’s brilliant i will hold you someday, and we’ve crossed paths many times before and since. Mark and Holly continue to be wonderful friends and influences, beacons of light in their little corner of the world.
One need look no further than 2025’s Leave a Space for arguably the Overly Polite Tornadoes’ greatest representation on record. The thirteen tracks are hymns to domesticity and the beauty of the mundane, expertly written, recorded, and produced by just Mark and Holly themselves, with some additional sounds from their daughter, Wren. The songs span an eclectic mix of dream pop, shoegaze, indie folk, and slowcore, all with a cautiously optimistic slant, playing like a brief symposium of underground sounds from the 1990s to the present. It’s incredible stuff from a group that only gets better with each release.
Lucius Fox
Lucius Fox performing live in 2025 (photo credit: Chago Ramos)
Where do I even begin with Lucius Fox? I first met guitarist/keyboardist Jeremy Cronk—one half of the group, along with drummer Paul Drake—at Shakespeare’s Lower Level in 2018. A mutual friend had connected us before my move to KZ, thinking we’d get along well. We ran into one another intermittently throughout the years, with Jeremy later joining Moon Orchids as bass guitarist and unofficial Swiss Army knife, hopping over to electric guitar and lap steel as the songs demanded. I must preface my dissemination of Lucius Fox’s music by stating that Jeremy is easily among the most skillful all-around musicians I have ever known, personally or otherwise.
His work with Lucius Fox, however, is decidedly quite different. Everyone seems to have a different description of this “maximalist two-piece” (their words), with terms like math rock and prog-metal being thrown around. Were one to twist my arm, I’d probably use John Coltrane and Rashied Ali’s 1974 masterpiece Interstellar Space as my reference point—blistering, absurdly focused compositions centered around the solar system (with more Michigan-specific and environmental themes thrown in for good measure). This is a band that must be seen live and in the flesh, where turning down the volume for respite is not an option. Their approach is an assault on the senses that one will not soon forget. They’ve also got a ferocious double album, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, that was released on September 12, 2025; you’d be wise to order it and, obviously, play it loud.
Isaac Turner/OUT/Wowza in Kalamazoo/Three Grebes/Minutes
Mr. Isaac Turner is having a seat on his throne.
Isaac John “Ike” Turner (not that Ike Turner) is an institution in and of himself. I could write a piece on his activity over the past decade alone; alas, for now, I will keep it (relatively) brief. Mr. Ike Turner hails from North Dakota and has been a fixture of the Michigan music scene since January 2003. He is also a tenured professor at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, teaching creative writing and rock and roll history by day and applying the subjects to bewildering effect by—well, seemingly every other moment, conscious and otherwise. He possesses a wealth of knowledge on music, and his numerous projects reflect his voracious appetite for experimentation and collaboration.
He has recently begun releasing music as a solo artist, detailed on this year’s Let’s Play This One for Laughs and 2024’s Grand Prairie. He is also a founding member of the psych/prog/noise/Krautrock-flavored Wowza in Kalamazoo, the muscular, hard-hitting OUT (who opened for the legendary Silkworm at Chicago’s Chop Shop in September), and the free jazz–informed Three Grebes, among far too many others to name. Prior to all this, he was a member of the excellent post-hardcore group Minutes, boasting releases on both the renowned Dischord and Comedy Minus One indie record labels. Whether he’s on drums, guitar, or some makeshift noise generator, Ike approaches his instrument with an almost naive sense of wonder and excitement, playing every gig with the urgency of a man with everything to prove and nothing to lose.
Terry Chomato/Due Dither
Brendon Infante (with a yellow Ibanez electric guitar) performing at Second Impact in November 2024
Like Mr. Jeremy Cronk of Lucius Fox, Brendon Infante is another one of KZ’s hardest-working multi-hyphenates. He is perhaps most well-known as an audio engineer and supporting musician. He’s mixed a significant amount of records coming out of the scene and sat behind the drum kit for at least as many (including both Moon Orchids and Blood at Ease). He is also a seriously professional multi-instrumentalist and producer who shines when he allows himself a turn in the spotlight.
Pre-pandemic (and recently reactivated!), Brendon was the figurehead of Due Dither, a bracing post-hardcore/math rock project (also occasionally featuring Jeremy Cronk in live performances) following in the footsteps of extreme groups such as Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan. In March 2024, he released an entirely self-recorded EP under the name Terry Chomato, which has sporadically served as his “dance pilled punk” alter ego. In between, he ran a successful house venue that hosted a variety of bands from in and out of town. Take a walk through the Vine neighborhood on a Friday or Saturday night, and you’re bound to find Brendon at the mic or the kit in any given basement or rock club.
Bronson Arm
Bronson Arm performing at Bell’s Eccentric Café in May 2025 (photo credit: Victor Vague)
I stated just above that Brendon Infante has mixed just about every major record coming out of the Kalamazoo music scene. If that’s true, then Blake Bickel of Bronson Arm has mastered just as many. Blake moved to Kalamazoo from Seattle around the same time that I had moved from Grand Rapids. We connected over a mutual love of Silkworm, Shellac, and other classic Touch & Go acts and quickly became close. He’s got an ear like no other and an incredibly acute attention to detail, and his mastering service—Dynamic Sound Service—offers some of the best value on the market today.
Blake and drummer Garrett Yates make up the deafening sludge duo Bronson Arm, a fixture in KZ since their inception in 2019. Currently recording for Learning Curve Records, they have released two full-length albums to date—2025’s Casket Schwagg and 2024’s Bronson Arm. Their live act is quite the spectacle, with Blake feeding his heavily modified baritone guitar into a dual-amp setup (guitar and bass) while Garrett lunges and thrashes away at the kit. The effect is absurdly loud, especially for a two-piece that frequently sounds as if they’ve somehow multiplied themselves on stage. Ever the tinkerer, Blake also runs Emerald Circuits, for which he builds custom fuzz boxes and assorted guitar electronics. Garrett, with his lovely wife Rachel, owns and manages The RunOff, arguably the most successful house venue in West Michigan.
Future Living/Weirder Wonderland/Petrillo
Future Living perched outside the Dischord house in Washington, D.C. (photo credit: Ryan Nelson)
Weirder Wonderland:
“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) …”
I’m generally not a fan of lifting artist bios wholesale, but I think that guitarist and occasional vocalist Chafe Hensley summed it up pretty perfectly when I prompted him for a soundbite. Their approach doesn’t lend itself to an easy description; they are by turns noisy, abrasive, anthemic, aggressive, bullheaded, wholesome, and just downright fun. The band consists of the aforementioned Hensley with his loving partner, the duende-oozing Anne Hensley on bass guitar and lead vocals. “Lead” guitarist/texture wizard John Patterson and barely-controlled drummer Neal Markowski (Future Living’s Chicago component) fill out the group accordingly. We had the pleasure of sharing the stage at Bell’s with these fine folks on January 19, 2024—the last Moon Orchids show up to this point—and I can confidently say that the quality of their music is directly proportional to their collective kindness and camaraderie.
Anne and Chafe also form the self-contained collective Weirder Wonderland, an independent business promoting art, media, creativity, teaching, collaboration, and humor, among other things. It is their desire to foster the principle of a “humane, empowered community” through their artistic endeavors, and their services include writing, editing, painting, design, illustration, songwriting, and tutoring. When their schedules allow for it, Chafe also plays in the Kalamazoo bands OUT and Wowza (both with Isaac Turner), while Anne plays in the angular rock trio Petrillo with Franki Hand (also of Wowza) and Melanie Crow.
Jeremy Ruggles
Jeremy Ruggles (second from left) performing with David S. Kruse and friends at Second Impact
Radical is his brand—he’s said so himself. Jeremy Ruggles is among Kalamazoo’s most idiosyncratic musicians and, in this writer’s humble opinion, one of Michigan’s hidden songwriting gems. He performs only sporadically under his given name, but his output contains everything from shades of Bill Callahan and Destroyer to the Velvet Underground and John Denver, all thrown in the proverbial blender with his singular voice sprinkled on top. He’s a master of subtle textures and sucker-punch turns of phrase, his love of words and wit serving as the dominant characteristic of his original music. He’s also an adventurous guitarist in his own right, lending his six-string (and sometimes four-string) skills to Blood at Ease, David S. Kruse, and Bubble Crud, among others.
When Jeremy is not creating his own music or playing as a sideman with any of the above artists, he works as a Kalamazoo correspondent to NPR. Jeremy also serves as co-host (with Sean Hartman and Peter Cook) of the I’d Buy That for a Dollar podcast, a great show about underappreciated records that one can easily find for ten dollars or less, where his sharp tongue and self-effacing sense of humor are on full display.
Jessi Phillips/Eight Belles
Michigan and Northern California–based musician and songwriter Jessi Phillips.
Jessi Phillips is a Kalamazoo-area native who divides her time between Michigan and Northern California. She is a celebrated singer-songwriter around these parts, having released her excellent Be Human EP in March 2023 (reportedly with more new music on the way!). She is also a member of the Oakland, California–based duo Eight Belles, who released their compilation Ghost Lights in November 2024. Jessi’s original songs contain a sort of rustic, beautifully ragged quality that seeks to uphold the Americana tradition while imprinting it with something fresh, recalling classic idiomatic artists such as Emmylou Harris, Fairport Convention, and the Stone Poneys, all carried by her soaring, natural vocal delivery.
Jessi is also a writer and journalist who holds an MFA in fiction writing from Western Michigan University. While her correspondence work may not be so obviously reflected in her music, her economy with language is readily apparent to any keen listener. Whether rocking out or slowing down the tempo for a more contemplative number, Jessi always does so in a thoughtful, deliberate manner, illustrating her respect for the written word and the inexplicable flow of interlinked phrases on the page.
Arianna Staiger
Kalamazoo-based singer-songwriter Arianna (Ari) Staiger
Arianna (Ari) Staiger is an interesting one. If there’s anyone on this list that I regret not knowing better while I was in Kalamazoo, it’s her. Ari’s most recent release, with you in rockland, came out in August 2016; she’s performed only sporadically since then, generally at basement shows in and around the historic Vine neighborhood. However, this five-song EP reveals the insights of a highly instinctive and original songwriter. Accompanied only by a steadily strummed guitar (with occasional tinklings of keys, light percussion, and brief washes of guitar feedback), she sings, wails, crows, croons, and mutters through her minimal compositions, each one ending nearly as soon as it began.
Our schedules never seemed to line up properly, and I missed her when she’d perform every so often—still, I hope that we can manage to link up at some point sooner or later. More than that, and at the risk of sounding greedy, I hope to hear some new music from her between now and then. I don’t even know how to describe her songs… like Joanna Newsom on a Ramones diet? It doesn’t matter—they’re just good, and you should listen to them, too.
In Conclusion
Kalamazoo is a special place, and it took me moving over 500 miles away to truly understand that. The artists I’ve detailed here are among the finest that any local music scene has to offer, and many of them have produced works that I continue to hold among my all-time favorites. Because of the sheer amount of music being created here, I couldn’t include all that this seemingly unassuming city has to offer, but you’d be wise to dig deeper—perhaps by starting with the “kalamazoo” Bandcamp tag. You’re bound to find something both genuinely weird and weirdly genuine.
Written by Jacob Simons
