Rusty Vining & His Friends ‘bold, clear’ with new music

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Rusty Vining has come a long way since acquiring his first 3/4-size electric guitar at age 9.

“Man, I played the same three chords on that for a year in the one scale that I knew, and I just spent hours playing it every day,” the West Michigan musician recalled, noting he started writing songs at age 13 and continued to pursue music as a student at Wyoming Park High School outside Grand Rapids.

“I was never big into joining extra-curriculars. So, I would go home from school and I had a four-track Yamaha cassette recorder and I would plug any device into it that I thought could make a cool noise and I would track my guitars. I had one Shure SM58 microphone. … That was how I got started, just spending hours in the basement every night.”

He released his first solo record in 2017, performed with various regional bands over the years and eventually hooked up with other musicians during a 2024 show at The Stray in Grand Rapids, which sparked formation of the Americana-leaning Rusty Vining & His Friends. Things obviously clicked, because earlier this year, the band won The Stray’s fourth annual battle of the bands.

Now, the group aims to release its debut album by Thanksgiving, after dropping two singles from the project recorded mostly in keyboardist Brian Paige’s basement and in Vining’s barn in Otsego.

“I’m just blessed to have these guys,” Vining said of the band that features Paige, violinist Jeffrey Niemeier, bassist Nathan Walker, guitarist Joshua Kohns and drummer Hailey Petty, with Vining on guitar, vocals and percussion.

After playing a 10 a.m. Art in the Park show at Wicks Park in Saugatuck, the group will return to The Stray tonight (Saturday, Sept. 13) for a special pre-release party for the forthcoming “Already Not Yet” album. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show, $11.20, available online here. Lost Mary, Josh Garvelink and Stray Horses also are on the bill.

“We’re kind of tracking the timeline of the record,” Vining said of Saturday night’s show aimed at promoting the new songs while encouraging fans to pre-order the album.

“When they do, they will receive updates and behind-the-scenes content, as well as early listening privileges as the record wraps up. I’m a big believer in directly connecting with the people who support us.” (More info at rustysfriends.com.)

VIDEO: Rusty Vining & His Friends, Live at Audiofeed 2025 (Champaign Urbana, Ill.)

INSPIRED BY PAUL SIMON, ADOPTING A ‘COLLECTIVE MENTALITY’

Citing songwriter Paul Simon as a major influence, Vining said his own songs fall into the Americana category, combining folk, country, rock, blues and various roots music styles.

“The sonic underpinning of this album is a bold and clear statement that this is a work of community … friends making art together, having a conversation through their instruments,” he suggested.

The album’s theme, he said, revolves around “a little bit of the feeling of coming home and a little bit of the feeling of leaving for an adventure” – the duality of living “in the space of already and the not yet.”

‘Blessed to Have These Guys’: Vining and some of his band members. (Courtesy Photo)

With the album’s imminent release, Vining noted that “things just keep getting exponentially more busy for us.”

The band plays the Bloodline Festival in South Bend, Ind., in late October, followed by a November appearance at Noco Fest in Pittsburgh. They’re also planning a Grand Rapids show to close out the year in December.

“We’re going to keep traveling farther and farther as we can,” Vining said, noting that individual band members are working on their own projects, too: Kohns plans release of a new recording, “Tend,” Petty plays drums for The American Hotel System, Paige is working on an electronic music release, and Niemeier has performed with a bevy of regional artists.

“We’ve sort of adopted this collective mentality that when one of us succeeds or makes a landmark, it’s good for all of us,” said Vining, who also works at Monroe Community Church.

“That’s something we’re trying to encourage. We definitely want to support each other.”

For this week’s edition of the Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase, Vining spotlighted two songs from the new album – “Don’t It Feel Good” and “The Moment.” Listen to the interview and songs below, along with the full radio show podcast that also featured new tracks by Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble, Pablo Eskobear, Lower Leisure Class, Alex Austin, Modern Time Machines (a song co-written by Detroit’s late Allee Willis), Celeste Allison and Just Magnetic. The show closes with a classic song by late Grand Rapids singer Kathy Lamar.

The Michigan Music Showcase airs at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org, and on Interlochen Public Radio at 7 p.m. Saturdays.

PODCAST: Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase (9/12/25)

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