\u2018A More Joyful Relationship With Music\u2019: Graham Parsons, at right, of The Go Rounds. (Photo\/Eric Stoike)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n SCROLL DOWN FOR RADIO SHOW PODCAST<\/em><\/p>\n Support our coverage of Amid the twists and turns of a rock \u2018n\u2019 roll life \u2013 and especially after the \u201creally weird\u201d fallout from the 2020 COVID pandemic \u2013 Graham Parsons pondered whether The Go Rounds<\/a> would survive.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been many times where I felt like this project had lost its life force, many times when we questioned the whole path,\u201d he said of the distinctive psychedelic-tinged rock, folk and pop band he formed in Kalamazoo with Andy Catlin back in 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon at all amongst people trying to make music and performance a primary part of their livelihood and day-to-day. Specifically, I think there was a 3- to 4-month period in 2022 where it felt like The Go Rounds might go away for good. But it didn\u2019t take long to understand that the project could always exist in some capacity or another. The music exists and lives on to be shared.\u201d<\/p>\n But 2025 has seen The Go Rounds building momentum again. <\/p>\n The Band: The Go Rounds\u2019 2025 lineup. (Courtesy Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The group released a long-awaited studio album, \u201cDonut,\u201d in March, has toured regularly across the state with a high-profile appearance next month at the Wheatland Music Festival<\/a>, and will soon return to the recording studio, not only for a full band project but a Graham Parsons solo record, too.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re definitely going to play some more shows, and I really want to record this album with them, with this new quartet, these songs that we\u2019ve sort of worked up together. It\u2019s a really special, a different gear for The Go Rounds,\u201d Parsons said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely more mellow, but beautiful and so sensitive and really dynamic and nice. And then, yeah, I want to do a solo album of songs, things that I\u2019ve written since 2020 that are ultra mellow and that really wouldn\u2019t fit in The Go Rounds project.\u201d<\/p>\n That new quartet \u2013 singer, guitarist and keyboardist Parsons, bassist Drew Tyner, drummer Sam Woldenberg and keyboardist Charlie Millard \u2013 has several shows in the offing over the next month, including Short\u2019s Brewing in Bellaire on Sunday (Aug. 31), two shows in the Upper Peninsula, and appearances Sept. 27 at Leelanau Uncaged<\/a> in Leelanau and Sept. 28 at the Sounds of the Zoo <\/a>festival in Kalamazoo.<\/p>\n But Parsons says band members are particularly excited about their 10 p.m. Friday (Sept. 5) performance on the Centennial Stage at Wheatland Music Festival in Remus. The group plans to add acclaimed Michigan musicians and singers Samantha Cooper<\/strong> and Elisabeth Pixley-Fink<\/strong> as special guests for their late-night set at the iconic, long-running Michigan festival.<\/p>\n The Go Rounds have played Wheatland once before, about 10 years ago, and Parsons said the band still has fans approaching them at shows to recount their experiences from that special set. <\/p>\n \u201cAll these festivals have closed (but) Wheatland has remained \u2026 just as this unshakeable force within the scene. It\u2019s so traditional and I\u2019m kind of surprised we\u2019re playing it again, but maybe that speaks to where our music has evolved and revolved back to maybe its more essential components and the songs and roots of it, and just presenting it in a way that\u2019s a little less challenging, a little more joyful.\u201d<\/p>\n Get more information about Wheatland with the full schedule and ticket information online here<\/a>.<\/p>\n LISTEN: The Go Rounds, \u201cHarpees\u201d (from \u201cDonut\u201d)<\/strong>
West Michigan’s music scene<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.localspins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/29150237\/goroundspublicityphoto20251.jpg?resize=338%2C271&ssl=1\")
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