Sean here.

I’m back in Mount Pleasant for school and there are a ton of shows coming up in town over the next few months I’m really excited about and you should be too.

Check it out:

Rubble’s Bar is located at: 112 W. Michigan St., Mount Pleasant, MI

Hunter’s Ale House is located at: 4855 East Blue Grass Road, Mount Pleasant, MI

Thursday Jan. 17

• Mount Pleasant’s The Deep End and Newday Dreamers along with Midland’s Killer Kong play Rubble’s Bar.
• 10 p.m./$3/21+

Thursday Jan. 24

• Grand Rapids band The Soil and the Sun play Rubble’s Bar with Lansing’s Elliot Street Lunatic and Mount Pleasant band Moses opening.
• 10 p.m./$5/21+

Saturday Jan. 26

• Detroit indie-dance band Flint Eastwood play Hunter’s Ale House with Farwell’s Delightfuls and Mount Pleasant’s Benthos opening.
• 9:30 p.m./FREE for 21+ and $2 for anyone 18-20

Friday Feb. 8

• Grand Rapids ska band Mustard Plug play Rubble’s Bar with Lansing’s Decades and Mount Pleasant’s Ugly Broads opening.
• 10 p.m./21+/$7

Saturday Feb. 16

• Grand Rapids band The Soil and the Sun play an all-ages show with Mount Pleasant’s Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers, Moses and Newday Dreamers opening.
• 8 p.m./Ticket prices TBA

Friday March 22

• Detroit indie band Bars of Gold play Hunter’s Ale House with Grand Rapids band Empty Orchestra and a local band to be determined opening.
• 9 p.m./FREE for 21+ and $2 for 18+

Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers released their newest music video for “Ego Loss on Grand River Avenue” yesterday. Filmed by MSU student Matt Hallowell during the Michigan State University homecoming parade last year, the video is one continuous take.

The band are currently working on new music, including their newest single “Home For a Funeral”, which is a free download on their website. Catch them opening for The Wallflowers and Lights at Commonground Music Festival in Lansing, MI tomorrow. Buy tickets here.

Midwest Fest 2012, held this year on September 25-29, at Rubble’s Bar as well as Kaya Coffee and Tea Co. in downtown Mount Pleasant, MI, has released the poster after holding a contest to design this year’s festival poster. The winner was Gina Heydens.

Photo courtesy of the Midwest Fest Facebook page. Flier by Gina Heydens.

Lansing bands playing the festival include Drinking Mercury and Elliot Street Lunatic. Detroit’s The Hard Lessons are headlining the final night of the festival but other bands such as Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers, The Soil and the Sun, Empty Orchestra, Gifts or Creatures, Child Bite and many others are playing throughout the week. Get your tickets at the above link by clicking on “Tickets”.

Sorry for the missed post last week. I’ve been busy working on a lot of (coincidentally) stories on the local music scene in Mount Pleasant for CM Life. The stories will be published on Wednesday April 11 in this upcoming week’s Vibe section. Get stoked!

Back to the series, this time with Moses.

Playing a brand of folk rock which encompasses soaring and catchy melodies with an uncompromising experimental slant to their music, Moses has been making waves around Mount Pleasant since last year. With all members of the band being students at Central Michigan University, they take advantage of this fact. They often will play acoustic sets around the campus, further showcasing their DIY attitudes and willingness to just play music. Plain and simple. With songs like “Huron”, featuring hand drums and a catchy chorus, the members often switch instruments during sets and while writing songs, making the band a musical force to be reckoned with.

Their next show is on Thursday April 19 at Rubble’s Bar with Wavvy Hands, Delightfuls and Hour 24. RSVP to the show here.

We’re back with more Mount Pleasant music coverage…This time covering Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers

Photo credit to Victoria Zegler

In the last couple of years, Joe Hertler and the band have expanded their locales to include Lansing as well but their roots in Mount Pleasant will never go away. Hertler, a student at Central Michigan University, began playing open mics at Kaya Coffeehouse a few years ago and hasn’t looked back. Releasing “The Hard Times LP” by himself on bandcamp, he garnered praise for his unique voice, honesty and energy in his music. Hertler now plays with a band, the Rainbow Seekers, who compliment and expand exponentially upon his energy. Their live show, comprised of singalongs and loud yet delicate instrumentation, is something to be seen to be believed. The band released “On Being” last year to praise around the state. The band even played a CMJ Showcase show in Brooklyn, NY last year.

• Catch Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers with Elliot Street Lunatic at Rubble’s Bar on Saturday April 14. More information on ticket prices and age limit soon.

So, I (Sean) have been in Mount Pleasant going to school at CMU since last August. In my time here, I’ve discovered a few great bands worth talking about. Mount Pleasant isn’t a town to sleep on. Although the scene may be small, it has some great artists and musicians. I’ll be doing a weekly series profiling local musicians here.

First up is Newday Dreamers.

The band is: Micah Bracken, Cody Armstrong, Ryan Heisler and (recently added member) Adam Marth.

Forming in 2008, the band has been making more waves in the last couple years. They played Mount Pleasant festival Midwest Fest last year at Rubble’s Bar. They’ve also played countless gigs at Rubble’s as well as Kaya Coffeehouse and Tea Co. With a sound encompassing indie pop and rock, the band can pull off a slower song but can also crank it into high gear. They played the 2012 edition of the Middle of the Mitten showcase and, at another show, an entire set of Talking Heads songs in East Lansing recently. Their song, “Cars”, is an excellent example of their technicality and skill as songwriters as well. The band have been playing more and more gigs outside of Mount Pleasant at places like Mac’s Bar in Lansing and even playing a gig soon down in Ypsilanti at Woodruff’s Bar. “Cars” is also in rotation on 91.5 FM in Mount Pleasant and 88.9 The Impact in Lansing as well. Expect great things from this band in the future.

Check them out on Facebook, Tumblr and Bandcamp.