BackStage Pass

June 26 and 27 at East Lansing Hannah Community Center, in the Albert White Performing Arts Theater.  Two free shows per night, featuring Home Again, Domestic Problems, Howling Diablos and Silent Lapse. These concerts are being recorded for BackStage Pass, the television series featuring music made in Michigan.

PRESS RELEASE
MAY 15, 2012

"BackStage Pass" from WKAR Public Media kicks off a new production season with four concert tapings at East Lansing Hannah Community Center on June 26 and 27. The featured bands will be Home Again, Domestic Problems, Howling Diablos and Silent Lapse.

Join WKAR as it reveals the line-up for the next Backstage Pass recording sessions, coming to East Lansing in June. The WKAR television series featuring music made in Michigan kicks off an all-new season of production at a brand new venue, with bands that have never been featured before by WKAR.

The third broadcast season of BackStage Pass just wrapped up, with TV featuring music made in Michigan from the Chenille Sisters, Larry McCray, Bowery, and many more great, original acts.  Those 10 shows will repeat on WKAR-TV beginning this week and continuing into the summer.

Fans are wondering: will there be a fourth season? and, how can I be in the TV audience for the next shows?  We are thrilled to announce that there WILL be a fourth season of BackStage Pass.

But we're not ready to say more just yet. We will say this: if you're a fan of BackStage Pass from WKAR and music made in Michigan -- don't make any plans  for  the evenings of June 26 and June 27.

More to come...

Highlights from the third season.  Premiere Thu. Apr 19 at 10p on WKAR HD/23 | Sat. Apr 21 at 8p on WKAR WORLD | Sat. Apr 21 at 11p on WKAR HD/23 | VIEW IT ONLINE NOW

Blues with a modern edge out of Flint, Michigan.

Greg Nagy on BackStage Pass

Scenes from a 2012 episode of BackStage Pass from WKAR.

VIEW THE SLIDESHOW
 

Rehearsal and behind-the-scenes images of Larry McCray on BackStage Pass.
From the April 2011 taping in WKAR Studio A, for a 2012 episode of BackStage Pass from WKAR.

VIEW THE SLIDESHOW

Larry McCray on BackStage Pass

Scenes from the April 2011 taping in WKAR Studio A, for a 2012 episode of BackStage Pass from WKAR.

VIEW THE SLIDESHOW

Larry McCray and his band have been an integral part of the Michigan blues scene for over 20 years. He has released six studio albums and has received the prestige title of Orville Gibson Male Blues Guitarist in 2000.

Larry talks here about musical creativity:

If you can't step outside the lines and put any of your own influence, then there's not really much of a future left for musicians.

 I love Lou Milton’s voice, and I loved Freddy King’s guitar.  I loved different things about all of my mentors.   My mentors were B.B. King, Albert King, Freddy King, Albert Collins.  From there to Guitar Slim, to Slim Harpo, many many many many artists. 

Dueling piano boogie from Michigan rock and blues legends Bob Seeley and Bob Baldori.

Watch it online now.
Crunching funk and smooth jazz from Grammy-honored Lansing bassist.

Uplifting folk/pop songs with a message from award-winning northern Michigan duo.

Blues rock from Flint, Michigan, featuring slide-guitar master Rusty Wright.

Folk, jazz and humor from iconic Ann Arbor trio.

Edgy, harmonic tunes and favorites from nineties alt-rock icons.