Youth, as they say, is wasted on the young. When I was a wee lass back in 1991, a friend of mine said that she was going to something called “Lollapalooza”, featuring bands called Nine Inch Nails and Pearl Jam. Having never heard of the “Lollapalooza” or the Nine Inch Nails or the Pearl Jam, I begged off on her invitation to go with her. I also spent an inordinate amount of time debating whether that was nails like fingernails or nails like what you pounded into the wall.

About half a year later, I was of course kicking myself for not accompanying my friend. Perry Farrell’s festival exploded into the “alt” rock scene and tickets were both hard to come by and expensive. I was going to camp out for tickets in 1994 (that’s how it was done in those days, kids) when Nirvana was rumored to headline, but then Kurt died and I decided to skip it.

Nowadays, the festival surges on, but with bands I’ve never heard of. I mean, seriously? The Shins? The Weeknd (see what they did there?)? Die Antwood??!! Makes Nine Inch Nails sound downright serene.

Fortunately, there is something similarly named that is nearby and much less expensive and that, my friends, is Lagerpalooza! Yes, our own Wolverine Brewing Company is hosting ten nights of live music in their tap room!!

When the tap room first opened, explained my pal and marketing director, E.T. Crowe, they had live music almost every weekend. Then, they started having it once a month. Now, they want to see if there is an audience for more frequent live music performances and that is how we ended up with almost a dozen nights of awesome. E.T. said that the brewpub loves having local and regional stars and will be having more live music in the future, especially after they install their own sound system. There may even be an open mic night in the fall.

The event “named itself”, says E.T., as you can enjoy Wolverine’s award-winning lagers (and sometimes a few ales) brewed with love by brewer Oliver Roberts. The line up is impressive, to wit: 16 More Miles, Doug Horn Jazz Trio, Dragon Wagon, The Crane Wives, Moxie Strings with Fritz McGirr, Wayward Roots, The Bitter Regrets and Dirty Deville AND, JUST ADDED, a second night with Lindsey Lou & the Flatbellys (May 29^th) and a performance by the Mike Shimmin Blues Trio (May 22^nd).

You still have time to come out and catch these bands. Don’t do as I did 21 (gulp) years ago and miss out on the awesome tunes. A great time—and a great lager—will be had by all. And just think—you don’t even have to deal with Ticketmaster.