When he discovered the field of engineering, David Crouse fell in love with what he said seemed to be an expanded version of his treasured plastic bricks. Combined with home-schooling, his inquisitive personality and high school achievements, this passion has led Crouse to become one of three of MSU’s University Distinguished Scholars for 2010.
Sanchez, a budding vocalist and guitarist, has since moved into Lansing-area performance venues, flexing his vocal muscles and gaining fans as he goes.
Thousands of posters, prints and other wall decor from the Beyond the Wall Poster Sale will be available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Thursday in Parlor C on the second floor of the Union.
The Ingham County Animal Control & Shelter will hold an orientation meeting for all new volunteers at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the shelter, 600 Curtis St., in Mason.
The Mackerel Sky Gallery of Contemporary Craft, 211 M.A.C. Ave., will feature the exhibit “Leaping into the Third Decade.”
MSU professors of jazz studies will be performing alongside alumnus and New Orleans musician Henry Butler at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 1 in Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.
From kindergarten to high school, MSU exchange student Ju Ran Park from Seoul, South Korea attended competitive private schools, and is now discovering the differences between her hometown and her new MSU campus.
In high school, Aaron Schwartz-Duval was on the swim team. Not wanting to abandon the pool entirely after going to college, he decided to embrace a different kind of water sport — underwater hockey. After joining the MSU underwater hockey club, Schwartz-Duval, now a biochemistry and molecular biology junior, said he’s gained an appreciation and understanding of a sport many in the U.S. don’t even know exists.
After releasing her first full-length pop/R&B album “Trouble” this year, recent MSU graduate Crystal Williams, who goes by the stage name Jenna Milan, said she is ready to continue pursuing her music career now that she is done with school.
For jazz musician and Okemos resident Neil Gordon, Lansing JazzFest 2010 was not only about jazz music, but also the feeling of a community coming together. The annual festival, which is now in its 16th year, happened Friday and Saturday in Lansing’s Old Town. The event is one of many festivals thrown in Old Town to celebrate a variety of different musical genres, with this one focused on bringing jazz to the Lansing area and its residents.
The 16th annual Lansing JazzFest will take place from 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and from 2 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the intersection of Turner Street and Grand River Avenue, in Lansing.
The new release “The Suburbs” from Montreal-based band Arcade Fire sounds, quite plainly, like lead singer Win Butler has wandered off and mistaken the band The National for his own.
Indie band Archeology performed Saturday at Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing and delivered an entertaining and well-executed show.
In the middle of Joe Hertler’s freshman year at Central Michigan University, he bought his first guitar and started what would become a lifelong relationship. Although not from the area, Hertler said the East Lansing music scene is one that makes the trip to town worth his while because it’s supportive of blossoming musicians like himself.
There are few 21-year-olds who can say they have complete financial independence. But entrepreneur and kinesiology senior Alex Maroko has just that. After spending his childhood dreaming of becoming a college basketball player, Maroko’s passion for the sport led him in a slightly different direction — helping others improve their game instead of working on his own.
From the familiar billboards on the highways to coming-of-age landmarks we all experience, Frontier Ruckus has made a CD that feels so close to home it would make anyone who’s kissed the mitten state goodbye want to pack up their bags and return home. As the band’s second full-length LP since they released “Orion’s Songbook” in 2008, the follow-up leaves nothing to be desired — which is more than impressive for a band still in the midst of building itself.
M.I.A. is no stranger to controversy. She’s been called many things since her debut album “Arular” hit the scene in 2005: a genius, a radical and, most recently, a hypocrite. But the one thing listeners and critics usually could agree on was the fact that her music, after all was said and done, was innovative, inspired and powerful. Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore.
With a platform based on her passion for the fight against human trafficking, newly crowned Miss Michigan 2010 and MSU alumna Katie Lynn LaRoche is hoping use her celebrity to make a difference.
Local band Gunnar and the Grizzly Boys sat down with The State News to discuss their music in anticipation of “Home Grown,” the CD the band is releasing this month. The group has opened up for big country names including Gretchen Wilson and Justin Moore and plan to continue with their band in to the future.
As two different celebrations that are placed back to back, the Festival of the Moon and Festival of the Sun each emphasized different beverage tastings as well as celebrations. Friday night featured a beer tasting with Kalamazoo-based Bell’s Brewery, Inc., in honor of the shortest night of the year at the Festival of the Moon. Saturday’s event featured a wine tasting of a variety of local wineries to highlight the summer solstice for the Festival of the Sun.