Kalamazoo Michigan has had its share of country music bands and musicians and some like Frankie Ballard get noticed and get offered record deals and then make the big move to Nashville to start a new life. Though many bands in the area break apart or just can't make things work while trying to balance a day job with pursuing their musical dreams others arrive on the scene prepared to fill their shoes. Kalamazoo's Small Town Son seem poised to take the reigns as one of the top draws for live music through out South West Michigan and even further.The band consists of Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Kris Hitchcock, bass player and vocalist Dan Anspaugh, Ian Szarafinski on vocals and lead guitar with fiddle player Susan Beliel and Bill Justice who also is part of the Frankie Ballard band on drums.
Kris has a good mid range singing voice well suited to cover songs by top modern country artists like Dierks Bentley and Montgomery Gentry as well as singing original material he has written himself. Ian has the talent to play a variety of stringed instruments and is especially gifted on the Telecaster guitar. Bill Justice is an intuit
ive and solid drummer that can pick up and hold a steady beat even if he hasn't heard the song before and Susan is a classically trained violinist who also is a member of the Grand Rapids Michigan symphony orchestra and she knows how to work both styles of music effortl
essly. I have recently been out to a venue in Grand Rapids Michigan called the Intersection where i was photographing a concert by Justin Moore an up and coming major label Nashville country music singer and Small Town Son was one of the opening acts on the bill. I was impressed with their faithful renditions of current and past country music hits by artists ranging from Jason Aldean to Johnny Cash and there upbeat well wri
tten originals were easily as listenable and seemed to go over well with the sold out capacity crowd in attendance. I also walked into a local bar after a show at the Kalamazoo State Theater to see Small Town Son playing on a Saturday night to a packed and partying crowd that obviously knows these guys can entertain and entertain well. Talking recently to Kris h
e told me they have more shows in the works locally again at The Intersection and also at Kalamazoo's Wild Bull Saloon as well as a possible trip to Austin Texas and if their ambition and love for country music continues to guide them along, the opportunities will not only get bigger and better, they will take them where ever they want to go.
