For the past seventeen years, radio station WLAV (97.6), a classic rock station, has hosted what has become a Grand Rapids legend, Blues on the Mall.  For the past three years, the series was cut from ten to seven shows, giving their sister country station the last three weeks.  This year, the series is back to a full ten weeks of blues.  And the best part……it’s free!

Each week a different national touring act graces Rosa Parks Circle and always plays to an appreciative crowd of between 4,000 and 8,000 fans.  The great thing about this event…. and it is an event…. is that you’ll see all types of people dancing together.  From the Goth look to the elderly, they all come to this very summer social happening and, for the ten weeks, there are no social lines; just a crowd looking for a good time and good blues.

Kicking off the 2008 series was St. Louis native Mike Zito.  Always a music lover, Mike’s choice of instrument was chosen for him when he received a Van Halen album for his birthday.  From that point on, he was on the path to guitar slinger. Blue Room was his first independent release in 1996, which was followed by the 1999 America’s Most Wanted.  As with many stars on the rise, Zito found himself in the clutches of alcohol and drug abuse to help cope with the rigors of non-stop touring.  To his rescue came Walter Trout, who told him he’d been there and done that, and that it was a dead end.  He had a responsibility to his fans and to the music itself to perform unaffected.  While Zito took those words to heart, it wasn’t until he settled in Texas and met his wife that he could find the strength to clean up his lifestyle.  Following this life change, he released Slow It Down in 2004 and Superman in 2006.  In 2007, he teamed with Randy Chortkoff and Eclecto Groove Records to release Today.

Zito and his power trio (whom he identified only as Mike and Mike) took the stage with a roar and pounded the crowd with a bass heavy taste of the evening. Pulling songs from all his releases, he even included Prince’s Little Red Corvette, a couple of Jimi Hendrix songs, and Elton John’s Rocket Man.  In the first set, he broke stride and played a couple of acoustic songs which was a nice change of pace; but then it was right back into the pop/rock/blues liberally laced with scorching guitar riffs.  The more he riffed, the more the crowd cheered and egged him on.  He’s never played Blues on the Mall before and was taken back by the size of the crowd and their enthusiasm for his music.  All in all, it was a grand kick off for the summer series.