Last week Pop Evil released their third studio album Onyx to much anticipation. Friday (May 17) was “Onyx Day” and GRD helped the band celebrate with an in-store signing at Best Buy, bowling at AMF Eastbook Lanes, and a mind-blowing show at The Orbit Room. Check out photos in our gallery to see what went down.

“Onyx Day” actually started earlier in the morning with Pop Evil visiting the Free Beer & Hot Wings Show. The guys reminisced about the early days of the group and are still amazed on how far they’ve come. Watch the interview in its entirety below.

Almost 200 fans showed up at the Best Buy on East Beltline Avenue and 28th Street in Grand Rapids to have their copy of Onyx signed by Pop Evil. The guys were gracious to sign more than just CDs, including drumheads, guitar picks and posters. Roy Brown was lucky enough to win a guitar signed by Pop Evil. After that, we were off to AMF Eastbrook Lanes for a big bowling showdown.

The Orbit Room was hot, sweaty and loud throughout the whole night. GRD Rocktagon winners Uncommon Road kicked off the show, followed by Monster Truck and Sevendust. It’s been a few years since I have seen Sevendust, so I was reminded just how much they kick ass live. It was a tough act to follow, but Pop Evil were up for the challenge.

We’ve mentioned it before, but it’s sometimes surreal to witness just how much better PE have sounded over the years. The tighter sound and bigger stage presence are just a glimpse of how much potential this West Michigan act has to becoming true superstars.

Did you see Pop Evil last Friday at the Orbit Room? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

Los Angeles, Calif. rebels Hollywood Undead took over The Orbit Room in Grand Rapids last night (May 15). Check out photos from the show below.

The rap-rockers have been on the road promoting their third studio album, Notes From The Underground, that was released earlier this year. The crowd of over 1,000 people were hooked from the start, moshing and crowd surfing during their entire set. Hollywood Undead performed favorites like “We Are Young,” “Been To Hell,” “Undead” and “We Are.” They even brought up one lucky fan from the audience on stage to sing with them.

A group of GRD contest winners were able to meet Hollywood Undead earlier in the day. One girl said it was her first concert ever and began to shed tears of happiness. Look through our photo gallery below.

Did you go to the show? Let us know what you thought of Hollywood Undead’s performance in the comments section.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

Welsh metal act Bullet For My Valentine have never been short on fans in Grand Rapids. That fact was proven again during a SOLD OUT show at The Orbit Room on Saturday night (May 11). Check out our photo gallery from the show below.

Bullet For My Valentine are headlining the 2013 hardDrive Live 5 tour to promote their latest album Temper Temper. The band had the crowd in a frenzy for over an hour during their performance, with songs going back to their 2005 debut The Poison. Guitarist Michael “Padge” Paget had a sick guitar solo segment in between “P.O.W.” and “The Poison.”

Sadly, they didn’t play “Bittersweet Memories” which is one of our favorite BFMV tracks, but it’s one of their slower ones. Maybe they wanted to keep the energy level up. Did you go to the show? Let us know what you though of their performance in the comments section.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter: @davekim83

Remember when you were a kid in elementary school and looked forward to field day? 20 teams were able to relive their childhood memories at Kent Equipment in Sparta on Saturday (April 20) during GRD’s Adult Field Day with the Free Beer & Hot Wings Show.

Teams of two went through an obstacle course consisting of different tasks. It started off with a three-legged race, which led to getting a tire on a pole using a mini excavator. The teams then had to jump through tires, get a golf ball into a putting hole using a leaf blower, another mini excavator challenge, and finally race to the finish line carrying an egg on a spoon.

The fastest team came in at under 2 minutes and won themselves $300 just like that. The day ended with a car from LKQ being completely destroyed using a full grown excavator. Check out the photo gallery from Adult Field Day below. Thanks to all the teams that participated, Kent Equipment, Monelli’s Italian Grill and Sports Bar, Goodyear Hi-Tech and TC Paintball.

WGRD’s Adult Field Day Photo Gallery

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

It was a busy time for Grand Rapids this past weekend. Not only was St. Patrick’s Day coming up, but comedy festival Gilda’s LaughFest was entering the final stretch of their 10-day marathon. The first Live at Night With the Free Beer & Hot Wings Show was Friday night (March 15) at The Intersection and one of the many sold out showcases during LaughFest.

The crowd was ready to laugh and the morning crew delivered in spades. Things kicked off with “Name That Blank” that saw participants from the audience compete to win prizes. Other segments included the Free Beer & Hot Wings Show critiquing commercials from local businesses, the ever-popular “Women’s Forum,” a live version of “Dumber Than Zane Trivia” and a past Joe Stunt done by a crowd member.

Easily the most entertaining part of the night was “Family Feud” between on-air personalities from Fox 17 and WZZM 13. Fox’s Michele DeSelms led her team to victory over Lauren Stanton’s ZZM crew, but not before some playful and hilarious exchanges were made between the two TV news rivals. We think Team ZZM may have had more drinks than they should have before playing in a game show.

Check out our photo gallery from the night below courtesy of Tracey Warner Photography. Thanks to LaughFest, Mast Heating & Cooling, O’Riley’s Custom Power Sports, Crooked Goose and the Intersection for helping us make Live at Night With the Free Beer & Hot Wings Show happen. Most importantly, thanks to everyone who came out to the show. We hope to see you next year.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

97.9 GRD and our sister station, Channel 95.7, partnered with the T.G.I. Friday’s in downtown Grand Rapids to host the biggest beer tent party on New Year’s Eve this past Monday. Check out our photo gallery from the night if you weren’t there – or need to remember what you forgot because you partied a little too hard.

Our own Jackie Green broadcasted lived until the ball drop at midnight. The cold didn’t seem to affect those squeezed inside the beer tent thanks to heaters and body heat from new best friends. And despite the GRD tent not being within the warm and comfy area, there were quite a few die hard beer pong players throughout the night.

We hope you have a great 2012 and wish you the best in 2013. What are some of your New Year’s resolutions? Share them below if you want the world to know what your goals are.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

The Intersection was full of amped up rock fans as New Medicine and Deuce took the stage last night (December 12). Check out our photo gallery from the concert below.

New Medicine and Deuce were midway through their co-headlining tour by the time they came to Grand Rapids on Wednesday. Don’t expect fans to calmly observe what’s going on while at a New Medicine/Deuce show. Concert goers were jumping and moshing around while screaming their heads off.

Deuce kicked off his set with “Undead,” a track from his former group Hollywood Undead. After that Deuce and his Nine Lives crew went into material from his debut album of the same name. The singer/rapper met with GRD winners before the show, graciously taking the time to interact with each fan.

New Medicine returned to Grand Rapids five months after opening up for Halestorm at the Intersection. Now headliners, the Minnesota-based rockers were intense from beginning to end. New Medicine threw in some new material go along with tracks from their debut album, Race You To The Bottom. The band ditched the concert cliche of walking off the stage before their encore, instead choosing to go straight into a cover of Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!).”

Were you at the show last night? Let us know what you thought in the comments section below.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

The Free Beer & Hot Wings Show did their third live-on-location broadcast in Grand Rapids, this time at RightWay Auto in Wyoming today (November 9). GRD listeners braved the cold as they waited outside before doors opened at 5am. Look through our photo gallery from this morning’s Free Beer & Hot Wings Live Show.

The audience in RightWay Auto needed a little time to warm up and get the energy going, but once they did there was no turning back. The crowd participation was outstanding during “Women’s Panel,” “Name That Blank” and more segments during the show. We even learned one audience member’s definition of being “single-ish” during the “Women’s Panel” – while her male friend was in the crowd trying to break out of the dreaded “friend zone.”

Kalamazoo Vapor Shop, who were one of our great sponsors for the Live Show, helped Producer Joe out with a “Joe Stunt” using one of their e-cigs. E-cigs are an alternative to cigarettes and are usually filled with pleasant tasting e-juice. However, Producer Joe and Wayland bassist Dean Pizzazz agreed to “smoke” a couple of e-cigs that intentionally weren’t so tasty. Pizzazz had to make a stop by a nearby garbage can to collect himself.

GRD wants to thank RightWay Auto for letting us literally take over their establishment, Kalamazoo Vapor Shop, Time Out GR for providing the food, Coors Light and Blue Moon, and Thin Blue Line of Michigan. We especially want to thank everyone who came out and spent their morning with us at the Free Beer & Hot Wings Live Show!

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

Taken out of their warm Los Angeles, Calif. environment and withstanding the harsh Michigan cold, Dead Sara rocked Ah-Nab-Awen Park in downtown Grand Rapids to the core during Saturday night’s (October 27) GRD Halloween Hellraiser, presented by Founders Brewing Co. Take a look at our photo gallery from the show and 5K Zombie Dash.

Over 1,100 runners and 400 zombies took to the apocalyptic streets of downtown GR. The runners had to dodge the zombie horde while competing for the best times. There were quite the number of impressive costumes on display. Aside from expected characters of the hit TV series The Walking Dead, there were cowboys, bloody surgeons and more creepy participants.

Grand Rapids band Fine Fine Titans kicked off the Halloween Hellraiser at full throttle from the get go. The group came out as the cast from the cult classic Mel Brooks film Spaceballs. Bangups let the crowd on board their rock and roll train and schooled them on two-piece rock. Another product of Grand Rapids, Bangups became friends with Dead Sara at this year’s Vans Warped Tour.

Speaking of Dead Sara, not even Mother Nature could prevent the band from putting on a hell (pun intended) of a show. They went through a blistering 50-minute set and frontwoman Emily Armstrong wasn’t shy leaving the stage to get close to the fans. Guitarist Siouxsie Medley avoided a potential disaster when she slipped on the stage but recovered in time to turn it into a sweet looking guitar pose.

Thanks to our sponsors Metro PCS, Skywalk Deli, Nights of Fear, Complete Nutrition and Trail of Terror Holton. Most importantly, thanks to everyone who came out to the Halloween Hellraiser to check out Dead Sara!

97.9 GRD has been hitting up all the big football games in West Michigan during the 2012 Tailgate Tour. The GRD Roadies invaded the campus of Ferris State University last Saturday (October 20) to cap off a great Tailgate Tour season. Check out our photo gallery from the game.

The Bulldogs took on Michigan Tech in what turned out to be a high scoring game. Ferris State came out on top, 56-49, and celebrated their first victory over the Huskies since 2002.

Fans were able to win prizes from Subway, Metro PCS, Sport Clips, the U.S. Army and Nights of Fear before the game. Thankfully the weather was awesome and everyone enjoyed a Ferris State victory!

We want to thank everyone that came out to all the games during the 2012 Tailgate Tour, the schools who graciously allowed us to be on campus and all of our sponsors. See you next year!

If the world were to have ended on October 12, 2012, the crowd at the Orbit Room in Grand Rapids would have witnessed one hell of a rock show as the last images of their lives. Luckily, we’re all still alive and you can look through our  photo gallery from Pop Evil‘s performance at Shockpocalypse Friday night at the Orbit Room.

Before Shockpocalypse took place, Pop Evil and a few GRD winners faced off in hardcore arcade basketball action. Well, maybe it wasn’t that intense, but some NBA-like drama did take place. Frontman Leigh Kakaty led his team to victory against guitarist Dave Grahs’ unit 12 to 8. However, Grahs’ team gave Leigh and Co. a scare when they rallied back 11-8 before the Pop Evil singer put it away.

A huge thanks to Shock Top for helping us put on the show. We were ecstatic to know that Shock Top Lemon Shandy is available year-round. Live life unfiltered, indeed.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

Almost everyone in Grand Rapids celebrated their literal or figurative Polish heritage this past weekend during Pulaski Days. Jackie and the GRD Roadies were out at the Diamond Hall in Grand Rapids on Friday (October 5). Check out our photos from the night.

Jackie broadcasted live from 4-7, giving out sweet GRD swag like tickets to see Pop Evil at Shockpocalypse 2012. Sausages – another literal and figurative description since Jackie was out – and sauerkraut were aplenty, and of course the beer was flowing all night. Thanks to everyone who came out for Pulaski Days! We’ll see you next year.

View Our Pulaski Days 2012 Photo Gallery

Slash and Co. played for over 90 minutes, keeping the crowd captivated the entire time. They performed tracks from the forthcoming Apocalyptic Love and Slash’s previous self-titled solo debut. Proving that he knows his roots, Slash and his band dug into the icon’s back catalog and played a few Guns N’ Roses hits like “Night Train” and “Paradise City.” They even busted out some tunes from Slash’s other band, Velvet Revolver. Alter Bridge frontman Kennedy did an admirable job filling in for Axl Rose and former VR singer Scott Weiland.

Another interesting note to point out is the special guests that Slash had up on the V.I.P. balcony. Members of Rob Zombie‘s crew were in town for their GRD show tonight at the DeltaPlex Arena with Megadeth. While we didn’t personally see Zombie himself, his guitarist John 5 was there to enjoy the show.

Did you attend last night’s concert? Tell us what you thought in the comments section below.

Theory performed songs from their expansive catalog including The Truth Is…, which was released last year. The crowd was into it from the get go and never wavered. Frontman Tyler Connolly knows how to hold a crowd’s attention. He even stopped to take photos of the audience with his phone.

Even though TOADM met fans the night before at the Live Blitz, they were kind enough to say hello to more fans before the show. Look through our photo gallery from the night.

Theory of a Deadman filmed the video for their latest single “Hurricane” yesterday in Los Angeles. They will resume their tour Friday night at the House of Blues in Chicago.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

Fans were able to see a rare performance from Theory when they played inside the Musical Instruments section of Best Buy. Songs included hits like “Low Life,” “Bitch Came Back” and their latest single “Hurricane.” The event was open to the public and the band signed autographs and took photos with listeners after they were finished playing.

Tickets for tonight’s show at The Orbit Room are available at the venue box office. Hope to see you there!

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

The Cincinnati, OH preachers of rock gave one of the most high energy performances we have ever seen at a live show in recent memory. From frontman Eric Sean Nally’s Freddie Mercury-like stage persona to the rest of the members feeding off the crowd’s intense vibe, everyone’s intention was to have a great time. That goal was surpassed in more ways than one.

Foxy Shazam were cool enough to do a soundcheck party with lucky contest winners before the show. Nally even decided to do a planking pose in one of the photos. If you missed them this time around, shame on you. However, you don’t need to make the same mistake twice as Foxy Shazam were just added to the Wingstock 2012 lineup, joining Our Lady Peace, Pop Evil, Dokken, Wayland and Gunnar and the Grizzly boys June 16 at Fifth Third Ballpark.

Tickets are $25 and $30 in advance and available at the Fifth Third Ballpark box office and online by clicking HERE.

Follow Dave Kim on Twitter and Tumblr.

We’re not going to give any spoilers of the television taping, but the dark match featured Orton and Big Show Vs Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes in a tag team street fight. It really wasn’t a street fight as the action stayed in the ring. Orton picked up the win for his team after giving Rhodes an RKO. The good guys stayed after the match to greet fans and sign autographs at ringside which sent everybody home happy.

We saw WWE Superstar-turned-commentator Booker T. at the downtown T.G.I. Friday’s after the show. The man may have played a great villain during his time as an active wrestler, but he was super gracious with everyone at the restaurant. The Book talked to fans and didn’t mind taking photos and signing autographs.

In case you missed it yesterday, The Big Show stopped by the GRD studio to talk to the Free Beer & Hot Wings Show. Watch a preview of the interview here.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your 4/20 Day. In case you need some pointers on how to celebrate properly, Stoner Andy is here to help you out. Check out his five steps to having a perfect 4/20 holiday.