Great Lakes Brass is turning a small photo studio in Grand Rapids into a recording booth this weekend, inviting fans to help shape its debut live album with two ticketed, BYOB shows. The West Michigan ensemble, built on New Orleans-style second-line brass, will track the performances at Green Frog Photo Studio on Saturday, Sept. 19 and Sunday, Sept. 20, with plans to fold the strongest takes into a full-length record titled after its original song, ‘Love Letter to New Orleans.’
The shows are ticketed, according to MLive, with the Saturday set starting at 8 p.m. and the Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Green Frog Photo Studio, located at 417 Richmond St. NW, is a photo and video studio that also hosts BYO house shows, with doors opening an hour before showtime, according to Great Lakes Brass. Tickets are priced at $30 and include a limited-edition GLB medallion with an advance download code, per the same MLive report.
Bandleader and sousaphone player Fred Bueltmann said the live audience itself will help shape the album's vibe, per MLive's report. Bueltmann is executive director of the Red Horse Center, according to the Red Horse Center. Tickets for the shows will help fund the album.
From Street Parades to a Studio Session
Great Lakes Brass is based in Fennville, Michigan, and launched the annual Saugatuck Second Line Mardi Gras celebration during its first outing in 2020, according to WMUK. The group's roots in Crescent City brass culture have translated into large public turnouts closer to home — during Grand Rapids' ArtPrize festival in 2025, the band led an estimated 600 people in a second-line parade across the city's downtown Blue Bridge, per the same station's reporting. WMUK described the bridge procession as a highlight of the year for Andrew Schrock.
The title track for the new album, ‘Love Letter to New Orleans,’ first debuted during the band's February 2026 statewide Mardi Gras tour, which included stops in Benton Harbor, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, and Saugatuck, WMUK reported. For its outdoor second-line parades, vocalist and self-described “Grand Marshal” Andrew Schrock carries a wireless speaker inside a backpack to project his voice above the unamplified horns, a workaround the station detailed as central to keeping the marching crowds organized and singing along.
The recording sessions won't stand alone. Per MLive, the band will select cuts from the two Green Frog shows, with originals and eclectic covers in the mix. The finished album is targeted for release in February 2027, MLive reported.
A Producer With Deep Michigan Music Roots
Collaborating on the album is Seth Bernard, founder of the Earthwork Music collective, which he established on his family farm in 2001, according to Earthwork Music. Bernard's work with Earthwork Music includes collaborative Michigan music projects. Seth Thompson runs Green Frog with Jeff Hage, while Jarad Selner is a core member of the band.
The band's core lineup includes Josh Keller, Jarad Selner, Scott Dumas, Carolyn Koebel, and Dede Alder, according to WMUK.
Next Stop: Kalamazoo's Sounds of the Zoo
Days after the Grand Rapids sessions wrap, Great Lakes Brass heads east to Kalamazoo, where it will lead a second-line parade through downtown on Friday, Sept. 25, during the culminating weekend of the Sounds of the Zoo music festival. Sounds of the Zoo is a seven-day festival featuring multiple artists, according to Sonic Coast. Friday's parade runs from the Radisson Plaza Hotel to Bronson Park, according to Local Spins.
Kalamazoo has become something of a second home for the band this year. Great Lakes Brass made a stop in Kalamazoo during its February Mardi Gras tour and is scheduled for this month's festival parade. Those appearances have brought the band back to Kalamazoo this year.
