Category: Artist Spotlight Series

Artist Spotlight Series Live and Virtual

Kanekoa

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Kanekoa is one of Hawaii’s premier live music experiences, consistently selling out shows wherever they perform. Playing what is described as “ukulele-powered Hawaiian jam-rock,” their sound is based on the untapped potential of the electrified Hawaiian ukulele. Guided by the culture and land of Hawai‘i, Kanekoa is right at home playing any type of genre from traditional Hawaiian to 80s Pop to Jamband Blues, uniquely offering their signature electric ukulele sound to everything they play. Wherever this band plays, people are mesmerized. They have caught the ear of some of the biggest names in music including Mick Fleetwood, Los Lobos, and Bill Kreutzman from the Grateful Dead who called Kanekoa “The Hawaiian Grateful Dead.” With every show they play, Kanekoa continues to gain new loyal fans.
 
This program is made possible with support from the Ford Motor Company Fund. It is presented live, and also livestreamed on The Ark’s Facebook page.

This is a FREE show. Nonperishables accepted for Food Gatherers.

Free

Artist Spotlight Series Live and Virtual

Session Americana

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Session Americana is a group of musicians’ musicians: a cast of top-shelf players, singers, and writers: Billy Beard, Jon Bistline, Ry Cavanaugh, Dinty Child, and Jim Fitting. From the beginning, there have been lines around the block to get into Toad and Lizard Lounge for Session Americana’s weekly residencies in Cambridge, MA. Those nights included an astonishing array of collaborations and sit-ins, and long-term “seventh chair” guests. The group tours internationally, including an annual tour of Europe, taking their songs and hundreds more from the American songbook, on the road.

Free, Donations accepted for Food Gatherers

Artist Spotlight Series Live and Virtual

Leah Marlene

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Leah Marlene is a songwriter, artist, and producer with a deeply rooted desire to create art unlike anything you have heard before. ​Leah has been making writing trips to Nashville since she was 13, and after graduating high school, she made the move there where she spent two years studying songwriting at Belmont University. She then returned back to the midwest to produce her latest album, “Many Colors.” Now twenty-one years old, Leah most recently came off an incredible run on season 20 of American Idol, where she released her latest original single, "Flowers" and placed second runner up of the season! 

​Leah is a lover of people and her greatest hope is that her music may meet you exactly where you are at and help you feel whatever it is you need to feel in a given moment.

Free, Donations accepted for Food Gatherers

Artist Spotlight Series Live and Virtual

Pat Byrne

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Pat Byrne migrated from Ireland to Austin, Texas in late 2017. Since then, he has melded two musical cultures known for introspective lyricism and raw, from-the-heart emotion—with spectacular results. “The raspy melodic soul of Byrne’s voice recalls the emotional spells the late Austin troubadour Jimmy LaFave used to cast, though Byrne’s songwriting bears a more distinctive Irish stamp.” Pat’s 2022 single “Only a Man” featured musicians from Emmylou Harris’s band, and his new “Until It Isn’t” features production from Bruce Robison and his band, making palpable the working musician’s struggle and uncertainty, underpinned by a nostalgic arrangement of strings and harmonium.

Free, Donations accepted for Food Gatherers