Celebrating its 17th anniversary, the Ebird and Friends Holiday Show has become known for connecting audiences with stellar artists in the Michigan music community. Four performances of this festive revue will occur December 12 through 14.
Special Guest: Ron Artis II
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesBorn Garrett Dutton in Philadelphia, PA, G. Love grew up equally enthralled with folk, blues, and rap, devouring everything from Lead Belly and Run D.M.C. to John Hammond and the Beastie Boys. After migrating to Boston, he and his band, Special Sauce, broke out in 1994 with their Gold-selling self-titled debut, which earned widespread critical acclaim for its bold vision and adventurous production. Over the next twenty-five years, G. Love would go on to release seven more similarly lauded studio studios albums with Special Sauce (plus four solo albums on his own), solidifying his place in music history as a genre-bending pioneer with a sound The New York Times described as "a new and urgent hybrid" and NPR called a "musical melting pot."
Join Michigan's own Djangophonique and Third Coast Swing in celebration of Django Reinhardt’s legacy of music that is still alive and evolving 115 years after he was born.
This special show will kick off both the 2025 Ann Arbor Folk Festival and The Ark's 60th Anniversary year and will feature over a dozen Michigan-based artists each performing renditions of popular songs released in 1965 - the year The Ark was founded.
Heywood Banks is simply one of a kind, almost impossible to describe, with a style his very own. Equal parts genius and buffoon, this songwriter-comic-singer-poet-musician has become a cult hero and a pop icon, with a show that appeals to college students, stoners, businessmen, yuppies, rednecks, punks, kids or your grandmother. Heywood intersperses his humorous observations of life with twisted, inventive, bizarre songs, sung and played in a variety of styles, from folk, to country to rock to pop, and way beyond.
The elevator at The Ark is out of service while technicians wait for a part to make repairs. Attendees for this show will need to be able to walk up and down the stairs to the second floor of The Ark where the show takes place. International singer, songwriter and Independent recording artist, was awarded by the Detroit Blues Society “Living Lifetime Achievement Award” and awarded a star on the Canada South Blues Museum “Walk of Fame”. In 2015 Thornetta was crowned “Detroit’s Queen of the Blues” in a ceremony by the Detroit Blues Society, with proclamations from the City of Detroit, County of Wayne and the State of Michigan. She has performed with and opened for Bob Seger, Blues Legends such as B.B. King, Sir Mac Rice, Ray Charles, Etta James, KoKo Taylor, Johnny Johnson, Bonnie Raitt and more.
Over his almost 30 year career, Matt Nathanson has evolved into one of the most applauded songwriters and engaging performers on the music scene today. His sixth studio album, Some Mad Hope, yielded his breakthrough multi-platinum hit "Come on Get Higher.” He followed up with Modern Love, a critically acclaimed album (PopMatters called it "the closest a pop album comes to perfection this year”) that garnered Nathanson two RIAA Gold Certified singles, “Faster” & “Run (featuring Sugarland)”
Opener: Jared Deck
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesWhen it comes to songwriting, less is more, and simplicity is strength. Just ask Paul Thorn, who’s spent three decades turning soulful grooves and small syllables into songs that pack a big wallop. Maybe he learned the power of minimalism from his years as a pro boxer; maybe it just comes naturally. But whether he’s targeting heads, hearts, hips or the occasional funny bone, he somehow manages to condense large nuggets of wisdom into tight little mantras, the kind embroiderers stitched onto pillows before internet memes existed.
Special Guest: River & Rail
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesThe Arcadian Wild is a four-piece indie folk/pop group from Nashville, TN. Led by songwriters Isaac Horn and Lincoln Mick and Bailey Warren on fiddle, The Arcadian Wild confidently inhabits and explores an intersection of genre, blending the traditional with the contemporary. Combining elements of progressive bluegrass, folk, and formal vocal music, The Arcadian Wild offer up songs of invitation; calls to come and see, to find refuge and rest, to journey and wonder, to laugh and cry, to share joy and community and sing along.
Three siblings unlock one harmony to unite the world as Girl Named Tom. The trio—Bekah, Joshua, and Caleb Liechty—notably made history as the only group to ever win NBC’s The Voice. Along the way, they’ve impressively generated over 25 million streams across chart-rattling covers such as “River,” “The Chain,” and “Dust in the Wind.” The proud Midwesterners gained further traction with the independent release of Another World EP. In 2022, they served up their debut holiday EP, One More Christmas, which reached #1 on the iTunes Charts, and embarked on a massive arena tour supporting Pentatonix for “A Christmas Spectacular.”
Your favorite nerds are back for another year of Glass Cannon Live! Join Troy, Joe, Skid, Matthew, Sydney and Kate as they bring their unique brand of off-the-wall comedy and epic storytelling to a town near you. Every show is its own unique live gaming session, and you never know what's going to happen until you see it play out live! Please note, this show is 18+
The elevator at The Ark is out of service while technicians make repairs. Attendees for this show will need to be able to walk up and down the stairs to the second floor of The Ark where the show takes place. The Los Angeles Times calls Leo Kottke "an American legend in the guitar world, and a king of his own private musical world." If you haven't heard Leo Kottke for a while, though, you may have missed how one of the fastest 6- and 12-string guitar players around has also become one of the most innovative and least musically classifiable. His music encompasses influences from all over the world, and players from outside the folk world closely follow what he does. Leo Kottke is a legend of the guitar who's still full of surprises after all these years. His shows are displays of captivating mastery of a sort that's rare in any genre of music.
