If Lefty is anything, it is the journal of Penny and Sparrow’s inner child. Dog-eared, lock busted open. On its pages the sketches of dreams, nightmares, erotica, and literary fan fiction graffiti the margins of poetry, elegies, and love letters in the wild colors of saxophone blue, electronic pink, and blood harmony red. Beautifully varied and richly rendered, it is an album that wanders from theme to theme, style to style, exultation to tragedy. Yet it is never lost. If anything, it is at play.
One of the Midwest’s most prolific and passionate songwriters, May Erlewine has a gift for writing songs of substance that feel both fresh and soulfully familiar. Her ability to emotionally engage with an audience has earned her a dedicated following far beyond her Michigan roots. This year, May is teaming up with Chicago guitar wizard, Packy Lundholm. The heart forward power duo will be offering their music in the name of love, service and rock & roll.
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Iron & Wine is the musical project of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Born and raised in South Carolina, Beam is a former film professor who got his start making home recordings before landing on Sub Pop Records. Iron & Wine’s 2002 debut, The Creek Drank the Cradle garnered both critical and popular acclaim, vaulting Beam into the spotlight of the burgeoning indie folk/Americana scene as one of its new and leading voices.
For over a decade, David and Martin Howley have been at the heart of a musical revolution. As founding members of We Banjo 3, the Galway-born brothers brought Irish traditional music to new heights — blending it with Americana, bluegrass, and contemporary songcraft to create a sound beloved across the world. Now, the brothers return with a brand-new project: Howley — a re-imagining of that signature sound for a new era.
Sweden-based, Australian-born Hazlett returns to the road following the success of his latest full-length album, "last night you said you missed me". Hazlett divulges: "When I started this whole thing I wanted anyone who starts to listen to feel like they’re part of this whole thing with me—growing and finding ourselves along the way.” Over the past several years, Hazlett and his unique brand of Indie Folk have quietly built a devoted following through his heartfelt songwriting and captivating live performances.
Sarah Jarosz is a six-time GRAMMY Award winning singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Since her recorded debut in 2009, she has released seven solo albums and two albums with I’m With Her, her band with Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan. In addition to her multiple GRAMMY, Americana Music Association, and Folk Alliance awards, her work has received widespread critical praise from publications including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and USA Today. Jarosz has appeared three times on PBS’s legendary Austin City Limits television show and numerous times on A Prairie Home Companion, Live From Here, and the Grand Ole Opry. She is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jessic and Zach wrote and composed music for the WGA award-winning Peacock Series Baking It starring Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and Andy Samberg. The duo has also written songs and musical sketches for the hit animation show Rick and Morty, Party Over Here (a Fox sketch show produced by The Lonely Island), the Peacock series Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin, Buzzfeed, FunnyOrDie and Nickelodeon. Their improvised musical podcast Off Book has been praised by various online publications including Indie Wire, USA Today, Parade, AV Club and Splitsider and been featured at Comedy Central’s Clusterfest Festival, Moontower, the world renowned Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, and the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in LA.