Shows & Events

Jill Jack’s Birthday Bash

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Jill Jack’s annual birthday bash has become a New Year's tradition at The Ark! Jill's magical connection to her audience is the result of her generous artistry. By combining her gifts as a conceptual visionary with a warm gathering of musical influences, Jill touches that secret heart of ours with her melodies and lyrics. In her hometown of Detroit, Jill needs no further explanation. She’s been lauded in equal measure to her talents: Since 1997 she’s won dozens of Detroit Music Awards in every conceivable category that applies to a singer-songwriter.

$25

Steppin In It

Opener: Zak Bunce

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Formed out of love for traditional American Folk & Blues music, Steppin’ In It has been playing shows and packing dance floors for over 20 years. In the words of England's Rock and Reel magazine, they're "possessed with a consistently delightful spirit of musical adventure that, as well as bringing elements of old-time, country, cajun, blues and various roots styles to the table, manages to instill everything they do with an attractive and accessible cool."

$30
Low Ticket Alert

G. Love & Special Sauce

Special Guest: Ron Artis II

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Born 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."

$40, $140 VIP

The Ark’s Open Stage

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Whether you're looking for your big break, want to perfect your live performance skills, or just want to perform live for the sheer fun of it, Open Stage nights offer supportive audiences and a terrific space. Performers have eight minutes (or two songs) each to do their thing. Doors open at 7:30, and names are drawn at 7:55 and 8:30. If your name isn't chosen, bring your raffle ticket with you next time, and you'll double your chances.

$3, Students and Ark Members free
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Django Reinhardt Birthday Celebration

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

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.

$25
Low Ticket Alert Special Event

Folk Fest Kickoff: Live Since ’65

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

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.

$35, $65, $95
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Heywood Banks

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

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.

$35
Folk Festival

48th Ann Arbor Folk Fest

Hill Auditorium 825 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

The Ark and Bank of Ann Arbor are excited to announce the lineup for the Ann Arbor Folk Fest at Hill Auditorium. The festival is The Ark's largest annual fundraiser and delivers the full spectrum of “Ark music,” presenting a taste of what’s happening on the leading edge of acoustic music while delving into the very heart of folk and roots traditions. Friday night's lineup features Waxahatchee, Josh Ritter, Jobi Riccio, Adeem the Artist, Afro Dominicano, and MC Ketch Secor.

$47.50, $70, $120, $250
Folk Festival

48th Ann Arbor Folk Fest

Hill Auditorium 825 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

The Ark and Bank of Ann Arbor are excited to announce the lineup for the Ann Arbor Folk Fest at Hill Auditorium. The festival is The Ark's largest annual fundraiser and delivers the full spectrum of “Ark music,” presenting a taste of what’s happening on the leading edge of acoustic music while delving into the very heart of folk and roots traditions. Saturday night's lineup features Toad the Wet Sprocket, Bruce Cockburn, The Milk Carton Kids, Joy Clark, Willi Carlisle, and MC Ketch Secor. 

$47.50, $70, $120, $250
Artist Spotlight Series Live and Virtual

Taimane & Her Trio

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

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. Born and raised in Hawaii of hapa Samoan descent, ukulele virtuoso and songwriter Taimane is renowned for her fierce and inventive style of playing the four-string island staple. She has also garnered great acclaim for her fiery stage prowess, keeping concertgoers on the edge of their seats from her first note until her last.

Free
Special Event

Guster

The Majestic Theatre 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan, United States

Not long before the making of their new album Ooh La La, Guster celebrated three decades together as a band—a journey that’s included landing a series of hits on the Billboard charts, working with luminaries like Steve Lillywhite and Richard Swift, launching their own music festival, and amassing an ardent fanbase partly on the strength of their relentless touring and deeply communal live show. But despite reaching a milestone few musical acts ever come close to attaining, Guster’s ninth studio LP reveals a band fully in touch with the voracious creative energy that first inspired their formation.

$33.50
Low Ticket Alert

Thornetta Davis

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

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.

$30