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Genre: Classic Folk

Today

Artist Spotlight Series Live and Virtual

The Wellermen

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

Bass singing folk group The Wellermen were discovered during the viral Sea Shanty trend of early 2021. The four had never met in person prior to going viral together, with members Bobby Waters & Luke Taylor based in the US and Jonny Stewart & Sam Pope based in the UK. The four members' lives were to change when they dueted with a seemingly innocuous Sea Shanty on TikTok. Since the release of the now ubiquitous TikTok, it’s been viewed 100m+ times across multiple platforms and continents, and has seen The Wellermen appear on shows like Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and The Colbert Show.

Free, Donations accepted for Food Gatherers
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Katie Geddes

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

Katie sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. A deft interpreter of beloved songs, her captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney.

$20
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Postponed

Peter Yarrow

Special Guest: Mustard's Retreat

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

This performance has been rescheduled to 5/2/25 at 8:00pm. Previously purchased tickets will be honored on the new date. If ticket buyers are unable to attend on the rescheduled date, a refund may be requested from the original point of purchase until 8/12/24.

$30
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Iris DeMent

Special Guest: Ana Egge

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

The youngest of 14 children, Iris DeMent was born in Paragould, Arkansas, and moved to California with her devoutly religious family when she was three. As a teenager she absorbed the country music of Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash, as well as the folk classics of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. Her 1992 debut album, "Infamous Angel," distilled these influences into a poetic yet down-to-earth songwriting style. With a heartfelt, homespun voice that listeners recognize instantly, Iris released some of the most powerful roots albums of the 1990s with the beautifully sparse "My Life" and the harder-edged "The Way I Should." Her songs are her way of healing our broken inner and outer spaces.

$35
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Tom Paxton and The DonJuans

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

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and folk icon Tom Paxton is back, and he's teaming up with the Grammy-winning Nashville singer/songwriter duo The DonJuans—Don Henry & Jon Vezner. Within days of writing and playing together, the trio knew they were onto something, and they soon took it on the road. This will be Tom’s last area performance as he’s retiring from the road in spring 2025.

$30
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Both Sides Now: The Music and Lives of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen

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

“Two singer-songwriters sit on the edge of a cliff . . .” With these words, we are drawn into the world of Both Sides Now, a theatrical concert that explores the music and lives of long-time friends and one-time lovers, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. Created by, and starring Robbie Schaefer and Danielle Wertz, the cabaret-style performance travels decades alongside songs such as A Case of You, Hallelujah, Big Yellow Taxi, Suzanne, and many more.

$25
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Matt Watroba

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

Matt Watroba, longtime radio host and a Detroit Music Awards winner as Best Overall Folk Performer, is the kind of guy who makes friends easily: not only is he on a first-name basis with most of the major folk musicians in North America after several decades of sharing stages with them, but he also has the kind of rapport with audiences that makes them feel as if they're sitting among friends in a living room. Matt is turning his annual day-after-Thanksgiving show into a grand community singing gathering! He'll be joined by a couple dozen or more musical friends from our Michigan music community to be his choir and he'll lead all of us in song after uplifting song! Proceeds will benefit the Women's Center of Southeast Michigan.

$20
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David Francey

Special Guest: Terra Spencer

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

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. David Francey is a Scottish-born Canadian carpenter-turned-songwriter. Born in Ayrshire, Scotland to parents who were factory workers, he moved to Canada when he was twelve. For decades, he worked across Canada in rail yards, construction sites, and in the Yukon bush, all the while writing poetry, setting it to melodies in his head and singing it to himself as he worked. A truly authentic folk singer, Francey is a documentarian of the working person who never imagined earning a living from his music.

$20
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Mustard’s Retreat

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

Mustard’s Retreat has always sung the songs they enjoyed and cared about, regardless of the trends of the music industry and pop culture. Their performances are always joyful and uplifting, as well as intelligent, thought provoking and insightful. They’ve recently begun referring to their career and touring as “Defiantly Hopeful.” Tonight the trio comes together to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary!

$20
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John Gorka

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

The modern renaissance of folk music began when John Gorka won the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk award in 1984, and it grew to maturity when he released his debut album, "I Know," three years later. Here was a singer-songwriter with a striking baritone voice that made you feel like you'd been hearing it all your life.

$25
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Cheryl Wheeler with special guest Kenny White

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

It has always seemed as if there were two Cheryl Wheelers, with fans of the New England songwriter relishing watching the two tussle for control of the mic. There is poet Cheryl, writer of some of the prettiest, most alluring and intelligent ballads on the modern folk scene. And there is her evil twin, comic Cheryl, a trend defier and savagely funny social critic. The result is a series of delightful contrasts, for really Cheryl Wheeler is a woman of many musical personalities—heart-wrenching romantic balladeer, marvelous observational humorist, poet of ordinary New England scenes and people, committed activist, irascible grump.

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For Pete’s Sake – Pete Seeger Birthday Concert

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

The annual Pete Seeger Birthday Concert returns to The Ark with an all-star celebration honoring the life and work of singer, songwriter, activist, and national conscience, Pete Seeger, who passed in 2014. The evening will be filled with storytelling and singalongs in the true uplifting Seeger audience participation tradition. The lineup will feature special guest Reggie Harris, renowned folk artist and educator, who performed in the 2014 tribute to Pete and Toshi Seeger at the Lincoln Center, along with a lineup of well-known Michigan artists including Matt Watroba, Billy King, Annie & Rod Capps, San, Laz & Emily Slomovits, Judy Banker, Dani Darling, Mustard’s Retreat, and more (TBA). All proceeds from the event go to support The Ark.

$24.00
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