Virginia-based folk-rock band The Steel Wheels have spent almost twenty years writing, recording, and touring, all the while constantly honing their evolving brand of American roots music. Additionally they are the founders and hosts of the Red Wing Roots Music Festival, a beloved staple of the Shenandoah Valley.
On her third album with Oh Boy Records, and her fifth since beginning her career a decade ago, Emily Scott Robinson once again unveils her mastery as a performer and storyteller. With her 2026 release Appalachia — recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios with Grammy-nominated producer Josh Kaufman — Robinson opens herself up to experimentation and sings in her crystal-clear voice about resilience, love, grief and hope.
Alejandro Escovedo's New Album ECHO DANCING is an Adventure in Life. No one has really ever been able to define themselves and their music like singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo does. His life in music of all kinds sometimes feels like a swirl through the sky, where his songs point out all the majesty and mystery of how he sees the world. The sounds he makes take him places that he might not even predict, but once there, greatness always follows.
British guitar legend Albert Lee, regarded by many as one of the world's finest guitar players, with a career spanning more than 50 years, needs no introduction for country, blues and rock fans. Widely hailed for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique, Albert Lee helped to redefine country guitar for a whole generation of players with his song "Country Boy." Albert's many career highlights include two Grammy wins, five years in the Eric Clapton band (at Clapton's request Albert played the Crossroads Festival with Eric at Madison Square Garden) and stints with the Rolling Stones' Bill Wyman, The Crickets, the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and many more.
Presented by ann arbor's 107one Cowboy Junkies will be performing a career-spanning show from The Trinity Session to their recent album, Such Ferocious Beauty!
Presented by ann arbor's 107one Cowboy Junkies will be performing a career-spanning show from The Trinity Session to their recent album, Such Ferocious Beauty!
The son of a small town farming community, Cody Diekhoff logged plenty of highway and stage time under the name Chicago Farmer before settling in the city in 2003. Profoundly inspired by fellow midwesterner John Prine, he’s a working-class folk musician to his core. His small town roots, tilled with city streets mentality, are turning heads North and South of I-80.
Singer/Songwriter Max Gomez grew up in Taos, New Mexico, where he fell under the influence of country blues early on and developed a songwriting style that was uniquely his. As a budding performer, Max apprenticed in the rarefied musical micro-climate of northern New Mexico, where troubadours like Michael Martin Murphey and Ray Wylie Hubbard helped foster a Western folk sound both cosmic and country.
Crystal Bowersox, a northwest Ohio native, has built her world around music. By the age of 10, she was performing in local clubs and venues. On the cusp of 18 and with a curious heart, Crystal moved to Chicago, IL, where she spent her days busking on subway platforms between working odd jobs and attending school. Chicago’s rich musical history helped Bowersox to broaden her musical horizons. Ultimately, Bowersox auditioned for the ninth season of American Idol, and her time on the show proved to be well spent.
Hailed as a “self-styled poetess, folk goddess, and country waif” by the BBC, Pieta Brown first came to international prominence with the release of her self-titled debut in 2002. Since then she has released multiple highly critically acclaimed albums, EPs and singles, with much attention being paid not only to her distinct sound and style, but also the power of her singing and songwriting.
Special Guest: Matt Woods
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesAfter 23 years as a recording artist, singer-songwriter Chris Knight remains boldly empowered to make music that always delivers the unflinching truth. In fact, the man raised in Slaughters, Kentucky uses a simple, direct barometer to regularly check his muse: “If I can’t believe myself, I won’t sing the song.”
During the creative explosion that was country music in the 1990s Suzy Bogguss sold 4 million records with sparkling radio hits like “Outbound Plane,” “Someday Soon,” “Letting Go,” “Drive South,” and “Hey Cinderella." In 2014 she released Lucky, a collection of songs written by Merle Haggard and interpreted through Suzy’s crystal vocals from the female point of view. Her latest offering, Prayin’ For Sunshine, is an Americana tour de force with all songs written by Bogguss.