The Ark

Davy Knowles
2025-08-04 20:00 - 23:00 (America/Detroit) | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Whether playing mandolin, national steel, or screaming electric guitar, Davy Knowles has an unmistakable style. Since bursting onto the scene with his band Back Door Slam’s critically acclaimed album “Roll Away” in 2007, Davy’s star has only risen. His sophomore release “Coming Up For Air” was produced by the legendary Peter Frampton, with subsequent tours seeing him supporting and sharing the stage with acts such as Jeff Beck, The Who, Brian Setzer, and George Thorogood.
Knowles has several top-5 Billboard Blues charting albums under his belt, high profile TV appearances (Jimmy Kimmel Live and CBS Good Morning America among others), and has been praised with high accolades from heroes and press alike.
Whether spending an evening onstage armed with just an acoustic guitar, or wielding his well worn and trusty Telecaster while fronting his blues/rock trio – and at any point in between the two – Davy Knowles is a versatile and formidable songwriter and musician.

Allison Lupton Band
2025-08-03 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Allison Lupton hails from the heart of rural Ontario, Canada where her love for music took root in church choirs and local sessions. From playing for community dances to soloing with orchestras, Allison has found her voice as a singer-songwriter and flutist after more than a quarter century performing in Canada and abroad. Along the way Allison has received accolades from international press as well as her peers at home winning Folk Music Ontario’s “Songs From The Heart” and multiple Canadian Folk Music Award nominations including “Traditional Singer of the Year”.
Allison is now touring her album “Words of Love” joined by Canadian and US Grand National fiddle champion Shane Cook and CFMA Solo Instrumental Artist of the Year and Canadian Grand Master Step Dance champion Kyle Waymouth. Live shows confirm the depth of talent in a glorious mix of beautiful story songs, electrifying fiddle tunes and dazzling step dance united by the trio’s warm and frequently humorous stage presence. Woven through performances are Allison’s original songs which fit so perfectly into the treasury of folk music that they could easily be mistaken for traditional numbers.
Allison and her trio carry audiences away to another time then dance them home again.

The RFD Boys
2025-08-02 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
It’s hard to believe, because each show is fresh and new, but the RFD Boys have been delighting Michigan audiences since 1969 with their fabulous musicianship and sly, exquisitely timed between-song humor. They’re legends of Michigan bluegrass, but they’re more than that too. With an appearance on the cover of Bluegrass Unlimited, with songs recorded by the likes of the Country Gentlemen, and with performances alongside bluegrass greats like Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley, the RFD Boys are a part of America’s bluegrass tradition. The RFD Boys are one of southeastern Michigan’s most durable musical ensembles, and their shows capture a deep slice of musical Ann Arbor. Their 50th-anniversary appearance at the Folk Festival was a special moment and introduced many listeners to Dan Roehrig, who joined the band on guitar, mandolin, and bass in mid-2018. Dan grew up listening to Doc Watson, Clarence White, and Tony Rice, and you can hear it in both his singing and guitar playing.
Tickets available at the door; there are no advance tickets for this show.

Ani Mari Goes East Tour opening night
2025-08-01 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Alt-Americana singer-songwriter Ani Mari’s debut solo album, girlfriend (produced by Erik Koskinen and Real-Phonic Records, 2023), explores the ambiguities of coming of age in a beautifully precarious world. Across ten warmly combative tracks, she fights for grace and connection amidst the anxieties, desires, heartbreaks, and joie de vivre of being young in America’s heartland. Tracks like “Whitefish Bay” and “The Prettiest Things” echo the forests and waters of the Upper Peninsula and the bluegrass and folk influences Ani grew up immersed in, while title track “Girlfriend” triangulates her current temperature somewhere between Liz Phair, Waxahachee, and Ratboys. Comparisons, however, always fall short. Compelling, humming, and hungry, Ani’s indie-folk songwriting is 100% her own, and definitely not to be missed.
North Ingalls is a seven-piece indie folk-groove sound. All members of TNIB hail from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and met through the School of Music. The original music of TNIB is a vibrant patchwork of seven unique individual sounds, each coming together to celebrate and reflect their personal experiences. The band has gained a devoted following for its deeply honest and detailed narrative lyrics, brought to life by their emotionally raw vocals and rich, full-bodied sound.

Buffalo Rose
2025-07-31 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Buffalo Rose is a charismatic six-piece modern folk/Americana band from Pittsburgh, PA. They take the singer-songwriter tradition to a new level by crafting original songs which are emotive, meticulously arranged, and inspired by a world of idiosyncratic influences that never let a dull or predictable moment creep in.
Buffalo Rose’s lineup of Lucy Clabby (vocals), Margot Jezerc (vocals), Bryce Rabideau (mandolin), Malcolm Inglis (dobro), Jason Rafalak (upright bass), and Shane McLaughlin (guitar, vocals) pushes itself and each other far beyond their perceived limits and blends their diverse and atypical approach to songwriting with the desire to see how unique a song can get and still feel like home. They use powerful vocal harmonies, strong playing, and an original vision to operate at every possible emotional level and put on dynamic live shows that are unforgettable experiences. They go from up and moving to sad and sweet and back again, bringing the entire audience along.
This combination of artistry and enthusiasm makes Buffalo Rose one of the most vital and important groups working today. Rather than play the folk music of the past, the band gleefully combines genres and ideas together to move acoustic music forward to a new, contemporary place without ever losing sight of its roots. Fans of Lake Street Dive, Nickel Creek, and Punch Brothers will find much to like in this crew. Anyone seeking compelling new acoustic music needs to join Buffalo Rose in the future right now.

Ketch Secor (Of Old Crow Medicine Show)
2025-07-30 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Ketch Secor is a merry ringmaster, passionate professor, modern Beat, and unassuming virtuoso. The Story the Crow Told Me is his solo debut, tracing the journey from street busker to founding Old Crow Medicine Show, now a Grammy-winning, Opry-member band behind the double-platinum hit “Wagon Wheel.” Produced by Jody Stevens, the album features Marty Stuart, Molly Tuttle, Willie Watson, Jaren Johnston, and an ode to Nashville with help from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Ketch will be touring in 2025 in support of the album on his The Story The Crow Told Me Tour.

Sonny Landreth in a Rare Solo Appearance
2025-07-29 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
New frontiers fit nicely atop the boundary-breaking career of singer-songwriter and slide guitar icon Sonny Landreth. From performing live with Buddy Guy and John Hiatt in theaters and arenas around the United States, to post-New Orleans Jazz Fest jamming on bayou rhythms with Oteil Burbridge and Johnny Vidacovich, to recording and playing live with ukulele phenom Jake Shimabukuro at The Blue Note in Hawaii, it’s been a noteworthy couple of years for the two-time Grammy nominee. And those are just his side projects.
“One of the things I love about collaborations with other artists is the element of surprise,” Landreth says of his continually expanding musical horizons. “When the chemistry is there, it’s always inspiring to find new twists and turns that up the game creatively.”
Landreth tours regularly in a duo with fellow slide guitar ace Cindy Cashdollar as well as with his own electric and acoustic trio. From every edition of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival to Wintergrass to Camp Cripple Creek for Jim Weider’s The Weight Band and beyond, Landreth and his musical partners are always reaching for the unexpected and unexplored. He’s twice graced the cover of Guitar Player magazine, and he’s featured on the lead track of Shemekia Copeland’s Grammy-nominated album Done Come Too Far.
Stretching in different directions, Landreth says, “gives you a broader perspective – and I think that impacts every aspect of making music. I know it’s helped to make our shows more memorable and more fun for everyone onstage and in the audience too.”
Tonight’s show is sponsored by Lume Cannabis

Bill Kirchen
2025-07-28 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Kirchen first gained national recognition as a founding member of Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. His trademark guitar licks drove their Hot Rod Lincoln cut into the Top Ten in 1972. He has released twelve CDs on his own, and played guitar live or on record with a who’s who of Americana and Roots Rock ‘N’ Roll, among them Gene Vincent, Link Wray, Bo Diddley, Hazel Dickens, Doug Sahm, Hoyt Axton, Emmylou Harris, Maria Muldaur, Dan Hicks, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello. His latest recordings are The Proper Years and two 12’ vinyls, Tombstone Every Mile and Waxworks, all on Last Music Company.
60 years ago, a teenaged Bill Kirchen saw Bob Dylan go electric at the Newport and was “ruined for normal work.” Join Bill for an evening of songs and stories featuring some of Dylan’s 1964 + 1965 Newport sets with favorites from Bill’s own catalog – from the Commander Cody years until now.

Goldpine & The Burney Sisters
2025-07-27 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
From Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium to listening rooms throughout the United States, husband-wife duo Goldpine has been offering their own brand of bold harmony-driven Americana to audiences large and small. Winner of the 2022 Rocky Mountain Songwriter Contest, their distinctive harmonies are clearly a channel for their sometimes-raucous, sometimes-reminiscent compositions. With an incredible collection of stories about life, love, and purpose, their live performance is a powerful projection of everything Goldpine is about: striking vocals, bold harmony, and introspection into the human experience.
The Burney Sisters are a powerhouse sibling duo redefining indie-folk with their soulful harmonies, heartfelt lyrics, and magnetic stage presence. Originally from the Midwest, sisters Emma and Bella Burney captivate audiences with their infectious energy, ethereal harmonies, and storytelling that feels deeply personal yet universally relatable. Their music resonates with fans of both classic Americana and modern indie-folk, blending the emotional depth of Bonnie Raitt with the innovative spirit of HAIM and First Aid Kit. As they prepare for the release of their highly anticipated debut EP in 2025, The Burney Sisters are ready to share their unique artistry with the world. Follow their journey as they carve out a space uniquely their own in the ever-evolving landscape of modern folk and Americana.

Kat Edmonson
2025-07-26 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Kat Edmonson is a Songwriters Hall of Fame award-winner. She has been featured on Austin City Limits, Tiny Desk Concerts, A Prairie Home Companion, and The Tonight Show and has released six studio albums to date. Raised on the music and film of the early-to mid-twentieth century, Kat performs original songs and familiar classics in her live show interweaving humorous anecdotes and philosophical musings with disarming candor and vulnerability. “Hearing Edmonson makes it virtually impossible to do anything but stop and listen.” (NPR)
This show has being rescheduled from February. Original tickets are valid for the new date. If unable to attend the rescheduled date, ticket holders have until March 27th to request a refund.

Damian McGinty
2025-07-25 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Damian McGinty is a multi-genre singer/songwriter from Derry, Northern Ireland, who now calls Nashville his home. Damian rose to fame as a founding and lead vocalist of the acclaimed group Celtic Thunder, and has also built a successful solo career, releasing several albums and EPs and touring regularly both with Celtic Thunder and as a soloist. He has also appeared on television, including his role on Glee and his 2023 appearance on Dancing with the Stars: Ireland, in which he was a finalist.
In his solo work, Damian’s Irish roots blend with pop, folk, adult alternative contemporary, and country influences and a lyrical storytelling style to create a sound that is both familiar and unique. Damian’s music blends heartfelt lyrics with a powerful vocal delivery, creating an emotional connection with audiences around the world.
Join Damian for an unforgettable evening of music, charm, and pure magic on his highly anticipated Summer Nights Tour 2025! On this special summer night, Damian’s heartwarming ballads, upbeat tunes, and captivating stories are set to come to life on stage. Known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence, Damian brings an authentic blend of folk and pop. Damian’s soulful voice weaves through a tapestry of songs, including hits from his latest releases and his repertoire of solo originals, fan favorites, and a few beloved Celtic Thunder classics.

Ashes & Arrows
2025-07-24 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
From the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina to the peaks of Arrowtown, New Zealand, Ashes & Arrows captivate audiences around the country with their strong vocals, thoughtful lyrics, and on-stage charisma.
While stuck at individual musical crossroads, Ciaran, Jonathan, and Ben met at an open mic in downtown Asheville in 2021 and immediately regained their joy and inspiration to write and perform music now as a band. Ashes & Arrows released their debut EP, Forward, in 2022 to widespread acclaim, amassing thousands of streams and millions of video views across platforms like TikTok and Facebook. Their blend of authenticity and artistry has resonated with listeners worldwide.
Now, with their debut album Chapter One: The Long Road North, produced by Jamie Tate in Nashville, the band is stepping into an exciting new chapter. Combining influences from their diverse origins with their signature sound, they aim to connect with listeners on a global scale, offering music that is as meaningful as it is memorable.
From their humble beginnings to their ambitious aspirations, Ashes & Arrows continues to chart a course through the ever-evolving landscape of modern music, crafting songs that promise to echo far beyond their mountainous origins.

Breabach
2025-07-23 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Twenty years on from winning the Danny Kyle Open Stage Award at Celtic Connections, Breabach remain securely ranked amongst Scotland’s most skilled & imaginative contemporary-folk acts and at the forefront of the burgeoning traditional music scene. The band unite deep roots in Highland and Island Gaelic tradition alongside progressive musical influences and have cultivated a unique sound, anchoring double bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, step-dance and song with energetic double bass and guitar accompaniment.

Versatility, love of experimentation and a willingness to push the boundaries of Scottish roots music have endured as the core values of the band over the past two decades. They have embraced and pioneered many cross-genre collaborations, linking up with artists including Quebec’s Le Vent du Nord, BAFTA award-winning animator Cat Bruce, indigenous Australasian artist Moana & the Tribe, video game composer Big Giant Circles, Cape Breton powerhouse Beòlach and most recently the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.

With 8 critically acclaimed studio releases to date, an extensive global touring schedule and having received recognition with 6 BBC ALBA Traditional Music Awards, a 2023 German Record Critic’s Award and as European Folk Group of the year finalists in the prestigious Songlines Awards, Breabach’s journey shows no sign of slowing. They continue their adventures throughout this special anniversary year with performances and festivals across the UK, USA and Europe.

McKinley James
2025-07-22 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
McKinley James is equal parts old soul and modern man. Armed with an electric guitar and sharp songwriting chops, he breathes new life into classic sounds with Working Class Blues, a debut album that introduces his mix of American rock & roll, amplified soul, and raw rhythm & blues.
The Ark’s Artist Spotlight Series is made possible with support from Ford Philanthropy. It is presented live, and also livestreamed on The Ark’s Facebook page.
Tonight’s show is FREE (nonperishables accepted for Food Gatherers).

Katie Geddes
2025-07-20 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Katie Geddes 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. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba, and is part of the female vocal trio All About Eve.

Summer Sounds at The Ann Arbor Art Fair
2025-07-19 18:00 - 23:00 | The Stage on Main, 353 S. Main St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
We are excited to once again partner with the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair to bring live music each evening of the art fairs to the Stage on Main at the corner of Main and William in the Palio lot. Stop by and join one of our favorite street parties of the year!
6:00 Brain Plasticity Ukulele Collective and BLUESHOUSE!
Brain Plasticity Ukulele Collective is an open community of musicians playing at all levels and abilities. Ukes? Well, it’s more like 30 different instruments. Plasticity? Yes! The Brain Plasticity Ukulele Collective believes that by sharing music and learning how to play a new instrument, you can: “Drop a brain bomb. Fire up the synapses. Rewire some neural pathways.” And BLUESHOUSE!, led by veteran English bluesman Mike Brooks, has enlivened countless stages and street parties around southeast Michigan over the last decade. Join us for a combination that will stretch your brain!
Mike Brooks, veteran blues guitar player/singer/songwriter from the UK has been playing guitar since the age of 10, and professionally since the age of 16. His musical career and accolades are many and varied, but include hitting the UK charts in 1979 (#28 on “the New Wave of British Heavy Metal” despite being a blues band), getting a cease and desist order from Walt Disney Corp for using a band name too close to that of a cartoon mouse, opening for bands such as the Yardbirds, the Animals, Wishbone Ash and Nine Below Zero, and playing in some of the most famous venues anywhere such as London’s Marquee, and, well, The Ark! In addition to leading BLUESHOUSE and fronting the Brain Plasticity Ukulele Collective, he also works with Ann Arbor’s youth at the Neutral Zone, a continuation of a youth music project begun in the UK called Electric896, which taught disengaged youth how to rock the blues.

Summer Sounds at The Ann Arbor Art Fair
2025-07-18 18:00 - 23:00 | The Stage on Main, 353 S. Main St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
We are excited to once again partner with the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair to bring live music each evening of the art fairs to the Stage on Main at the corner of Main and William in the Palio lot. Stop by and join one of our favorite street parties of the year!
Rabbitology
6pm
Rabbitology is the project of Nat Timmerman—a world that was pulled from her odd-running mind. A little land of the harebrained and burrowing. Simply follow the three-legged rabbit prints until you’re knee deep in this world’s eclectic soundscapes, and here you will discover a collection of memoirs turned into fantastical sonic short stories. Stay as long as you like. Make this world your home too. It’s a little unusual in here, but that’s life!
Joe & The Ruckus
7:30pm
The Ruckus is a collective with the goal of recontextualizing classic funk and soul music within our 21st century world. They formed during the pandemic and emerged from lock-down as changed people in search of new live music experiences from those typically seen pre-pandemic. The Ruckus rose to and surpassed that expectation, providing electrifying live concerts with repertoire ranging from the father of funk, James Brown, to the king of soul, Stevie Wonder, and beyond into more modern artists and have now expanded from their hometown to NYC, Chicago and Detroit.

Summer Sounds at The Ann Arbor Art Fair
2025-07-17 18:00 - 23:00 | The Stage on Main, 353 S. Main St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
We are excited to once again partner with the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair to bring live music each evening of the art fairs to the Stage on Main at the corner of Main and William in the Palio lot. Stop by and join one of our favorite street parties of the year!

DuPont Phillips
6pm
Southeast Michigan favorites Chris DuPont and Kylee Phillips met a decade ago at a Tree Town Sound radio appearance for Ann Arbor’s 107.1 and have been fans of each other’s writing ever since. In the summer of 2021, after countless path crossings, Chris and Kylee finally learned each other’s material and discovered an incredible vocal blend and stage synergy. They each released solo EPs in the fall of 2023 and their first duo EP – “Big Sky Sessions” – in April 2024.
Nathan Graham
7:30pm
Born and raised in Chicago, Nathan Graham meshes South Side Blues with Nashville Americana, beginning his career backing blues singers at famous haunts like Buddy Guy’s Legends and Kingston Mines. He spent a decade as a guitar-for-hire before picking up a mic to tell his own stories on the stage.
Soulful and steady, Graham’s music offers a raw introspective of the human condition that’s both painful and comforting. His guitar conveys heartbreak, lyrics tell stories of regret, but his rich vocal delivery offers the remedy.
Having brought his songs on international tours with both major label and indie acts, Graham is challenging the notion of what it means to be a singer-songwriter. He’s driving inclusivity within the genre, and he hopes to evoke a sense of understanding in the process.
“I’m writing about universal experiences,” he says. “I’m writing music to connect my story to yours, show you all that we have in common, and maybe help both of us feel less alone.”

Tommy Prine
2025-07-13 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Tommy Prine’s debut album This Far South was not only a long-awaited introduction but a testimony to Prine’s 20s and the loss, love, and growth that has defined them. Co-produced by a close friend and kindred musical spirit, Ruston Kelly, and beloved Nashville engineer and producer, Gena Johnson, the album is rich and dynamic from cathartic jams to nostalgic storytelling.
Tommy learned to play guitar by watching his father, mimicking the ways his fingers moved, he inadvertently developed his own singular style. Prine sonically brings together a colorful patchwork of musical influences spanning Gillian Welch, Outkast, Bon Iver, the Strokes and more. Lyrically, Tommy explores existential questions and emotional experiences in his music.
West Virginia native, Olivia Ellen Lloyd, opens. Heavily influenced by country, folk, and indie rock, Lloyd’s sound combines the traditional, rooted sounds of her West Virginia upbringing with the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants exhilaration of her current life. She is inspired by the electric heartbeat of New York City, the peaceful quiet of her small hometown and the rich moments of life on the road in between.

The RFD Boys
2025-07-12 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
It’s hard to believe, because each show is fresh and new, but the RFD Boys have been delighting Michigan audiences since 1969 with their fabulous musicianship and sly, exquisitely timed between-song humor. They’re legends of Michigan bluegrass, but they’re more than that too. With an appearance on the cover of Bluegrass Unlimited, with songs recorded by the likes of the Country Gentlemen, and with performances alongside bluegrass greats like Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley, the RFD Boys are a part of America’s bluegrass tradition. The RFD Boys are one of southeastern Michigan’s most durable musical ensembles, and their shows capture a deep slice of musical Ann Arbor. Their 50th-anniversary appearance at the Folk Festival was a special moment and introduced many listeners to Dan Roehrig, who joined the band on guitar, mandolin, and bass in mid-2018. Dan grew up listening to Doc Watson, Clarence White, and Tony Rice, and you can hear it in both his singing and guitar playing.
Tickets available at the door (there are no advance tickets sold for RFD Boys shows!)

Chatham Rabbits
2025-07-11 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
There is something warm and instantly familiar about the beloved roots duo Chatham Rabbits. Partners in music and life, Chatham Rabbits’ Austin and Sarah McCombie blend their personal histories through deft songwriting and a history that comes from building a life together. Leaning into each other’s strengths, their songs present a congenial, collaborative spirit that has captured the pure adoration of fans along the way and earned them praise from Garden & Gun Magazine, American Songwriter, and No Depression.
Their artistry hinges on a fervent desire to connect with others through the music that first brought the pair together. Steeped in the regional traditions of their North Carolina home, Chatham Rabbits’ musical pursuits represent a new age of roots music.
The duo recorded and released their beloved debut album, “All I Want From You in 2019,” and this set the standard for their sophomore release, “The Yoke is Easy, The Burden is Full,” the centerpiece song from which, “Oxen,” was named “Top Folk Song of 2020” by Paste Magazine.
Nurtured by central North Carolina’s fertile, influential music scene, Chatham Rabbits’ sound continued to evolve on their expansive third album, “If You See Me Riding By” (2022), which was simultaneously released with a television series, “On the Road with Chatham Rabbits,” on PBS-NC. The McCombies’ ingenuity during the Covid-19 crisis led to the creation of their mobile concert experience, “The Stay at Home Tour,” which took the duo to 194 neighborhoods in 2020-21. The pair comes to The Ark with their latest album, “Be Real With Me.”

Dustbowl Revival
2025-07-10 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
How do you describe genre-defying roots music adventurers Dustbowl Revival? Even tireless founder and lead songwriter Z. Lupetin would agree you have to come to a show to find out. Going strong into their second decade after starting from a humble Craigslist ad posted in bohemian Venice Beach, some would say Dustbowl’s ever-evolving collective (there have been nearly thirty members!) plays a spicy cocktail of folky-funk or booty-shaking jangly rock n’ soul: expertly mixing their New Orleans-tinted brass section with their signature Laurel Canyon harmonies and fearless lyrics.
In 2019 the group completed a successful run of performing art centers paying homage to their heroes in The Band and in 2025 Dustbowl is embarking on a new run of theaters and festivals showcasing the music of LA’s Laurel Canyon. A brassy Beatles cover will come this fall followed by a new record of originals slated for early 2025 – recorded in a cabin studio in Wisconsin with noted engineer Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens).
However you sip their sound, Dustbowl Revival has become a beloved fixture of the Americana community – from playing tiny speakeasies and pubs around their southern California base, to headlining thousands of shows in ten countries and counting. Indeed, founder Z. Lupetin’s quixotic Craigslist ad hoping to find like-minded music-makers to play songs inspired equally by Wilco, Bob Dylan and Springsteen as Nina Simone, Fleetwood Mac and Bill Withers may seem confusing, but somehow it worked.
“Maybe we don’t know where this journey will take us or how long it will last,” acknowledges Lupetin, “That’s my take on the importance of what we try to do. Music elevates us, lifts us up, makes us change our minds, takes us out of our comfort zones. If just one person can be moved by just one song, that’s enough.”

The Ark's Open Stage
2025-07-09 20:00 - 23:00, 2025-07-01 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
Why play Open Stage at the Ark? Do it to be heard. Do it so you know you can. Do it to take your music to the masses. If you’re not interested in getting on stage tonight, get your practice in at being a great audience member and observer of new music.

Kasey Chambers
2025-07-08 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Kasey Chambers is an Australian country music artist whose distinctive voice, heart-felt lyrics and world-class performances have earned her the rightful position of one of the most popular and acclaimed artists of her generation at home, whilst winning a devoted cult following around the rest of the world.
Hailed as bringing Australian country music into the mainstream, Kasey has won 14 ARIA’s, 24 CMAA Golden Guitars, 10 APRA songwriting awards; her 12 albums have sold more than 14 x platinum and include 5 x No.1 albums and her No.1 single ‘Not Pretty Enough’.
In 2018 Kasey’s exceptional career was honored by being the youngest female ever to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. With a career spanning over 25 years Kasey continues to inspire with her trademark authenticity and unwavering commitment to her craft.
Most recently, Kasey has released a new book ‘Just Don’t Be A Dickhead’ (Hardie Grant Publishing) and a new album Backbone which debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australian Album Chart and Country Albums Chart. Its title track currently is nominated for 4 x CMAA Golden Guitar Awards, and Kasey has announced a huge 30-date Australian tour for 2025.

Langhorne Slim
2025-07-07 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Langhorne Slim, a beloved and acclaimed American singer, songwriter and performer. Over the last 2 decades he has merged a stew of styles to create a sound that is unique, powerful and raw. From campfires to dive bars, and theatres to arenas, Slim brings an intimacy and edge through his innate ability to connect with his audiences. Though he’s been at this for the better part of his days, it somehow feels like he’s just getting started.

Smithsonian Folkways artist Jerron Paxton
2025-07-06 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Jerron Paxton is an American musician from Los Angeles, now living in New York City. A vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Paxton’s style draws from blues and jazz music before World War II and was influenced by Fats Waller and Blind Lemon Jefferson. According to Will Friedwald in The Wall Street Journal, Paxton is “virtually the only music-maker of his generation — playing guitar, banjo, piano and violin, among other implements — to fully assimilate the blues idiom of the 1920s and ’30s, the blues of Bessie Smith and Lonnie Johnson.” Jerron returns to The Ark for a special benefit for River Raisin Ragtime Revue, a local professional 13-piece ragtime orchestra.

Bandits on the Run
2025-07-03 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Bandits on the Run are a musical trio comprised of Adrian Blake Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd, and Regina Strayhorn, known for their distinct combination of cello, guitar, accordion, and found-percussion with sophisticated three-part harmonies and rotating lead vocals. The Brooklyn-based outfit sprang from a chance encounter while busking in NYC’s bustling subways and burst onto the national stage in 2019 when their song, “Love in the Underground,” was featured on the NPR Tiny Desk Contest’s Top Shelf, with the esteemed tastemakers at the station proclaiming, “the band orchestrates a symphony of sound and story through its impressive musicianship and marvelous harmonies.”
After recording their 2021 EP, Now Is The Time, with producer Ryan Hadlock (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers), the Bandits took to the screen, devising a short musical film, Band At The End Of The World, commissioned by Prospect Musicals. Since then, they have continued to explore the nexus of indie-folk music and theatrical storytelling, composing music for the Netflix animated series, Storybots, scoring the movie, The Same Storm, adapting several songs from texts by William Shakespeare for a production of As You Like It, and receiving an NEA grant for a new musical with Prospect Musicals, all the while touring the globe with appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival, Floydfest, Summerfest Milwaukee, Americanafest, F1 Singapore Grand Prix, Mile of Music, and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival.
Bandits on the Run are currently working on the stage musical adaptation of the novel What’s Eating Gilbert Grape in association with MCC Theater, alongside actor-musician Christopher Sears and Academy Award Nominee Peter Hedges, who wrote the original book and screenplay.

Matt the Electrician
2025-07-02 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
Matt the Electrician is Matthew Sever, a quirky, sincere folk/pop singer songwriter based in Austin, TX. He has self-released 11 studio albums, and 2 live CDs since 1998. Matt moved to Austin, TX from the West Coast in 1996 to pursue music full time. He regularly tours all over the world, specifically The US, Canada, Western Europe and Japan. His songs have been featured on Network TV shows, in feature length movies, and in TV commercials. He regularly plays festivals, theaters, nightclubs, and house concerts, and will continue to do so until he cannot.

Shawn Mullins
2025-06-30 20:00 - 22:30 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ticket prices on our website reflect all-in pricing for purchases made online or by phone. This means the price you see includes the ticket price plus MUTO’s ticket processing fee. Tickets may be purchased with no included fees in person at The Ark during box office hours.
After a series of indie releases and growing buzz in the Atlanta music scene, Shawn Mullins’ critical and commercial breakthrough came when 1998 Soul’s Core shot him to fame on the strength of Grammy-nominated No. 1 hit, “Lullaby” followed by AAA/Americana No. 1 hit “Beautiful Wreck” from 2006’s 9th Ward Pickin’ Parlor. His song, “Shimmer” was used in promotion of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and was included on the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack. His co-write “All in My Head” from 2008’s Honeydew was featured in episode one of the hit TV sitcom “Scrubs.” Mullins also co-wrote the Zac Brown Band’s No. 1 country tune “Toes.” In early 2002, he formed supergroup The Thorns with Matthew Sweet and Pete Droge. “No Blue Sky” from the resulting album, is a modern day classic.
For the 20th anniversary of his breakthrough album, Shawn revisited the music of Soul’s Core by recording two new versions of the album. He calls this Soul’s Core Revival. This is not a remix or a remaster of the original, but rather brand new recordings with new arrangements of the songs – one album is stripped down solo performances, some on guitar, some on piano and maybe one a cappella and the second is a new studio recording with his full band, Soul Carnival.
