Shows & Events

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Cowboy Junkies

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

presented by ann arbor's 107one Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins (vocalist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Alan Anton (bassist). The Junkies first performed publicly at the Beverley Tavern and other clubs in Toronto’s Queen Street West, including The Rivoli. These days, Cowboy Junkies shows revisit old material in creative ways, but they always bring new music as well.

$50, $75, $90

Tom Rush

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Celebrating 55 years on stage! A performer with an abiding love of being in front of an audience, Rush is a rib-tickling storyteller, an expressive singer, and a guitarist capable of real melancholy. He's a durable Ark favorite, and, says the Chicago Tribune, he's "probably the only man alive who should be allowed to sing Joni Mitchell songs." Tom Rush is, in short, folk royalty.

$32

Julian Taylor

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

After 25 years in music, building an unimpeachable reputation as a truly independent artist and entrepreneur, Julian Taylor now owns his legacy. From the formative rock of Staggered Crossing to the genre fusion of Julian Taylor Band, and now his revered work as a solo singer-songwriter, Julian owns the right to it all and it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Julian comes from Toronto with a new album, “Beyond the Reservoir.”

$20
Low Ticket Alert Special Event

Andrew Bird

Special Guest: Ted Poor

Michigan Theater 603 East Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI

At Michigan TheaterAndrew Bird is an internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, whistler, and songwriter who picked up his first violin at the age of four and spent his formative years soaking up classical repertoire completely by ear. Since beginning his recording career in 1997, Bird has released 17 albums and performed extensively across the globe. He has recorded with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, appeared as “Dr. Stringz” on Jack’s Big Music Show, and headlined concerts at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and festivals worldwide. Presented by The Ark and ann arbor's 107one

$40.50, $50.50, $70.50

Susan Werner

Opener: The Sea The Sea

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Over the course of her twenty five year touring career, Susan Werner has built a reputation as one of the country’s most compelling live performers. She’s written songs in the style of Gershwin and Cole Porter (I Can’t Be New, 2004), gospel music (The Gospel Truth, 2007), traditional Cuban “son” (An American In Havana, 2016), and New Orleans junk piano (NOLA, 2019). In 2014 she composed the music and lyrics to the musical theater score Bull Durham, The Musical (MGM). Susan comes to Michigan with a unique new EP, “The Birds of Florida.”

$25, $33, $50

Jackie Greene

Opener: Lilly Winwood

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Americana and roots singer-songwriter Jackie Greene is a jack-of-all-trades, and an artist who can croon over soulful piano ballads as much as he can shred a bluesy guitar solo (like he did as the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes in 2013). A road warrior and musician's musician, Greene's new EP 'The Modern Lives - Vol 2' (out October 2018 on Blue Rose Music) finds him at a new chapter in his life: his first months of fatherhood, time off his relentless touring circuit, and a cross-country move from Brooklyn to his birthplace of Northern California.

This new collection of six original songs is a thematic extension of 'The Modern Lives - Vol 1' EP (released in 2017 on Blue Rose Music), imbued with a Brooklyn basement DIY feel and ethos. He is a student of American music, transfixed upon its progression through time, as well as how regional sounds fit in a contemporary context. Whereas 'Vol 1' saw Greene experiment with the Delta blues as a canvas for his examinations of modern society, 'Vol 2' sees Greene embrace the sounds of the bluegrass and folk tapes of his youth.

$30

Morgan James

Opener: Kirk Thurmond

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Morgan James is a Juilliard-trained singer, actress, songwriter and recording artist in New York City. Morgan recently co-produced and starred in an all-female concept recording of “Jesus Christ Superstar” entitled “She Is Risen." She independently released her studio albums of original soul music, entitled Memphis Magnetic and A Very Magnetic Christmas, recorded to analog tape in Memphis, Tennessee. Other albums include "Reckless Abandon," which prompted the Huffington Post to call MJ the Brightest Breakout Artist of the Year.

$25

Marcia Ball & Tinsley Ellis

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Tinsley Ellis and Marcia Ball are excited to present an intimate evening of their music and memories called Acoustic Songs and Stories. They will each play a set of their own songs. Tinsley, an elder statesman of the Blues world, will perform many of his most popular songs from his twenty albums, plus some delta blues and classics on his National Steel and Martin acoustic guitars. Marcia, a five-time Grammy nominee, will play the piano and sing her often raucous and sometimes touching original songs full of the characters and places that shaped her.

$30

U of M Jazz Showcase Featuring Randy Brecker

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Each year, students and professors in the University of Michigan jazz program move in and tear up the Ark stage in our Jazz Showcase, always welcoming a nationally known special guest. This year, that guest is a legendary talent—trumpeter Randy Brecker, who has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B, and rock for more than four decades. You’ve probably heard Randy Brecker even if you don’t know it—his trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a huge range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Parliament/Funkadelic to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Jaco Pastorius, and Frank Zappa. Here’s your chance to hear a jazz legend passing on his secrets to the next generation!

$15

Tom Paxton & The DonJuans

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

We know—Tom Paxton had a farewell tour a few years ago. Kidding! 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 Don Juans—Don Henry & Jon Vezner! Collectively, their songs have been covered by: Harry Belafonte, John Mellencamp, Miranda Lambert, Neil Diamond, Ray Charles, Nanci Griffith, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian, Kathy Mattea, John Denver, Faith Hill, B.J. Thomas, Blake Shelton, Peter, Paul & Mary and Bob Dylan … just to name a few! Within days of writing and playing together, the trio knew they were onto something, and they soon took it on the road. Ever since the days of Porter & Dolly's cover of "The Last Thing on My Mind," the songs of Tom Paxton have had a special resonance with Nashville songwriters, and now the tradition continues!

$30

Arlo McKinley

The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI

Arlo McKinley is the last artist John and his son Jody signed together to their Oh Boy label. Arlo's music is deeply rooted in street soul, country, punk, and gospel and draws on personal stories, set against the backdrop of his hometown of Cincinnati. His songs are all penned with a weight, honesty, and gritty hope that comes from living in the rustbelt city where his songs were born. Arlo has been making a name for himself around the country, sharing stages with kindred musical spirits John Moreland, Jason Isbell, Justin Townes Earle, and contemporary rising singer/songwriters Ian Noe and Colter Wall, and he's a major headliner in the making. Rolling Stone praised Arlo’s last album, “Die Midwestern,” for its “songs of heartbreak, restlessness and hard-won experience” and NPR called “personal and moving.” He comes to Michigan with a new release, “This Mess We’re In.”

$20
Virtual Event

John McCutcheon Livestream – Hammer Dulcimer

John was one of the early champions of the hammer dulcimer revival and is considered one of the world masters on this beautiful instrument. Through the years his audiences have often asked for an all-dulcimer concert and, finally, here it is. Join John for an evening of traditional and original dulcimer music, from jigs & reels, to ragtime, to classical, to lovely Irish harp compositions and see just why he is held in such high regard.

$20