Jax Hollow is an untamable force of nature. Hailing from Nashville by way of Western Massachusetts, The Berklee College Of Music graduate is bringing a much needed revival to rock with her fresh innocence and serious talent. Jax’s sound is a unique blend of Classic Rock, Blues, and Americana, combined with songwriting, riffs, ripping solos, and powerful vocals.
Special Guest: Brawny Lad
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesBased in Alexandria, VA, Yasmin Williams is an acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and film composer. She has an unorthodox, modern style of guitar playing and utilizes various techniques including alternate tunings, percussive hits, and lap tapping in her music to great effect. Her “radiant sound and adventitious origins have made her a key figure in a diverse dawn for the solo guitar” (The New York Times). Williams’s music has been described as rich, harmonious, and “in a lot of ways, the joy and possibility she brings to the guitar reminds me more of Eddie Van Halen than any of the other fingerstyle guitarists to whom she's compared” (NPR Music).
Good things, it’s often said, come to those who wait. And yet, as one of the great poets of our time also famously observed, the waiting is the hardest part. Both truths have been proven once again on the journey to singer-songwriter Mindy Smith’s sixth studio album, Quiet Town, which brings a treasured musical voice back into the spotlight.
Opener: Katie Dahl
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesPeter Mulvey has been a songwriter, road-dog, raconteur, and almost-poet since before he can remember. In 1989 he spent a year in Ireland, busking on the streets of Dublin and hitchhiking to whatever gigs he could find. Back stateside, he spent a couple years gigging through the bars of his native Midwest before taking off for Boston, where he returned to subway busking and coffeehouses. Small shows led to larger shows, which eventually led to regional and then national touring. The wheels have not stopped since.
Mike Dawes is an English guitarist known for composing, arranging, and performing multiple parts simultaneously on a single guitar. He is regarded as one of the world’s most creative modern fingerstyle guitarists, with a repertoire spanning original viral videos and popular arrangements, alongside mainstream chart success performing with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.
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.
Already being hailed as “the next Woody Guthrie,” Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. A powerful lyricist whose songs of compassionate dissent reflect her lived experience as what she lightheartedly calls "the poster-child for intersectionality," Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation called Matthews’s gift "a reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides."
Special Guest: Viv & Riley
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesThe 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.The first Blind Pilot album in eight years, In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain emerged from a period of artistic crisis and the radical transformation of their creative ecosystem. “I went through a few years where I wasn’t able to write—I tried therapy, I read books on writer’s block, I went on writing trips, but nothing was helping,” says Israel Nebeker, frontman for the Oregon-bred band. After stepping back and reimagining his songwriting approach, Nebeker challenged himself to write an entire album in a month, then brought those songs to his bandmates with a newfound sense of receptivity.
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. Appalachian Roadshow is a visionary acoustic ensemble, bringing new-generation interpretations of traditional Americana, bluegrass and folk songs, as well as offering innovative original music, all presented with a common thread tied directly to the heart of the Appalachian regions of the 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. The multi award winning Lena Jonsson Trio continues to break new grounds around the world with their unique mix of deeply rooted Swedish folk, jazz, American old-time and electro acoustic sounds. Lena Jonsson’s ability to balance this with innovative artistic sensibilities, sparkling joy of life and a charisma of a rock-star have made her one Scandinavia’s most visionary musicians.
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. Indie folk artist from Ireland and founding member of Billboard No.1 band We Banjo 3, David Howley has been at the forefront of Irish guitar, banjo and mandolin for over a decade. An award-winning vocalist, he has performed with The Chieftains, Eileen Ivers, Carlos Nunez, Billy Strings, Bela Fleck, Altan, Ajeet and Mumford & Sons, amongst others.
Special Guest: Terra Spencer
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesThe 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.