The Ark

The Moth GrandSLAM
2025-04-01 20:00 - 23:00 (America/Detroit) | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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 ultimate storytelling competition, The Moth GrandSLAM invites winners from our open-mic StorySLAMs back to the stage for the Ann Arbor storytelling championship.

Explosions in the Sky
2025-04-02 19:30 - 23:00 | Michigan Theater, 603 East Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Explosions in the Sky are an iconic instrumental rock band from Texas that have become the gold standard for bold, emotional, cinematic music and are known for their incendiary live concerts. They’ve slowly grown from playing DIY spaces and opening for Fugazi to having headlined Radio City Music Hall, Royal Albert Hall, the Greek Theatre, and the Sydney Opera House. Over 24 years of being a band (with the same four members the entire time), they’ve achieved remarkable commercial success from an especially non-commercial corner of the music world, selling more than 1.3 million copies over six studio albums, and scoring five major motion pictures in the process. They’ve become the sound of modern sports films, documentaries and television, due largely to their genre-defining Friday Night Lights score, and they’ve been asked to tour with artist fans as diverse as Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, The Flaming Lips, and Death Cab for Cutie, while managing to not sound like any other popular artist.

University of Michigan Jazz Showcase with special guest Kenny Barron
2025-04-03 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
This show features students and faculty from the Department of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the U-M, along with a prominent special guest each year. This year’s special guest is pianist Kenny Barron. Honored by The National Endowment for the Arts as a 2010 Jazz Master, Kenny Barron has an unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms. The Los Angeles Times named him “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” and Jazz Weekly calls him “The most lyrical piano player of our time.”

Jackie Greene
2025-04-04 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
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. Since the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Gone Wanderin’,’ Greene has built an enduring audience through a relentless touring schedule with the likes of BB King, Mark Knopfler, Susan Tedeschi, and Taj Mahal. He played lead guitar with The Black Crowes on their Layin’ Down With #13 World Tour, recorded and toured with Trigger Hippy – his supergroup with Joan Osborne – and in the last four years performed over 300 shows of his own, all while continuing to record and release his solo work. Greene is a frequent member of Phil Lesh & Friends, and sits in with countless other artists including Tedeschi Trucks Band, Govt Mule, Mississippi All-Stars, Amy Helm, Steve Earle, and Bob Weir.

The RFD Boys
2025-04-05 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
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 will be available at the door. There are no advance ticket sales for this show.

Gemily
2025-04-06 13:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
Gemily (Gemini + Emily) is the folk music trio comprised of Laz and San Slomovits, and San’s daughter, Emily. Laz and San, as the highly popular family music duo, Gemini, have been performing throughout Michigan and the United States since 1973. Emily first began joining them on stage when she was just eight years old, and increasingly since graduating from college in 2016. All three are versatile instrumentalists and excellent singers. Between them they play over a dozen instruments including guitars, violins, ukulele, mandolin, pennywhistle, and a variety of folk flutes and hand percussion instruments.
San and Laz’s recordings have won numerous awards from, among others, the American Library Association, Parents’ Choice Magazine, National Parenting Publications, the Wolf Trap Institute, Early Childhood News and ASCAP. Emily, who studied classical violin for over a decade, is an excellent violinist in a variety of styles including classical, jazz and folk. Besides with Gemini, she has performed and recorded with, among others, San, Emily & Jacob, Billy King, Annie and Rod Capps, Judy Banker, Billy Brandt and Jill Jack.
Gemily’s concerts feature a wide range of traditional and contemporary folk, jazz and classical music. Their beautifully blended harmony vocals and exciting instrumental work breathe new life into a wide variety of American and international music, from folk to classical, klezmer to Broadway show tunes, traditional to contemporary. Audiences thrill to their musicianship, warmth, humor and ease on stage.

May Erlewine
2025-04-06 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
May Erlewine has split her heart wide open and hasn’t hidden any of the contents from view. One of the Midwest’s most prolific and passionate songwriters, Erlewine has a gift for writing songs of substance that feel both fresh and soulfully familiar. Her ability to emotionally engage with an audience has earned her a dedicated following far beyond her Michigan roots. She shows us her heartbreak, but she also shows us her empowered and emboldened spirit. In her quest to find her most authentic self, Erlewine gifts each listener with a powerful, emotional experience that immediately connects us.
Raised in a home full of art and music, Erlewine began writing songs at a very young age. As a teenager she hitchhiked across the country, honing her skills as a performer and absorbing the kind of stories and landscapes that would inform her music. Her songs show a very real connection and concern with everyday folk.
Erlewine draws from a wide variety of influences to create her sound. Lyrically, her songs are rooted in hard-wrought wisdom, joy and sorrow, simplicity, and stories from her own experiences. Musically, May’s songs wash over the audience like a tender hug. She is a magnetic solo performer and is also often supported by her carefully chosen backing bands.
Tonight’s show is sponsored by Lume Cannabis Co.

The Great Guitars
2025-04-08 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
Due to a wrist injury earlier this week, Bireli Lagrene is unable to perform. The tour continues as a duo with Martin Taylor and Ulf Wakenius. They play together all over Europe and have a great show!
The Great Guitars™ traces its colorful heritage back to the 1970’s when the legendary jazz guitarists of that era toured the world and recorded together. Award-winning guitarist Martin Taylor, who replaced Herb Ellis to become part of the original group in the 1980’s with the legendary Barney Kessel and Charlie Byrd, has revised the format for the 21st century, enlisting two of today’s top jazz guitars players to co-create a brilliant program displaying guitar mastery, emotion, humor and musical fireworks.
Combining Taylor’s award-winning virtuosic finger style with Lagrene’s jaw-dropping technique, and Wakenius’ incredible musical versatility, the concert features solo, duet, and trio performances by these three acknowledged masters of fingerstyle, jazz and gypsy guitar. Between them, these three guitar greats have worked with artists ranging from Tommy Emmanuel to David Grisman, Donald Fagen to Wynton Marsalis, and Bonnie Raitt to Bob Dylan.

Open Stage Showcase
2025-04-09 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
As part of our 60th anniversary celebrations, we’re reviving an old tradition! Our Open Stage Showcase lets us shine a light on some of our standout performers who’ve graced our Open Stage through the year. Join us for full sets from Brooke Bowker, Pat Clinton and Michael Shelata!
Brooke Bowker is a musician from Ypsilanti, Michigan. She writes lyrically driven songs featuring tuneful melodies and the mellow sounds of her nylon string guitar. Her music has been described as, “like Zooey Deschanel meets Ani DiFranco” Brooke’s debut album is due out later this year.
Patrick Clinton wrote his first song in 1968, and after a long hiatus, he’s at it again. He’s known for offbeat, witty, often hilarious tunes about everything from frogs and chickens to cowboys, mashed potatoes, and doomed romance.
You may know him as the former host of the Ark’s Open Stage, now let Michael Shelata delight your ears with his piano solos in a wide variety of styles and genres. Michael has written, performed and recorded custom original soundtracks for a nationally acclaimed storyteller, a musical score and sound effects for a short children’s film and collaborated and created an original song for theatre production, “The Bride Wore Black.” Michael completed five levels of improvisation and skit comedy training with Second City. He learned techniques for delivering spontaneous surprising humor and wrote and performed all the music for a show the team produced.

Sierra Hull
2025-04-10 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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.
Sierra Hull is widely regarded to be a as a master of her instrument; A two-time Grammy Nominated artist and songwriter, recognized for both her most recent projects, 25 Trips (2020) and Weighted Mind (2016), she is also the 4x recipient of IBMA’s Mandolin Player of the Year, the first woman to ever receive this distinction. A pioneer for acoustic music throughout her already impressive multi-decade career, she has graced the country’s most iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and the White House. Her virtuosic abilities have garnered respect from genre-defining trailblazers, friends, and collaborators such as Alison Krauss, Sturgill Simpson, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, and Brandi Carlile. Originally hailing from Byrdstown, Tennessee, her unique sound is rooted in bluegrass, and she is widely considered one of acoustic music’s most inventive artists.

Laith Al-Saadi
2025-04-11 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
In 2016, Laith Al-Saadi won America’s hearts and a spot in the Season 10 finale of NBC’s “The Voice.” Now he’s bringing an authentic blend of blues, soul and classic rock to audiences around the nation and the world. Laith Al-Saadi has always had the perfect combination of Midwestern hustle and incredible musical chops—honed at the University of Michigan school of music in his hometown of Ann Arbor, and on stages across the country working with legends like Taj Mahal, Luther Allison, Buddy Guy, Son Seals, Gregg Allman, and B.B. King. “Laith is one of the most diverse talents we have,” said Maroon 5 frontman and “The Voice” coach Adam Levine. “Incredible guitar player, incredible singer.” Audiences have agreed, propelling Laith’s album “REAL” to the top of the blues chart for five weeks and the top 20 album chart for two weeks. Guitar Center has crowned him one of the top four blues guitarists in the United States.

Ani DiFranco
2025-04-12 20:00 - 23:00 | Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W 4th St, Royal Oak, MI, 48067, United States
These days, every artist’s album needs to have a story. The music can’t speak for itself.
But after 22 records, why can’t Ani DiFranco’s work speak for itself? Yes, her forthcoming album is shaped by stories — ones about reproductive freedom, the double-edged sword of the pandemic, identity and ever-evolving belief systems that have shaped each of its 11 songs. There are songs that were written in 2011 and in 2022; some for musicals, others for children’s books. The album isn’t linear, but it is inherently teeming with DiFranco’s spirit.
It was paramount to the folk-feminist hero that listeners not be saddled with preconceived notions while diving into her 23rd album Unprecedented Sh!t. “I believe there is a rhyme and a reason as to why these songs have come together in this way now and I want people to experience this album as a journey, a piece of art, without being influenced by a cacophony of surrounding narratives.”
While many of DiFranco’s albums were made more insularly, she’s opened herself up to collaboration in recent years. For 21 of DiFranco’s 22 albums, she opted to self-produce. With Unprecedented Sh!t, she wanted to try working with a producer and tapped BJ Burton, who produced one of her favorite albums, Bon Iver’s 22, A Million. With Burton’s help, largely from afar, they created soundscapes often using only DiFranco’s voice and guitar as the raw materials and manipulating them with effects and filters. “I really wanted to lean into the power of machines in a way that I never have before, so BJ and I communicating through many layers of them in order to collaborate, seemed apropos. This record was made almost entirely by me and BJ alone, bouncing things back and forth.”
The title Unprecedented Sh!t is not only representative of how much of a sonic departure the 11-track album is from Ani’s other work, but also a political and social commentary on the current state of the world. “We find ourselves in unprecedented times in many ways, faced with unprecedented challenges. So, our responses to them and our discourse around them, need to rise to that level.”
DiFranco has been known as a feminist icon and pioneer of DIY for nearly 35 years. Since founding her record label Righteous Babe Records in 1990, she has released 22 albums, traversing folk, punk, hip-hop, soul and electronic genres and addressing a range of autobiographical, political and social issues. While her first four albums Ani DiFranco (1990), Not So Soft (1991), and Imperfectly (1992), Puddle Dive (1993), harnessed a more raw sound, Out Of Range (1994), Not A Pretty Girl (1995) and Dilate (1996) were more rooted in DiFranco’s folk ethos. She released eight more albums over the next 10 years, earning a Grammy Award for her 2003 album Evolve and numerous nominations. Her most recent albums include 2008’s Red Letter Year and 2017’s Binary. Most recently, fans have been thrilled by 2021’s Revolutionary Love and the 25th Anniversary Edition reissues of both her iconic 1997 live album Living In Clip and 1998’s Little Plastic Castle, via Righteous Babe Records in 2023.
DiFranco is also a poet, author and Broadway performer. She released a collection of poems and paintings titled Verses in 2007. Her memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream was a New York Times Top 10 best seller in 2019, and her children’s books The Knowing and Show Up and Vote are out now. DiFranco also recently completed a 5-month run on Broadway as ‘Persephone’ in the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical, Hadestown.

Afro Dominicano
2025-04-12 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Afro Dominicano is a World Music band that centers its music on what they call Afro Caribbean soul. They blend traditional folkloric genres from the Dominican Republic such as Perico Ripiao, Palo, Merengue de Orquesta, Bachata with Reggae, Bembe, Calypso, and Samba, Funk, Rock, and other African rhythms. They have completely impacted the performance art industry by breaking the barrier of the musical genre; seamlessly entering and exiting them with grace and expertise. Afro Dominicano is not just a band but a social movement, they believe in uniting individuals from all around the world through their music. This can be experienced during their live performances, where race and ethnicity disappear because despite all our differences we all have something in common; our love for music, and that unites us.

Chris Buhalis
2025-04-13 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Chris Buhalis was born and raised on Detroit’s east side, but his songs come from places you can only find if you stick out your thumb and follow fate’s lead. Covering territory from Alaska’s whiskey-soaked bars to the spark- and steel-filled auto plants of Detroit, Chris writes songs that speak of real people in real situations. Chris has appeared on radio’s “Acoustic Cafe” and shared stages with the likes of David Bromberg, Catie Curtis, and Dave Van Ronk.

Gruff Rhys (solo)
2025-04-15 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Gruff Rhys is a songwriter, producer and award-winning storyteller from Bethesda in Wales who has consistently sought a variety of outlets for the spectrum of muses behind his creative flights. Formerly most well known as the frontman of Super Furry Animals – a band that has been able to achieve that rarest of mixes, artistic adventure with popular devotion – he blended fuzz-filed rock, pure harmonies and cutting edge electronics, while with his other band, Neon Neon, Rhys has documented the lives of maverick car maker John DeLorean and Italian activist and publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli in widescreen style.
With their blissful melodies, his solo records have explored untapped areas lyrically too. His first, 2005’s Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, revelled in Welsh puns; 2014’s American Interior celebrated the unlikely yet influential 18th century explorer John Evans; Babelsberg offered a baroque take on the modern world in 2018; while a year later Pang! created a multi-lingual mash-up, driven by folkish bleeps crafted in collaboration with South African artist-producer Muzi.
However, while all those records certainly explored fresh territory, the Top Ten charting Seeking New Gods climbed lyrically and musically on to totally new terrain – for his seventh solo record Gruff Rhys created a conceptual record about his own mountain and became his most critically and commercially successful solo album yet. 2024 saw the release of it’s follow up, ‘Sadness Sets Me Free’ garnering rave reviews and acclaimed to be amongst his finest work.

John Splithoff
2025-04-16 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
John Splithoff is a songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who splices together throwback soul, modern production, and laid-back pop. A native of Chicago, Splithoff began gaining momentum following the independent release of his breakout single, “Sing to You.” Driven by a hypnotic howl, breezy guitar, and an unbreakable bounce, the track generated over 100 million streams, occupied coveted real estate on noted Spotify playlists and reached the top 8 at AC Radio, paving the way for Splithoff to continue to releasing music to an a growing fanbase. Splithoff has toured globally as a headliner with appearances at renowned festivals such as Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. Most recently, Splithoff collaborated with renowned jazz trumpeter, Chris Botti, penning the David Foster produced single, “Paris,” out fall 2023 on Blue Note Records. 2024 sees Splithoff on a global tour with stops from San Francisco to Singapore and putting touches on his sophomore album, due out spring 2025 via Virgin.

Victor Wooten & The Wooten Brothers
2025-04-17 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
For over four decades the Wooten Brothers have been recognized as some of the most innovative musicians in existence and are collectively known as one of the most talented and dynamic band of brothers the world has ever known. Since they were young, the five brothers have been a musical tour-de-force redefining the limits of jazz, funk, soul, R&B, rock, and bluegrass.
Victor Wooten, a five-time Grammy Award-winning artist, has graced the cover of Bass Player Magazine five times. He is a founding member of the eclectic group Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and is recognized as one of the greatest living bassist today often drawing comparisons to Jaco Pastorius, and was named one of the “Top ten bassist of all time” by Rolling Stone Magazine.
Joseph Wooten has a dizzying list of talents that is impressive even by the Wooten clan’s standards. Currently the keyboardist for the Steve Miller Band (since 1993), he is also a composer, orchestrator, motivational speaker, and has been showcased as an amazing vocalist since he was a child. He has collaborated with the likes of Whitney Houston and Kenny G, and when not touring with Miller, leads his own band, performs with Freedom Sings, and even helps out his little brother as keyboardist, vocalist, and composer for The Victor Wooten Band.
Roy “Futureman” Wooten, also a five-time Grammy Award winner, is best known for his masterful drumming and percussion skills and is a founding member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Roy, a seasoned drum set player, is mostly known for his frenzied, inimitable on-stage performances heightened by his surreal choice of instruments: his trademark inventions “The Drumitar” and “RoyEl” keyboard. He is also a philosopher, researcher, filmmaker, and educator. His impressive solo career and “Black Mozart” projects scan the genres of classical, jazz, soul, gospel, and spoken word.
Regi Wooten’s signature guitar style of chording, slapping, tapping and frenzied strumming has earned him world-wide notoriety and comparisons to Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Chuck Berry. In recent years, Regi has performed with many artists including the legendary Ginger Baker. Regi, known worldwide as “The Teacher”, currently teaches music in Nashville, TN and has taught many notable musicians. He was teaching his little brothers Joseph and Victor when he himself was only 9 years old.
Together The Wooten Brothers bring an uncanny level of experience, originality, and musical expertise to the stage. Their shows will be a high-energy, super-funky, artistic blend of styles including original songs and classics. In short: these brothers are the real deal and their shows are not to be missed.

Kylee Phillips & Kyle Joe
2025-04-18 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Kyle Joe, who formerly toured as Chain of Lakes and later made the American songwriter competition rounds under his legal name, Kyle Rasche, won the Kerrville New Folk Songwriter competition in 2022 after a finalist nod the year prior. 2024 was a year of metamorphosis for Kyle Joe. After a full hard reboot of his life, both personal and professional, Kyle hunkered down in a humble recording studio in Ypsilanti, Michigan to create a new seven-song mid-length album with producer and arranger Chris DuPont. This long overdue partnership gave Kyle’s newest body of work a bold southeast-Michigan indie-folk treatment, along with guest vocals from rising stars Spencer LaJoye and Kylee Phillips.
Kylee Phillips is a Michigan-native vocalist and songwriter of deeply self-exposing pop music. Armed with an arresting, emotive, laser-focused voice, and an unrivaled ear for hooks and melodic contour, Phillips has garnered cult-like acclaim in the midwest and beyond since her explosive debut EP Long Time Coming. In a world with no shortage of self-help sad-babe pop, Phillips weaves together a sensual, articulate, and unpretentiously therapeutic soundtrack for the lives we live but can’t always verbalize. She lends us an experiential wisdom that could only come from a massive heart that’s seen a lot of garbage and emerged transformed and immovable.

Mr. B's 28th Annual Blues and Boogie Piano Celebration
2025-04-19 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
This show is being postponed to August 23. Original tickets will be valid for the new date. If unable to attend the August date, ticket holders have until April 7th to request a refund.
Once a year, Mark “Mr. B” Braun, Ann Arbor’s own wizard of blues and boogie piano music, comes together with other top piano players from around southeastern Michigan and beyond. Call it a piano summit, or perhaps a meeting of the minds! Audiences in southeastern Michigan tend to think of Mr. B as a local hero, but in fact he’s well known among fans and practitioners of blues and jazz piano music all over the country and around the world. In the past, Mr. B’s Piano Celebration concerts have brought great sets by otherwise hard-to-find performers from New Orleans, New York, and Europe, and they’re by no means confined to boogie and blues.
Note early start time!

Hayley Reardon
2025-04-22 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Hayley Reardon is a critically acclaimed folk-pop singer and songwriter, and a storyteller in the truest sense of the word. Reardon dove head first into music at the age of 15, and has dedicated much of her life to writing, recording and performing music around the world.
Her ever-deepening music carries a lyrical and melodic weight beyond her years, being described as “brilliantly moving folk/pop with a lyrical depth and soul” (Performer Magazine) and “a melancholy little masterpiece” (American Songwriter Magazine). No Depression writes “Reardon is truly a treasure.”
2023 was one of creative abundance and artistic growth for Reardon. Her EP, Changes, was recorded in Barcelona with renowned Spanish guitarist Pau Figueres as producer and collaborator with the title track featuring an original bilingual duet with Catalan sensation Judit Neddermann. Along with her own releases, Reardon co-wrote and sings on Seth Glier’s haunting new single My Body Remembers. She was also nominated as 2023 Vocalist of the Year by the Boston Music Awards. Her latest album, After Everything, was released in September 2024.
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).

Cheryl Wheeler with special guest Kenny White
2025-04-23 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, 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. Cheryl’s special guest tonight is her frequent partner in crime, New York songwriter Kenny White.

Ellis Paul
2025-04-24 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ellis Paul doesn’t just write songs; he’s a guitar-carrying reporter who covers the human condition and details the hopes, loves, losses of those he observes, turning their stories into luminous pieces of music that get under your skin and into your bloodstream.
Born and raised in Maine, Paul attended Boston College on a track scholarship and in the evenings became a fixture on the city’s open mic circuit. After winning a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition, he caught the ear of folk luminary Bill Morrissey, who produced his indie album Say Something in 1993. This led to a seven album contract with Rounder Records. His songs have appeared in several blockbuster films (Me, Myself, and Irene; Shallow Hal, Hall Pass) and have been covered by award winning country artists (Sugarland, Kristian Bush, Jack Ingram). Through a steady succession of albums of his own – a remarkable 23 releases so far – and a constant touring presence around the world, Paul’s audience has grown into a loyal legion of fans.

The Tallest Man on Earth
2025-04-25 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Kristian Matsson has never remained in one place for very long. Having spent much of the last decade touring around the world as The Tallest Man on Earth, Matsson has captivated audiences using, as The New York Times describes, “every inch of his long guitar cord to roam the stage: darting around, crouching, stretching, hip-twitching, perching briefly and jittering away…Mr. Matsson is a guitar-slinger rooted in folk, and his songs are troubadour ballads at heart.”
Then came 2020, when Matsson left New York City and returned to his farm in Sweden. There, during that quiet, dreary time of isolation, he drowned out his thoughts by manically growing vegetables in his garden. When he tried writing again, during those many months of collective forced solitude, “I just found myself commenting on the darkness,” Matsson says. “I lost my imagination.” Playing live, music and inspiration returned near the end of 2021, and his produce became less of a priority. “When I’m in motion, I can focus on my instinct, have my daydreams again. When I was finally able to tour again, I started writing like a madman.” He eventually had twenty songs he wanted to record in ten days.
Now, Matsson returns as The Tallest Man on Earth with Henry St., his sixth studio album following 2012’s There’s No Leaving Now, full of “vivid imagery, clever turns-of-phrase, and devastating, world-weary observations” (Under The Radar) and 2015’s Dark Bird Is A Home, his “most personal record… surreal and dreamlike” (Pitchfork).

OK Go
2025-04-26 20:00 - 23:00 | The Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan, 48201, United States
With a career that includes award-winning videos, New York Times op-eds, collaborations with pioneering dance companies and tech giants, animators and Muppets, and an experiment that encoded their music on actual strands of DNA, OK Go continues to fearlessly dream and build new worlds in a time when creative boundaries have all but dissolved. The band has been recognized for their achievements with 21 Cannes Lions, 12 CLIOs, 3 VMAs, 2 Webbys, The Smithsonian Ingenuity Award, and a Grammy.

Adeem The Artist
2025-04-26 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Adeem Maria (they/them/theirs) is a seventh-generation Carolinian, a makeshift poet, singer-songwriter, storyteller, and blue-collar Artist. They began toiling at their instrument in 2002 when their family relocated to Syracuse, NY and used songwriting as a vehicle to process the ensuing culture shock, their faith, and later their journey through apostasy.
Blending a homegrown affection for Country Music with the emotional ballyhoo of alternative folk in the early aughts, they have created a unique brand of Americana that pays homage to John Prine and John Darnielle (of The Mountain Goats) in equal parts.
On Cast-Iron Pansexual, they received praise from Rolling Stone & American Songwriter for their work exploring identity across coalescing subcultures. Traveling to Carolina to get their Tarot read while straddling the duality of being a “blue collar boy” who is a “complicated dame,” Adeem excavates unwonted stories of the forgotten south.

Lady Blackbird
2025-04-27 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
In every Lady Blackbird song is the unmistakable sound of freedom. Harnessing a mighty voice that effortlessly embodies buffeting power, heartrending yearning and soft, whispered balladry, Lady Blackbird has imbued her compositions since 2021’s critically acclaimed debut Black Acid Soul with a journeying independence. Hers is an instantly-recognizable sound capable of evoking joy one moment and heartache the next, a musical embrace of genres as varied as jazz, classic soul, gospel, psychedelic rock and pop. It is the hallmark of a visionary voice, on an Album that has landed on several ‘2024 Best Albums of the Year’ charts. Yet, it is only now that she is embracing the full breadth of that musical freedom in her most personal and ambitious work to date: Slang Spirituals.
“This is my journey of becoming,” she explains. “It’s me rewriting the book to show the world who I truly am. From being labelled a sinner to finding my Acceptance.” Across 11 tracks Lady Blackbird puts her sweeping, cinematic vocal power to use on everything from the soulful orchestral fanfares of “Let Not (Your Heart Be Troubled)” to the finger-picking folk storytelling of “Man On A Boat”, euphoric gospel empowerment of “Like A Woman” and the seven-minute psychedelic soul instrumental of “When The Game Is Played On You.”

Harry Manx
2025-04-29 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Harry Manx has been dubbed an “essential link” between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. His unique sound is bewitching and deliciously addictive to listen to.
Born on the Isle of Man, Manx spent his childhood in Canada and left in his teens to live in Europe, Japan, India and Brazil. He honed his hypnotic live show on street corners, in cafes, bars and at festivals. But it was Indian music that captured his attention and in the mid 80s he began a five-year tutelage with Rajasthani Indian musician Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Grammy winner with Ry Cooder for A Meeting by the River). Receiving the gift of Bhatt’s custom-made, self-designed Mohan Veena (a 20-stringed sitar/guitar hybrid) was the catalyst for Harry to forge a new path with his now signature east-meets-west style of music.
Playing the Mohan Veena, lap steel, harmonica, stomp box, and banjo, Manx quickly envelops the audience into what has been dubbed “the Harry Zone” with his warm vocals and the hauntingly beautiful melodies of his original songs. It’s in the live setting, Manx says, that the bridge between “heavenly” India and “earthy” American blues is most effectively built. “Indian music moves inward,” he explains. “It’s traditionally used in religious ceremonies and meditation, because it puts you into this whole other place. But Western music has the ability to move out, into celebration and dance. So when we play the Indian stuff on stage, it has the tendency to draw people into something really deep; they’ll get kind of quiet and spacey. Then we’ll play some more Western music, and it grounds them once more, they sort of come out of the mood the Indian music had put them in and get into the performance. I love to see that working — that effect on the audience. My goal has always been to draw the audience as deep as possible into the music.”
Blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and some compelling grooves and you’ll get Manx’s unique “mysticssippi” flavour. It’s hard to resist, easy to digest and keeps audiences coming back for more.

The Ark's Open Stage
2025-04-30 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. Tremendous local performers like Dick Siegel, Misty Lyn, and Matt Watroba spent time honing their craft on Open Stage audiences. Even nationally recognized talents like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gilda Radner, and David Alan Grier paid their dues here. 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.

Michael McDermott
2025-05-01 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Michael McDermott’s brand of rock n’ roll brims with the kind of well-honed style and wisdom that can only come from a career on the road and a pedigree in the studio. Effortlessly blending natural folk sensibility, pop hooks, and honest rock, McDermott’s music is as much for the outcast as the congregation. It’s an exploration of the dark corners of life’s journey and it resonates middle class truths through the passionate filter of a kid that grew up on Chicago’s Irish South Side.
If you are a fan of Springsteen, Van Morrison, John Steinbeck, and Patti Smith, McDermott’s inspirational rock is in your wheelhouse.

Noah Reid
2025-05-02 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Noah Reid has earned a permanent place in the music industry as a result of his powerful vocals and honest delivery. Evident on his debut album Songs from a Broken Chair (2016) and sophomore album Gemini (2020), which collectively have garnered nearly 145 million streams, two nominations at the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards in the ‘Songwriter of the Year’ and ‘New/Emerging Artist of the Year’ categories and landed Noah on four Billboard charts. Reid’s songwriting style is reminiscent of singer-songwriters of the seventies but with a contemporary twist, resulting in a signature polished, albeit slightly rusted over, tone. Reid’s highly-anticipated, third record Adjustments was released on June 24, 2022.
As an actor, Reid is best known for playing ‘Patrick’ in the Emmy-winning comedy series Schitt’s Creek, for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award, along with the cast, for ‘Best Ensemble.’ He can currently be seen in Brian Watkins’ Amazon series Outer Range opposite Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots and Lewis Pullman and on Broadway as the lead of Tracy Letts’ Tony-nominated play The Minutes.
