Ann Arbor Django Reinhardt Festival
Join Djangophonique and special guest Harmonious Wail for the third annual Ann Arbor Django Reinhardt festival as we celebrate the legacy of his music as it evolves.
Join Djangophonique and special guest Harmonious Wail for the third annual Ann Arbor Django Reinhardt festival as we celebrate the legacy of his music as it evolves.
The Weight Band is led by guitarist and vocalist Jim Weider, a Woodstock, NY native who replaced Robbie Robertson in The Band. Weider later joined Band drummer Levon Helm in the Levon Helm Band. The Weight Band originated in 2013 inside the famed Woodstock barn of Levon Helm. Weider was inspired by Helm to carry on the musical legacy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group, “The Band”. On their current album, Shines Like Gold, The Weight Band presents a dynamic set of classic Americana that draws upon roadhouse rock, funky swamp pop, blues, country soul, and folk music.
Massachusetts-based “writer song-singer” Heather Maloney found music in the midst of three years at a meditation center, honing a sound moored in days of silent reflection and reverence for storytellers like Joni, Rilke, Ken Burns, and the anonymous authors of Zen parables.
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.
Established in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Palmyra captures the collective spirit of three Virginia natives: Teddy Chipouras, Mānoa Bell, and Sasha Landon. Palmyra straddles at least two musical worlds. They are, on one hand, a band from the South that plays traditional instruments and indeed once lived in the old-time locus of Floyd, Virginia. On the other hand, Palmyra writes about grief, gender dysphoria and identity, and coming of age in songs that flirt with soul, post-rock, and even emo; the South, too, is the place of My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, Cat Power, and now, Palmyra.
Ron Sexsmith is a three time Juno award winning songwriter from Ontario, Canada. He has written and recorded an extensive and acclaimed catalog of studio albums and original songs, beginning with his self titled debut in 1995. Ron is set to release his eighteenth studio album, Hangover Terrace, this August.
College sports are undergoing seismic changes – whether it’s the landmark House legal settlement, the introduction of Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) money for athletes, or the use of the transfer portal. Join Morning Edition host Doug Tribou as he moderates a panel of sports experts, including bestselling author and sports commentator John U. Bacon, in a discussion about the collegiate sports environment.
Special Guest: Cristina Vane
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesJohn Craigie has mastered the art of creating live shows that feel more like intimate conversations than performances. Infusing humor, wit, and poignant storytelling, his shows are a space where audience members feel like old friends. Whether he's headlining solo or sharing the stage with longtime collaborators, Craigie’s ability to make his crowd laugh, reflect, and connect is second to none.
Special Guest: The Lowest Pair
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesFolksinger Willi Carlisle holds tight the conviction that love is bigger than hate, and no-one is expendable. Carlisle’s music has always been a dance between absurdity, spectacle, and philosophy. On his fourth studio album, Winged Victory, Carlisle returns with his signature blend of traditionally-rooted folk music and kaleidoscope of oddball characters to confer with his core tenets in more overt and provocative ways.
Recently inducted to the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame, fiery roots-rock singer/songwriter Scott Miller returned to his native Virginia to tend the family farm while continuing to release and perform new music informed by that rural area, history, and Appalachia. The Staunton native first made a name for himself in the 90s as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with the superb pop/rock band the V-Roys before establishing himself as a gifted and eclectic solo artist, first with his ad hoc group the Commonwealth and later on his own.
Although award-winning Florida musician Selwyn Birchwood is firmly rooted in the tradition, the young guitarist, lap steel player, songwriter and vocalist sets a course for the future of the blues with his visionary, original music. Birchwood, whose band features the pulsating interplay of his blistering guitar with Regi Oliver's driving baritone sax, deploys a singular sound and style all his own. He calls it "Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues," an intoxicating mix of deep blues, blistering, psychedelic-tinged rock, booty-shaking funk and sweet Southern soul, played and sung with the fire-and-brimstone fervor of a revival tent preacher with a hellhound on his trail.
Special Guest: Collin Nash
The Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesFor nearly two decades, American Aquarium have pushed toward that rare form of rock-and-roll that’s revelatory in every sense. “For us the sweet spot is when you’ve got a rock band that makes you scream along to every word, and it’s not until you’re coming down at three a.m. that you realize those words are saying something real about your life,” says frontman BJ Barham. “That’s what made us fall in love with music in the first place, and that’s the goal in everything we do.” On their new album The Fear of Standing Still, the North Carolina-bred band embody that dynamic with more intensity than ever before, endlessly matching their gritty breed of country-rock with Barham’s bravest and most incisive songwriting to date.