Shows & Events

"I got a word machine in my head. It's a damn noisy contraption. Constantly running. No 'off' switch," says Ellis Paul. After growing up on a potato farm in northern Maine, Ellis started writing songs while he was attending Boston College on a track scholarship and was laid up for several months with an injury. He's often called the quintessential New England songwriter, and he's got more than a dozen of Boston Music Awards to prove it. Ellis's passionate, literate character sketches, delivered in a soaring, lyrical voice, have influenced a generation of folk songwriters toward the shamelessly poetic.

Ani Mari is a 20-year-old alt-Americana singer-songwriter from the Northwoods of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, whose songs weave complex chord progressions into heart-wrenching stories and melodies, spanning from folk to pop rock. She has been touring and recording with her folk duo, Ani & Kora, since she was 12 years old, but currently lives and plays in Ann Arbor, MI, with her band, Ani Mari & Co. Ani’s debut solo album, girlfriend, was released on December 1st, 2023, under her label, Real-Phonic Records.

The Rainbow Seekers began their historic quest eight years ago, revolving around the pure, unadulterated songwriting of their fearless leader, Joe Hertler. In the years since, we’ve seen Joe with The Rainbow Seekers at The Ark several times, with a mix of funk, Motown, Americana, and folk. But the same mix is present in Joe Hertler’s songs themselves, and we thought it was time for a Joe Hertler solo show. Joe has appeared at Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, and Summer Camp, and as you'll know if you've seen the band, seeking the proverbial Rainbow is all about the live performance.

Darrin James was born in Kentucky, was raised in metro Detroit, and spent a formative decade in New York City before returning to Michigan in 2010. His musical style is as varied as his background, drawing on his love of the blues and folk music of the South, the Motown soul and classic rock and roll rawness of Detroit, and the eclecticism and immediacy of Brooklyn, where he released his 2006 debut album, "Thrones of Gold." The Darrin James Band comes to The Ark with a new album "See Right Through."