The modern renaissance of folk music began when John Gorka won the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk award in 1984, and it grew to maturity when he released his debut album, "I Know," three years later. Here was a singer-songwriter with a striking baritone voice that made you feel like you'd been hearing it all your life.
John R Miller is a true hyphenate artist: singer-songwriter-picker. Every song on his thrilling upcoming debut solo album, Depreciated, is lush with intricate wordplay and haunting imagery, as well as being backed by a band that is on fire. One of his biggest long-time fans is roots music favorite Tyler Childers, who says he’s “a well-travelled wordsmith mapping out the world he’s seen, three chords at a time.” Miller is somehow able to transport us to a shadowy honkytonk and get existential all in the same line with his tightly written compositions.
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.
Special Guest: Alex Harding & Organ Nation
Special Guest: Alex Harding & Organ Nation
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, while managing to not sound like any other popular artist.
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 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.
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.
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. Gemini is the much-loved duo of Sandor and Laszlo Slomovits. They've been performing since 1973 and are now playing music for the third—or is it fourth?—generation of young fans and families. They write and perform acoustic music for children and families, celebrating with their audiences the warmth, fun, and joy of family life. A Gemini concert is a kinetic event, filled with rousing singalongs, hand motion tunes, folk tales, and music from around the world.
Opener: Theo Katzman
Opener: Theo Katzman
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.
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 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. 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 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!
Special Guest: Mason Via
Special Guest: Mason Via
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.
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.
Special Guest: Wryn
Special Guest: Wryn
Ani 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. She is on tour with her newest album, Unprecedented Sh!t.
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.
Opener: Lauren Crane
Opener: Lauren Crane
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.
Special Guest: Chris Forsyth
Special Guest: Chris Forsyth
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.
Special Guest: Evann Mcintosh
Special Guest: Evann Mcintosh
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.
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 brothers have been a musical tour-de-force redefining the limits of jazz, funk, soul, R&B, rock, and bluegrass.
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. 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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Special Guest: The Still Tide
Special Guest: The Still Tide
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.”
Special Guest: L.A. Exes
Special Guest: L.A. Exes
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 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.
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. Presented with support from ann arbor's 107one
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.
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.
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.
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.
Five-time GRAMMY Nominee Justin Roberts is one of the founders of the modern family music scene. His songs are the kind of get-stuck-in-your-head pop nuggets that draw comparisons to Elvis Costello, Fountains of Wayne, and Paul Simon rather than simple nursery rhymes, prompting USA Today to call him “hands-down the best songwriter in the genre.”
For Jesse Cook, music has been a journey. Sonically and literally.
“Over the years, I’ve taken my music and tried to cross-pollinate it with music from different parts of the world,” explains the 50-year-old global-guitar virtuoso. “For the (2003) album Nomad, I went to Cairo and recorded with musicians there. On my (2009) record The Rumba Foundation, I went to Colombia, and worked with musicians from Cuba as well. On (1998’s) Vertigo, I went down to Lafayette, La., and recorded with Buckwheat Zydeco. For me, the question has always been: Where did you go? Where did you take your guitar?”
In the heart of Lincoln, Nebraska, The Wildwoods, a folk/Americana trio led by Noah and Chloe Gose, alongside bassist Andrew Vaggalis, deliver a musical journey through the soul of American roots. With accolades ranging from international songwriting competitions to standing ovations at festivals like Summerfest and FreshGrass, their newest release, “Hideaway” is out January 17th.