Ann Arbor’s own Delta 88 combines a variety of musical influences from the American palette to craft their own modernized version of that classic sound, a plaintive take on alt-country akin to haunted mountain spirituals played through a distortion pedal. From wide channels of dynamic, emotional arrangements to somber barroom ballads and anthemic battle cries, Delta 88’s music blazes a trail through the Americana wilderness. The band has four studio albums under their belt, with the most recent featuring production by Grammy Award-winning musician and producer Joe Henry. Delta 88’s music has been heard on stages throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe with the likes of bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, country star Emmylou Harris, and singer-songwriter Buddy Miller, among others. It’s been a while since we’ve had this durable Michigan band at The Ark, so come and see what they’ve been up to musically!

The son of a small-town farming community, Cody Diekhoff logged plenty of highway and stage time under the name Chicago Farmer before settling in the city in 2003. Profoundly inspired by fellow Midwesterner John Prine, he’s a working-class folk musician to his core. His small-town roots, tilled with city streets mentality, are turning heads North and South of I-80.

The Whiskey Charmers are a Detroit-based band led by Carrie Shepard and Lawrence Daversa. Fans have often compared their sound to riding through the desert with the top down, or the feeling of being in some lonesome smoky bar off the side of an abandoned highway, or music from a Spaghetti Western. William P. Davis (Former Deputy Director of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville) says of the band, “I’ve heard a lot of good musicians. The Whiskey Charmers remind me of no one—and, to me, that is one of the best compliments an act can receive.” Many fans have become familiar with The Whiskey Charmers music through the video game Detroit: Become Human, a cinematic neo-noir thriller game that has sold more than five million copies worldwide.