Tag: Americana/Alt-Country

Thu
31
August 31, 2023 @ 9:00 pm

Adrian + Meredith

Opener: Nathan Kalish

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

Adrian + Meredith, says Music City Roots, bring “alt-country led by a former punk rocker with a voice a bit in the raspy direction of Tom Waits … with a strong pulse from the fiddle and a stomping rhythm.” Adrian + Meredith are Adrian and Meredith Krygowski. Adrian has been songwriting and performing since 2007. He’s originally from central Wisconsin, lived in D.C. for many years, and now lives in Nashville with Meredith, who has played old-time fiddle and clogged since she was child, and started performing with Adrian during 2012 recording of “Roam.” Before that, she was a member of the MSU-based band The Bard Owls. This duo brings a whole new meeting of the minds between old-time music and punk! Adrian + Meredith have spent the last seven years with 150+ dates a year touring the U.S, and since 2018, also in Poland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Britain. Their music embodies the spirit of the human story with a nod to punk, the heart of folk, the flavor of polka, and the bounce of swing.

$20
Tue
22
Artist Spotlight Series Live and Virtual
August 22, 2023 @ 9:00 pm

Benjamin Dakota Rogers

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

Hailing from his family’s farm in southwestern Ontario, Benjamin Dakota Rogers grew up building greenhouses, growing vegetables, and living off the land. “Growing up my family drove a big VW bus. We listened to a lot of fiddle music, going from festival to festival,” he says. “These days I live in one of the barns, tap trees, and make music.” Benjamin finds a way to match his instrument to the guttural twang of the voice. “I inherited my great-grandfather’s violin when I was young,” he says. “So I grew up playing that.” After a few years on six-string, Rogers began tuning his tenor guitar like a fiddle. “Tenors are neat because they were only popular for a short time in the 1920s. I’ve played about two-hundred shows on mine. It’s beautiful, and unreliable,” he laughs. Benjamin has shared stages in the U.S. with the likes of Molly Tuttle, Shovels & Rope, and The Milk Carton Kids. He comes to Michigan with a new album, “Paint Horse.”

Free, Donations accepted for Food Gatherers
Sun
20
August 20, 2023 @ 8:30 pm

Bill Kirchen & Redd Volkaert

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

Two heavyweight guitar slingers and singers find a common ground with their deep history in honky-tonk and rock ’n’ roll and their command of the electric guitar.

Bill Kirchen graduated from Ann Arbor High School in 1965, and with his jug band the Who Knows Pickers shared a stage that year with Jim “Iggy Pop” Osterberg, He co-founded Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen here in Ann Arbor, then moved the band to SF, CA in1969. His diesel-fueled licks drove Hot Rod Lincoln into the Top 10 nationwide. A Grammy nominee for Best Country Instrumental in 2001, he has recorded and played live with Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Dan Hicks, Maria Muldaur, Hoyt Axton, Hazel Dickens, Gene Vincent and Link Wray. He has toured the world with Nick Lowe.

Redd won a Grammy in 2009 after making an international name for himself as lead guitarist with the great country legend Merle Haggard. His interpretation of the classic Roy Nichols guitar style led to a quote in Guitar Player magazine by Merle: “When I close my eyes I sometimes hear Roy Nichols playing over there, and that has never happened before.” Redd has played live with a host of world-class artists, among them Ray Price, Leona Williams, Eric Johnson, Johnny Paycheck, Rhonda Vincent, Statler Bros, Albert Lee, Vince Gill, John Jorgensen, Bobby Bare, George Jones, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Connie Smith, Dwight Yokum, Tim McGraw, Allison Krause, Charlie Pride, Asleep at The Wheel, Johnny Gimble, Leon Raush, Johnny Bush, Brad Paisley, Billy Gibbons, Jr Brown, Jimmy Vaughn, Tommy Allsup and just a couple more …

$25
Sat
19
August 19, 2023 @ 8:00 pm

George Bedard

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

Ann Arbor’s mighty guitar god George Bedard presents the tenth installment of his History of American Music series, George Bedard will present a “Best of” retrospective, featuring songs from all nine shows. “Each year had a different focus, from Chicago blues to swing, rockabilly, surf and country,” George says. “We hope that you will join us for this unique retrospective.” Along with Rich Dishman on drums and Pat Prouty on bass, special guests include Mark “Mr. B” Braun on piano, Ross Huff on trumpet, and Dan Bennett on saxophone.

$25
Fri
16
June 16, 2023 @ 9:00 pm

Jason Eady

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

A near-lifelong songwriter who names Merle Haggard, Guy Clark, and Willie Nelson among his main inspirations, Jason Eady grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, and got his start performing in local bars at age 14, showing his natural grasp of everything from soul and R&B to blues and country. His eighth full-length album, “To The Passage Of Time” first took shape in a frenetic burst of creativity back in the doldrums of quarantine. Over the course of a three-day period last August, the Fort Worth, Texas–based musician wrote more than half of the album, locking himself in his bedroom and emerging only when he felt completely burnt out. “I went in thinking I was going to write just one song—but then the songs kept coming, and I didn’t want to break the spell,” he recalls. “I’d go to sleep with the guitar by the bed, pick it back up when I woke up the next morning, and do it all again. I’d never really experienced anything like that before. ”With its nuanced exploration of aging and loss and the fragility of life, “To The Passage Of Time” arrives as the Mississippi-bred artist’s most lyrically complex and compelling work to date.

$20
Mon
7
August 7, 2023 @ 9:00 pm

Jennifer Knapp

Opener: Thunder & Rain

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

Jennifer Knapp is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, author, speaker and advocate. Her impressive history includes selling over one million albums with her first three releases, “Kansas” (debut 1998, Gold-certified), “Lay It Down” (2000), and “The Way I Am” (2001). She has earned four Dove Awards and two Grammy nominations. The Kansas-born musician has toured the globe with artists such as Jars of Clay and was featured on the Lilith Fair Tour in 1999 and 2010. With a considerable fan base and critical and commercial success, Jennifer walked away from music in 2002 at the height of her career. After a seven-year hiatus she returned in 2010 with a renewed passion for music showcased in her album “Letting Go,” which debuted at No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 200 Chart. “Set Me Free” followed in 2014 on Righteous Babe Records in conjunction with a memoir, Facing the Music: My Story, published by Simon & Schuster. Her 2017 album “Love Comes Back Around,” produced by Viktor Krauss, pairs her fearless songwriting and strong, expressive voice with Americana-style rootsy arrangements.

$20
Sun
18
June 18, 2023 @ 8:30 pm

Jolie Holland

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

We’ve had Jolie Holland back at The Ark with Samantha Parton and as a guest of The Portland Cello Project, but it’s been awhile since we’ve heard a full solo show from this unique songwriter. Over the span of her career, Jolie Holland has knotted together a century of American song—jazz, blues, soul, rock and roll—into some stew that is impossible to categorize with any conventional critical terminology. In Jolie Holland’s music, the perceived space between ancient and modern seems to fade away. Her voice sounds like it came out of a dusty East Texas cotton field. But the lyrics of this singer-songwriter conjure characters and situations one might find in the surrealistic celluloid of Jim Jarmusch. It’s no surprise that Tom Waits is Jolie Holland’s biggest fan. Says Time Out London: ” Jolie Holland sings spooky American fairy tales in a strange and beautiful way,” and E! Online called her songwriting “a captivating, bohemian blend of Appalachian folk and ghostly parlor music.” Jolie comes to Michigan with a new album, “Catalpa.”

$20
Sat
4
November 4, 2023 @ 8:00 pm

Judy Banker Band

Opener: Annie Bacon

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

Americana and Alt-Country artist Judy Banker returns to The Ark with her all-star band for a birthday concert that also celebrates the release of her fourth studio album, “Bona Fide.” With this newest release, Judy’s songwriting—rife with melodic hooks and raw, poetic lyrics set to layered, innovative arrangements—has evolved, crossing over and blending jazz, R&B, and rock to create something that feels at once familiar and wholly original. Judy and her band—David Roof, John Sperendi, Tony Pace, Alan Pagliere & Brian Williams—will be performing “Bona Fide” cover to cover as well as favorite selections from Judy’s other records.

$25
Sun
4
June 4, 2023 @ 8:30 pm

Lilli Lewis

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

Athens, Georgia, native turned New Orleans folk-rock diva Lilli Lewis is a powerhouse composer and performing artist with “storytelling with transformative empathy and classically trained poise,” says Jewly Hight of NPR. Lilli is a voice for the voiceless on “Americana,” her third full album for Louisiana Red Hot Records, and it’s been lauded by NPR, Rolling Stone, Offbeat magazine and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “One of the most powerful records of 2021, Lilli Lewis’ “Americana” offers up 13 tracks of raw, unfiltered talent… jaw-dropping vocal stylings, sharp lyricism, irresistible hooks and a needed perspective that’s often overlooked,” writes Lorie Leibig of The Boot. Since we last saw Lilli at The Ark, she’s appeared at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and other major venues. She’s a star in the making!

$20
Fri
14
Low Ticket Alert
July 14, 2023 @ 9:00 pm

Iris DeMent

With Special Guest: Ana Egge

The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States

The youngest of 14 children, Iris DeMent was born in Paragould, Arkansas, and moved to California with her devoutly religious family when she was three. As a teenager she absorbed the country music of Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash, as well as the folk classics of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. Her 1992 debut album, “Infamous Angel,” distilled these influences into a poetic yet down-to-earth songwriting style. With a heartfelt, homespun voice that listeners recognize instantly, Iris released some of the most powerful roots albums of the 1990s with the beautifully sparse “My Life” and the harder-edged “The Way I Should.” She has continued to make powerful and distinctive albums on her own schedule, and her latest, just out, is “Workin’ on a World.” This striking collection of songs faces the modern world—as it is right now—with its climate catastrophe, pandemic illness, and epidemic of violence and social injustice. The album not only asks us how we can keep working towards a better world, but implores us to love each other, despite our very different ways of seeing. Her songs are her way of healing our broken inner and outer spaces.

$35