The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Featuring two of the most fascinating voices in modern Delta blues,—Corey Harris and Cedric Watson—”True Blues” is a very special show. Corey is a MacArthur Grant recipient, and Cedric is […]
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Born in Flint and a true Michigan institution, Mr. B (Mark Braun) is a rare living link to the early days of boogie woogie, having learned directly from legends like […]
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
This Josh-a-Palooza celebrates a Michigan treasure. Josh and special guests will be on hand for a magical afternoon of music and memories. Josh White Jr has carried his message of […]
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
The music of Bonnie Raitt crosses boundaries between blues, folk, rock, and country, and she found a deep common denominator. It’s perhaps for that reason that Bonnie continues to be […]
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Brain Plasticity Ukulele Collective is an open community of musicians playing at all levels and abilities. Ukes? Well, it’s more like 30 different instruments. Plasticity? Yes! The Brain Plasticity Ukulele […]
Opener: Eric Johanson
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
The first-ever collaborative album from Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton, “Death Wish Blues” is a body of work born from a shared passion for pushing the limits of blues music. As one of the most dynamic forces in the blues world today, Samantha Fish has made her name as a multi-award-winning festival headliner who captivates crowds with her explosive yet elegant guitar work, delivering an unbridled form of blues-rock that defies all genre boundaries. Jesse Dayton, meanwhile, boasts an extraordinary background that includes recording with the likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, touring as a guitarist for seminal punk band X, working with Rob Zombie on the soundtracks for his iconic horror films, and releasing a series of acclaimed solo albums. Produced by the legendary Jon Spencer of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, “Death Wish Blues” ultimately melds their eclectic sensibilities into a batch of songs both emotionally potent and wildly combustible.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Danielle Nicole Schnebelen began singing publicly with her parents’ bands as a youth, and music took hold of her full time in her early 20s. “My father really loved the blues,” Danielle says. “He’d go to all the true blues guys that were around in KC, specifically Little Hatch. He’d played for Abb Locke (saxophonist for Muddy Waters) and we’d get brought along sometimes. The pure, raw emotion relayed through the blues was what really drew me to it. Its history is the foundation of American Music and is THE one that must be respected and not buried as myth or legend.” Danielle plays the bass as well as singing; she was the first woman ever nominated as bass instrumentalist at the Blues Music Awards, and she went on to win the award four times. With veteran bluesmen Brandon Miller (guitar) and Go-Go Ray (percussion) backing her up, Danielle Nicole brings a show drenched in heavy blues.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Laith Al-Saadi began singing at age four and began playing guitar at 13. At 15 he formed his first blues band, Blue Vinyl. In short order they opened for blues greats like Buddy Guy (to whose work his playing has been compared), Luther Allison, Son Seals, and Taj Mahal and toured the Netherlands. At the University of Michigan, Laith was a member of the Johnny Trudell Orchestra and freelanced with Detroit greats like Thornetta Davis, Jocelyn B, The Reefermen. Laith is a real road warrior who generally can be found playing at least five nights a week around Michigan and beyond, and Michigan’s secret got out when he made the finals of television’s “The Voice.” If you haven’t checked out this monster Michigan talent yet, you really should!
With Special Guest: Paul Cebar
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
It’s as if the blues met modern poetry and got infused with Zen calm. Chris Smither takes the blues in a direction all his own, offering stoic, existential ruminations sung in a weathered blues moan and set to quietly virtuosic guitar.
Paul Cebar cut his teeth musically in the coffeehouse folk scene of the mid-’70s in Milwaukee. Taking cues from the dance bands of western Louisiana (and his native Midwest,), the streets (and 45’s) of New Orleans, touring African and Caribbean combos and the soul, funk & blues of his youth coupled with early, teeth-cutting experience in the verbal hotbeds of the coffeehouse scene, Cebar is a masterful synthesist of rhythmic culture
Opener: Lilly Winwood
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
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 (like he did as the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes in 2013). A road warrior and musician’s musician, Greene’s new EP ‘The Modern Lives – Vol 2’ (out October 2018 on Blue Rose Music) finds him at a new chapter in his life: his first months of fatherhood, time off his relentless touring circuit, and a cross-country move from Brooklyn to his birthplace of Northern California.
This new collection of six original songs is a thematic extension of ‘The Modern Lives – Vol 1’ EP (released in 2017 on Blue Rose Music), imbued with a Brooklyn basement DIY feel and ethos. He is a student of American music, transfixed upon its progression through time, as well as how regional sounds fit in a contemporary context. Whereas ‘Vol 1’ saw Greene experiment with the Delta blues as a canvas for his examinations of modern society, ‘Vol 2’ sees Greene embrace the sounds of the bluegrass and folk tapes of his youth.
