Opener: Nat Myers
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
“All Bad,” the latest album from Nick Shoulders, ultimately encapsulates everything that makes Nick’s inimitable form of country music so vital: a heady balance of dazzling musicianship and punk defiance, […]
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
In the words of the Boston Globe, Darrell Scott “is to Nashville what Richard Thompson is to Britain and what Paul Brady is to Ireland.” Most artists fall toward one side or the other of the divide between great songwriting and instrumental virtuosity, but in the songs of Darrell Scott words, music, and instruments are inseparable. Darrell has written some of the sharpest country songs of the 21st century (like the Dixie Chicks’ “Long Time Gone”), and he can play just about anything with strings. Darrell’s song “Hank Williams’ Ghost” was named Song of the Year at the 2007 Americana Music Awards. Darrell has toured with Robert Plant and The Zac Brown Band, and, as a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist he’s been an artist to whom many in Nashville turn for a shot of inspiration. His music features guitars (including lap and pedal steel), keyboards, electric and acoustic bass, harp, bouzouki, harmonium, mandolin, banjolin, cello, glockenspiel, drums, and various other percussion instruments. Darrell has two recent albums, “Darrell Scott Sings the Blues of Hank Williams” and “Jaroso.”
With Special Guest: Jake La Botz Trio
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Los Straitjackets, who bill themselves as America’s Instrumental Rock & Roll Combo, wear Mexican Lucha Libre (pro wrestling) masks and make hot vintage music inspired by Mexico City’s great garage and rockabilly madmen of the 1960s (like Los Rockin’ Devils and Los Teen Tops), as well as the border country rock of Freddy Fender. We’ve heard them at The Ark together with Big Sandy and Marshall Crenshaw, but it’s been a while since we’ve heard their solo show. Los Straitjackets have released 18 albums, dating back to 1996’s “Viva,” and their live show is a great place to fill in the holes in your collection. Special guests are The Jake La Botz Trio, with unique cabaret Americana from L.A.
With Special Guest: Laurel Lewis
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Rodney Crowell is one of country music’s most successful songwriters, but the deadly seriousness in his music was always there for those with ears to hear. “Dad drove a stock car to an early death / All I remember was a drunk man’s breath,” sang Waylon Jennings as he took Crowell’s “Ain’t Living Long Like This” to the top of the charts. Since the turn of the millennium, Crowell has been on a roll, releasing personal, ambitious albums to wide critical acclaim. With his autobiographical masterpiece “The Houston Kid,” he took an unflinching look at his own down-and-out upbringing. Rodney comes to Michigan with a new release, “The Chicago Sessions,” produced by and featuring Jeff Tweedy; it’s been tearing up Americana radio.
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.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
If there’s a country music lover in your life, you can show the love with a pair of tickets to see John Berry at The Ark! This romantic tenor shows just how strong Nashville vocals have become over the last decade or so, and his “Your Love Amazes Me” was a megahit of the 1990s and is going to be around more or less forever. John sings his hits like “She’s Taken a Shine” and interprets other romantic classics. Following two years where the world was rocked by a pandemic that took musicians off the road, John Berry has new music and a fresh, new outlook. Summer is the season for love. Yield. Why fight it?
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.
With Special Guest: Jeff Scott
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
The constant for Ann Arbor-based Bill Edwards has always been songwriting. He won first prize in Billboard’s® national songwriting contest and his songs have been recorded by other singers and featured on TV and on the silver screen. He’s held staff-writer positions in Nashville and instructed others in the fine art of words and music. But you haven’t heard Bill’s songs until you’ve heard them presented in his own fine voice and with his expressive playing. Bill will be releasing his newest album, “So Far,” at this concert with a full band. This is his ninth full-length album. Opening the show will be metro Detroit singer/songwriter/producer Jeff Scott.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Hailing from Akron, Ohio, The Shootouts are known for their energetic blend of honky-tonk, Americana, and traditional country. After releasing their acclaimed 2019 debut Quick Draw, the band charted Top 50 on Americana radio. In 2020, the band was nominated for “Best Honky-Tonk Group” at the Ameripolitan Music Awards, an honor they have been nominated for again at the upcoming 2023 awards ceremony.
They have shared the stage with luminaries such as Marty Stuart, Asleep at The Wheel, Steve Earle, Sheryl Crow, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Charley Crockett, Radney Foster, Chris Isaak, Raul Malo, Jim Lauderdale, Chuck Mead, Kim Richey, Dale Watson, and many more. The band also performed an official showcase at AmericanaFest 2021 in Nashville.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Jo Serrapere, a songwriter from Detroit, Michigan, started playing guitar at 23 when seeking out lessons from Delta blues guitarist Shari Kane. Jo’s music is original while always reflecting her love of American roots music. Her eclectic writing and performance fuses elements of various modern and traditional folk music, classic country, old-time and electric blues, garage rock, surf, swing and alt-country. With her new band, the LaFawndas, Jo’s writing is heavily inspired by the music of Wanda Jackson. Sometimes dark and heartbreaking, but mostly fun and satirical, they change up their instruments and musical styles with ease. From classic country to swing to garage rock, Jo’s original material often sounds very familiar, yet with a fresh, smart voice.
Rachel Brooke grew up performing in the family bluegrass band but spent her teen years raging away in an all-girl punk band. An introvert off stage, whose wall-shaking voice has earned her a place at cutting- edge roots music festivals like Muddy Roots, SXSW, and the Rochester International Jazz Festival.
