The Cadillac Cowboys

Sun
2
June 2 @ 7:30 pm

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

Some traditions die hard; others just continue to survive despite all odds. The latter is the case with the Cadillac Cowboys. When the Country Volunteers first took the stage of Mr. Flood’s Party in Ann Arbor, back in 1974 no one ever knew what assortment of rag-tag volunteers would show up from one week to the next. Eventually, the lineup began to solidify into a regular outfit that came to be known as the Cadillac Cowboys and, 50 years later, here they are playing the western swing, boogie woogie, classic country and rock & roll that’s as comfortable as an old pair of cowboy boots. Amazing enough. But what’s more amazing is that the Cadillac Cowboys play their tunes with the same freshness, rawness, and energy that they brought to the stage in those early years.

$20
Fri
14
June 14 @ 8:00 pm

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

Detroit-turned Nashvillian Zachariah Malachi has been known to be a shape-shifter of originality to the genre of honky tonk music. He can glide through the minor chords of Eastern European jazz and morph it into the depths of the barroom basement regret dealing with topics of cheating, drinking, fighting, and the morning after

$20
Tue
7
May 7 @ 8:00 pm

Opener: Wasted Major

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

Los Straitjackets are the leading practitioners of the lost art of the guitar instrumental. Using the music of the Ventures, The Shadows, and with Link Wray and Dick Dale as a jumping off point, the band has taken their unique, high energy brand of original rock & roll around the world. Clad in their trademark Lucha Libre Mexican wrestling masks, the ‘Jackets’ have delivered their trademark guitar licks across 30 years, 16 albums, thousands of concerts and dozens of films and TV shows.

$30
Wed
13
March 13 @ 8:00 pm

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 Western swing. The band has been nominated for “Best Honky Tonk Group” at the 2023 and 2024 Ameripolitan Music Awards – a nomination the band was also honored with in 2020. In 2023, The Shootouts released their third album, “Stampede,” kicking off their album release tour with their Grand Ole Opry debut. The album features special guest appearances from Ray Benson & Asleep at The Wheel, Marty Stuart, Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, and Raul Malo.

$20
Sun
21
Sold Out
April 21 @ 7:30 pm

Opener: Maddy Kirgo

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, coupled with gritty eccentricity and a generational connection to the roots of the genre. With a singing style inherited from his family’s vocal lineage, Nick’s songs achieve the rare feat of imparting difficult truths while inciting a certain joyful abandon, balancing a sound forged by years of hard travel with a heartfelt reverence for the origins of country music.

$20
Sat
6
Sold Out
April 6 @ 8:00 pm

Opener: Seth Walker

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

When Raul Malo came on the scene as the lead singer of The Mavericks, he already had a sound that didn’t fit the usual categories, and a luxuriant voice that brought to mind Roy Orbison. The Ark has been an ideal venue for Raul’s solo shows, which are more personal than the music he’s made with The Mavericks, and his Ark shows over the past decade have lingered in the memories of listeners and the club staff alike. Raul comes to Michigan with a new solo instrumental album, “Say Less.”

$50, $60, $80
Sun
7
April 7 @ 7:30 pm

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

The Austin-based Hot Club of Cowtown explores the space where early jazz met Texas swing, where Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang met Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Guitarist Whit Smith and fiddler Elana James have become a world-class country-jazz duo, challenging each other and reading each other’s minds at every turn. This is virtuoso small-group western swing that’s beyond infectious.

$30
Mon
8
January 8 @ 8:00 pm

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

British guitar legend Albert Lee, regarded by many as one of the world’s finest guitar players, with a career spanning more than 50 years, needs no introduction for country, blues and rock fans. Widely hailed for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique, Albert Lee helped to redefine country guitar for a whole generation of players with his song “Country Boy.” Albert’s many career highlights include two Grammy wins, five years in the Eric Clapton band (at Clapton’s request Albert played the Crossroads Festival with Eric at Madison Square Garden) and stints with the Rolling Stones’ Bill Wyman, The Crickets, the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and many more.

$30
Fri
20
October 20, 2023 @ 8:00 pm

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.”

$25
Tue
29
August 29, 2023 @ 8:00 pm

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.

$30