The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
We remember Don Julin from the amazing duet shows that he did with Billy Strings, announcing a monster new talent. But there’s more to this Michigan musician than that. Ever […]
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Hailed as the most influential bassist since Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten is known for his solo recordings and tours, and as a founding member of the Grammy-winning supergroup Bela Fleck […]
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.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
This night of fun and laughter lets the Michigan Shakespeare Festival company sing, dance, play music, juggle, improvise, tell great backstage stories, and maybe even do a little Shakespeare.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Welcome to the mythic world of Sons of Town Hall, the international, waterborne duo of George “Ulysses” Brown (UK) and Josiah “Chester” Jones (US). The pair transcends time and space, dressed in threadbare Victorian outfits, they meditate about the ocean, and sing songs that beg you to sing along. Their songs are masterful in their own right, poetic turns of phrases sung with voices so perfectly matched it is impossible to tell them apart, harmonies so sublime they will seem the work of witchcraft, and intricately finger-picked guitar parts worthy of Apollo himself. But it is the Sons of Town Hall’s presentation that sets them apart from every other guitar-slinging songwriting team out there. The show is three-parts concert, one-part theater and unlike anything most have ever experienced. George and Josiah’s between-song repartee is unique and absolutely hilarious, as they share their tales of traveling the world on the water and roaming the frontier looking for work. The affection they feel for each other is contagious, and audiences leave in love with both of them, with each other, and with life in general. You will laugh. You will cry. You will be transfixed and transformed, drunk on adventure and the tragic beauty of the human condition.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Vocalist, songwriter, and producer Kyler Wilkins from Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been performing as Ki5 (rhymes with high-five), using nothing but a loop station and a simple effects unit since 2017. His vibrant composition style—influenced by his time in a cappella groups—explores the human voice meshed with beatboxing and delivers familiar genres such as R&B, pop, and soul. Cellist and vocalist Jordan Hamilton is a mix of mastery and maverick musicality; hip-hop influenced, rhythmically layered, melodically robust. He makes avant garde folk-soul music, a key to navigating space, time, and change gracefully. John Sinkevics of Local Spins describes his music this way; “Plucking, sawing, pounding and caressing the cello to extract sometimes other-worldly sounds; melding live looping with classical music interludes, hip hop, and jazz.” Tonight these highly innovative Michigan musicians join forces in a duo show.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Tony Furtado’s banjo and slide guitar range over the entire landscape of American roots music. He puts together traditional string styles, blues, and rock into fusions that have a haunting quality yet seem perfectly natural. Equally at home as a solo act or as a collaborator, Tony has played with musicians as diverse as Alison Krauss, David Grisman, Galactic, Leftover Salmon, and Widespread Panic. Lately he has focused his energy on songwriting. Says Paste: “He mixes bluegrass roots with a mainstream pop streak, easily holding the spotlight, thanks to his restrained virtuosity on acoustic and slide guitar and a warmly engaging voice reminiscent of T Bone Burnett, sans preachiness.” All the music of America is in Tony Furtado’s music, and Relix hit the nail on the head when writing of Tony: “True talent doesn’t need categories.” Tony comes to town with a new release, “Decembering,” and it’s been too long since we’ve heard what he’s been up to creatively!
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Over the years, we’ve featured fiddler Mark O’Connor at The Ark many times, with each show revealing a new facet of this amazing American musician. Mark’s new project, “Crossing Bridges,” gives a glimpse into how it all came to be. “Crossing Bridges” is a book and a concert, tracing his journey from his childhood years, when at age 11 he was winning classical guitar competitions against University graduates, and at age 12 was thrust as a soloist onto the Grand Ole Opry stage introduced by the King of Country Music, Roy Acuff. The story covers Mark’s 1970s child prodigy years on the road as national fiddle and guitar champion. The acclaimed musician learned at the feet of American music legends while exploring his relationships with his mother and dysfunctional family, a near career-ending accident and his involvement in some of the world’s most iconic instrumental bands. The memoir details the personal triumphs, struggles and demons that informed the decisions he made about his music, career path and the risks he was willing to take for a shot at the brass ring. The first half of this show will feature music, while the second half offers a discussion of the book, anecdotes, and a Q&A.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Returning from the 2023 Ann Arbor Folk Festival, Kyshona (“kuh-SHAUNA”) has been hailed by Billboard for “descriptive songwriting and soulful vocals alongside a versatile blend of folk, rock, and R&B influences.” Kyshona has always lent her voice and music to those that feel they have been silenced or forgotten. She began her career as a music therapist, writing her first songs with her patients—the students and inmates under her care. She soon found the need to write independently and find her own voice, an endeavor which led her to the fertile ground of the Nashville creative community and songwriting culture. Since then, she has learned how to balance her music career with her passion to heal the hurting. Audiences will find a common thread of empowerment, overcoming adversity, and finding hope in her work. Her debut LP, “Listen,” was co-produced with Andrija Tokic (St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Alabama Shakes, Hurray For The Riff Raff) and recorded mostly at his famed Nashville studio The Bomb Shelter.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman (AKA “DaBu”) started Choir! Choir! Choir! as a weekly drop-in, no-commitment singing event in 2011. Now happening twice weekly, and open to anyone who likes to sing new arrangements of pop songs, C!C!C! boasts a dedicated and passionate membership of inspired singers from in and around Toronto, Canada. They have performed live with Patti Smith at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Tegan and Sara on the Juno Awards, at TEDx Toronto, and at the Toronto International Film Festival Closing Gala at Roy Thompson Hall. Choir! Choir! Choir! sings popular songs, choral style—you never know quite which ones. Like what you hear? Show up, and they’ll teach you an original arrangement of a song you love. Tonight: an epic George Harrison singalong to celebrate George’s 80th birthday.
