Victor Wooten and The Wooten Brothers

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.

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.

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.

Jess Merritt is an Ann Arbor singer and songwriter whose rich, soulful voice evokes a unique emotional resonance.  From power ballads to velvet keys, soul and rock to blues and pop, listeners are headed into a memorable experience by this expansive and versatile artist.

This special “musical memoir” performance marks Jess’s 40th birthday and a return to the stage with her band, the Understorey, after a 5-year hiatus.  The Understorey is composed of longtime collaborators Josef Deas and Jenny Jones and new members Brennan Andes, Jon Brown and TJ Zindle.  The show will feature a mix of original songs, covers and stories about the “path to renaming and reclaiming” herself, along with special guests.