The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
The young and vibrant Southwest Louisiana band takes Cajun, honky-tonk, and string-band music as their starting point, and keeps an open mind about where their song craft will lead them. […]
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
The young and vibrant Southwest Louisiana band takes Cajun, honky-tonk, and string-band music as their starting point, and keeps an open mind about where their song craft will lead them. […]
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
We’ve had several protégés of the great CJ Chenier at The Ark, including Sonny Landreth (the first white member of his band) and Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural. So we thought it was time to go to the source. Clayton Joseph (CJ) Chenier was born September 28, 1957. He’s the son of the great King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, the first Creole musician to win a Grammy Award. CJ spent his childhood in the tough tenement housing projects of Port Arthur, Texas. His earliest musical influences were an eclectic mix of funk, soul, jazz, and Motown, and his first musical instruments were piano, tenor saxophone and flute. It wasn’t until his 21st birthday, after winning a scholarship and studying music at Texas Southern University, that CJ first performed with his famous father and the legendary Red Hot Louisiana band. When Clifton died in 1987, his son said it only felt natural to carry on the legacy—and he stepped up to lead the Red Hot Louisiana Band. He recorded his debut album for the great American independent label, Arhoolie Records. As he told a journalist at the time, he does not try to imitate his father’s playing: “I play it the way I play it. All my father really told me was to do the best I could do with my own style.” Today, CJ continues to record and rack up honors and awards. This year, he is being honored along with his late friend, Clifford Antone, in Port Arthur’s acclaimed Museum of the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame, where he will join the likes of Janis Joplin, Tex Ritter, Percy Sledge, George Jones, Marcia Ball, Johnny Winter, The Big Bopper, ZZ Top and, of course, his father, Clifton Chenier.
With Special Guest: The Suitcase Junket
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Sonny Landreth is one of the great live guitarists of our time! This time around, Sonny is accompanied by the reigning queen of the steel guitar, Cindy Cashdollar. The Suitcase Junket opens; they have a new album, “The End Is New.”
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
For the past 45 years, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet has been making some of the most potent and popular Cajun music on the planet. Born out of the rich Acadian ancestry of its members, and created and driven by bandleader Michael Doucet’s spellbinding fiddle playing and soulful vocals, BeauSoleil is notorious for bringing even the most staid audience to its feet. BeauSoleil’s distinctive sound derives from the distilled spirits of New Orleans jazz, blues rock, folk, swamp pop, Zydeco, country and bluegrass, captivating listeners from the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, to Carnegie Hall, then all the way across the pond to Richard Thompson’s Meltdown Festival in England.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Due to a recent injury and pending surgery for Michael Doucet, this show is being rescheduled for Friday, August 26, 2022 at 8pm. Original tickets will be honored. If you are unable to attend on the rescheduled date, please contact the Michigan Union Ticket Office at muto-tix@umich.edu no later than Friday, May 6 to request a refund.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
After a dozen acclaimed albums, virtuoso slide guitarist and bandleader Sonny Landreth found himself at an artistic crossroads.
The Ark 316 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI 48104 United States
Sonny Landreth is one of the great live guitarists of our time!