The Ark

Noah Gundersen with Abby Gundersen
2024-10-20 19:30 - 23:00 (America/New_York) | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Marking the 10th anniversary of his acclaimed album, Ledges, Noah Gundersen will play intimate, stripped-back shows with his sister Abby Gundersen playing fiddle.
It’s a strange thing to have a living artifact of your younger self. To observe the manifestations of a younger you’s inner life. To be honest, it’s often cringy and anxiety inducing. With the benefit of hindsight, our shortsightedness and misplaced fears and hopes seem so obvious.
As I look back, ten years later, to the person I was when I made Ledges, I see a young man full of ambition and naivety, desperate for validation and a sense of belonging. I see a boy with a singular vision and a hell of a lot to learn.
They say you have your whole life to make your first record and 18 months to make your second. Although Ledges isn’t technically my first album, for all intents and purposes, it feels like it. It was the one I spent years writing. Some songs were written on a mattress on the floor of a rented room I shared with a friend, in a run down old house I moved into when I left my folks place at 17. Some I wrote in my first apartment in Seattle. One was written in the early hours of the morning, waking up on a friend’s couch to a simple, beautiful piano arrangement Abby wrote. One, after the unexpected heroin overdose that resulted in the death of a friend. Another, after briefly reigniting an old flame, only to watch it quickly burn out.
Everything was new back then. The colors were brighter, the highs higher, the lows lower. Falling in love felt like the first time. Heartbreak felt like the end of the world. Ideas felt important and the future was a big, empty canvas.
There’s a lot of self importance in all of this and ultimately this is just some record that some kid made. But to that kid this record felt like his whole world. And like all records, it’s a little snapshot in time. And how lucky we are to have snapshots, photographs of moments and memories that ground us in the reality we’ve lived.
I don’t want to live in the past. But I’m grateful for this marker of how it once was. A little simpler, a little cleaner, a whole lot of potential. And maybe that’s a reminder that I’m living in that potential, right now. This is the future I imagined and hoped for. This is the person I am now. And it’s nice to be able to look back and see how far I’ve come. And if you found this record 10 years ago, I hope you can listen back with the same gentle hindsight.
VIP ticket includes:

One General Admission ticket
Pre-show acoustic performance (requests allowed!)
Opportunity for Q&A with Noah
Autographed setlist
Exclusive tour poster, signed by Noah
Commemorative VIP laminate
Early entry to the venue

Carbon Leaf
2024-10-19 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
A touring mainstay and an indie folk rock staple, this Virginia quintet’s well-hewn live show and musical style drift in and out of Americana, bluegrass, rock, folk, Celtic and pop traditions with ease, using an arsenal of instruments to define the band’s lively stage presence and sonic landscape.

Ana Popovic
2024-10-18 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ana Popovic, the award-winning, hard-touring, guitar slinger, blends smoking electric funk and slide guitar, jazzy instrumentals and a tight blues groove with soulful, feminine vocals. Add to the mix her incredible stage presence, which makes her an irresistible force in the world of contemporary blues music.
Ana’s latest studio album, “Power,” made it to #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts. Her albums “Can You Stand The Heat” and “Unconditional” were Pick-Of-The-Week by USA Today and featured on NPR Music. She has been nominated for seven Blues Music Awards, and was the only female guitar player in the Experience Hendrix tour with Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Neko Case Fall Tour 2024
2024-10-18 19:00 - 23:00 | Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W 4th St, Royal Oak, MI, 48067, United States
Is there another songwriter so fearless and inventive? Bending decades of pop music into new shapes, Neko Case wields her voice like a kiss and her metaphors like a baseball bat. She has cast the fishing net of her career wide—from Seattle and Vancouver to Chicago and Stockholm, setting up her home base on a farm in New England.

Gathering power year after year, Neko sings with the fierce abandon of a newborn infant crying in a basket in the woods. Since escaping the labels of country and Americana, the gorgeous train-whistle vocals of her early career sit submerged in her later style, where their ghost can appear any minute. When her voice jumps an octave, it’s almost visible, like sparks at night. “I never knew where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do with my voice,” she says, “but I just wanted to do it so bad.”

With a career spanning over twenty years, she has famously collaborated with The New Pornographers and Case/Lang/Veirs in addition to releasing many critically acclaimed solo albums, including ‘Fox Confessor Brings The Flood’, ‘Middle Cyclone’ and most recently 2018’s ‘Hell-On’ in addition to the career-spanning retrospective ‘Wild Creatures’ that was released in 2022. She also writes weekly pieces for her popular Substack ‘Entering The Lung’, where she ruminates on the nature near her rural home, life on tour, her pets, and anything else that comes to mind.

Neko is doing it on her own terms, but the legacy she’s building is one that can stand up to music made by any other solo artist in her lifetime. Don’t look away; you never know what might happen. “I’m just trying,” she says, “to be myself as hard as I can.”

Donovan Woods
2024-10-16 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Since he released his first album a decade ago, singer-songwriter Donovan Woods’ blend of folk, country and pop has resonated with audiences all over the world.
Throughout his distinguished career, Donovan Woods has built a devoted following who cling to the acclaimed songwriter’s every word. Never one to mince words, Woods is one of music’s most vulnerable storytellers and on his forthcoming studio album, Donovan takes that a step further. Honest and unflinching, on Things Were Never Good If They’re Not Good Now, his upcoming seventh studio album, Woods takes a long look inside and isn’t necessarily thrilled with what he sees. For an artist who isn’t afraid to bear his soul, this is as emotionally gritty as he has ever been.
Long known as a masterful storyteller, Woods is at his absolute best on Things Were Never Good If They’re Not Good Now. Across the album’s 12 sparse, intimate songs, Woods finds himself reflecting on the ups and downs he has been through since 2020. His writing allowed him to open up and address the complexities of life that he has been going through.
Donovan Woods has partnered with PLUS1 to donate $1 from every ticket to MusiCares: music’s leading national charity that provides a safety net in times of need, and supports the overall health and well-being of the music community.

Oliver Hazard
2024-10-15 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
The story of Waterville, OH indie-folk trio Oliver Hazard – ​​Michael Belazis (vocals, guitar) and Devin East (vocals, guitar), joined by Nate Miner (keys, vocals) – is the digital age’s version of classic band mythmaking. One member of the band came home to Ohio after leading camping trips in California and decided to make an album with two childhood friends. They won a Facebook raffle to record one song at a studio. Instead, they played their whole album straight through once, resulting in their debut LP 34 N River (2018). The Fader called the album a “folk-pop masterpiece” and the band was booked at Bonnaroo and Mountain Jam shortly thereafter. In 2019, the band released their 6 track EP, The Flood, which Billboard called a “souvenir.” This brings the band to their sophomore, self-titled album (July 2023), featuring music from the band’s recent Northern Lights EP, plus five additional songs.

Frances Luke Accord
2024-10-14 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
When Nicholas Gunty and Brian Powers put their songs and voices together, there is a delicate magic that commands the room to attention. The duo is known as Frances Luke Accord, and their soft, contemplative vintage indie-folk gestures toward a timelessness that honors the Simon & Garfunkel comparisons but pushes beyond into the world of Bon Iver, Jose Gonzalez, and progressive folk music.
Both raised in South Bend, IN, Gunty and Powers met and began performing together during their time at the University of Notre Dame. Their first release, Kandote, was a bold intercultural collaboration with the Barefoot Truth Children’s Choir in Uganda, a not-for-profit effort which continues to support the choir to this day. Relocating to Chicago in 2013, the duo honed their songwriting craft while releasing two more self-produced EPs, laying the groundwork for their breakthrough debut full-length, “Fluke,” in 2016. This immersive, philosophically rich album set them off on their first national tour, which included support dates with Darlingside, Anaïs Mitchell, and The Ballroom Thieves.
The duo released, “Sunnyside EP” in 2021 which offered a glimpse into the body of work Frances Luke Accord had been developing during the Covid pandemic. Their long-awaited sophomore LP “Safe in Sound” arrived in 2023. They look forward to sharing it with audiences in 2024!

Lady Lamb
2024-10-11 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
From her early days, staying late after-hours at her video rental store job in Maine to record songs, to co-producing and arranging her four studio records, Aly Spaltro has remained focused on music that connects, empowers and builds community. She built her fanship the old-fashioned way, getting in front of audiences and projecting her poetic confessionals, silencing rowdy crowds with an a cappella opening song in the center of a dark stage. Spaltro was quick to develop a reputation as a breakout star in New England, and then expanded slowly outwards, moving to New York at twenty to continue work on the songs that would become Ripely Pine. Her voice has never wavered, has grown more honest and open with time, and anyone witnessing the long lines of fans seeking signatures after her performances can see how her work has impacted fans. Her live shows are revelations, a further deep dive into what makes Ripely Pine such a mainstay.
Spaltro is celebrating ten years of Ripely Pine with the release of a 5xLP Box Set, IN THE MAMMOTH NOTHING OF THE NIGHT out August 18 on Ba Da Bing Records. With the original songs remastered, as well as reams of additional material produced and arranged by Spaltro and mixed by original co- producer Nadim Issa, IN THE MAMMOTH NOTHING OF THE NIGHT captures the time, mood, art and ambition of Aly Spaltro in her early twenties, who had already accumulated years of playing and self-recording experience before laying down tracks for this giant of a debut.
“I wrote some of these songs when I was 18, learning how to play the instruments and record with my digital 8-track along the way,” Spaltro says, reflecting on the time. She talks about IN THE MAMMOTH NOTHING OF THE NIGHT with a sense of a mission. “These tracks have haunted me, because they haven’t had a home for all these years. I found all these alternate track listings in my notebooks. Any of them could have ended up on the record,” Spaltro says. “This box set is a way to honor that whole time, the beginning of the path of my life. Releasing this project feels like just that; I’m able to look back on where I’ve come from, and then gently close that door behind me and keep moving, keep growing.”

Billy Bragg
2024-10-10 19:30 - 23:00 | The Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan, 48201, United States
The Roaring Forty USA Tour 2024
In 2023 Billy Bragg kicked off a celebration of a remarkable 40 years as Britain’s favourite folk singer, songwriter and campaigner. To mark this significant landmark, he has released an acclaimed career-spanning box set ‘The Roaring Forty’ and has played to sell-out crowds across the world. In November he performed his most famous song ‘A New England’ on Later With Jools Holland almost exactly 40 years to the day that he debuted the song on The Tube (also presented by one Jools Holland!).
Galvanised in the late 70s by The Clash and an aversion to the austere policies of Margaret Thatcher, Billy set out to inspire political engagement and empathy. He has performed numerous benefit shows for the miners, the Labour party, CND, the jobless and many more, and has run the Left Field political stage at Glastonbury for the last 20 years.
Billy has released 11 solo studio albums, three albums of Woody Guthrie lyrics set to contemporary music by Billy and Wilco (the Mermaid Avenue albums) and one album with Joe Henry. He released a mini album Bridges Not Walls in 2017. His latest studio album, the acclaimed ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’ came out in 2021.
Billy Bragg added best-selling author to his CV with the success of his acclaimed 2017 book Roots, Radicals & Rockers – How Skiffle Changed The World. He has written two books of political analysis – The Progressive Patriot: A Search For Belonging (2006) and The Three Dimensions of Freedom (2019).
Billy won the Outstanding Contribution To British Music Award at the prestigious Ivors Awards in 2018. Born and raised in Barking, East London, Billy has a street named after him in his home town – Bragg Close. This year Billy has been honoured with a pavement plaque on the Camden Music Walk Of Fame (previous recipients include Madness, Amy Winehouse, The Who, David Bowie, and The Kinks)

Ben Ottewell & Ian Ball (of Gomez)
2024-10-08 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Ian Ball and Ben Ottewell of the British band Gomez are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their sophomore album, “Liquid Skin,” with a US tour this fall.
Gomez, known for their eclectic blend of rock, blues, and experimental sounds, achieved significant acclaim with “Liquid Skin,” following their Mercury Prize-winning debut, “Bring It On.” The anniversary tour will feature performances of tracks from “Liquid Skin,” along with other fan favorites and possibly some new material.
The tour promises an intimate experience as Ball and Ottewell perform as a duo, supported by the special guest artist, Buddy. This setup aims to highlight the unique vocal interplay and songwriting prowess that have defined Gomez’s music over the years.

Joan Osborne and Joshua Radin
2024-10-07 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Since she broke through 25 years ago with the multi-platinum Relish and its touchstone mega-smash “One of Us,” seven-time Grammy nominee Joan Osborne has never played it safe. Osborne has followed her restless musical heart, exploring a diverse range of genres: pop rock, soul, R&B, blues, roots rock, gospel, funk, and country. She comes to The Ark with a new album, Nobody Owns You.
Joshua Radin emerged in 2004 as an empathetic and engaging troubadour. He’s tallied north of 1 billion streams, moved 1 million-plus albums worldwide, and scored a gold certification for the single “I’d Rather Be With You.” In addition to multiple showstopping appearances on Ellen (who also enlisted him to perform at her wedding) and Today Show, and performances on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, and Conan, he contributed “Brand New Day” to a commercial in support of the troops at the request of First Ladies Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. Not to mention, he’s a staunch philanthropist who supports Little Kids Rock and North Shore Animal League America (NSALA), among others.

Jackopierce
2024-10-06 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Jack O’Neill and Cary Pierce, the “Jack O: and “Pierce: who make up the seminal duo Jackopierce, are celebrating 30 years of making music that has amasses a loyal following of millions of fans across the country and the world with a super high-energy live show and that the Dallas Morning News has called “spotless harmonies.”
Having just released their first studio project ‘Feel This Good’ in 5 years, Jackopierce is poised and ready to get back on the road full-time.
Jackopierce formed in 1988 in Dallas as theater students at SMU. They released ten studio albums, toured three continents, nine countries, and 45 states. After a five-year breakup, the guys reunited in 2002 to test out the waters. They were very warm, and Jack & Cary got back out there to play for grateful fans that thought they would never see them again. The two now have a totally renewed creative vigor, mutual respect and deep gratitude for their fans.

Willy Porter
2024-10-04 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Some folks are lucky to find what they love to do at an early age and quietly settle in for the long haul expanding and developing their work over the arc of a lifetime. Willy Porter is one of those artists. He has followed his own path to explore the sacred language that music truly is. 30 years after his solo recording debut, he continues to reach further into his guitar & pen while stretching the form of what his own music can be. He recently released his 13th full length album, The Ravine, in 2023.

Joshua Redman Quartet feat. Gabrielle Cavassa | Where Are We
2024-10-03 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Joshua Redman is one of the most acclaimed and respected jazz artists to have emerged in our generation. His latest project, Where Are We, marks the first time that Joshua has included a vocalist (Gabrielle Cavassa) on a record, and features Aaron Parks on piano, Joe Sanders on bass, and Brian Blade on drums; with special guests Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Peter Bernstein (guitar), and Joel Ross (vibes). Joshua notes that “the surface concept of WHERE ARE WE is rather simple: each of the songs on the album is about, or at least makes reference to, a specific geographical location (city or state or region) in the United States: Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia,” Count Basie’s “Going To Chicago,” Rodgers & Hart’s “Manhattan” and John Coltrane’s Alabama,” etc etc… So, on one level, this is an album “about” America — at once a celebration and a critique. But it is also, to varying degrees, a ballads album, a standards album, an album of romantic longing, an album of social reflection, an album of melodic invention, an album of improvisational adventure, an album of mashups (stylistic and titular), perhaps even a tribute album of sorts.”
Conceived and planned during the pandemic lockdown, states Joshua, “it was a dream come true to finally have a chance to connect Aaron, Joe, and Brian — 3 of the most sublimely lyrical and deeply grooving musicians on the planet, who, somehow, had never before played together as a rhythm section. And it was a transformative experience to collaborate with Gabrielle — a vocalist of uncommon style, sincerity, and soul. This was my first time ever recording with a singer on one of my own projects, and I relished the challenge of discovering and inhabiting new musical roles for myself — not only as a featured soloist and “lead” but also as a supportive accompanist and interlocutor. The magic of this particular gathering of musicians was that we were able to come together from points afar, to converge (physically and creatively) in a particular place at a particular time, and to embrace, with the fullest imagination and without the slightest reservation, the ethic of “serving the songs.” In this sense, WHERE ARE WE is perhaps above all, a meditation on the power and importance of place — the unique human beauty created when we locate ourselves in shared physical spaces together with others; the loss, anomie, and angst suffered when we divide ourselves unnaturally and unjustly apart.”
This concert is sponsored by the A2 JAZZ FEST. Learn about the A2 JAZZ FEST here: https://a2jazzfest.com/

Dwight Yoakam
2024-10-03 19:00 - 23:00 | The Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan, 48201, United States
Dwight Yoakam has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, and he is a 21-time nominated, multiple GRAMMY Award winner. He has 12 gold albums and 9 platinum or multi-platinum albums, with five of those albums topping Billboard’s Country Albums chart and another 14 landing in the Top 10. Nearly 40 of Yoakam’s singles have charted on Billboard, with 14 peaking in the Top 10. Yoakam is a recipient of the Artist of the Year award from the Americana Music Association, and BMI Country Music’s President’s Award, the most prestigious award offered by the organizations. He was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in the Songwriter/Artist category at the 49th anniversary Gala in 2019 in Nashville, TN.
Yoakam’s self-curated SiriusXM channel, titled Dwight Yoakam and The Bakersfield Beat ‘Where Country Went Mod’ launched in April of 2018. The channel celebrates the Bakersfield sound and those whom it has inspired. Guests have boasted the likes of Post Malone, Lukas Nelson, Beck, Chris Hillman, Jakob Dylan, Mike Nesmith and Mickey Dolans, Dave Alvin, and Jackie DeShannon, among others.
In 2016, Yoakam released his bluegrass album Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars… on Sugar Hill Records. Featuring a band of bluegrass luminaries, this album boasts a collection of reinterpreted favorites from his catalogue, as well as a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain”. Produced by nine-time GRAMMY winner Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton), Jon Randall (songwriter of “Whiskey Lullaby”), and Yoakam himself, and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, this album reflects the love for bluegrass music that Yoakam developed at an early age in Kentucky and that has inspired him for many years thereafter. In 2018, Yoakam released two songs, “Pretty Horses” and “Then Came Monday” (the latter written with Chris Stapleton).
In addition to his musical career, Yoakam is a formidable film and television actor who has appeared in over 40 feature films, including Sling Blade and Panic Room. In 2016, he recurred in David E. Kelley’s Amazon series Goliath. Recently, he appeared in director Steven Soderbergh’s film Logan Lucky with Channing Tatum and Daniel Craig. Yoakam is capable of seamlessly melting into his roles and impressively standing toe-to-toe with some of the world’s top thespians over the course of his storied and successful acting career, including Jodie Foster, Tommy Lee Jones, Jared Leto, Forest Whitaker and Matthew McConaughey.

Shawn Mullins
2024-10-02 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
After a series of indie releases and growing buzz in the Atlanta music scene, Shawn Mullins’ critical and commercial breakthrough came when 1998 Soul’s Core shot him to fame on the strength of Grammy-nominated No. 1 hit, “Lullaby” followed by AAA/Americana No. 1 hit “Beautiful Wreck” from 2006’s 9th Ward Pickin’ Parlor. His song, “Shimmer” was used in promotion of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and was included on the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack. His co-write “All in My Head” from 2008’s Honeydew was featured in episode one of the hit TV sitcom “Scrubs.” Mullins also co-wrote the Zac Brown Band’s No. 1 country tune “Toes.” In early 2002, he formed supergroup The Thorns with Matthew Sweet and Pete Droge. “No Blue Sky” from the resulting album, is a modern day classic.
For the 20th anniversary of his breakthrough album, Shawn revisited the music of Soul’s Core by recording two new versions of the album. He calls this Soul’s Core Revival. This is not a remix or a remaster of the original, but rather brand new recordings with new arrangements of the songs – one album is stripped down solo performances, some on guitar, some on piano and maybe one a cappella and the second is a new studio recording with his full band, Soul Carnival.

Tom Paxton and The DonJuans
2024-10-01 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and folk icon Tom Paxton is back, and he’s teaming up with the Grammy-winning Nashville singer/songwriter duo The DonJuans—Don Henry & Jon Vezner. Collectively, their songs have been covered by: Harry Belafonte, John Mellencamp, Miranda Lambert, Neil Diamond, Ray Charles, Nanci Griffith, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian, Kathy Mattea, John Denver, Faith Hill, B.J. Thomas, Blake Shelton, Peter, Paul & Mary and Bob Dylan … just to name a few! Within days of writing and playing together, the trio knew they were onto something, and they soon took it on the road. Ever since the days of Porter & Dolly’s cover of “The Last Thing on My Mind,” the songs of Tom Paxton have had a special resonance with Nashville songwriters, and now the tradition continues!

Dean Owens
2024-09-30 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Dean Owens is an adventurous, award winning troubadour and a natural wanderer. His nine acclaimed solo albums, mostly recorded in the US, have seen him collaborate with some of the most respected musicians and producers around (including Al Perkins, Will Kimbrough, Neilson Hubbard, Grant-Lee Phillips and most recently, Gaby Moreno and Latin rock legends, Calexico).
Dean’s music has been described as a unique blend of Scottish roots and Americana, but in truth it’s hard to pin down to a single genre. With each album he has pushed his own boundaries, constantly exploring, as his travels have taken him from Scotland’s post industrial heartlands to Nashville, New York, and the panoramic vistas of the US deserts. Dean is a consummate live performer, with a searingly soulful voice and a wealth of stories, earworm inducing melodies and songs; the heart of a rock n roller and the spellbinding delivery of folk’s best storytellers.

Willie Watson
2024-09-29 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Soon before Willie Watson turned 18, he met God in an apple orchard. Or at the very least, he met there a man named Ruby Love, the older friend of a high-school buddy who had an enormous Martin guitar and a seemingly bigger understanding of the American folk songbook.
Watson was existentially thirsty: A high-school dropout from upstate New York’s Finger Lakes, he was fast on his way to his first heartbreak and in a first band that didn’t take itself seriously enough. But that night in an apple orchard at a graduation party, Watson and Love sang a few of those old songs together—“Worried Man Blues” and “Tennessee Waltz.” It was the first time Watson had cried while singing, the first time he had made the connection between making music and making sense of his life. He never saw Ruby Love again, but within months of that foundational 1997 rendezvous, he met the musicians with whom he’d soon start Old Crow Medicine Show. Call it revelation, fate, resurrection, whatever you will; for Watson, more than a quarter-century later, it was a duet with the divine.
As told in the talking-gospel masterpiece “Reap ’em in the Valley,” that scene is the transfixing finale of Watson’s self-titled debut as a songwriter and as a human at last making music to make sense of his life. Yes, Watson has released two albums since he left Old Crow Medicine Show a dozen years ago and since his long-term collaborations with David Rawlings and Gillian Welch. But those records were sets of tunes he knew, interpretations of the songbook he has diligently mined since even before that night in the apple orchard. At 44, however, he feels that Willie Watson is his first-ever true album, having finally lived and lost and simply witnessed enough to know he has something to sing with his exquisite rural tenor. Watson has not abandoned those old songs entirely. He dazzles during a robust take on the forever-curious “Mole in the Ground” and treats “Harris and the Mare,” the standard of tragic Canadian singer Stan Rogers, with total tenderness. But by and large, these are his stories of heartbreak and hurt, backlit by the corona of hope that only growth can provide.

A Celebration of the Music of Jay Stielstra
2024-09-28 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Legendary Michigan songwriter, Jay Stielstra, whose life and art will long be remembered by our Michigan community, has left us a treasured legacy of unforgettable songs, musical plays, and other writings. To celebrate Jay’s life and music, a roster of beloved Michigan musicians – many of whom have performed with Jay or in his plays throughout the years – including Chris Buhalis, Judy Banker, Dave Boutette & Kristi Davis, Christina McMullen, David Menefee, Peter Madcat Ruth, Dick Siegel, San and Emily Slomovits, Michael Smith, Matt Watroba and the Buckhorn Bar Band (from North Country Opera) and more TBA, will bring the songs from Jay’s many musical plays, including Jay’s iconic North Country Opera, and more, to the The Ark stage.
This concert is a benefit for The Ark, a musical home to Jay since The Ark’s early years on Hill Street.

Kaitlin Butts
2024-09-27 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
A truly one-of-a-kind artist, Kaitlin Butts has a deep affinity for country music’s more theatrical side: the extravagant storytelling, dazzling showmanship, songs embedded with both unbridled emotion and quick-fire humor. After discovering her passion for performing as a little girl, the Tulsa native later brought her boundless energy and radiant voice to her own unapologetic yet soulful songwriting. When it came time to create her third album, the Nashville-based musician leaned into her lifelong love of musical theater and dreamed up a modern-day reimagining of the soundtrack to her all-time favorite musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! The result: a high-concept but candidly autobiographical LP called Roadrunner!, whose 17 powerhouse songs show the full force and extraordinary depth of Butts’ artistry for the very first time.
Produced by Oran Thornton (Brent Cobb, Logan Brill), Roadrunner! marks a major tonal shift from Butts’ 2022 sophomore LP what else can she do, a character-driven exploration of complex matters like addiction, domestic violence, and generational trauma. “With the last album I wanted to write about the struggles I’d seen people go through or experienced myself, so a lot of the songs had a sadness or darkness to them,” she says. “I feel like Roadrunner! is much closer to what I’m like onstage, where there’s real emotion and truth but also humor and a tendency to poke fun. It’s all those different versions of me at once.” Roadrunner! ultimately matches that multidimensionality with a lush and fiery sound informed by Butts’ eclectic influences (outlaw country, strong-minded country-pop, timeless rock-and-roll, and more).

The Ark's Open Stage
2024-09-25 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Whether you’re looking for your big break, want to perfect your live performance skills, or just want to perform live for the sheer fun of it, Open Stage nights offer supportive audiences and a terrific space. Performers have eight minutes (or two songs) each to do their thing. Doors open at 7:30, and names are drawn at 7:55 and 8:30. If your name isn’t chosen, bring your raffle ticket with you next time, and you’ll double your chances.
Why play Open Stage at the Ark? Do it to be heard. Do it so you know you can. Do it to take your music to the masses. Tremendous local performers like Dick Siegel, Misty Lyn, and Matt Watroba spent time honing their craft on Open Stage audiences. Even nationally recognized talents like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gilda Radner, and David Alan Grier paid their dues here. If you’re not interested in getting on stage tonight, get your practice in at being a great audience member and observer of new music.

Humbird
2024-09-24 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Humbird (Siri Undlin) is a Minneapolis based singer-songwriter, poet, and storyteller inspired by the crystalline chill of her home state’s northern winters. Undlin twines experimental indie folk rock, environmental Americana, and orchestral compositions into lush landscapes of mesmerizing sound.
Released in September 2019, her debut full length album, Pharmakon, was received with remarkable critical acclaim and has amassed over 20 million streams since its release. After the release of her sophomore album Still Life (2021) she was chosen as the winner of the 2021 Kerrville Folk Festival’s song-writing competition and went on to teach songwriting at both Sisters Folk Festival and Rocky Mountain Folks Fest. 2023’s tour highlights included her First Avenue main stage debut, appearances at Sisters Folks Festival, Mile of Music & Rocky Mountain Folks as well as direct tour support for Watchhouse, Mipso and Indigo De Souza, collectively covering most of the country. Her third third full length album ‘Right On’ was released on April 12 and has been her loudest, most notable record to date.
A Humbird live performance is intimate and earthy, literal and metaphorical. The band nimbly prances around the lilt of Undlin’s unfaltering fervent and haunting voice – the focal point. Although the songs and stories hold their own, the embellishments the band supply add the perfect splash of timbre and color to deliver a dynamic and engaging performance.
The Ark’s Artist Spotlight Series is made possible with support from Ford Philanthropy. It is presented live, and also livestreamed on The Ark’s Facebook page.
Tonight’s show is FREE (nonperishables accepted for Food Gatherers).

Cowboy Junkies
2024-09-24 19:00 - 23:00 | Masonic Cathedral Theatre, 500 Temple Street, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States
Sometimes revolutions begin quietly.
In 1988, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something quiet, beautiful and reflective. The Trinity Session was like a whisper that cut through the noise — and it was compelling. It stood out in the midst of the flash and bombast that came to define the late 80’s. The now classic recording combined folk, blues and rock in a way that had never been heard before and went on to sell more than a million copies.
Formed in Toronto in 1985 with siblings Michael Timmins on guitar, Margo Timmins on vocals, Peter Timmins on drums, and Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton on bass, the band has sparkled over the course of 29 albums. “I’ve known Alan longer than I’ve known Pete,” says Michael. “We were friends before Pete was born.”
Unlike most long-lasting groups, Cowboy Junkies have never had a break up or taken a sanity-saving hiatus. There’s an appreciation of each other that keeps them constantly working. “It’s that intimacy and understanding of what each one of us brings to the table,” says Michael. Cowboy Junkies’ will be performing a career-spanning show, including their new album, ‘Such Ferocious Beauty’, which was released worldwide on June 2, 2023 to universal critical acclaim.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise - Love Hate Music Box Tour
2024-09-22 19:00 - 23:00 | Masonic Temple Theatre
As if channeling another dimension where genres simply don’t exist, Rainbow Kitten Surprise finds harmony in unpredictability – weaving together lyrical poetry, hummable melodies, and a rush of instrumental eccentricities. Now boasting over 2 billion global streams across platforms, the band first began building their devoted fanbase with independent albums SEVEN + MARY(2013) and RKS (2015). The band’s breakout full-length debut for Elektra, HOW TO: FRIEND, LOVE, FREEFALL, arrived in April 2018. Produced by GRAMMY® Award-winner Jay Joyce (Cage The Elephant, Lainey Wilson), the album featured RIAA-certified Platinum single “It’s Called: Freefall,” earned widespread praise from Billboard, TIME, Vice, and NPR who described their sound as “…a mix of jam and indie and whatever else you can throw into the soup…very earnest, beautiful, political, loving rock n’ roll,” and saw the band make several national television appearances, including performances on “CBS Saturday Morning,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and PBS’s “Austin City Limits.” After gracing the bills of Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Osheaga, to name a few, RKS moved 80,000 tickets of their own on the sold-out 2018/2019 Friend, Love, Freefall Tour. That tour was earmarked by a sold-out debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and three consecutive gigs in Athens, GA (the latter of which were chronicled on their first official live album, LIVE FROM ATHENS GEORGIA, released in 2021).
The band released a two-track single Mary (B-Sides) in May 2019 – consisting of “Heart” and “No Vacancy.” The following year brought the release of standalone single “Our Song” – already a fan favorite in their live rotation prior to release – as well as a livestream concert in July, held for thousands of fans on what would’ve been the date of another sold-out Red Rocks performance (cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). In March 2022, the band released the emotionally charged track “Work Out,” marking their first new music in nearly two years.
2022 also saw the band set out on their first full headline trek in nearly 3 years, a run that included their long-awaited, sold-out, two-night return to Red Rocks. And in 2022 alone, with the help of partners PLUS1 and Propeller, Rainbow Kitten Surprise raised over $170k for food banks in local tour markets, LGBTQ+ causes, and mental health initiatives.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise is: Ela Melo (she/her; lead vocals), Darrick “Bozzy” Keller (he/him; guitar, vocals), Ethan Goodpaster (he/him; lead guitar, vocals), Jess Haney (he/him; drums)

An evening with Vienna Teng
2024-09-20 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
“I was in a long-distance relationship with music for many years,” jokes singer-songwriter Vienna Teng. Long-distance, perhaps, but long-running. In 2002, Vienna released her debut album Waking Hour, landing her on NPR’s Weekend Edition, The Late Show with David Letterman, and the top of Amazon’s music charts. Four more albums followed, most recently Aims in 2013, as well as the music for The Fourth Messenger by playwright Tanya Shaffer.
Together with Vienna’s captivating live performances and thoughtful online presence, her work has built a devoted following across generations and continents. Still, other pursuits have always beckoned. Vienna returned to academia in 2010 to study environmental sustainability, which led to a new career working on climate change, energy and waste issues. She also became a bonus parent to her partner’s two kids, and in early 2020 welcomed a newborn addition to the family – just in time for pandemic lockdown.
“I learned a lot about what it means to hold two truths in your head at the same time, as the saying goes,” Vienna says of that period. Out of that idea emerged some of the most intricate and impassioned songwriting she’s ever done: a pair of songs called “We’ve Got You,” about leading and leaning on one’s community. When she performs it on stage – solo, live-looping her voice, keyboards and percussion to layer the two songs together – the audience response is electric.
“We’ve Got You” also marks a new chapter of merging her musical and environmental vocations. In 2022, she launched a “music x climate action” community on Patreon, combining monthly livestream shows with Zoom climate action sessions, and hosting workshops between concerts that participants have described as “life-changing,” “rocket fuel,” and “the perfect antidote to despair.”
The long-distance phase is over. Now it’s time for communion – and moving forward.
$500 Platinum- reserved seating in the best seats in the house ($455 tax-deductible)
$250 Gold- reserved seating on floor in front of stage ($205 tax-deductible)
$125 Silver- reserved seating in drink rail areas ($80 tax-deductible)
Platinum, Gold and Silver tickets all include a dessert reception at 6:30 and a pre-show conversation between Vienna Teng and our emcee at 7:00 pm
$50 Bronze- general admission, show only, doors at 7:45 pm ($25 tax deductible)
6:30 p.m. | Doors for Platinum, Gold, and Silver ticket holders and dessert reception
7:00 p.m. | Q&A with Vienna Teng and MC
7:45 p.m. | Doors for Bronze ticket holders
8:00 p.m. | Concert

Donna The Buffalo
2024-09-19 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Donna The Buffalo is not just a band, rather one might say that Donna The Buffalo has become a lifestyle for its members and audiences. Since 1989, the roots rockers have played thousands of shows and countless festivals including Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Telluride, Austin City Limits Festival, Merle Fest, and Philadelphia Folk Festival. They’ve opened for The Dead and have toured with Peter Rowan, Del McCoury, Los Lobos, Little Feat, Jim Lauderdale, Rusted Root, and Railroad Earth to name a few. They also toured with Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen to help raise awareness about increased corporate spending in politics.
In 1991,the band started the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, NY. The four day festival has become an annual destination for over 15,000 music lovers every year and was started as an AIDS benefit. It continues as a benefit for arts and education. To date, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and is now one of three Grassroots Festivals; the Bi-annual Shakori Hills fest in North Carolina and Virginia Key festival in Florida. In 2016 GrassRoots Culture Camp was introduced in Trumansburg, New York as four days of music, art, dance and movement workshops, including nightly dinners and dances.

Bob Mould solo electric
2024-09-18 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Bob Mould is an American musician/singer/songwriter now in his fifth decade of making and performing music. Bob has released 15 solo albums since his 1989 solo debut Workbook, after forming and leading Minnesota punk rock innovators Hüsker Dü starting in 1979. Along with two albums in the group Sugar, Bob has redefined guitar driven rock across 23 studio albums over the last 40-plus years.
In addition to a catalog of over 250 songs, Bob contributed the theme song to TV’s The Daily Show and has served as a creative north star to legions of musicians ranging from Dave Grohl to Billie Joe Armstrong.
Bob’s most recent album was 2020’s Blue Hearts, released to continuing critical acclaim. Rolling Stone said “Blue Hearts gushes more piss and vinegar than Stanley Kubrick could fill a hallway with, but what makes it jaw-dropping is the precision with which Mould has focused his ire on conservatives, evangelicals, homophobes, while leaving room for some self-criticism as well.”
“The fire in Bob Mould’s belly can’t be extinguished,” gushed Under The Radar. “Blue Hearts is Mould at his fiercest and most deliberate.”

The Tannahill Weavers
2024-09-15 19:30 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Born of a session in Paisley, Scotland, and named for the town’s historic weaving industry and local poet laureate Robert Tannahill, the Tannahill Weavers have made an international name for their special brand of Celtic music, blending the beauty of traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms. Now in their 53rd year, the Tannahill Weavers are one of the world’s premier traditional Celtic bands, their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, original ballads and lullabies, and humorous tales of life in Scotland.
In 2021 they were joined by exciting piper and fiddle player Iain MacGillivray, who is also Scotland’s youngest Clan leader. Iain, a fluent Gaelic speaker, has worked on such exciting productions as Outlander and Men in Kilts, and has performed for a huge list of stars and dignitaries in recent years. As the band celebrate the nomination of their 18th recording, Òrach (“Golden” in Gaelic) as album of the year, and themselves as band of the year, they are firmly established as one of the premier groups on the concert stage. From reflective ballads to foot-stomping reels and jigs, the variety and range of the material they perform is matched only by their enthusiasm and lively Celtic spirits.

Chris Smither
2024-09-14 20:00 - 23:00 | The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Chris Smither grew up in New Orleans where he first started playing music as a child. The son of a Tulane University professor, he was taught the rudiments of instrumentation by his uncle on his mother’s ukulele. “I’d loved acoustic music – specifically the blues – ever since I first heard Lightnin’ Hopkins’ Blues In My Bottle album.” Chris says, “I couldn’t believe the sound Hopkins got. At first I thought it was two guys playing guitar. My style, to a degree, came out of trying to imitate that sound I heard.” His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets, and humanist philosophers.
Chris comes to The Ark in support of his 20th album, “All About the Bones” (release date: May 3, 2024 on Signature Sounds/Mighty Albert, distributed by Redeye). Featuring eight brand new Chris Smither songs and Smither renditions of Eliza Gilkyson’s “Calm Before the Storm” and also Tom Petty’s “Time to Move On”, the listener is welcomed into some gothic mansion on an imaginary New Orleans street, and there in the lamplit parlor confronts the band, a minimalist skeleton crew: Smither’s inimitable propulsive guitar and rumbling baritone are joined seamlessly to producer David Goodrich’s carpetbag of instruments, Zak Trojano’s rock-steady, primal drumming, BettySoo’s diaphanous harmony vocals, and the flat, mournful flood of Jazz legend Chris Cheek’s saxophone. Recorded at Sonelab Studios in Easthampton MA by Justin Pizzoferrato “All About the Bones” has a feel that is somehow baroque and austere at once.
