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Join us for exceptional music, coffee, and dessert in an intimate setting at one of our Coffee House events.
We now have three locations! Please note which location is hosting your event!
Out Of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake Mi 49240
Dixboro location: 5221Church Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48105
Grace Church location: 3150 Glazier Way, Ann Arbor MI 48105
To purchase tickets:
Click Eventbrite link found with each event listing OR call (734) 645-0944 and leave a message with your name, number of seats, and performance date; then pay at the door with cash or check.
No tickets are mailed; simply give your name at the door.
Doors open 30 minutes before show time.
Times are tough — money is tight. Music brings comfort and joy. If your budget prevents you from paying admission, please don’t stay away! At the door, simply pay what you can, or mention that you are on the guest list. It’s just not the same without you!
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Fri17Jan20148:00pm-10:00pm
You haven’t heard “Pinball Wizard” or “People Are Strange” until you’ve heard it played on jugs and “various other sundries.” Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the Today Show and radio’s “Dr. Demento Show.” Their current CD isYou Mean We Get Paid For This
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Fri24Jan20148:00pm-10:00pm
Reverend Robert Jones, Sr. is a singer, storyteller and self taught multi-instrumentalist. He uses folk, blues, spirituals and other American Roots music to champion the beauty and power of our shared culture. A lifelong Detroiter, Rev. Jones has been performing professionally for nearly 30 years for festivals, schools, civil rights organizations and churches. He has been a performer, musician, storyteller, radio producer/host and music educator. He has opened for and played with some of the finest musicians in the world. Still, Robert considers his greatest honor to be his call to the gospel of ministry.
Jones was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1956. His father was from Mississippi and his mother hailed from Alabama; consequently, Robert grew up in Detroit in a very Southern household. Early on Robert Jones fell under the influence of his maternal grandmother’s record collection. He grew up listening to and loving a wide variety of music, especially the blues.
By the age of 17 Robert had already amassed a record collection of early blues and begun to teach himself guitar and harmonica. By his mid twenties Robert was hosting an award winning radio show on WDET-FM, Detroit called “Blues From The Lowlands”. Concentrating primarily on traditional acoustic blues, Robert started performing at some of Detroit’s best music venues including the Soup Kitchen Saloon, The Ark and Sully’s. Those early venues led to a touring career that included tours throughout Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Influenced by legendary bluesman Willie Dixon, Robert developed an educational program called, “Blues For Schools.” This program has taken him into classrooms all over the country. www.revrobertjones.com
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Fri07Feb20148:00 pm
Shari and Dave first met in the summer of 1991, crossing paths as performing blues musicians: Shari was the partner of harmonica legend, Madcat Ruth, (Madcat & Kane), while Dave was leading the electric blues band, Big Dave and the Ultrasonics. A happy marriage, thousands of miles of touring, and twenty years later, they’ve recorded their first CD as a duo.
Friends, neighbors, fellow musicians and fans have asked over the years, “When are you two going to start playing together?” The truth is, they’ve been playing together since their first date. In many ways their playing has developed side by side, listening to and learning from great acoustic blues guitarists from the past – Reverend Gary Davis, Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Robert Lockwood Jr. to name just a few. Whether stomping out a blues on the front porch, deciphering a rag in the basement, or swinging on a lazy day in the back yard, they’ve been finding ways to put guitar parts together for years.
As an acoustic blues duo, Shari and Dave throw a four handed guitar party of original and time-honored blues, gospel, swing and ragtime. Steeped in Dave’s smoky vocals, percussive rhythm and innovative lead lines, Shari’s crisp picking style, rootsy leads, and stinging slidework, their music has been described as “street swing and stomp blues,” – like a testament to sounds once heard on the streets of Harlem, the juke joints of Mississippi, or from the jug bands of Memphis.
Shari Kane started playing guitar at the age of five. By the early 1970′s she had become a devoted blues fan, and learned how to play fingerstyle blues on the acoustic guitar. When she was sixteen, she began teaching guitar. She continues to teach, offering workshops in many of the cities where she performs.
Shari’s many years spent studying the work of the Delta Blues masters can be heard nightly as she picks up her acoustic guitar. Throwing herself into a stinging Robert Johnson interpretation, a jumping Robert Junior Lockwood shuffle, or the intricate fingerstylings of Reverend Gary Davis and Mississippi John Hurt, Shari’s mastery of the acoustic tradition is apparent.
In 1990, she began touring with harmonica legend Peter Madcat Ruth. The two recorded four CDs and played in venues nationwide as well as Spain, Brazil, Poland, Canada and the Cayman Islands.
An accomplished slide player, she appears on Rory Block’s 1992 release, Ain’t I A Woman. As a guitarist with considerable versatility, Shari is emerging as one of the country’s finest Blueswomen.
Dave Steele first began performing as a barroom acoustic solo guitarist and singer while attending Allegheny College in Northwest Pennsylvania in the 1970’s. During the 80’s, Steele expanded his interest to electric blues, as a founding member of the Zipper City Blues Band. After seven years as a popular regional act, Steele moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he formed and led the popular blues band Big Dave and the Ultrasonics. The band featured his big-voiced singing and sly lead guitar work as they swung throughout the U.S. and Canada 150 nights a year, regularly lighting up blues clubs like Buddy Guy’s Legends and the Zoo Bar, while making main stage appearances at festivals like the Montreal Jazz Fest and repeat performances at Portland Waterfront Blues Festival. After four recordings, (the final one on the Burnside label,) the Ultrasonics disbanded.
Steele took a break from performing at the turn on the century, but continued to play at home with Shari. Steele brings a basket of guitar influences to the partnership- single note lines inspired by B. B. King and Charlie Christian, acoustic ragtime and blues fingerpicking, and rhythm guitar, ala Count Basie accompanist Freddie Green – that mesh seamlessly with his wife’s dynamic fingerstyle and slide playing.
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Fri21Feb20148:00 pm
Tickets $17--CANCELLED--DUE TO WEATHER (NO FLIGHTS OUT OF MINNEAPOLIS)
Facebook event page
Peter Mayer’s songs are fresh and unique, earthy and intimate. His welcoming voice and inventive guitar work provide the perfect vehicle for his down-home wisdom and a sweep of themes that includes Buddha, Jesus, Columbus, Isaac Newton and…Harley Davidson.Peter began playing the guitar and writing songs when he was in high school. He studied theology and music in college, then spent two years in seminary. After deciding that the priesthood wasn’t for him, he took a part-time job as a church music director for 8 years, while performing at clubs and colleges and writing and recording his music. In 1995 he quit his job and started touring full-time. Since then, Peter has gradually gained a dedicated, word-of-mouth following, selling out shows from Minnesota to Texas, New England to California. He has 9 CDs to his credit and has sold over 50,000 of them independently.
Peter’s annual visits to Green Wood attract large audiences, often selling out. Get your tickets early!
“There are at least a dozen Peter Mayer songs that I would love to learn, myself, but I could never play them as well as he does.” — David Wilcox
“I’m a huge Peter Mayer fan, but only when I don’t feel like killing him for being so good. I love Peter’s work, though it irritates me that he plays so much better than I do.” — Janis Ian
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Fri07Mar20148:00 pm
Lee Murdock has uncovered a boundless body of music and stories in the Great Lakes. There is an amazing timelessness in this music. Great Lakes songs are made of hard work, hard living, ships that go down and ships that come in. The music is grounded in the work song tradition from the rugged days of lumberjacks and wooden sailing schooners. Murdock comes alongside with ballads of contemporary commerce and revelry in the grand folk style. Lee's fans have discovered a sweetwater treasure in his songs about the Great Lakes, finding drama and inspiration in the lives of sailors and fishermen, lighthouse keepers, ghosts, shipwrecks, outlaws and everyday heroes. With a deeper understanding of the folk process, Lee combines historical research and contemporary insights to make folk music for the modern era. His work is a documentary and also an anthem to the people who live, work, learn and play along the shores of the Great Lakes today.
Since 1980, Lee has released eighteen albums and three books with accompanying CDs. His latest CD release is Here We'll Stand. -
Fri14Mar20148:00 pm
John Flynn sings from the heart. His powerful songs of humanity and hope are deeply rooted in the traditions of Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs. From barbed political verse to joyous fun-loving lyrics for kids, John paints vivid, lasting images with words and music, drawn from a palate of awareness, irony, humor and compassion. John began writing professionally in 1980 after graduating from Temple University with a degree in political science. A staff writing contract with Combine Music and a Billboard Magazine Top Forty country recording of his song "Rainbows and Butterflies" by Billy Swann ("I Can Help") established John in the heart of Nashville's Music Row. Flynn's songs eventually transcended the boundaries of country music. He moved back home to Philadelphia, where he continued writing with his own style. This proved successful and John's songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Chris LeDoux, Ronny Redman, Full Frontal Folk and Ronny Cox. In the early 90's Flynn performed heavily in and around Philadelphia where his CDs received extensive airplay on AAA radio giant WXPN. His first main-stage appearance at the 1995 Philadelphia Folk Festival cemented John's reputation as a dynamic original contemporary folk artist. Songs that Flynn wrote for his own four children became the basis of two highly-acclaimed family CDs. John appears regularly on the Peabody Award-winning children's radio program, "Kid's Corner" and has been featured in New York City's Madison Square Kids' Series. Flynn's first national release was John Flynn. It hit Top 20 on the Americana charts. A live album, To The Point, followed. In the new millenium, John began to speak and write about social justice issues, and his newest CDs reflect that change. 2004's Dragon proudly features backing vocals by Kris Kristofferson. The track, "Angel Dawson" was included in the 2005 season finale of TV's Joan of Arcadia. John's songs, "Blink," "Put Your Freedom Where Your Mouth Is," and "There's No Them There" are featured in the 2008 Robert Corna documentary Tiny Tears. The film looks at the global epidemic of pediatric HIV/AIDS. Tiny Tears premiered at the United Nations and then screened at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, Arlo Guthrie invited John to join his post-Katrina "Train To New Orleans Tour." Arlo says of John, "More than just a good songwriter, performer or guitar player, John Flynn is a friend because he actually does the kinds of things to make the world a little better." Off the road John enjoys time home in Delaware with his family. He volunteers with a men's discussion group in a Delaware maximum security prison. He is a devoted supporter of Camp Dreamcatcher, an organization providing a safe haven for children living with HIV/AIDS. With only an old Martin D-28 and harmonica for accompaniment, John's compelling songs, strong voice and open heart are turning strangers into believers and believers into friends. John's latest recording is of End The Beginning. www.johnflynn.net
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Fri04Apr20148:00 pm
Harmony Bones is a quartet of long-time veterans of the Ann Arbor folk music scene. The band consists of Jeanne Mackey, Tom Voiles, Linda Teaman, and Laz Slomovits. The name Harmony Bones comes from an acupuncture point that harmonizes imbalances and promotes clear thinking, seeing, and hearing.
Jeanne, Tom, Linda and Laz have joined forces to explore a wide range of traditional, contemporary and original folk songs. Rich vocal harmonies and an array of instruments -- guitar, mandolin, flute, pennywhistle, fiddle, banjo, percussion, sitar -- combine to make Harmony Bones.
Singer/songwriter Jeanne Mackey offers a blend of emotional intensity, wry humor, and global consciousness. In addition to original tunes, her repertoire ranges from Dar Williams to Patsy Cline, from Pete Seeger to Irving Berlin. A seasoned guitarist, she draws on a variety of styles -- folk, classic swing, funky blues, and more -- with the occasional sprinkle of mandolin, accordion, or banjo. Mackey rocked the 1970s East Coast topical music circuit as a young musician advocating feminist values and social justice. In 2010, Mackey created "Drop The Knife: A Memoir-in-Song," an evening of original songs and stories exploring the meaning of homeland, curses, death, and magic.
Linda Teaman and Tom Voiles do much of their singing and playing with Nutshell, an Ann Arbor-based Celtic roots band. Nutshell plays for contra-dances and performs at festivals across North America.
Linda is a singer who brings depth of understanding, warmth and sensitivity to the music. In 2005, her graduation recital for a degree in k-12 choral music had her singing in five languages, encompassing musical forms such as Irish sean nos singing and Italian and German arias by composers Purcell, Mozart and Brahms. She leads the Rudolf Steiner Community Singers, a small choir that sings uncommon Christmas and seasonal songs of celebration. She hopes you'll forgive her classical background and that she is redeemed by her love of folk music. In addition to vocals, she adds light percussion to the mix.
Tom consumes a well-rounded musical diet that ranges from Celtic to Indian to rock and roll. He enjoys mixing different styles while maintaining a respect for the traditions from which they spring. Tom has studied North Indian Classical music, Moroccan folk drumming and western classical flute. He has worked with performance artists, dancers, mimes and poets, including Hosain Mosavat, Gerry the Fool, Matthew Smith, ML Liebler and the Magic Poetry Band.
Laz Slomovits is one of the twin brothers in Ann Arbor’s nationally-known children’s music duo, Gemini. A fine singer and multi-instrumentalist, Laz is starting his 41st year playing music. His songs are featured in songbooks used by music teachers throughout the country, and Gemini's recordings have won numerous awards. In addition, Laz has had a notable solo career. In his solo work, Laz is best known for his powerful musical settings of the poetry of ancient Sufi mystics Rumi and Hafiz, as well as that of contemporary American poets. He is currently at work on new recordings for both children and adults, as well as a musical play that will be produced by Wild Swan Theater in its upcoming season.
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Fri18Apr20148:00 pm
FREE
All About Eve (Katie Geddes, Deb Wood and David Vaughn, with Dan Reynolds on guitar) and Michael Krieger present the story of Good Friday, told through the music of Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant and Andrew Lloyd Webber, along with scripture and prayer. 30 min service; repeats at 7:30pm and 8pm. Enter at any time.
(Worship service; no admission charge.)
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Fri25Apr20148:00 pm
Nashville-based artist and Wrensong Publishing writer Sally Barris has managed to be successful in the mainstream world of country music without giving up her folk and Celtic roots. Her unique style, influenced by artists such as Tony Rice, Dougie Maclean and Richard Thompson, is what makes her stand out in a city known for “cookie cutter” talent. Her songwriting highlights include, “Let The Wind Chase You” (Trisha Yearwood), “Reluctant Daughter” (Martina McBride), “Some Things I Know” (Lee Ann Womack), “I’m On My Way” (Kellie Pickler), “The Innocent Years” (Kathy Mattea) and “Honeysuckle Sweet” (Jessi Alexander), which was featured in the Miramax film, “An Unfinished Life.” The Minnesota native is currently on tour with her fourth CD, Wilder Girl.
“Sally Barris has a voice like sparkling crystal. You could have knocked me over with a feather the first time I heard her. Her writing is from a deep, yet innocent, place and her point of view is just a bit off center. I am excited for her; she is standing at the beginning of her journey in this town, with all of it ahead of her. It reminds me of the first time I heard Beth Nielson-Chapman or Nanci Griffith. It’s going to be fun to watch.” – Kathy Mattea www.sallybarris.com
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Fri02May20148:00 pm
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/
songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, “Rascal,” “Psycho Mom and Dad” and “I Know What Love Is.” In 2009 Don released Christine Lavin and Don White Live At The Ark — The Father’s Day Concert, two hours of hysterical songs and stories recorded in June of 2009 from these two veteran performers, with guest appearances by Matt Watroba and Katie Geddes. This recording is available only as an MP3 download here. Don’s latest release is Winning Streak. A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted “repeat offender” fans, alike. www.donwhite.net -
Fri09May20148:00 pm
At Woodstock, as a New York kid barely known outside the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song, "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her as female vocalist of the year. Her single, "Brand New Key," topped the charts in 1971.
With guitar in hand and a combination of amazing vocal talent, disarming humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock artist ever to appear at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances with standing ovations.The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett -- battled to book her.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won an Emmy, opened a restaurant, and written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
This is a rare opportunity to experience Melanie live and in person in an intimate venue. Don't miss it!
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Fri16May20148:00 pm
Yes, THE Michael Johnson, singer of the smash hit singles, "Bluer Than Blue," "This Night Won't Last Forever," "That's That," and other landmark songs. Michael started playing at age 13; studied classical guitar in Barcelona; in 1968 joined the Chad Mitchell Trio with John Denver, touring for a year; and in 1969 toured for a year with the company of "Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris." In addition to his pop radio hits of the 1970's and '80's, he racked up top singles on the country charts with "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder." Michael's recent recordings feature duet partners Nanci Griffith and Alison Krauss. His music shows a diversity, depth and heart that only come from years of dedication to a labor of love. His amazing guitar work, humor and showmanship will make for a very special evening. Bring a friend! Michael's latest CD is "Moonlight Deja Vu."
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Fri30May20148:00 pm
Tickets $12
Facebook event pageChuck Mitchell started singing in Detroit folk clubs in the 1960s. In Toronto, on his first out of town gig, he met Canadian songwriter Joni Anderson. They married, and as a duo Chuck and Joni Mitchell played the coffeehouse circuit, and gin rummy, until they divorced in 1968. Mitchell's credits include A Prairie Home Companion and repertory theatre in Texas and in England. He has played Harold Hill in The Music Man and Woody Guthrie in Woody Guthrie's American Song. Most recently, he wrote and produced Mr. Foster & Mr. Twain, in which Stephen Foster joins Mark Twain for an evening of story and song. A Chuck Mitchell's show combines his seasoned skills as an actor, singer and guitarist with a selection of delightful material. He sings cabaret songs by Brecht and Weil -- "Mack the Knife" and "The Bilbao Song" -- and whimsical songs by Flanders & Swann -- "The Gnu" and "Have Some Madeira, M'dear". He roves the room singing "Freeborn Man" by Ewan McColl, or "Necessity" from Finian's Rainbow. He weaves poetry by Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot into his shows. He has been called a renaissance man, and thinks he is old enough to be one.
www.mitchellsong.com -
Fri05Sep20148:00 pm
Tickets $12
Kat is one of the most accomplished guitarists and singer/songwriters in the folk, Celtic and traditional music genres. Elating, moving, and amusing audiences with her beautiful blend of sweet melodies, gentle honesty and searing humor, Kat's music reflects a wide range of life's experiences with unusual clarity and authority.
In a clear alto with flawless intonation, Kat Eggleston goes straight to the lyrical and emotional truth of every word and every note. Her musings on home, childhood, and her father's garden are gems of direct, unassuming plain spokenness. Her narratives push hard at our senses and demand we return again and again to pick up the pieces we dropped on first hearing, expanding our comprehension of difficult, personal and universal experience.
Kat has released five CDs to date, three of which are available from Waterbug Music, one from Redwing Music, and the most recent,Speak, as an independent release. Kat has also just released a duet CD, Lost and Found, with Kate MacLeod.
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Fri19Sep20148:00 pm
Tickets $12
A David Barrett concert rocks you with gentle humor, then rolls you with the rhythm of the sea. A consummate performer, Barrett weaves the music together with stories of life on the road, of children and criminals, golf and baseball, and the things hound dogs would say if they could talk.
David's latest album, It’s a Long, Long Story, is a lot more than a compendium of ten new David Barrett songs. It's a crash course in sunsets, innocence, lost love, high comedy and the physics of life. It'll take you there and back, cradled safely in melody. The album is beautiful, understated and true.
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Fri26Sep20148:00 pm
Tickets $17
Peter Mayer's songs are fresh and unique, earthy and intimate. His welcoming voice and inventive guitar work provide the perfect vehicle for his down-home wisdom and a sweep of themes that includes Buddha, Jesus, Columbus, Isaac Newton and...Harley Davidson.
Peter began playing the guitar and writing songs when he was in high school. He studied Theology and music in college, then spent two years in seminary. After deciding that the priesthood wasn't for him, he took a part-time job as a church music director for 8 years, while performing at clubs and colleges and writing and recording his music. In 1995 he quit his job and started touring full-time. Since then, Peter has gradually gained a dedicated, word-of-mouth following, selling out shows from Minnesota to Texas, New England to California. He has 8 CDs to his credit and has sold over 50,000 of them independently.
Peter's annual visits to Green Wood attract large audiences, often selling out. Get your tickets early!
“There are at least a dozen Peter Mayer songs that I would love to learn, myself, but I could never play them as well as he does.” — David Wilcox
“I’m a huge Peter Mayer fan, but only when I don’t feel like killing him for being so good. I love Peter’s work, though it irritates me that he plays so much better than I do.” — Janis Ian
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Fri17Oct20148:00 pm
Tickets $15
Small Potatoes is Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso. They describe their music as "Celtic to cowboy," and say it's taken them "years of careful indecision" to develop a mix of music ranging from country, blues and swing to Irish ballads. You'll hear two great voices, fine guitar playing and a touch of tin whistle, flute, mandolin and bodhran. Small Potatoes' award-winning songwriting, close harmony and warm rapport with the audience makes for a wonderful evening. Their latest album is Christmas In The Cabin.
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Fri24Oct20148:00 pm
Tickets $15
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is Sound of the Broken. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri31Oct20148:00 pm
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Baseball Ballads 2.
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Fri07Nov20148:00 pm
Tickets $20
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends … such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night – songs of passion, songs of insight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic. These days Jonathan is likely to be found on the road. I've been...doing what I do best, which is playing live in front of people. I've been concentrating on that and loving it," he says.
An artist who measures his success by his ability to attract and take good care of an audience for four decades, Jonathan maintains that it is the feedback he receives after his shows that keeps him going. “It is really gratifying to hear [someone say], ‘Your stuff has meant a lot to me over the years.’”
The “stuff” he’s referring to is a highly respected repertoire that includes such classics as “Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy,” “Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone’s favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.” And then, of course, there’s the anthemic “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” that fierce proclamation of protest and independence that resonated with thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women when it was first released in 1971. Almost 40 years later, at show after show, the song continues to be embraced by faithful followers and new fans alike.
Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including Blue Ridge, his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and Little Hands, his collection of children’s songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award.
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Fri14Nov20148:00 pm
Tickets $15
As the youngest of thirteen children born to Mexican immigrant parents, Hinojosa grew up listening to traditional Mexican songs as well as the pop and folk stations of the 60s on her parents’ radio. Inspired by these diverse influences, her career took her to New Mexico and then to Nashville. Performing with legendary country musician Michael Martin Murphy inspired her to begin writing her own songs in English and Spanish.
After her first independent release, 1987's Taos to Tennessee, she was signed by A&M Records. Since then, a continuous stream of recordings and numerous American and European tours have brought Hinojosa’s music to an ever-expanding audience. To date, she has released 16 albums.
Her releases explore a wide variety of styles, ranging from the perfect balance of country, folk, and Latino elements on Culture Swing and the collection of Mexican love ballads and border songs on the all-Spanish Frontejas, to the delicate mysticism of Dreaming From the Labyrinth and the joyful optimism on her bilingual children’s record, Cada Niño/Every Child. Sign of Truth added yet another facet to Hinojosa’s sound, revealing a more personal, intimate, and independent side.
Teaming up with artists like Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Dwight Yoakam, Nanci Griffith, Pete Seeger, Flaco Jimenez, and Los Lobos, Hinojosa’s sound has an undeniable and far-reaching appeal.
Her latest album is After the Fair.
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Fri21Nov20148:00 pm
Tickets $15
Andrew Calhoun writes with a paradoxical combination of incandescent intellect and unstudied magic. He is both a lightning rod for
"the unconscious rightness of intuitive connection" and a perpetual student of songcraft with a deep respect for both tradition and innovation. In the thirty-odd years that he has been writing and performing he has created an impressive body of work. Onstage he is disarmingly unpretentious, spontaneous and darkly witty, weaving a tapestry that includes not only his own songs but Scottish ballads that he's translated from dialect and poems and songs by exceptional writers such as Dave Carter, Mary Oliver and Robert Frost. At age seven Andrew memorized W. B. Yeats' "Song of Wandering Aengus," thus earning a nickel from his mother. He got his first guitar at age ten and began writing songs at twelve. By the late seventies he was a fixture in the Chicago folk scene. He presents workshops on many topics: Creative Songwriting, Song Appreciation, Scottish Folk Ballads, and Music Theory for Guitarists. In 1992 Calhoun founded Waterbug Records, an artists' cooperative folk label which has grown to 70 titles, bringing some of the brightest singer-songwriters and folk musicians to an international audience. Waterbug was the first to distribute music by Chuck Brodsky, Cosy Sheridan, Dar Williams, Lui Collins, Sons of the Never Wrong, Erin McKeown and many others. His own recordings have been released on Hogeye, Flying Fish and Waterbug Records.
"Andrew Calhoun tells the truth. To my knowledge, there is no better songwriter alive." - Dave Carter
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Fri05Dec20148:00 pm
Tickets $15
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. A deft interpreter of beloved songs, her captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s latest CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, features an inspired roster of guest artists including Michael Johnson, Mary McCaslin, Don Henry and Small Potatoes, and has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world.When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk- rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba.
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage whenever he appears as a folk musician. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Add to that Matt’s own special brand of humor and you are in for a most entertaining and enlightening set.You will feel his obvious love of folk music, both traditional and contemporary; its writers and performers; its heroes and villains. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living. Matt’s latest CD, Shine Right Through The Dark, appeared on several folk DJs’“Best Of”lists for 2010.
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck’s soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-traveled voice and a delivery that’s natural and conversational. His groove- oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Baseball Ballads 2.
Chuck Mitchell started singing in Detroit folk clubs in the 1960s. In Toronto, on his first out of town gig, he met Canadian songwriter Joni Anderson. They married, and as a duo Chuck and Joni Mitchell played the coffeehouse circuit, and gin rummy, until they divorced in 1968. Mitchell's credits include A Prairie Home Companion and repertory theatre in Texas and in England. He has played Harold Hill inThe Music Man and Woody Guthrie in Woody Guthrie's American Song. Most recently, he wrote and produced Mr. Foster & Mr. Twain, in which Stephen Foster joins Mark Twain for an evening of story and song. A Chuck Mitchell's show combines his seasoned skills as an actor, singer and guitarist with a selection of delightful material. He sings cabaret songs by Brecht and Weil -- "Mack the Knife" and "The Bilbao Song" -- and whimsical songs by Flanders & Swann -- "The Gnu" and "Have Some Madeira, M'dear". He roves the room singing "Freeborn Man" by Ewan McColl, or "Necessity" from Finian's Rainbow. He weaves poetry by Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot into his shows. He has been called a renaissance man, and thinks he is old enough to be one.Vocal trio All About Eve (Katie Geddes, Deb Wood, David Vaughn) offers up a variety of close-harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs, accompanied by Dan Reynolds on guitar.
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Fri12Dec20148:00 pm
Tickets $15
In a rare appearance as a foursome, Kim & Reggie Harris will perform with Magpie, for a special holiday concert, Season of Light. Magpie is the duo of Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino, and they are friends, neighbors, and collaborators with Kim & Reggie. The foursome have released two CDs together, Guide My Feet and Spoken in Love (live concert CD). A Kim and Reggie and Magpie Concert is a moving experience of soaring vocal dynamics matched by a repertoire of inspirational and thought-provoking songs for peace and social justice, music of the Civil Rights movement, and a sprinkling of madness and hilarity.From Solstice to Chanukah to Christmas to Kwanzaa, many cultures and peoples celebrate as the days grow short in the Northern Hemisphere. These gatherings are a reminder of the changing season, of hope and freedom, of new life and new beginnings and of the basic principles for living together. Combining their many talents, Kim & Reggie Harris and Magpie will perform music and tell stories from traditions that mark The Season of Light, celebrating the many common these of these festivals: the changing seasons, respect for nature, the quest for freedom, kindness to others, unity, cooperation, purpose and creativity.About Kim & Reggie:
Consummate musicians and storytellers, Kim & Reggie Harris are a mini festival of diversity. Combining traditional African-American spirituals and freedom songs with original folk, they sing of life, love, the quest for freedom, environment and community. Their latest CD, Resurrection Day binds these themes into a profoundly moving personal odyssey of inspiration and hope, adding Reggie's experience as an organ donor recipient to the social justice palette.About Magpie:Magpie is the contemporary folk duo of Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino. Known as environmental musicians, activists and teachers Magpie has over 40 years of touring history in festivals, schools, historical associations and museums, including the Smithsonian. They are also Master Artists with the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts Originally from Ohio, they now make their home in upstate New York, right next door to Kim & Reggie Harris.
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Fri16Jan20158:00 pm
You haven’t heard “Pinball Wizard” or “People Are Strange” until you’ve heard it played on jugs and “various other sundries.” Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the Today Show and radio’s “Dr. Demento Show.” Their current CD isYou Mean We Get Paid For This
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Fri06Feb20158:00 pm
SONiA (Rutstein, aka disappear fear) writes and performs captivating love songs and confronts the hypocrisies and biases of our culture with a positive message of openness and optimism. Having performed in Israel/Palestine and in many parts of the world, SONiA's Judaic roots live in the colors of her songs and paintings. SONiA has performed in 16 countries and has just as many award winning albums to her credit. She has received the GLAMA Award for Female Artist of the Year, Out Music Award for OUTstanding World Music CD, and was a finalist in the Telluride Song Competition. Her talent as a guitar player led the Santa Cruz Guitar Company to create a SONiA Model which has been sold in the US, Germany and Australia. Singing in Hebrew, Spanish, Arabic and English, her powerful honesty touches people of varied social and ethnic backgrounds. SONiA's independent record label, disappear records, donates 18% of every download to the United Nations World Food Programme. www.soniadisappearfear.com
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Fri13Feb20158:00 pm
In his own words: I've been playing music since I was 12. The first album I bought myself was Neil Young's Harvest. I still think it is the greatest single album ever produced. I learned to play blues by listening to Lightnin' Hopkins and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. I learned to write lyrics by reading Jack London, William Carlos Williams and Frank Herbert. By the time I was 25 I had worked as many jobs as a gypsy laborer. I never paid attention in school. I went to college for a year and made a real mess of it. During the 80's I played acoustic music all over the country and in Canada with my partner, Susan Shore. We had a wonderful band, dubbed the Honky Tonk Dogs. We put out two albums, one on Flying Fish records and one on an independent label call ROM Records. I come by this naturally, by blood. My father writes poems about everything and takes the Marxist approach to art: that if you aren't saying something about something then you are saying nothing about everything. He might disagree, but I know this is true. He writes love poems that look like something else. I, too, can only write about love by surprise or accident. I've been writing songs again. I record them in one day, play all the parts, mix them and move on. Like my first influence, Neil Young, I'm always working on something new. I'm musically restless. I love the work. I look angry but I'm deeply happy. I'm grateful. www.nathanbellmusic.com
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Fri20Feb20158:00 pm
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage whenever he appears as a folk musician. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Add to that Matt's own special brand of humor and you are in for a most entertaining and enlightening evening. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, both traditional and contemporary; its writers and performers, its heroes and villains. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living. Matt's latest CD is Shine Right Through The Dark. www.mattwatroba.com
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Fri06Mar20158:00 pm
Yes, THE Michael Johnson, singer of the smash hit singles, "Bluer Than Blue," "This Night Won't Last Forever," "That's That," and other landmark songs. Michael started playing at age 13; studied classical guitar in Barcelona; in 1968 joined the Chad Mitchell Trio with John Denver; and in 1969 toured for a year with the company of "Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris." In addition to his pop radio hits of the 1970's and '80's, he racked up top singles on the country charts with "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder." Michael's recent recordings feature duet partners Nanci Griffith and Alison Krauss. His music shows a diversity, depth and heart that only come from years of dedication to a labor of love. His amazing guitar work, humor and showmanship will make for a very special evening. Bring a friend! Michael's latest CD is Moonlight Deja Vu. www.mjblue.com
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Fri13Mar20158:00 pm
Mouths of Babes is Ty Greenstein (of Girlyman) and Ingrid Elizabeth (of Coyote Grace).
This tender tomboy and rough-and-tumble lady come together to melt hearts and shake souls with undeniable chemistry and a truly unexpected heralding of wisdom. Mouths of Babes' sound is equal parts celebration and blues, folk and soul, salve and anthem — an invitation to love this life, to sing your sob story and end it with a smile. Their debut CD is Faith & Fumes. www.mouthsofbabesmusic.com -
Fri27Mar20158:00 pm
This Grammy Award winning artist has appeared at the White House three times and has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Asia. Barbara grew up in Detroit, Michigan and launched her career in music while attending Michigan State University. Singer/songwriter friend, Michael Johnson, describes her style as "art songs". Her lyric-driven, often humorous, alternative folk music speaks to issues of tolerance and human rights, as well as personal relationships and funny circumstances.
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Fri03Apr20157:00 pmGood Fridayevening vigilAll About Eve (Katie Geddes and Deb Wood with Dan Reynolds on guitar)and Michael Krieger present the story of Good Friday, told through the music of Indigo Girls,Natalie Merchant and Andrew Lloyd Webber, along with scripture and prayer.Friday, April 6. 7:00pm30 minute servicerepeats at 7:30pm and 8:00pmEnter at any time; stay as long as you like(worship service; no admission charge)
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Fri10Apr20158:00 pm
Don Campbell is a contemporary/country crossover and folk-rock singer/songwriter whose clear and well-delivered presentation of music supports the story in the song and welcomes the audience on board for the ride. Often compared to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg, Vince Gill, and Chris Isaak, Don and his ensembles are based out of New England. Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Fogelberg was a multi-platinum selling artist, with hits such as "Leader of the Band", "Longer", "Same Old Lang Syne," and a large and diverse catalog of over 20 albums. He passed away in 2007 after a three year battle with cancer. Fogelberg remains a huge influence and musical hero of Don's. In 2012, Don released a double CD, Kites To Fly: Celebrating the Music of Dan Fogelberg, and in 2013 began presenting live performances of this music around his own busy schedule of Don Campbell shows.
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Fri24Apr20158:00 pm
John Flynn's powerful songs of humanity and hope are deeply rooted in the traditions of Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs. From barbed political verse to joyous fun-loving lyrics for kids, John paints vivid, lasting images with words and music, drawn from a palate of awareness, irony, humor and compassion. John began writing professionally in 1980 after graduating from Temple University with a degree in political science. A staff writing contract with Combine Music and a Billboard Magazine Top Forty country recording of his song, "Rainbows and Butterflies" by Billy Swann ("I Can Help") established John in the heart of Nashville's Music Row. Flynn's songs eventually transcended the boundaries of country music. John's songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Chris LeDoux, Ronny Redman, Full Frontal Folk and Ronny Cox. His first main-stage appearance at the 1995 Philadelphia Folk Festival cemented John's reputation as a dynamic original contemporary folk artist. Songs that Flynn wrote for his own four children became the basis of two highly-acclaimed family CDs. John appears regularly on the Peabody Award-winning children's radio program, "Kid's Corner" and has been featured in New York City's Madison Square Kids' Series. In the new millenium, John began to speak and write about social justice issues, and his newest CDs reflect that change. 2004's Dragon proudly features backing vocals by Kris Kristofferson. The track, "Angel Dawson" was included in the 2005 season finale of TV's "Joan of Arcadia." John's songs, "Blink," "Put Your Freedom Where Your Mouth Is," and "There's No Them There" are featured in the 2008 Robert Corna documentary, "Tiny Tears," a film about the global epidemic of pediatric HIV/AIDS. In 2005, Arlo Guthrie invited John to join his post-Katrina "Train To New Orleans Tour." Arlo says of John, "More than just a good songwriter, performer or guitar player, John Flynn is a friend because he actually does the kinds of things to make the world a little better." Off the road, John enjoys time at home with his family. He volunteers with a men's discussion group in a Delaware maximum security prison. He is a devoted supporter of Camp Dreamcatcher, an organization providing a safe haven for children living with HIV/AIDS. With only an old Martin D-28 and harmonica for accompaniment, John's compelling songs, strong voice and open heart are turning strangers into believers and believers into friends.
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Fri01May20158:00 pm
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri08May20158:00 pm
Although a Detroit native, Bill's musical roots are in the South. His parents migrated from Black Oak, Arkansas to work in Detroit's steel industry in the 1940s, bringing with them their love for bluegrass and country music. Bill grew up listening to artists such as Johnny Cash and Buck Owens on Detroit's country radio station, "The Big D."
Detroit rock inspired Bill's early musical career. But in 1999, Bill turned on the radio and heard, "Yours Forever Blue" by Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band. From that moment on he found himself with a nonstop desire to hear and play that kind of song. Soon he was writing them, too. Bill is a first-prize winner in the Metro Detroit Songwriting Showcase, with his song‚ "Lovin' You." Bill lives for the joy of entertaining his audience. A true showman! Bill's band includes Chuck Anderson on bass, John Lang on steel guitar and Mary Seelhorst on fiddle. Sure to be a fun night! -
Fri15May20158:00 pm
Lou and Peter Berryman were both raised in Appleton, WI, and began playing music together in high school during the sixties. During the following nomadic decade, Lou studied classical voice and music theory in college while Peter continued an unfocused fascination with surrealist art, beatnik poetry, and jug band music. Early influences of American and British musical comedy and folk music fed a growing repertoire of original songs. A brief marriage in the early seventies resolved into a lifelong friendship, and by the late seventies and early eighties the two were honing their skills playing regular weekly concerts in Madison, becoming full-time musicians and songwriters in 1979. During those early years they wrote new songs every week, many about the history, cheese, beer and strange politics of their home state. By the mid '80s they were traveling all across the country, still writing and singing, but now with a broader perspective, finding that the quirks of their home state were not so much Midwestern as human. In twenty-five years of performing together, Lou and Peter have released twenty albums and four songbooks worth of hilarious, quirky, yet oddly profound songs, rich with word play and interesting images. Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton and Tom Lehrer count themselves among their fans. Their work has appeared in numerous compilations such as the popular "Rise Up Singing" songbook, in periodicals like "SING OUT! Magazine", and in many audio compilations. Berryman songs are being sung around the world by a legion of professional musicians including Peter, Paul and Mary, Garrison Keillor and Peggy Seeger. They have appeared numerous times on such national programs as NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Weekend Edition."
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Fri18Sep20158:00 pm
At Woodstock, as a New York kid barely known outside the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song, "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her as female vocalist of the year. Her single, "Brand New Key," topped the charts in 1971.
With guitar in hand and a combination of amazing vocal talent, disarming humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock artist ever to appear at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances with standing ovations.The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett -- battled to book her.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won an Emmy, opened a restaurant, and written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
This is a rare opportunity to experience Melanie live and in person in an intimate venue. Don't miss it!
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Fri02Oct20158:00 pm
Tickets $20
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends … such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night – songs of passion, songs of insight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic. These days Jonathan is likely to be found on the road. I've been...doing what I do best, which is playing live in front of people. I've been concentrating on that and loving it," he says.
An artist who measures his success by his ability to attract and take good care of an audience for four decades, Jonathan maintains that it is the feedback he receives after his shows that keeps him going. “It is really gratifying to hear [someone say], ‘Your stuff has meant a lot to me over the years.’”
The “stuff” he’s referring to is a highly respected repertoire that includes such classics as “Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy,” “Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone’s favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.” And then, of course, there’s the anthemic “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” that fierce proclamation of protest and independence that resonated with thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women when it was first released in 1971. Almost 40 years later, at show after show, the song continues to be embraced by faithful followers and new fans alike.
Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including Blue Ridge, his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and Little Hands, his collection of children’s songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award.
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Fri09Oct20158:00 pm
Tickets $15
Michigan native Claudia Schmidt has covered a lot of musical ground, beginning with a stirring rendition of "Tammy," at age 4, around a neighborhood bonfire. Claudia's 3-decade career touring North America and Europe includes regular stints on "A Prairie Home Companion;" participating in the delightful Les Blank movie, "Gap-Toothed Women," contributing a song as well as an interview; and performing a lead role in The Gales of November," a musical retelling of the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy from the point of view of three wives of the doomed crew of the Great Lakes ore-carrier. Claudia has recorded fourteen albums mostly of original songs, exploring folk, blues, and jazz idioms featuring 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer. I Thought About You is her second effort leading her own swinging sextet, Claudia Schmidt & The JumpBoys. In 2003 she released a spoken-word CD, Roads, which includes poems and essays from her rich performance repertoire. In 2006 Claudia released her first self-produced folk/acoustic CD, Spinning, with a studio full of Michigan s finest musicians. Claudia describes herself as a "creative noisemaker." You may expect anything at a Schmidt concert: hymn, poem, bawdy verse, torch song, satire. She can weave the elements of music and stage into a program so full of life that one critic has described a Claudia Schmidt concert as "...a lot like falling in love. You never know what's going to happen next; chances are it's going to be wonderful; every moment is burned into your memory; and you know you'll never be the same again." www.claudiaschmidt.com
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Fri16Oct20158:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is Sound of the Broken. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri30Oct20158:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Baseball Ballads 2.
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Sun08Nov20157:30 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $17
Peter Mayer's songs are fresh and unique, earthy and intimate. His welcoming voice and inventive guitar work provide the perfect vehicle for his down-home wisdom and a sweep of themes that includes Buddha, Jesus, Columbus, Isaac Newton and...Harley Davidson.
Peter began playing the guitar and writing songs when he was in high school. He studied Theology and music in college, then spent two years in seminary. After deciding that the priesthood wasn't for him, he took a part-time job as a church music director for 8 years, while performing at clubs and colleges and writing and recording his music. In 1995 he quit his job and started touring full-time. Since then, Peter has gradually gained a dedicated, word-of-mouth following, selling out shows from Minnesota to Texas, New England to California. He has 8 CDs to his credit and has sold over 50,000 of them independently.
Peter's annual visits to Green Wood attract large audiences, often selling out. Get your tickets early!
“There are at least a dozen Peter Mayer songs that I would love to learn, myself, but I could never play them as well as he does.” — David Wilcox
“I’m a huge Peter Mayer fan, but only when I don’t feel like killing him for being so good. I love Peter’s work, though it irritates me that he plays so much better than I do.” — Janis Ian
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Fri13Nov20158:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
There are songs that transport you to good times remembered. Songs like, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,” and, “Love Is The Answer” have that effect on many of us. These songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend.
John is most revered as half of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The classically-trained pianist and talented guitarist continues performing the gold and platinum record hits for audiences around the world. Some of Coley’s other hits are, “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again,” and, “Sad To Belong."
John’s experiences comprise a broad background. Although he performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in college, and is an avid student of history. In the mid-1980’s, John began acting in television and in feature films. He recently penned a book, "Backstage Pass," about his years in the music industry.
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Fri20Nov20158:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Kerri Powers started out performing in coffeehouses throughout her native New England, and has released several albums. Two of her songs were featured on the television series, “Rescue Me.” After taking time off to get married and raise her young son, she returned to performing, counting among her credits the Boston Folk Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, and Telluride Bluegrass Festival, among other prestigious gatherings. She’s also toured Europe while opening for singer/songwriter Fred Eaglesmith. This flurry of activity recently culminated in a self-titled album, her first studio effort in five years. With a track list that includes eight searing self-penned songs and two inspired covers (Janis Ian’s, “Jesse,” and The Bee Gees’, “To Love Somebody,” it is a most welcome continuation of a fine body of work, a sound that’s homespun, sparse and understated.www.kerripowers.com -
Fri04Dec20158:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
In this holiday concert, Lee Murdock and his band celebrate the Christmas holidays steeped in Great Lakes heritage. The story of the Rouse Simmons is a holiday remembrance of loss and renewal, love, and the resilience of the human spirit. The ship's captain, Herman Schuenemann, was well-known and loved on the Chicago River docks where he sold (and sometimes gave away) the trees brought down from Manistique. The ship was lost in Lake Michigan in November 1912, but the captain's wife and family kept up this tradition for 22 years more, well beyond the days of the tall ships on the Great Lakes. There were many Christmas tree ships on the Great Lakes, but the Rouse Simmons is famed for her family. Numerous books, children's stories, and museum exhibits have kept this story alive. Lee wrote and recorded his song about her in 1989, and has presented an annual concert ever since to remember this story and many other songs and stories about family ties, and the holiday season, against a backdrop of mariners and Michigan history.
View the Facebook event page
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Fri18Dec20158:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
View the Facebook event page
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. A deft interpreter of beloved songs, her captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s latest CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, features an inspired roster of guest artists including Michael Johnson, Mary McCaslin, Don Henry and Small Potatoes, and has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world.When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk- rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba.
Matt Watroba brings a special set of talents to the stage. His mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Add to that Matt's own special brand of humor and you are in for a most entertaining and enlightening set. You will feel his love of folk music, both traditional and contemporary; its writers and performers, its heroes and villains. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living.
David Barrett writes songs about children. And criminals. He writes music about golf. And Norman Vincent Peale. He struggled for years, scrapping for gigs (and, in his words, "driving for checks") only to become the proverbial "overnight sensation" in a field he'd never dreamed of storming. Barrett recalls, "In 1985, I was visiting a friend in New York City who was a writer for Sports Illustrated. We were watching the NBA Finals, talking about sports and life, and I remembered that I had written this song about sports and achievement, so when I got home I sent it to him. He took it over to CBS, and they called me up out of the blue.” The song, of course was “One Shining Moment,” the paean to endeavor that now crowns the NCAA Basketball Finals. A version sung by Luther Vandross pushes the song’s power to a new height. David Barrett: a handsome guy singing provocative, hauntingly beautiful songs in which he tackles lost love, high comedy and the physics of life.
Vocal trio All About Eve (Katie Geddes, Deb Wood, David Vaughn) offers up a variety of close-harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs, accompanied by Dan Reynolds on guitar, David Stearns on bass, and Lori Fithian on percussion.
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Fri08Jan20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
You haven’t heard “Pinball Wizard” or “People Are Strange” until you’ve heard it played on jugs and “various other sundries.” Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the Today Show and radio’s “Dr. Demento Show.” Their current CD isYou Mean We Get Paid For This
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Fri04Mar20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
SHOW CANCELED DUE TO ILLNESS
Hello!
We are sorry to announce that our March 4th concert, featuring Michael Johnson, has been cancelled due to illness. Online purchases will be refunded electronically; purchases by check will be refunded by check. Anyone having purchased tickets before now will receive free admission to another Green Wood Coffee House concert of his or her choice. We are very sorry for any inconvenience!
We hope to have Carlene scheduled at a later date. Thank you!-- The volunteers of the Green Wood Coffee House Series
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Fri11Mar20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Two-time Grammy-winner Jim Lauderdale is a "songwriter's songwriter" who has written/co-written many modern classics for iconic artists, as well as an intuitive sideman, enhancing the music of a bevy of esteemed musicians. Throughout his three-decade career, Jim Lauderdale has helped pave the way for the current Americana movement, writing songs that cross genres from country, rock, folk, and bluegrass, to R & B and blues. As a solo artist he's created a body of work spanning 28 albums of imaginative roots music. Along the way he's won awards, garnered critical acclaim, and earned himself an engaged fan base. Jim treats his fans to a new adventure, exploring the redemptive traditional sounds of Memphis and Nashville with his double album, "Soul Searching: Vol. 1 Memphis/Vol. 2. Nashville."
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Fri25Mar20167:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105Good Fridayevening vigilAll About Eve (Katie Geddes and Deb Wood)and Michael Krieger present the story of Good Friday, told through the music of Indigo Girls,Natalie Merchant and Andrew Lloyd Webber, along with scripture and prayer.Friday, March 25th. 7:00pm30 minute servicerepeats at 7:30pm and 8:00pmEnter at any time; stay as long as you like(worship service; no admission charge)
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Fri01Apr20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
In a career that spans 23 albums and includes three Grammy awards, Tom Chapin has covered a lot of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway and worked in films, television and radio. Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings, Harry and Steve, as one of The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began a five-year run as the host of the ABC-TV children's series, "Make A Wish." Chapin and his songs were also featured in the 1970 documentary film, "Blue Water, White Death," for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two parallel careers, as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth shine, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra, or in an intimate coffeehouse.
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Fri15Apr20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Scott Ainslie came of age during the Civil Rights era, and cultivated a powerful affinity for cross-cultural exchange. He has studied with elder musicians on both sides of the color line, in the old-time southern Appalachian fiddle and banjo traditions, as well as Black gospel and blues. He plays this music with affection, authority, and power. Armed with a variety of instruments -- vintage guitars, a fretless gourd banjo, a one-string, homemade diddley bow (cigar box guitar) -- and carefully chosen personal anecdotes of his encounters with senior musicians across the South, Ainslie explores the African and European roots of American music and culture, bringing the musical history of America alive.
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Fri22Apr20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends … such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night – songs of passion, songs of insight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic.
Jonathan's highly respected repertoire includes such classics as, “Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone’s favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.” And then, of course, there’s the anthemic “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” that fierce proclamation of protest and independence that resonated with thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women when it was first released in 1971. Almost 40 years later, at show after show, the song continues to be embraced by faithful followers and new fans alike.
Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including "Blue Ridge," his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and "Little Hands," his collection of children’s songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award. His brand new album is, "Tomorrow's Child." -
Fri29Apr20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Don Campbell is a contemporary/country crossover and folk-rock singer/songwriter whose presentation of music supports the story in the song and welcomes the audience on board for the ride. Often compared to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg, Vince Gill, and Chris Isaak, Don and his ensembles are based out of New England. In 2012, Don released a double CD, "Kites To Fly: Celebrating the Music of Dan Fogelberg," and in 2013 began presenting live performances of this music around his own busy schedule of Don Campbell shows.
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Fri06May20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Fri13May20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
"Harmony Bones" is a quintet of long-time veterans of the Ann Arbor folk music scene. The band consists of Laz Slomovits (of "Gemini") Tom Voiles and Linda Teaman (of "Nutshell"), Jeanne Mackey, and Eric Fithian. Their sound features rich vocal harmonies on traditional, contemporary and original songs, as well as a huge array of folk instruments — guitar, mandolin, flute, pennywhistle, fiddle, accordion, banjo, banjo ukulele, bass, hand percussion — even sitar and Uilleann Pipes! Their collective name, " Harmony Bones," comes from an acupuncture point that harmonizes imbalances and promotes clear thinking, seeing, and hearing!
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Fri20May20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Pat Donohue
Tickets $15
Grammy winner Pat Donohue is one of the most popular finger pickers in the world. His musical tastes are eclectic. Though he considers himself foremost a folk guitarist, Pat’s influences are rooted in bluesmen Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters and Miles Davis.
Having been a songwriter and guitarist for twenty years for the “Guys All Star Shoe Band” of Minnesota Public Radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” Pat got to show off his savvy licks and distinctive original songs to millions of listeners each week. After wrapping up this impressive longterm gig, Pat now turns to full time concert touring, presenting master guitar workshops and attending prestigious music camps.Heywood Banks
Heywood Banks is simply one-of-a-kind, almost impossible to describe, with a style his very own. Equal parts genius and buffoon, this songwriter-comic-singer-poet-musician has become a cult hero and a pop icon, with a show that appeals to college students, stoners, businessmen, yuppies, rednecks, punks, kids or your grandmother.
Heywood intersperses his humorous observations of life with twisted, inventive, bizarre songs, sung and played in a variety of styles, from folk, to country to rock to pop, and way beyond.
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Fri09Sep20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
There are songs that transport you to good times remembered. Songs like, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,” and, “Love Is The Answer” have that effect on many of us. These songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend.
John is most revered as half of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The classically-trained pianist and talented guitarist continues performing the gold and platinum record hits for audiences around the world. Some of Coley’s other hits are, “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again,” and, “Sad To Belong."
John’s experiences comprise a broad background. Although he performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in college, and is an avid student of history. In the mid-1980’s, John began acting in television and in feature films. He recently penned a book, "Backstage Pass," about his years in the music industry.
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Fri16Sep20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
SOLD OUT! Please call Green Wood to get on the wait list.
At Woodstock, as a New York kid barely known outside the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song, "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her as female vocalist of the year. Her single, "Brand New Key," topped the charts in 1971.
With guitar in hand and a combination of amazing vocal talent, disarming humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock artist ever to appear at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances with standing ovations.The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett -- battled to book her.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won an Emmy, opened a restaurant, and written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
This is a rare opportunity to experience Melanie live and in person in an intimate venue. Don't miss it!
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Fri30Sep20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is No Other Love. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri07Oct20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Lou and Peter Berryman were both raised in Appleton, WI, and began playing music together in high school during the sixties. During the following nomadic decade, Lou studied classical voice and music theory in college while Peter continued an unfocused fascination with surrealist art, beatnik poetry, and jug band music. Early influences of American and British musical comedy and folk music fed a growing repertoire of original songs. A brief marriage in the early seventies resolved into a lifelong friendship, and by the late seventies and early eighties the two were honing their skills playing regular weekly concerts in Madison, becoming full-time musicians and songwriters in 1979. During those early years they wrote new songs every week, many about the history, cheese, beer and strange politics of their home state. By the mid '80s they were traveling all across the country, still writing and singing, but now with a broader perspective, finding that the quirks of their home state were not so much Midwestern as human. In twenty-five years of performing together, Lou and Peter have released twenty albums and four songbooks worth of hilarious, quirky, yet oddly profound songs, rich with word play and interesting images. Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton and Tom Lehrer count themselves among their fans. Their work has appeared in numerous compilations such as the popular "Rise Up Singing" songbook, in periodicals like "SING OUT! Magazine", and in many audio compilations. Berryman songs are being sung around the world by a legion of professional musicians including Peter, Paul and Mary, Garrison Keillor and Peggy Seeger. They have appeared numerous times on such national programs as NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Weekend Edition."
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Fri14Oct20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
While Americana folk singer/songwriter Laurie McClain accompanies herself expressively on guitar, ukulele and harmonica, her honey voice soothes and her powerful lyrics heal bruised hearts. Reminiscent of 60s/70s folk, her music is predominantly folk/alternative country with a touch of the blues woven through. She brings passion and humor to the stage, performing original songs as well as unique covers of other excellent songwriters' gems. Her song, "My Heaven" is a favorite of listeners of folk radio programs around the world. In 2003 Laurie released The Trumpet Vine: A Tribute To Kate Wolf, a collection of her loving interpretations of the late songstress's works. Her latest CD is Ascend.
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Fri28Oct20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Tell Tale Heart.
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Fri04Nov20168:00 pm
Tickets $15
Nashville-based artist and Wrensong Publishing writer Sally Barris has managed to be successful in the mainstream world of country music without giving up her folk and Celtic roots. Her unique style, influenced by artists such as Tony Rice, Dougie Maclean and Richard Thompson, is what makes her stand out in a city known for “cookie cutter” talent. Her songwriting highlights include, “Let The Wind Chase You” (Trisha Yearwood), “Reluctant Daughter” (Martina McBride), “Some Things I Know” (Lee Ann Womack), “I’m On My Way” (Kellie Pickler), “The Innocent Years” (Kathy Mattea) and “Honeysuckle Sweet” (Jessi Alexander), which was featured in the Miramax film, “An Unfinished Life.” The Minnesota native is currently on tour with her latest CD, The Road In Me.
“Sally Barris has a voice like sparkling crystal. You could have knocked me over with a feather the first time I heard her. Her writing is from a deep, yet innocent, place and her point of view is just a bit off center. I am excited for her; she is standing at the beginning of her journey in this town, with all of it ahead of her. It reminds me of the first time I heard Beth Nielson-Chapman or Nanci Griffith. It’s going to be fun to watch.” – Kathy Mattea www.sallybarris.com
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Sat12Nov20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Mary will also be offering 3 songs at Green Wood’s 5pm free worship service the same evening before her Green Wood Coffee House Series performance.
Tickets for the 8pm show will be available online through 6pm Saturday. We are unable to accept credit cards at the door. Come early to reserve your spot as we have sold a good number of tickets and seating is first come, first serve.
Her songs? They’re about as idiosyncratic as anything in the wide world of “popular music.” They’re painfully personal, yet they somehow infiltrate the souls of her listeners, no matter how different the paths they’ve followed through their lives.
Songs aren’t so much written as harvested by Gauthier. Though she lives not far from the hit-making mills of Music Row, she admits to knowing nothing about how to write on command. She says, “I have to be called to write. The call comes from somewhere I don’t understand, but I know it when I hear it.”
That call first came to her a long time ago. Her life to that point had led her to extremes, plenty of negatives and a few brilliant bright spots. An adopted child who became a teenage runaway, she found her first shelter among addicts and drag queens. Eventually she achieved renown as a chef even while balancing her restaurant responsibilities with the demands of addiction to heroin.
Two more successful restaurants, an escalating addiction, and a subsequent arrest led her into sobriety. It was rehearsal for what was to follow, when she wrote her first song in her mid-thirties. From that point, Gauthier channeled a long line of eloquent works, including the achingly beautiful, "Mercy Now." She says of her new CD, Trouble and Love, “I started the process in a lot of grief. I’d lost a lot. So the first batch of songs was just too sad. It was like walking too close to the fire. I had to back off from it. The truth is that when you’re in the amount of grief I was in, it’s an altered state. Life is not that. You go through that. We human beings have this built-in healing mechanism that’s always pushing us toward life. I didn’t want to write just darkness, because that’s not the truth. I had to write through the darkness to get to the truth. Writing helped me back onto my feet again. This record is about getting to a new normal. It’s a transformation record.” We are so pleased to welcome Mary Gauthier into our Series.
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Fri18Nov20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Grammy Award winner Don Henry's songs have been recorded by legends such as Ray Charles, Patti Page and Conway Twitty; by country crooners including Gene Watson, John Conlee and B.J. Thomas; and by today's hitmakers such as Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and Kathy Mattea. But his songs shine most when performed by the very artist who wrote them. Don Henry is a 37 year veteran in the music business. Wit and wisdom grace Don's songs, from campfire favorites, to the poignant tribute to Martin Luther King, "Beautiful Fool;" or, of course, the Grammy award-winning country classic, "Where've You Been." In addition to the Grammy, Kathy Mattea's version of "Where've You Been" took Song of the Year honors from the Academy of Country Music, The Country Music Association and Nashville Songwriter's Association International - the first song ever to be awarded all four honors in the same year. Expect an exceptional evening of music and humor.
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Fri02Dec20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $25
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
Christine Lavin’s alternately witty, comical and poignant songs have been earning glowing reviews for more than 35 years, starting in the 1980s with a string of albums that made her a folk-pop fan favorite. Christine performs concerts all over the US, Canada, and points beyond, and hosts knitting circles backstage prior to each show. Songs of hers have been performed by artists as diverse as Broadway stars Betty Buckley and Sutton Foster; cabaret diva, Andrea Marcovicci, and the college a cappella group, Dartmouth Decibelles.
Christine has recently added intermission tutorial activities -- namely, teaching audience members how to fold cloth napkins in the Downton Abbey style.
Two longtime friends present an evening of hilarious interaction, contagious laughter, and irrepressible fun. Don't miss it!
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Fri09Dec20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook event pageChuck Mitchell started singing in Detroit folk clubs in the 1960s. In Toronto, on his first out of town gig, he met Canadian songwriter Joni Anderson. They married, and as a duo Chuck and Joni Mitchell played the coffeehouse circuit, and gin rummy, until they divorced in 1968. Mitchell's credits include A Prairie Home Companion and repertory theatre in Texas and in England. He has played Harold Hill in The Music Man and Woody Guthrie in Woody Guthrie's American Song. Most recently, he wrote and produced Mr. Foster & Mr. Twain, in which Stephen Foster joins Mark Twain for an evening of story and song. A Chuck Mitchell's show combines his seasoned skills as an actor, singer and guitarist with a selection of delightful material. He sings cabaret songs by Brecht and Weil -- "Mack the Knife" and "The Bilbao Song" -- and whimsical songs by Flanders & Swann -- "The Gnu" and "Have Some Madeira, M'dear". He roves the room singing "Freeborn Man" by Ewan McColl, or "Necessity" from Finian's Rainbow. He weaves poetry by Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot into his shows. He has been called a renaissance man, and thinks he is old enough to be one.
www.mitchellsong.com -
Fri16Dec20168:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s 2010 CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba.
Vocal trio All About Eve (Katie, Deb Wood, David Vaughn) offers up a variety of close harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs.
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Added to that is Matt's own special brand of humor. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, whether traditional or contemporary. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living.
Heywood Banks is simply one-of-a-kind. Equal parts genius and buffoon, this songwriter-comic-singer-poet-musician has become a cult hero and a pop icon. Heywood intersperses his humorous observations of life with twisted, inventive, bizarre songs, sung and played in a variety of styles, from folk, to country, to rock, to pop.
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Fri13Jan20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
You haven’t heard “Pinball Wizard” or “People Are Strange” until you’ve heard it played on jugs and “various other sundries.” Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the Today Show and radio’s “Dr. Demento Show.” Their current CD is You Mean We Get Paid For This?
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Fri20Jan20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Facebook event pageRobbie Fulks has the soul of a country singer and the mind of a vaudevillian. His cross-genre antics and clever, heartfelt writing are accompanied by his amazing guitar work in honky-tonk, country, bluegrass, power pop, or whatever style strikes his ample whimsy at the time.
Robbie learned guitar from his dad; banjo from Earl Scruggs and John Hartford records; and fiddle (long since laid down in disgrace) on his own. He attended Columbia College in New York City and dropped out to focus on the Greenwich Village songwriter scene and other ill-advised pursuits. Since then he has gone on to create a multifarious career in music. He was a staff instructor at Old Town School of Folk Music; he worked on Nashville’s Music Row as a staff songwriter.
Radio loves him too, with multiple appearances on WSM's “Grand Ole Opry;” NPR’s “Fresh Air,” “Mountain Stage,” and “World Café;” and the syndicated “Acoustic Café.” TV appearances include "Austin City Limits," "Today," "Late Night with Conan O’Brien," and "30 Rock." TV/film use of his music includes "True Blood," "My Name Is Earl," and "Very Bad Things," and he has voiced or sung campaigns for Budweiser, McDonalds, Nickelodeon, and Applebees. Theatrical credits include “Woody Guthrie’s American Song” and Harry Chapin’s “Cottonpatch Gospel.” He tours yearlong with various configurations and plays a weekly residency at the Hideout in Chicago. Come join us for Robbie Fulks' first visit to Green Wood! -
Fri03Feb20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook event page
For over twenty years, Robert Jones and Matt Watroba have been musical partners. Their relationship started when they each hosted a radio show on Detroit's WDET-FM. They started performing together and discovered a friendship based on mutual respect and a love for traditional American music. Now, Matt and Robert travel the nation extolling the virtues of “Music That Matters”.
For Matt and Robert, American roots music (folk, blues, spirituals, work songs, chants) is, indeed, music that matters. This is the music that America and the world have in common. It is music that reflects history; social change; migration; hopes and dreams. It is music that is rich and diverse, direct and powerful. As talented as they are individually, Matt and Robert together form a stage presence that is greater than the sum of its parts. You might even get to sing along! -
Fri10Feb20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook event pageThe string band and vocal trio Low Lily explores the roots and branches of American folk music with traditional influences and modern inspiration that weave together a unique brand of acoustic music. Liz Simmons (vocals and guitar), Flynn Cohen (vocals, guitar, and mandolin), and Lissa Schneckenburger (vocals and fiddle) are masterful players with deep relationships to traditional music styles ranging from bluegrass to Irish, Scottish, New England, and Old Time Appalachian sounds. When you combine this with stellar composition skills and inventive arrangements you get music that is rooted yet contemporary. www.lowlily.com
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Fri03Mar20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
In a career that spans 23 albums and includes three Grammy awards, Tom Chapin has covered a lot of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway and worked in films, television and radio. Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings, Harry and Steve, as one of The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began a five-year run as the host of the ABC-TV children's series, "Make A Wish." Chapin and his songs were also featured in the 1970 documentary film, "Blue Water, White Death," for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two parallel careers, as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth shine, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra, or in an intimate coffeehouse. www.tomchapin.com
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Fri24Mar20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Facebook event pageLivingston Taylor's 50-year career has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first release at age 18, and continues to create well crafted, introspective, and original songs that have earned him fans worldwide.
From top-40 hits, “I Will Be in Love with You” and, “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman,” both recorded by his brother James, Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. He is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz—and from upbeat storytelling to touching ballads.
Livingston has never stopped performing since those early coffeehouse days, touring with major artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and Jethro Tull, and he maintains a busy concert schedule of over 80 shows a year. He is a natural performer, peppering his shows with personal stories, anecdotes and ineffable warmth. His relaxed on-stage presence belies the depth of his musical knowledge, as fans might be treated to classic Gershwin or something from the best of Broadway.
Livingston is a full professor at Berklee College of Music, where he has taught a Stage Performance course since 1989. He teaches young artists invaluable lessons learned over the course of an extensive career on the road. The course is consistently voted the most popular at the College. His 2011 book, "Stage Performance," offers those lessons to all who are interested in elevating their presentations to professional standards
Livingston's new album, Safe Home, was released March 3rd, 2017. Featuring a world class band, the album gives playful bend to musical classics like "Anything You Can Do," and also presents Livingston Taylor originals such as, "I Must Be Doing Something Right." Come enjoy Livingston Taylor's first vistit to Green Wood!
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Fri31Mar20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Christine Lavin’s alternately witty, comical and poignant songs have been earning glowing reviews for more than 35 years, starting in the 1980s with a string of albums that made her a folk-pop fan favorite. Christine performs concerts all over the US, Canada, and points beyond, and hosts knitting circles backstage prior to each show. Songs of hers have been performed by artists as diverse as Broadway stars Betty Buckley and Sutton Foster; cabaret diva, Andrea Marcovicci; and the college a cappella group, Dartmouth Decibelles. Christine has recently added intermission tutorial activities -- namely, teaching audience members how to fold cloth napkins in the Downton Abbey style.
www.christinelavin.com -
Fri07Apr20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook event pageSinger/songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche grew up in an impressive musical family. She is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche, and half-sister of Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Born and raised in New York City, Roche spent years traveling with and amongst her large musical family. After college, she began teaching second and third grade. In 2005 she joined brother Rufus on tour to sing backup, and after releasing an eight-song, debut CD, Lucy became a full-time touring musician. Recent tours have included solo appearances; double bills with mom, Suzzy; and ensemble shows with Suzzy, Loudon, Rufus, Martha, and Sloan Wainwright. Lucy's recent CDs include solo release There's A Last Time For Everything and Mud and Apples, a collaboration with Suzzy Roche.
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Fri21Apr20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
For over 20 years, David Mosher has been performing, writing, producing, recording, and teaching music. Based in southeast Michigan, he's stitched himself throughout the fabric of the state's musical community as a sideman for some of the state's best-known performers, including Kitty Donohoe, Matt Watroba, Michael King, and others. He is a member of the ensembles the Raisinpickers and the RFD Boys, and the go-to multi-instrumentalist for countless regional acts. He performs with Ann Arbor's Wild Swan Theater as their main musician and is also involved as music director of the Ramblin' River Road Show. His smooth, soothing vocals and excellent songwriting are accompanied by his stellar skills on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar. www.davidmoshermusic.blogspot.com
Songwriter and Michigan Emmy recipient Kitty Donohoe is not an Irish or Celtic singer, but she clearly draws from that part of her heritage, as well as her American roots, as an artist. A writer of tunes as well as songs, her originals are rich with her natural sense as a storyteller, her love for language and her ear for a melody. Her music is luminous, earthy and compelling, and all of her songwriter CDs integrate the textures and feel of accordions, whistles, pipes and bodhran alongside the more standard guitar, bass or piano. Some of her originals sound like they were written 100 years ago and others are clearly contemporary, but one thing is certain: with or without a band behind her, Kitty's striking voice carries it all, delivering each song with power and emotion. www.kittydonohoe.com
Come enjoy two musical friends sharing the stage for an evening of acoustic camaraderie!
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Fri28Apr20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Don Campbell is a contemporary/country crossover and folk-rock singer/songwriter whose presentation of music supports the story in the song and welcomes the audience on board for the ride. Often compared to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg, Vince Gill, and Chris Isaak, Don and his ensembles are based out of New England. In 2012, Don released a double CD, "Kites To Fly: Celebrating the Music of Dan Fogelberg," and in 2013 began presenting live performances of this music around his own busy schedule of Don Campbell shows.
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Fri05May20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri12May20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Yes, THE Michael Johnson, singer of the smash hit singles, "Bluer Than Blue," "This Night Won't Last Forever," "That's That," and other landmark songs. Michael started playing at age 13; studied classical guitar in Barcelona; in 1968 joined the Chad Mitchell Trio with John Denver; and in 1969 toured for a year with the company of "Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris." In addition to his pop radio hits of the 1970's and '80's, he racked up top singles on the country charts with "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder." Michael's recent recordings feature duet partners Nanci Griffith and Alison Krauss. His music shows a diversity, depth and heart that only come from years of dedication to a labor of love. His amazing guitar work, humor and showmanship will make for a very special evening. Bring a friend! Michael's latest CD is Moonlight Deja Vu. www.mjblue.com
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Fri19May20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Astonished audiences often ask Kenny White after a live performance, “How come I’ve never heard of you?” In fact, the pianist, singer/songwriter, producer and arranger has been very well known in the NYC recording scene for decades. He comes to the world of the touring singer-songwriter following a long and successful musical journey. Long List of Priors, his aptly named new album, is the latest collection of original songs: indelible snapshots of the human condition, from heart-wrenching to hilarious and observed with the precision of a diamond cutter. Kenny White began his career in the 1970s, touring exclusively as the keyboard player for Jonathan Edwards and Livingston Taylor, with whom he opened Linda Ronstadt’s legendary, “Living in the USA” tour. He then became a fixture in the NYC studio scene throughout the 1980s and 1990s, producing and arranging hundreds of commercials for TV and radio, beginning with “The Unsinkable Taste of Cheerios,” nearly seven years of Chevrolet’s “Heartbeat of America” campaign, and countless ads for the Coca Cola company. Kenny White’s record producing credits include Shawn Colvin’s Grammy-nominated song, “I Don’t Know Why,” as well as the last four solo CDs for Peter Wolf, formerly with the J. Geils Band.
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Fri08Sep20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
Ron Coden has been an entertainer for over fifty years. His music encompasses a wide variety of styles. He is a singer, comedian, actor, storyteller and guitarist. Whether performing a rousing folk song, a heartfelt ballad or a popular Broadway show tune, Ron Coden is always a delight. Ron is accompanied by three fine musicians: Ron Blight on guitar, Danny Ballas on drums and Todd McIntosh on bass. Come experience the Ron Coden Show's hand-clapping, foot-stomping fun as we open our Fall 2017 season! Bring a friend! -
Fri15Sep20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Suzzy Roche is a founding member of the singing group, The Roches. In addition to recording numerous albums with The Roches, Suzzy has released two solo albums and, with sister, Maggie, an unusual collection of musical prayers, Zero Church. She has written two books: the novel, "Wayward Saints," and a children's book, "Want To Be in a Band?" Suzzy is currently performing in The Wooster Group's "Early Shaker Spirituals," "Cry Trojans!," based on Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida," and "The Room," by Harold Pinter. www.suzzyroche.com
Singer/songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche grew up in an impressive musical family. She is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche, and half-sister of Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Lucy spent years traveling with her large musical family. After college, she began teaching second and third grade. In 2005 she joined brother Rufus on tour to sing backup, and after releasing an eight-song, debut CD, Lucy became a full-time touring musician. Recent tours have included solo appearances; double bills with Suzzy; and ensemble shows with Suzzy, Loudon, Rufus, Martha, and Sloan Wainwright. Lucy's recent CDs include solo release There's A Last Time For Everything. lucywainwrightroche.com
Lucy & Suzzy recorded their first duo CD, Fairytale and Myth in 2014. Their newest release is 2016's Mud & Apples.
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Fri29Sep20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
Reggie Harris combines spirituals and roots music, historic inspiration, and moving original songs, often in the themes of unity and social justice: “Songs of Joy, Hope, and Freedom.” Known for over 40 years as one half of the duo, Kim & Reggie Harris, Reggie continues to crisscross the country, carrying the message of joy, unity, and peace through the powerful medium of live music. A songwriter of great depth and passion, Reggie writes from a personal sense of mission filled with possibility and hope. His songs are about life and love and deep aspects of the human experience. He is a vocalist, arranger, and guitarist whose open spirit and wide smile invite us to share in an inspirational evening of music and stories. www.reggieharrismusic.com
David Roth strikes many chords, hearts, and minds with his unique songs, offbeat observations, moving stories, sense of the hilarious, and powerful singing and subject matter. As singer, songwriter, recording artist, keynote speaker, workshop leader, and instructor, David has earned top honors at premier songwriter competitions and taken his music, experience, and expertise to a wide variety of venues in this and other countries full-time for more than two decades. David’s songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall; the United Nations; several "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books; the Kennedy Center; Peter, Paul, & Mary’s Discovered; the Kingston Trio’s Born at the Right Time; the classic folk song book, “Rise Up Singing," and 13 CDs.
Come enjoy this collaboration of music and friendship as Reggie and David share the stage on a fine September evening!
If there's room: With great sadness and heavy hearts, we said goodbye to Michael Johnson on July 26, as he passed away at home after a lengthy illness. Michael graced our stage with annual visits over the last dozen years or so, and we will miss him terribly. Condolences may be shared on the message board at www.mjblue.com.
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Fri06Oct20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Facebook Event Page
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends … such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night – songs of passion, songs of isight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic.
Jonathan's highly respected repertoire includes such classics as, “Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone’s favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.” And then, of course, there’s the anthemic “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” that fierce proclamation of protest and independence that resonated with thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women when it was first released in 1971. Almost 40 years later, at show after show, the song continues to be embraced by faithful followers and new fans alike.
Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including "Blue Ridge," his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and "Little Hands," his collection of children’s songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award. His brand new album is, "Tomorrow's Child." -
Fri13Oct20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is No Other Love. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri20Oct20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Tell Tale Heart.
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Fri27Oct20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Her songs? They’re about as idiosyncratic as anything in the wide world of “popular music.” They’re painfully personal, yet they somehow infiltrate the souls of her listeners, no matter how different the paths they’ve followed through their lives.
Songs aren’t so much written as harvested by Gauthier. Though she lives not far from the hit-making mills of Music Row, she admits to knowing nothing about how to write on command. She says, “I have to be called to write. The call comes from somewhere I don’t understand, but I know it when I hear it.”
That call first came to her a long time ago. Her life to that point had led her to extremes, plenty of negatives and a few brilliant bright spots. An adopted child who became a teenage runaway, she found her first shelter among addicts and drag queens. Eventually she achieved renown as a chef even while balancing her restaurant responsibilities with the demands of addiction to heroin.
Two more successful restaurants, an escalating addiction, and a subsequent arrest led her into sobriety. It was rehearsal for what was to follow, when she wrote her first song in her mid-thirties. From that point, Gauthier channeled a long line of eloquent works, including the achingly beautiful, "Mercy Now." She says of her new CD, Trouble and Love, “I started the process in a lot of grief. I’d lost a lot. So the first batch of songs was just too sad. It was like walking too close to the fire. I had to back off from it. The truth is that when you’re in the amount of grief I was in, it’s an altered state. Life is not that. You go through that. We human beings have this built-in healing mechanism that’s always pushing us toward life. I didn’t want to write just darkness, because that’s not the truth. I had to write through the darkness to get to the truth. Writing helped me back onto my feet again. This record is about getting to a new normal. It’s a transformation record.” We are so pleased to welcome Mary Gauthier into our Series.
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Fri03Nov20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
Danny Schmidt has amassed a cult following for his poetic, poignant imagery. With lyrical depth drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, and Dave Carter, Schmidt is an artist whose earthy poetry conjures magic from the mundane.
Armed with voice, acoustic guitar, and acute commentary, Schmidt is an authentic timeless troubadour, one man sharing his truth in song unadorned and intimate. Danny's writing is diverse, from deeply-rooted Appalachian mountain gospel to haunted English balladry; from syncopated Piedmont country blues to vagabond 60's protest folk. Danny tackles themes of love, loss, and longing; restless discontent; and grateful joy. He captures the sorrow and the beauty inherent in our everyday lives with the wisdom of a perceptive, compassionate elder and the innocent awe and tenderness of a child.
Following his self-released Parables & Primes, Schmidt's 2007 release, Little Grey Sheep, began a streak of albums that charted at #1 on the folk radio charts internationally. After receiving a Kerrville New Folk award, Schmidt won the notice of venerable Americana roots label, Red House Records, which began releasing his albums in 2009.
Schmidt released three albums on Red House, including Instead The Forest Rose To Sing; the spare and intimate Man Of Many Moons; and, with his partner, Carrie Elkin, the amorous duo album, For Keeps. Schmidt's latest release is Owls, a mystical collection of ethereal allegories. www.dannyschmidt.com
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Fri10Nov20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
SOLD OUT!
At Woodstock, as a New York kid barely known outside the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song, "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her as female vocalist of the year. Her single, "Brand New Key," topped the charts in 1971.
With guitar in hand and a combination of amazing vocal talent, disarming humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock artist ever to appear at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances with standing ovations.The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett -- battled to book her.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won an Emmy, opened a restaurant, and written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
This is a rare opportunity to experience Melanie live and in person in an intimate venue. Don't miss it!
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Fri17Nov20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
Small Potatoes is Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso. They describe their music as "Celtic to cowboy," and say it's taken them "years of careful indecision" to develop a mix of music ranging from country, blues and swing to Irish ballads. You'll hear two great voices, fine guitar playing and a touch of tin whistle, flute, mandolin and bodhran. Small Potatoes' award-winning songwriting, close harmony and warm rapport with the audience makes for a wonderful evening. Their latest album is Christmas In The Cabin.
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Fri01Dec20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri08Dec20178:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s 2010 CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba.
Vocal trio All About Eve (Katie, Deb Wood, David Vaughn) offers up a variety of close harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs.
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Added to that is Matt's own special brand of humor. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, whether traditional or contemporary. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living.
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Fri05Jan20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Wondrous Stories Tour 2018 — The life and music of Sam Cooke
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Fri19Jan20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
You will not want to miss David Vaughn's first solo concert at Green Wood! David's repertoire spans opera, Broadway, gospel, R & B, and Great American Songbook. And what a voice! You've seen and heard his versatile vocals and stunning piano performance at Green Wood as part of vocal trio All About Eve and accompanying Katie Geddes in concert. David has appeared in numerous opera productions and oratorios; is sought after as a guest vocalist in concert band events; and he is a featured performer in Detroit's and Chicago's annual presentations of the jazz/gospel hit, "Too Hot To Handel." Bring a friend!
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Fri09Feb20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Facebook event pageRobbie Fulks has the soul of a country singer and the mind of a vaudevillian. His cross-genre antics and clever, heartfelt writing are accompanied by his amazing guitar work in honky-tonk, country, bluegrass, power pop, or whatever style strikes his ample whimsy at the time.
Robbie learned guitar from his dad; banjo from Earl Scruggs and John Hartford records; and fiddle (long since laid down in disgrace) on his own. He attended Columbia College in New York City and dropped out to focus on the Greenwich Village songwriter scene and other ill-advised pursuits. Since then he has gone on to create a multifarious career in music. He was a staff instructor at Old Town School of Folk Music; he worked on Nashville’s Music Row as a staff songwriter.
Radio loves him too, with multiple appearances on WSM's “Grand Ole Opry;” NPR’s “Fresh Air,” “Mountain Stage,” and “World Café;” and the syndicated “Acoustic Café.” TV appearances include "Austin City Limits," "Today," "Late Night with Conan O’Brien," and "30 Rock." TV/film use of his music includes "True Blood," "My Name Is Earl," and "Very Bad Things," and he has voiced or sung campaigns for Budweiser, McDonalds, Nickelodeon, and Applebees. Theatrical credits include “Woody Guthrie’s American Song” and Harry Chapin’s “Cottonpatch Gospel.” He tours yearlong with various configurations and plays a weekly residency at the Hideout in Chicago. -
Fri16Feb20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
You haven’t heard “Pinball Wizard” or “People Are Strange” until you’ve heard it played on jugs and “various other sundries.” Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the Today Show and radio’s “Dr. Demento Show.” Their current CD is You Mean We Get Paid For This?
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Fri23Feb20187:30 pmRiverside Retreat Center, 850 Loyd Rd, Dundee, MI 48131
ALTERNATE LOCATION! Show is NOT at Green Wood.
Pre-Registration required. Tickets are FREE with $15 suggested donation at the door
Facebook Event Page
From humble beginnings as an acoustic vocal trio, GLG has grown into a dynamic, matured sound that entertains with fun music while plumbing the depths of a faithful believer's walk. Songs like "Tiptoe" leave their hooks stuck in your head while encouraging an unwavering pursuit of truth. "Olly Olly Oxen Free" is an invitation to the lost to come out of hiding without penalty, and features a layered gospel choir in its final choruses. Lead singer/songwriter Scott Phillips even dabbles briefly with hip hop in a tongue-twisting rap encouraging perseverance in the face of suffering, in the crowd-pleasing anthem, "Glory Is Coming." The band breathes new life into an old favorite - their celebratory remake proves that "How Great Thou Art" isn't just for funerals anymore!
Purposefully theological with a prophetic challenge to believers everywhere, GLG's music makes it clear that their prayer is for these songs and their lives to point to a living, eternal, all-powerful, loving Creator.
This is a rare opportunity to experience Good Little Giants in an intimate venue! Free will offering; $15 suggested. Seating limited; best to reserve ahead. Email or phone katiegeddes@provide.net/734.645.1350 -
Fri02Mar20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Facebook event pageLivingston Taylor's 50-year career has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first release at age 18, and continues to create well crafted, introspective, and original songs that have earned him fans worldwide.
From top-40 hits, “I Will Be in Love with You” and, “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman,” both recorded by his brother James, Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. He is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz—and from upbeat storytelling to touching ballads.
Livingston has never stopped performing since those early coffeehouse days, touring with major artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and Jethro Tull, and he maintains a busy concert schedule of over 80 shows a year. He is a natural performer, peppering his shows with personal stories, anecdotes and ineffable warmth. His relaxed on-stage presence belies the depth of his musical knowledge, as fans might be treated to classic Gershwin or something from the best of Broadway.
Livingston is a full professor at Berklee College of Music, where he has taught a Stage Performance course since 1989. He teaches young artists invaluable lessons learned over the course of an extensive career on the road. The course is consistently voted the most popular at the College. His 2011 book, "Stage Performance," offers those lessons to all who are interested in elevating their presentations to professional standards
Livingston's new album, Safe Home, was released March 3rd, 2017. Featuring a world class band, the album gives playful bend to musical classics like "Anything You Can Do," and also presents Livingston Taylor originals such as, "I Must Be Doing Something Right."
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Sat10Mar20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Her songs? They’re about as idiosyncratic as anything in the wide world of “popular music.” They’re painfully personal, yet they somehow infiltrate the souls of her listeners, no matter how different the paths they’ve followed through their lives.
Songs aren’t so much written as harvested by Gauthier. Though she lives not far from the hit-making mills of Music Row, she admits to knowing nothing about how to write on command. She says, “I have to be called to write. The call comes from somewhere I don’t understand, but I know it when I hear it.”
That call first came to her a long time ago. Her life to that point had led her to extremes, plenty of negatives and a few brilliant bright spots. An adopted child who became a teenage runaway, she found her first shelter among addicts and drag queens. Eventually she achieved renown as a chef even while balancing her restaurant responsibilities with the demands of addiction to heroin.
Two more successful restaurants, an escalating addiction, and a subsequent arrest led her into sobriety. It was rehearsal for what was to follow, when she wrote her first song in her mid-thirties. From that point, Gauthier channeled a long line of eloquent works, including the achingly beautiful, "Mercy Now." She says of her new CD, Trouble and Love, “I started the process in a lot of grief. I’d lost a lot. So the first batch of songs was just too sad. It was like walking too close to the fire. I had to back off from it. The truth is that when you’re in the amount of grief I was in, it’s an altered state. Life is not that. You go through that. We human beings have this built-in healing mechanism that’s always pushing us toward life. I didn’t want to write just darkness, because that’s not the truth. I had to write through the darkness to get to the truth. Writing helped me back onto my feet again. This record is about getting to a new normal. It’s a transformation record.”
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Fri16Mar20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Wielding guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin, Joel Mabus has played everything from traditional folk tunes to bluegrass, blues, and original songs. When Joel's parents came of age in the 1930's, they took their old-time farm-grown music on the road with other family members as "hillbilly" entertainers, barnstorming the Midwest in medicine shows, small-town radio programs, and performing road shows for the WLS Barn Dance. His pedigree was not lost on Joel as a child in the 1960's. In the midst of Beatle-mania, Joel was drawn to the tunes of Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs. Whether you label him folk, Americana , or singer-songwriter, Mabus remains a one-off, walking that lonesome valley, making and marking his way as a working artist outside the usual confines of the music business.
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Fri23Mar20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
There are songs that transport you to good times remembered. Songs like, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,” and, “Love Is The Answer” have that effect on many of us. These songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend.
John is most revered as half of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The classically-trained pianist and talented guitarist continues performing the gold and platinum record hits for audiences around the world. Some of Coley’s other hits are, “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again,” and, “Sad To Belong."
John’s experiences comprise a broad background. Although he performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in college, and is an avid student of history. In the mid-1980’s, John began acting in television and in feature films. He recently penned a book, "Backstage Pass," about his years in the music industry.
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Fri06Apr20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Two-time Grammy-winner Jim Lauderdale is a "songwriter's songwriter" who has written/co-written many modern classics for iconic artists, as well as an intuitive sideman, enhancing the music of a bevy of esteemed musicians. Throughout his three-decade career, Jim Lauderdale has helped pave the way for the current Americana movement, writing songs that cross genres from country, rock, folk, and bluegrass, to R & B and blues. As a solo artist he's created a body of work spanning 28 albums of imaginative roots music. Along the way he's won awards, garnered critical acclaim, and earned himself an engaged fan base. Jim treats his fans to a new adventure, exploring the redemptive traditional sounds of Memphis and Nashville with his double album, "Soul Searching: Vol. 1 Memphis/Vol. 2. Nashville."
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Fri13Apr20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Don Campbell is a contemporary/country crossover and folk-rock singer/songwriter whose presentation of music supports the story in the song and welcomes the audience on board for the ride. Often compared to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg, Vince Gill, and Chris Isaak, Don and his ensembles are based out of New England. In 2012, Don released a double CD, "Kites To Fly: Celebrating the Music of Dan Fogelberg," and in 2013 began presenting live performances of this music around his own busy schedule of Don Campbell shows.
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Fri20Apr20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
With songs both traditional and original, and a sound that's at once as comfortable as old jeans and as fresh as a new blade of grass, Bill Bynum & Co. is a band that’s easy to love and hard to quit. The band’s core of rhythm guitar, fiddle, Dobro, bass, and harmony vocals can lean into country, veer toward bluegrass, or take listeners on a unique journey through Bill’s original songs.
Although a Detroit native, Bill's musical roots are in the South. His parents migrated from Black Oak, Arkansas to work in Detroit's steel industry in the 1940s, bringing with them their love for bluegrass and country music. Bill grew up listening to artists such as Johnny Cash and Buck Owens on Detroit's country radio station, "The Big D." Detroit rock inspired Bill's early musical career. But in 1999, Bill turned on the radio and heard, "Yours Forever Blue" by Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band. From that moment on he found himself with a nonstop desire to hear and play that kind of song. Soon he was writing them, too. Bill is a first-prize winner in the Metro Detroit Songwriting Showcase, with his song‚ "Lovin' You." He has collaborated with bluegrass legend Pete Goble, an International Bluegrass Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Bill lives for the joy of entertaining his audience. A true showman! Bill's band includes Scott Kendall on bass, Bill Arnold on Dobro, and Hessie Mae Hasheian on fiddle. Sure to be a fun night!
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Fri27Apr20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
With a smokey and seductive alto, seven-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year Missy Raines heads up this all-acoustic ensemble. The territory The New Hip covers is broad and the compass is set by Raines, planted right in the center of the stage, directing with her bass every bit as much as she’s playing it. Raines’ bluegrass roots are deep and long-reaching with touring and recording stints with first generation legends such as Eddie Adcock, Mac Wiseman, Jesse McReynolds, Josh Graves and Kenny Baker. A former member of the Claire Lynch Band, The Brother Boys, and one half of the acoustic super duo Jim Hurst and Missy Raines, Missy is one of the most respected and popular figures within the bluegrass community.
“A seductive amalgam of folk, country, bluegrass, and rock, recalling the earliest platters by Lucinda Williams and Rosanne Cash.”
– Icon Magazine“Raines is not only a superb bassist but also an excellent singer, with a matter-of-fact, low-key delivery that’s sometimes hushed, sometimes seductive, sometimes channeling a simmering unease.”
– New York Music Daily“The New Hip, along with bands such as the Avetts and Churchill, add their brilliance to the swiftly growing collection of Newgrass artists that have brought southern music to the mainstream.
– Deep South Magazine -
Fri04May20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri11May20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
In a career that spans 23 albums and includes three Grammy awards, Tom Chapin has covered a lot of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway and worked in films, television and radio. Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings, Harry and Steve, as one of The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began a five-year run as the host of the ABC-TV children's series, "Make A Wish." Chapin and his songs were also featured in the 1970 documentary film, "Blue Water, White Death," for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two parallel careers, as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth shine, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra, or in an intimate coffeehouse. www.tomchapin.com
Heywood Banks
Heywood Banks is simply one-of-a-kind, almost impossible to describe, with a style his very own. Equal parts genius and buffoon, this songwriter-comic-singer-poet-musician has become a cult hero and a pop icon, with a show that appeals to college students, stoners, businessmen, yuppies, rednecks, punks, kids or your grandmother.
Heywood intersperses his humorous observations of life with twisted, inventive, bizarre songs, sung and played in a variety of styles, from folk, to country to rock to pop, and way beyond.
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Fri07Sep20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
“The precision and sophistication of the writing and playing blows me away. I am so glad to be involved,” writes guitar legend Michael Chapman in his introduction to Sarah McQuaid’s fifth solo album If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous – which he offered to produce after meeting Sarah at a festival where they were both on the bill.Recently honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ards International Guitar Festival in Northern Ireland, Sarah’s also drawn critical praise for her voice (which has been variously likened to malt whiskey and melted chocolate) and her engaging rapport with audiences: “I’ve attended hundreds of concerts of all kinds, and her subtle mastery onstage launches her straight into my fave shows ever,” wrote The Huffington Post.With the release of her new album, the Madrid-born, Chicago-raised, Cornwall-based singer/songwriter has expanded her battery of instruments to include piano, electric guitar and drum, and it’s drawn critical raves internationally: Dutch music magazine Heaven hailed it as “an early contender for folk album of 2018,” the UK’s fRoots said it was “a collection to savour” and the USA’s PopMatters called it “a gateway into a true innovator’s soul.”“Seeing a shared world in a new way, from a different angle, is the role of the songwriter. Sarah gets a gold star on that front. This is a fabulous album.” —The Afterword“A darkly melodic, richly layered folk tapestry ... haunting and sparse, yet beautifully rendered ... a voice as thick and soft as fur.” —Elmore Magazine“A work of formidable passion.” —FolkWordsfacebook.com/sarahmcquaidmusictwitter.com/sarahmcquaidyoutube.com/sarahmcquaidinstagram.com/sarahmcquaidmusic -
Fri21Sep20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
A brand new band made up of seasoned pros! Two veteran Michigan duos join forces in a new quartet/quintet: Diamonds in the Rust. In the group (Annie and Rod Capps and Jan Krist and Jim Beyser, along with percussionist/composer Alan Finkbeiner), everyone sings, everyone plays multiple instruments, and the band boasts a trio of respected, award-winning songwriters. Perhaps best of all is the palpable joy and camaraderie that happens between great musicians who are also good friends.
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Fri28Sep20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is No Other Love. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri05Oct20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
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Fri12Oct20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets SOLD OUT!
This show always sells out, so be sure to get your tickets in advance!
At Woodstock, as a New York kid barely known outside the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song, "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her as female vocalist of the year. Her single, "Brand New Key," topped the charts in 1971.
With guitar in hand and a combination of amazing vocal talent, disarming humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock artist ever to appear at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances with standing ovations.The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett -- battled to book her.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won an Emmy, opened a restaurant, and written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
This is a rare opportunity to experience Melanie live and in person in an intimate venue. Don't miss it!
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Fri19Oct20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends … such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night – songs of passion, songs of isight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic.
Jonathan's highly respected repertoire includes such classics as, “Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone’s favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.” And then, of course, there’s the anthemic “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” that fierce proclamation of protest and independence that resonated with thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women when it was first released in 1971. Almost 40 years later, at show after show, the song continues to be embraced by faithful followers and new fans alike.
Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including "Blue Ridge," his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and "Little Hands," his collection of children’s songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award. His brand new album is, "Tomorrow's Child." -
Fri26Oct20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Tell Tale Heart.
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Fri02Nov20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish celebrate their 9th year of touring full time as The Honey Dewdrops, having played stages and festivals all over North America and Europe. With tight harmonies and musicianship that features claw hammer banjo, mandolin, and guitars, they offer up a handcrafted repertoire of heartfelt lyrics and moving melodies.
After leaving their home base of Virginia and living on the road for 2 years, Laura and Kagey now call Baltimore, Maryland home and it's where they wrote and recorded their fourth full-length album, "Tangled Country." Just like their stage performance, these songs rock, reel, and rollick.
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Fri16Nov20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Michigan native Claudia Schmidt has covered a lot of musical ground, beginning with a stirring rendition of "Tammy," at age 4, around a neighborhood bonfire. Claudia's 3-decade career touring North America and Europe includes regular stints on "A Prairie Home Companion;" participating in the delightful Les Blank movie, "Gap-Toothed Women," contributing a song as well as an interview; and performing a lead role in The Gales of November," a musical retelling of the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy from the point of view of three wives of the doomed crew of the Great Lakes ore-carrier. Claudia has recorded fourteen albums mostly of original songs, exploring folk, blues, and jazz idioms featuring 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer. I Thought About You is her second effort leading her own swinging sextet, Claudia Schmidt & The JumpBoys. In 2003 she released a spoken-word CD, Roads, which includes poems and essays from her rich performance repertoire. In 2006 Claudia released her first self-produced folk/acoustic CD, Spinning, with a studio full of Michigan s finest musicians. Claudia describes herself as a "creative noisemaker." You may expect anything at a Schmidt concert: hymn, poem, bawdy verse, torch song, satire. She can weave the elements of music and stage into a program so full of life that one critic has described a Claudia Schmidt concert as "...a lot like falling in love. You never know what's going to happen next; chances are it's going to be wonderful; every moment is burned into your memory; and you know you'll never be the same again." www.claudiaschmidt.com
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Fri30Nov20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook event pageChuck Mitchell started singing in Detroit folk clubs in the 1960s. In Toronto, on his first out of town gig, he met Canadian songwriter Joni Anderson. They married, and as a duo Chuck and Joni Mitchell played the coffeehouse circuit, and gin rummy, until they divorced in 1968. Mitchell's credits include A Prairie Home Companion and repertory theatre in Texas and in England. He has played Harold Hill in The Music Man and Woody Guthrie in Woody Guthrie's American Song. Most recently, he wrote and produced Mr. Foster & Mr. Twain, in which Stephen Foster joins Mark Twain for an evening of story and song. A Chuck Mitchell's show combines his seasoned skills as an actor, singer and guitarist with a selection of delightful material. He sings cabaret songs by Brecht and Weil -- "Mack the Knife" and "The Bilbao Song" -- and whimsical songs by Flanders & Swann -- "The Gnu" and "Have Some Madeira, M'dear". He roves the room singing "Freeborn Man" by Ewan McColl, or "Necessity" from Finian's Rainbow. He weaves poetry by Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot into his shows. He has been called a renaissance man, and thinks he is old enough to be one.
www.mitchellsong.com -
Fri07Dec20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri14Dec20188:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s 2010 CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba. katiegeddes.com
Vocal trio All About Eve (Katie, Deb Wood, David Vaughn) offers up a variety of close harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs.
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Added to that is Matt's own special brand of humor. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, whether traditional or contemporary. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living.
Anne Hills is one of the most beloved fixtures of the contemporary folk music scene. Her song “Follow That Road” has been a certified folk classic since the late 1990s. Whether she is singing her own songs, the words of six-year-old Opal Whiteley, or her song settings of the Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, accompanied with her guitar, banjo, or simply a Tibetan bell, she puts her whole heart and soul into the moment.
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Fri04Jan20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
Reggie Harris combines spirituals and roots music, historic inspiration, and moving original songs, often in the themes of unity and social justice: “Songs of Joy, Hope, and Freedom.” Known for over 40 years as one half of the duo, Kim & Reggie Harris, Reggie continues to crisscross the country, carrying the message of joy, unity, and peace through the powerful medium of live music. A songwriter of great depth and passion, Reggie writes from a personal sense of mission filled with possibility and hope. His songs are about life and love and deep aspects of the human experience. He is a vocalist, arranger, and guitarist whose open spirit and wide smile invite us to share in an inspirational evening of music and stories. www.reggieharrismusic.com
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Fri11Jan20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
You will not want to miss David Vaughn's first solo concert at Green Wood! David's repertoire spans opera, Broadway, gospel, R & B, and Great American Songbook. And what a voice! You've seen and heard his versatile vocals and stunning piano performance at Green Wood as part of vocal trio All About Eve and accompanying Katie Geddes in concert. David has appeared in numerous opera productions and oratorios; is sought after as a guest vocalist in concert band events; and he is a featured performer in Detroit's and Chicago's annual presentations of the jazz/gospel hit, "Too Hot To Handel." Bring a friend!
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Fri18Jan20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
You haven't heard "Pinball Wizard" or "People Are Strange" until you've heard it played on jugs and "various other sundries." Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s.Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the "Today Show" and radio's "Dr. Demento Show." Their current CD is Jugs Up! www.juggernautjugband.com
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Fri01Feb20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Facebook event pageGreg Kihn's career stretches from the dawn of punk and indie rock to the discos of the 80’s to the glory days of MTV. As a pioneer with the legendary Beserkley Records, he helped write the book on revolutionary west coast rock and roll.
He’s toured the world; had hit records; appeared on Saturday Night Live and American Bandstand; opened for the Rolling Stones; jammed with Bruce Springsteen; won the ASCAP and Midem Awards for his worldwide #1 hit, "Jeopardy" and for "The Breakup Song;" was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic; won and lost several fortunes; and lived to tell about it. But music is only part of the story.
In the 90’s Greg turned his attention to writing fiction. He published four novels, a handful of short stories in various anthologies, and edited a compilation of original fiction by famous musicians. "Horror Show" was nominated for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.
It was also in the 90’s that he began his radio career. Greg spent sixteen years hosting the top-rated morning show for KFOX radio in San Jose/San Francisco. He also hosted and performed at the annual KIHNCERT at the Shoreline Amphitheater featuring some of the most important bands of our generation.
Greg was inducted into the San Jose Rock Hall Of Fame in 2008 and the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2012.
Greg recently retained the rights to all his old recordings and is currently re-releasing his entire catalogue with the original artwork. The recent review of the Greg Kihn Band’s Greatest Hits by Apple iTunes called the group “a rock band of genuine consequence."
Greg maintains a strong Internet presence. Thousands of fans engage him daily on Facebook, instagram, and Twitter.
RUBBER SOUL is Greg’s most recent novel. This completely unique murder mystery features the Beatles as characters in the story. The idea came while interviewing original Beatles drummer Pete Best. Greg asked where the Beatles got those rare American R&B 45’s that constituted their early repertoire. Pete revealed that it was from Merchant Marines who carried the records back to Liverpool from America. Through interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pete Best, Yoko Ono, and Patti Harrison, Greg got invaluable insights into the inner world of the Beatles. Even though "Rubber Soul" is a work of fiction, it is 100% historically accurate.
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Fri08Feb20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
FREE ADMISSION Tickets
Good Little Giants a dynamic duo that entertains with fun music while plumbing the depths of a faithful believer's walk. Songs like "Tiptoe" leave their hooks stuck in your head while encouraging an unwavering pursuit of truth. "Olly Olly Oxen Free" is an invitation to the lost to come out of hiding without penalty, and features a layered gospel choir in its final choruses. Lead singer/songwriter Scott Phillips even dabbles briefly with hip hop in a tongue-twisting rap encouraging perseverance in the face of suffering, in the crowd-pleasing anthem, "Glory Is Coming." The band breathes new life into an old favorite - their celebratory remake proves that "How Great Thou Art" isn't just for funerals anymore!
Purposefully theological with a prophetic challenge to believers everywhere, GLG's music makes it clear that their prayer is for these songs and their lives to point to a living, eternal, all-powerful, loving Creator.
This is a rare opportunity to experience Good Little Giants in an intimate venue! https://www.reverbnation.com/goodlittlegiants
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Fri15Feb20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Fri01Mar20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Stephen Bishop is a world-class guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with a celebrated career of over four decades. His attraction to the music industry began at age 13, after seeing the Beatles perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Stephen ventured to Los Angeles in the hopes of landing a songwriting contract. A friend connected him with Art Garfunkel, and Art recorded two of Stephen's songs on his album, Breakaway.
Shortly thereafter, Stephen was signed to ABC Records. His first album, Careless, produced the hits, “On and On,” and “Save It For a Rainy Day." His song, “It Might Be You,” was the theme to the film, “Tootsie.” Stephen has been nominated for two Grammys and garnered an Oscar nomination. In Eric Clapton's autobiography, he mentions Stephen Bishop as one of his favorite songwriters. His latest album is Blueprint.
Fun fact: Stephen appeared as the “Charming Guitar Player,” in Animal House. In the toga party scene, John Belushi slams Stephen's guitar to smithereens. -
Fri08Mar20198:00 pm
He’s composed for the Olympic games. He’s written Emmy winning scores for PBS documentaries. His television themes have been broadcast nationally on CBS, ABC, PBS, and CBC. His song, “One Shining Moment” has been sung by Grammy award winners Jennifer Hudson, Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass, and remains iconic in the American songbook. David has toured at length with the legendary Art Garfunkel as well as Alison Krauss, Leo Kottke, and John Prine. An in-demand producer of records as well as commercial music, he still finds time to sit in as a session player with his beloved Olson acoustic guitar, which he will likely be playing when he visits Green Wood.
David Barrett onstage rocks you with gentle humor, then rolls you with the rhythm of the sea. A consummate performer, Barrett weaves the music together with stories of life on the road, of children and criminals, golf and baseball, and the things hound dogs would say if they could talk.
"A mature artist waiting for some wider recognition" - Billboard Magazine
"...music to stir anyone’s adrenaline" - New York Times
"The playing of the anthem, 'One Shining Moment' has become as integral to the NCAA tournament and national championship as snipping the nets." - USA Today
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Fri15Mar20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Livingston Taylor's 50-year career has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first release at age 18, and continues to create well crafted, introspective, and original songs that have earned him fans worldwide.
From top-40 hits, “I Will Be in Love with You” and, “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman,” both recorded by his brother James, Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. He is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz—and from upbeat storytelling to touching ballads.
Livingston has never stopped performing since those early coffeehouse days, touring with major artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and Jethro Tull, and he maintains a busy concert schedule of over 80 shows a year. He is a natural performer, peppering his shows with personal stories, anecdotes and ineffable warmth. His relaxed on-stage presence belies the depth of his musical knowledge, as fans might be treated to classic Gershwin or something from the best of Broadway.
Livingston is a full professor at Berklee College of Music, where he has taught a Stage Performance course since 1989. He teaches young artists invaluable lessons learned over the course of an extensive career on the road. The course is consistently voted the most popular at the College. His 2011 book, "Stage Performance," offers those lessons to all who are interested in elevating their presentations to professional standards
Livingston's new album, "Safe Home," was released March 3rd, 2017. Featuring a world class band, the album gives playful bend to musical classics like "Anything You Can Do," and also presents Livingston Taylor originals such as, "I Must Be Doing Something Right."
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Fri22Mar20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
There are songs that transport you to good times remembered. Songs like, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,” and, “Love Is The Answer” have that effect on many of us. These songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend.
John is most revered as half of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The classically-trained pianist and talented guitarist continues performing the gold and platinum record hits for audiences around the world. Some of Coley’s other hits are, “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again,” and, “Sad To Belong."
John’s experiences comprise a broad background. Although he performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in college, and is an avid student of history. In the mid-1980’s, John began acting in television and in feature films. He recently penned a book, "Backstage Pass," about his years in the music industry.
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Fri05Apr20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
John Flynn's powerful songs of humanity and hope are deeply rooted in the traditions of Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs. From barbed political verse to joyous fun-loving lyrics for kids, John paints vivid, lasting images with words and music, drawn from a pallette of awareness, irony, humor and compassion. John began writing professionally in 1980 after graduating from Temple University with a degree in political science. A staff writing contract with Combine Music and a Billboard Magazine Top Forty country recording of his song, "Rainbows and Butterflies" by Billy Swann ("I Can Help") established John in the heart of Nashville's Music Row. Flynn's songs eventually transcended the boundaries of country music. His first main-stage appearance at the 1995 Philadelphia Folk Festival cemented John's reputation as a dynamic original contemporary folk artist. Songs that Flynn wrote for his own four children became the basis of two highly-acclaimed family CDs. Off the road, John enjoys time at home with his family. He volunteers with a men's discussion group in a Delaware maximum security prison. He is a devoted supporter of Camp Dreamcatcher, an organization providing a safe haven for children living with HIV/AIDS. With only an old Martin D-28 and harmonica for accompaniment, John's compelling songs, strong voice and open heart are turning strangers into believers and believers into friends.
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Fri12Apr20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Don Campbell is a contemporary/country crossover and folk-rock singer/songwriter whose presentation of music supports the story in the song and welcomes the audience on board for the ride. Often compared to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg, Vince Gill, and Chris Isaak, Don and his ensembles are based out of New England. In 2012, Don released a double CD, "Kites To Fly: Celebrating the Music of Dan Fogelberg," and in 2013 began presenting live performances of this music around his own busy schedule of Don Campbell shows.
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Fri26Apr20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Based in Guelph, Ontario, James Gordon is one of Canada's most prolific songwriters, well known for his songs about social justice, heritage and environmental issues. His classic "Frobisher Bay" has been recorded and performed by hundreds of acts world-wide and was an audition piece for "Canadian Idol." His song, "Mining For Gold" was featured on the Cowboy Junkies' landmark album "The Trinity Sessions" and was heard in John Sayles' film "Silver City."
James has made countless appearances on television and radio, and was a resident songwriter on CBC radio for 12 years. He tours as a solo performer and with his sons, and has released over 30 albums as a solo artist or with the legendary folk trio "Tamarack." Between tours, James is a record producer, playwright, community activist and theatre director. -
Fri10May20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Her songs? They’re about as idiosyncratic as anything in the wide world of “popular music.” They’re painfully personal, yet they somehow infiltrate the souls of her listeners, no matter how different the paths they’ve followed through their lives.
Songs aren’t so much written as harvested by Gauthier. Though she lives not far from the hit-making mills of Music Row, she admits to knowing nothing about how to write on command. She says, “I have to be called to write. The call comes from somewhere I don’t understand, but I know it when I hear it.”
That call first came to her a long time ago. Her life to that point had led her to extremes, plenty of negatives and a few brilliant bright spots. An adopted child who became a teenage runaway, she found her first shelter among addicts and drag queens. Eventually she achieved renown as a chef even while balancing her restaurant responsibilities with the demands of addiction to heroin.
Two more successful restaurants, an escalating addiction, and a subsequent arrest led her into sobriety. It was rehearsal for what was to follow, when she wrote her first song in her mid-thirties. From that point, Gauthier channeled a long line of eloquent works, including the achingly beautiful, "Mercy Now." She says of her new CD, Trouble and Love, “I started the process in a lot of grief. I’d lost a lot. So the first batch of songs was just too sad. It was like walking too close to the fire. I had to back off from it. The truth is that when you’re in the amount of grief I was in, it’s an altered state. Life is not that. You go through that. We human beings have this built-in healing mechanism that’s always pushing us toward life. I didn’t want to write just darkness, because that’s not the truth. I had to write through the darkness to get to the truth. Writing helped me back onto my feet again. This record is about getting to a new normal. It’s a transformation record.”
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Jaimee Harris is poised to become a fixture in Americana-folk, a slightly edgier Emmylou Harris for the younger generation. Her new album draws comparisons to Patty Griffin, Ryan Adams, and Kathleen Edwards. Harris writes in a way that is simple, poetic, and often painfully relatable; she isn’t afraid to get personal with each little confessional gem. Her lyrics betray a wisdom beyond her years.
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Fri17May20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
In a career that spans 23 albums and includes three Grammy awards, Tom Chapin has covered a lot of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway and worked in films, television and radio. Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings, Harry and Steve, as one of The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began a five-year run as the host of the ABC-TV children's series, "Make A Wish." Chapin and his songs were also featured in the 1970 documentary film, "Blue Water, White Death," for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two parallel careers, as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth shine, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra, or in an intimate coffeehouse.
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Fri06Sep20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
The Rough & Tumble are excited to bring the "Howl Back Tour" to Green Wood!
The Rough & Tumble are as easy to detect as a stray dog on your doorstep -- and as difficult to send home. The dumpster-folk, thrift store-Americana duo, consisting of Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler and their menagerie of classic folk and homemade instruments, has been hobbling around the country in their 16-ft camper with their dogs since 2015, taking their songs to the far corners of the US and to the weird little towns they pass along the way. Written during a self-proclaimed “year of honesty,” a time of doggedly trying despite the odds, the new studio album, "Howling Back at the Wounded Dog" will be released September 6, 2019. -
Fri13Sep20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Singer/songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche grew up in an impressive musical family. She is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche, and half-sister of Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Born and raised in New York City, Roche spent years traveling with and amongst her large musical family. After college, she began teaching second and third grade. In 2005 she joined brother Rufus on tour to sing backup, and after releasing an eight-song, debut CD, Lucy became a full-time touring musician. Recent tours have included solo appearances; double bills with mom, Suzzy; and ensemble shows with Suzzy, Loudon, Rufus, Martha, and Sloan Wainwright. Lucy's recent CDs include solo release "Little Beast" and "Mud and Apples," a collaboration with Suzzy Roche. www.lucywainwrightroche.com
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Fri20Sep20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
David Roth strikes many chords, hearts, and minds with his unique songs, offbeat observations, moving stories, sense of the hilarious, and powerful singing and subject matter. As singer, songwriter, recording artist, keynote speaker, workshop leader, and instructor, David has earned top honors at premier songwriter competitions and taken his music, experience, and expertise to a wide variety of venues in this and other countries full-time for more than two decades. David’s songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall; the United Nations; several "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books; the Kennedy Center; Peter, Paul, & Mary’s Discovered; the Kingston Trio’s Born at the Right Time; the classic folk song book, “Rise Up Singing," and 13 CDs.
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Fri04Oct20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Facebook event pageWe have some exciting news directly from Sophie B. Hawkins!
"I'm so excited to be performing for you, and even more excited to offer a limited number of tickets for an after-show VIP experience with me.
For $75 you'll get one of my classic CDs directly from my archive, a limited edition greeting card featuring one of my paintings, a t-shirt from my concert shirt collection, and most importantly some private small group time with me after the show. I'll personally autograph those items for you, and if you have an item in your collection you'd like me to sign, feel free to bring that backstage and I'll personalize that as well.
Come spend time transcending our little problems and sharing inspirational, memorable times."
Buy your VIP tickets on Sophie's website today before they're gone: www.sophiebhawkins.com/tour
After attending Manhattan School of Music as a percussionist for nearly a year, Sophie B Hawkins left to pursue a professional music career. She got her big break playing percussion for Bryan Ferry, and after he fired her she was inspired to write the hit single, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”.
Her first album, Tongues and Tails, full of primal, fiery pop, was an immediate success, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Sophie followed that with Whaler, which featured the smash ballad, “As I Lay Me Down."
More recently, Sophie has displayed her versatility starring as Janis Joplin in the stage musical, "Room 105," receiving rave reviews during its sold-out run.
Sophie has earned six New York Music awards as well as an ASCAP award for “As I Lay Me Down”. Her music has been a part of major television shows and films such as "Dawson’s Creek," "Party of Five," "Community," "40 Days and 40 Nights," and "Mrs. Winterbourne."
Sophie is preparing to release a new album. She has two children and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
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Fri11Oct20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
At the crossroads of blues and American roots music you’ll find Brooks Williams. Just when you think he can’t sing a blues-ier note, he sings it. Just when you think he can’t strum a deeper groove, he strums it.
Brooks Williams was born in Statesboro, Georgia (the town made famous by the classic song Statesboro Blues) and did his apprenticeship in the small bars and coffeehouses of New York and Boston.
The result of those early years is an unflagging career that goes from strength to strength. "Lucky Star," Williams’ 28th solo recording, is already turning heads and making itself known on playlists throughout the world.
Ranked in the "Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists," he’s a mean finger-picker and a stunning slide guitarist. His voice earned Brooks a nomination for Best Male Vocalist by Spiral Earth, one of the UK’s most respected roots music publications.
He’s no slouch as a songwriter, and he has an impeccable ear for a good cover song. Come enjoy the return of Brooks Williams to our Series!
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Fri18Oct20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
This show always sells out, so be sure to get your tickets in advance!
At Woodstock, as a New York kid barely known outside the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song, "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her as female vocalist of the year. Her single, "Brand New Key," topped the charts in 1971.
With guitar in hand and a combination of amazing vocal talent, disarming humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock artist ever to appear at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances with standing ovations.The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett -- battled to book her.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won an Emmy, opened a restaurant, and written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
This is a rare opportunity to experience Melanie live and in person in an intimate venue. Don't miss it!
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Fri25Oct20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Tell Tale Heart.
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Fri01Nov20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends … such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night – songs of passion, songs of isight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic.
Jonathan's highly respected repertoire includes such classics as, “Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone’s favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.” And then, of course, there’s the anthemic “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” that fierce proclamation of protest and independence that resonated with thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women when it was first released in 1971. Almost 40 years later, at show after show, the song continues to be embraced by faithful followers and new fans alike.
Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including "Blue Ridge," his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and "Little Hands," his collection of children’s songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award. His brand new album is, "Tomorrow's Child." -
Fri08Nov20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Windborne is Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon. Specializing in close harmony singing, the quartet has a vibrant energy and a strong connection, which is evident in their engaging performance. They educate as they perform, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing. The four Windborne singers grew up immersed in the traditional song and dance communities of New England and discovered a love of world folk music in their teens. Over the past decade, Windborne has sought out masters of traditional singing styles in the US and around the world to study a variety of vocal music. Through these collaborations, they have developed the vocal agility and authentic sound for which they are known. Their dynamic concert programs include songs from Corsica, the Republic of Georgia, Bulgaria, Quebec, and Basque country, as well as traditional and original American folk music. They believe deeply in the power of music to change hearts.Windborne will provide special music in the Sat 5pm service on Nov 9. Come as you are; everyone welcome. -
Sat09Nov20191:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
FREE ADMISSION!
1-3PM @ GREEN WOOD
Listen to, learn, and sing a capella harmony vocal technique in this two-hour session with acclaimed quartet, Windborne. Free admission.
Windborne is Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon. Specializing in close harmony singing, the quartet has a vibrant energy and a strong connection, which is evident in their engaging performance. They educate as they perform, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing. The four Windborne singers grew up immersed in the traditional song and dance communities of New England and discovered a love of world folk music in their teens. Over the past decade, Windborne has sought out masters of traditional singing styles in the US and around the world to study a variety of vocal music. Through these collaborations, they have developed the vocal agility and authentic sound for which they are known. Their dynamic concert programs include songs from Corsica, the Republic of Georgia, Bulgaria, Quebec, and Basque country, as well as traditional and original American folk music. They believe deeply in the power of music to change hearts.Windborne will provide special music in the Sat 5pm service on Nov 9. Come as you are; everyone welcome. -
Fri15Nov20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is No Other Love. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri22Nov20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
Peter Mayer's songs are fresh and unique, earthy and intimate. His welcoming voice and inventive guitar work provide the perfect vehicle for his down-home wisdom and a sweep of themes that includes Buddha, Jesus, Columbus, Isaac Newton and...Harley Davidson.
Peter began playing the guitar and writing songs when he was in high school. He studied Theology and music in college, then spent two years in seminary. After deciding that the priesthood wasn't for him, he took a part-time job as a church music director for 8 years, while performing at clubs and colleges and writing and recording his music. In 1995 he quit his job and started touring full-time. Since then, Peter has gradually gained a dedicated, word-of-mouth following, selling out shows from Minnesota to Texas, New England to California. He has 8 CDs to his credit and has sold over 50,000 of them independently.
Peter's annual visits to Green Wood attract large audiences, often selling out. Get your tickets early!
“There are at least a dozen Peter Mayer songs that I would love to learn, myself, but I could never play them as well as he does.” — David Wilcox
“I’m a huge Peter Mayer fan, but only when I don’t feel like killing him for being so good. I love Peter’s work, though it irritates me that he plays so much better than I do.” — Janis Ian
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Fri06Dec20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri13Dec20198:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s 2010 CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba. katiegeddes.com
Vocal trio All About Eve (Katie, Deb Wood, David Vaughn) offers up a variety of close harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs.
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Added to that is Matt's own special brand of humor. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, whether traditional or contemporary. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living.
Claudia Schmidt and Sally Rogers have been weaving their voices, dulcimers, and guitars together for decades, offering a repertoire encompassing their originals, traditional pieces, and choice compositions of contemporary songwriters. With exquisite harmony and musical chemistry, Sally and Claudia continue to win over the folk community with their shared joy of performing.
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Fri07Feb20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Michigan native Claudia Schmidt has covered a lot of musical ground, beginning with a stirring rendition of "Tammy," at age 4, around a neighborhood bonfire. Claudia's 3-decade career touring North America and Europe includes regular stints on "A Prairie Home Companion;" participating in the delightful Les Blank movie, "Gap-Toothed Women," contributing a song as well as an interview; and performing a lead role in The Gales of November," a musical retelling of the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy from the point of view of three wives of the doomed crew of the Great Lakes ore-carrier. Claudia has recorded fourteen albums mostly of original songs, exploring folk, blues, and jazz idioms featuring 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer. I Thought About You is her second effort leading her own swinging sextet, Claudia Schmidt & The JumpBoys. In 2003 she released a spoken-word CD, Roads, which includes poems and essays from her rich performance repertoire. In 2006 Claudia released her first self-produced folk/acoustic CD, Spinning, with a studio full of Michigan s finest musicians. Claudia describes herself as a "creative noisemaker." You may expect anything at a Schmidt concert: hymn, poem, bawdy verse, torch song, satire. She can weave the elements of music and stage into a program so full of life that one critic has described a Claudia Schmidt concert as "...a lot like falling in love. You never know what's going to happen next; chances are it's going to be wonderful; every moment is burned into your memory; and you know you'll never be the same again." www.claudiaschmidt.com
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Fri14Feb20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Fri28Feb20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
You haven't heard "Pinball Wizard" or "People Are Strange" until you've heard it played on jugs and "various other sundries." Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s.Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the "Today Show" and radio's "Dr. Demento Show." Their current CD is Jugs Up! www.juggernautjugband.com
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Fri06Mar20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Her songs? They’re about as idiosyncratic as anything in the wide world of “popular music.” They’re painfully personal, yet they somehow infiltrate the souls of her listeners, no matter how different the paths they’ve followed through their lives.
Songs aren’t so much written as harvested by Gauthier. Though she lives not far from the hit-making mills of Music Row, she admits to knowing nothing about how to write on command. She says, “I have to be called to write. The call comes from somewhere I don’t understand, but I know it when I hear it.”
That call first came to her a long time ago. Her life to that point had led her to extremes, plenty of negatives and a few brilliant bright spots. An adopted child who became a teenage runaway, she found her first shelter among addicts and drag queens. Eventually she achieved renown as a chef even while balancing her restaurant responsibilities with the demands of addiction to heroin.
Two more successful restaurants, an escalating addiction, and a subsequent arrest led her into sobriety. It was rehearsal for what was to follow, when she wrote her first song in her mid-thirties. From that point, Gauthier channeled a long line of eloquent works, including the achingly beautiful, "Mercy Now." She says of her new CD, Trouble and Love, “I started the process in a lot of grief. I’d lost a lot. So the first batch of songs was just too sad. It was like walking too close to the fire. I had to back off from it. The truth is that when you’re in the amount of grief I was in, it’s an altered state. Life is not that. You go through that. We human beings have this built-in healing mechanism that’s always pushing us toward life. I didn’t want to write just darkness, because that’s not the truth. I had to write through the darkness to get to the truth. Writing helped me back onto my feet again. This record is about getting to a new normal. It’s a transformation record.”
Mary will be performing as a duo with Jaimee Harris — www.jaimeeharris.com
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Fri27Mar20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED--Rescheduled to October 16, 2020
Stephen Bishop is a world-class guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with a celebrated career of over four decades. His attraction to the music industry began at age 13, after seeing the Beatles perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Stephen ventured to Los Angeles in the hopes of landing a songwriting contract. A friend connected him with Art Garfunkel, and Art recorded two of Stephen's songs on his album, Breakaway.
Shortly thereafter, Stephen was signed to ABC Records. His first album, Careless, produced the hits, “On and On,” and “Save It For a Rainy Day." His song, “It Might Be You,” was the theme to the film, “Tootsie.” Stephen has been nominated for two Grammys and garnered an Oscar nomination. In Eric Clapton's autobiography, he mentions Stephen Bishop as one of his favorite songwriters. His latest album is Blueprint.
Fun fact: Stephen appeared as the “Charming Guitar Player,” in Animal House. In the toga party scene, John Belushi slams Stephen's guitar to smithereens. -
Fri03Apr20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED due to COVID-19 concerns
Fred Eaglesmith can talk to you about almost anything. Chances are, he’s had that car, tractor, job, relationship, idea, and hat. But throughout his life and experiences there is always one thing that has remained the same: his undeniable gift for writing a song. Aspiring songwriters and performers of all ages call and write Fred with questions on how to have a career like his. And what can he say? Start writing songs when you’re 10 years old. Grow up with poverty, agriculture, religion, and eight siblings. Run away from home. Hop freight trains. Start a business. Loose a business. Struggle to get any gig. Drive to Nashville with no money and pockets full of songs. Get a record deal. Lose a record deal. Win a Juno Award. Break down on the side of the road everyday for days on end. Become a cult hero and amass a following of self-proclaimed “Fred Heads.” Tour relentlessly. Become everyone’s favorite. Becomes nobody’s favorite. Follow your gut. Smarten up. Don’t care what anybody thinks. Be fair. Be loyal no matter what. Keep going. Soften up. Give people a break. Expect nothing. Give everything. Keep going. Allow yourself to be happy. Find out who you are and deal with that. Don’t stay in fancy hotels. Write good songs.
After all these years touring the United States, Canada, and Europe, having his songs covered by some of the biggest names in music, and appearing on “The Late Show with David Letterman” – the enigmatic, countrified, Rock n’ Roll troubadour, Fred Eaglesmith, is carrying on with musical wife Tif Ginn.
Eaglesmith is a veteran of the music industry and at the same time is about as far away from actually participating in today’s music industry as one could be. Never operating within anyone’s boundaries, he continues to set the standard for independent artists everywhere.
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Fri10Apr20207:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED
Windborne, Katie Geddes, and Michael Krieger present the story of Good Friday, told through the music of Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant and Andrew Lloyd Webber, along with scripture and prayer.30 minute service repeats at 7:30pm and 8:00pm.Enter at any time; stay as long as you like.(Worship service; no admission charge) -
Tue14Apr20207:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED due to COVID-19
Tickets are $15 cash at the door only. No pre-sales or credit cards.
A CD release concert / sing-along for the release of the The Far Si: The Si Kahn Funny Song Sing-along Songbook
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage whenever he appears as a folk musician. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Add to that Matt's own special brand of humor and you are in for a most entertaining and enlightening evening. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, both traditional and contemporary; its writers and performers, its heroes and villains. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living.
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Fri17Apr20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED due to COVID-19
Don will be back in 2021.
Don Campbell is a contemporary/country crossover and folk-rock singer/songwriter whose presentation of music supports the story in the song and welcomes the audience on board for the ride. Often compared to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg, Vince Gill, and Chris Isaak, Don and his ensembles are based out of New England. In 2012, Don released a double CD, "Kites To Fly: Celebrating the Music of Dan Fogelberg," and in 2013 began presenting live performances of this music around his own busy schedule of Don Campbell shows.
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Fri24Apr20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED due to COVID-19
There are songs that transport you to good times remembered. Songs like, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,” and, “Love Is The Answer” have that effect on many of us. These songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend.
John is most revered as half of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The classically-trained pianist and talented guitarist continues performing the gold and platinum record hits for audiences around the world. Some of Coley’s other hits are, “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again,” and, “Sad To Belong."
John’s experiences comprise a broad background. Although he performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in college, and is an avid student of history. In the mid-1980’s, John began acting in television and in feature films. He recently penned a book, "Backstage Pass," about his years in the music industry.
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Fri01May20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED due to COVID-19
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri08May20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED due to COVID-19
“Over the last couple of decades, East Nashville fixture Amelia White has built a folk-pop catalog that's as unfussy as it is consistent in quality, and full of insinuating hooks, slyly sleepy singing and lean, jangly backing. "Rhythm of the Rain," the title cut of the album she released in January, looks at the current political frenzy from a seasoned, bohemian remove." -Jewly Hight, NPR MUSIC, Aug. 19 2019
Dave Coleman is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/engineer based in East Nashville, Tennessee. He grew up on the Cumberland Plateau in Jamestown, Tennessee. The son of a small town attorney and a National Park ranger, He was isolated in a small town childhood that provided the time to pursue guitar and recording. His young talent found him with a publishing deal at age 20 at legendery Acuff-Rose Music Publishing. After two years of writing for a living, he struck out on his own with his band.
Website: www.thecoalmen.com & www.davecoleman.biz
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Fri15May20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED due to COVID-19
In a career that spans 23 albums and includes three Grammy awards, Tom Chapin has covered a lot of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway and worked in films, television and radio. Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings, Harry and Steve, as one of The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began a five-year run as the host of the ABC-TV children's series, "Make A Wish." Chapin and his songs were also featured in the 1970 documentary film, "Blue Water, White Death," for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two parallel careers, as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth shine, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra, or in an intimate coffeehouse.
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Fri11Sep20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
This show is postponed until 2021
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends … such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night – songs of passion, songs of isight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic.
Jonathan's highly respected repertoire includes such classics as, “Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone’s favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.” And then, of course, there’s the anthemic “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” that fierce proclamation of protest and independence that resonated with thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women when it was first released in 1971. Almost 40 years later, at show after show, the song continues to be embraced by faithful followers and new fans alike.
Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including "Blue Ridge," his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and "Little Hands," his collection of children’s songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award. His brand new album is, "Tomorrow's Child." -
Fri18Sep20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Canceled-
A brand new band made up of seasoned pros! Two veteran Michigan duos join forces in a new quartet/quintet: Diamonds in the Rust. In the group (Annie and Rod Capps and Jan Krist and Jim Beyser, along with percussionist/composer Alan Finkbeiner), everyone sings, everyone plays multiple instruments, and the band boasts a trio of respected, award-winning songwriters. Perhaps best of all is the palpable joy and camaraderie that happens between great musicians who are also good friends.
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Fri09Oct20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Canceled-
After attending Manhattan School of Music as a percussionist for nearly a year, Sophie B Hawkins left to pursue a professional music career. She got her big break playing percussion for Bryan Ferry, and after he fired her she was inspired to write the hit single, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”.
Her first album, Tongues and Tails, full of primal, fiery pop, was an immediate success, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Sophie followed that with Whaler, which featured the smash ballad, “As I Lay Me Down."
More recently, Sophie has displayed her versatility starring as Janis Joplin in the stage musical, "Room 105," receiving rave reviews during its sold-out run.
Sophie has earned six New York Music awards as well as an ASCAP award for “As I Lay Me Down”. Her music has been a part of major television shows and films such as "Dawson’s Creek," "Party of Five," "Community," "40 Days and 40 Nights," and "Mrs. Winterbourne."
Sophie is preparing to release a new album. She has two children and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
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Fri16Oct20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Canceled-
Fred Eaglesmith can talk to you about almost anything. Chances are, he’s had that car, tractor, job, relationship, idea, and hat. But throughout his life and experiences there is always one thing that has remained the same: his undeniable gift for writing a song. Aspiring songwriters and performers of all ages call and write Fred with questions on how to have a career like his. And what can he say? Start writing songs when you’re 10 years old. Grow up with poverty, agriculture, religion, and eight siblings. Run away from home. Hop freight trains. Start a business. Loose a business. Struggle to get any gig. Drive to Nashville with no money and pockets full of songs. Get a record deal. Lose a record deal. Win a Juno Award. Break down on the side of the road everyday for days on end. Become a cult hero and amass a following of self-proclaimed “Fred Heads.” Tour relentlessly. Become everyone’s favorite. Becomes nobody’s favorite. Follow your gut. Smarten up. Don’t care what anybody thinks. Be fair. Be loyal no matter what. Keep going. Soften up. Give people a break. Expect nothing. Give everything. Keep going. Allow yourself to be happy. Find out who you are and deal with that. Don’t stay in fancy hotels. Write good songs.
After all these years touring the United States, Canada, and Europe, having his songs covered by some of the biggest names in music, and appearing on “The Late Show with David Letterman” – the enigmatic, countrified, Rock n’ Roll troubadour, Fred Eaglesmith, is carrying on with musical wife Tif Ginn.
Eaglesmith is a veteran of the music industry and at the same time is about as far away from actually participating in today’s music industry as one could be. Never operating within anyone’s boundaries, he continues to set the standard for independent artists everywhere.
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Fri23Oct20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Canceled-
Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish celebrate their 9th year of touring full time as The Honey Dewdrops, having played stages and festivals all over North America and Europe. With tight harmonies and musicianship that features claw hammer banjo, mandolin, and guitars, they offer up a handcrafted repertoire of heartfelt lyrics and moving melodies.
After leaving their home base of Virginia and living on the road for 2 years, Laura and Kagey now call Baltimore, Maryland home and it's where they wrote and recorded their fourth full-length album, "Tangled Country." Just like their stage performance, these songs rock, reel, and rollick.
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Fri30Oct20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Canceled-
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Tell Tale Heart.
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Fri04Dec20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Canceled-
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri11Dec20208:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Canceled-
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s 2010 CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba. katiegeddes.com
Vocal trio All About Eve (Katie, Deb Wood, David Vaughn) offers up a variety of close harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs.
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Added to that is Matt's own special brand of humor. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, whether traditional or contemporary. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living.
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Fri10Sep20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
SOLD OUT
Tickets $20
Her songs? They’re about as idiosyncratic as anything in the wide world of “popular music.” They’re painfully personal, yet they somehow infiltrate the souls of her listeners, no matter how different the paths they’ve followed through their lives.
Songs aren’t so much written as harvested by Gauthier. Though she lives not far from the hit-making mills of Music Row, she admits to knowing nothing about how to write on command. She says, “I have to be called to write. The call comes from somewhere I don’t understand, but I know it when I hear it.”
That call first came to her a long time ago. Her life to that point had led her to extremes, plenty of negatives and a few brilliant bright spots. An adopted child who became a teenage runaway, she found her first shelter among addicts and drag queens. Eventually she achieved renown as a chef even while balancing her restaurant responsibilities with the demands of addiction to heroin.
Two more successful restaurants, an escalating addiction, and a subsequent arrest led her into sobriety. It was rehearsal for what was to follow, when she wrote her first song in her mid-thirties. From that point, Gauthier channeled a long line of eloquent works, including the achingly beautiful, "Mercy Now." www.marygauthier.com
Mary will also present 3 or more songs in the Saturday 5pm service on 9/11/21. -
Fri17Sep20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook event pageChuck Mitchell started singing in Detroit folk clubs in the 1960s. In Toronto, on his first out of town gig, he met Canadian songwriter Joni Anderson. They married, and as a duo Chuck and Joni Mitchell played the coffeehouse circuit, and gin rummy, until they divorced in 1968. Mitchell's credits include A Prairie Home Companion and repertory theatre in Texas and in England. He has played Harold Hill in The Music Man and Woody Guthrie in Woody Guthrie's American Song. Most recently, he wrote and produced Mr. Foster & Mr. Twain, in which Stephen Foster joins Mark Twain for an evening of story and song. A Chuck Mitchell's show combines his seasoned skills as an actor, singer and guitarist with a selection of delightful material. He sings cabaret songs by Brecht and Weil -- "Mack the Knife" and "The Bilbao Song" -- and whimsical songs by Flanders & Swann -- "The Gnu" and "Have Some Madeira, M'dear". He roves the room singing "Freeborn Man" by Ewan McColl, or "Necessity" from Finian's Rainbow. He weaves poetry by Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot into his shows. He has been called a renaissance man, and thinks he is old enough to be one.
www.mitchellsong.com -
Fri24Sep20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
With nearly a quarter-century of music-
making under their collective belt, the
members of Fastball continue to expand
the band’s widely loved body of work.
The trio’s catalog encompasses such
memorable albums as their 1996 debut, Make Your Mama Proud; their 1998 platinum breakthrough, All the Pain Money Can Buy (which spawned the Grammy-nominated Top Five hit “The Way”); 2000’s The Harsh Light of Day; 2004’s Keep Your Wig On; 2009’s Little White Lies; and 2017’s Step Into Light. Fastball’s new album, The Help Machine, features the songwriting and vocals of Miles Zuniga and Tony Scalzo. With drummer Joey Shuffield completing the longstanding lineup, the trio’s time-tested creative rapport is evident. Don’t miss this rare intimate venue appearance! -
Fri01Oct20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Fri08Oct20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Hailed as “the new master of the slide guitar” by the Montreux Jazz Festival and “the real thang” by the legendary Bootsy Collins, Jack Broadbent has spent the the past few years wowing international audiences with his unique blend of acoustic and slide guitar playing, and poignant folk- and blues-inspired vocals.
Born in rural Lincolnshire, England, Jack grew up listening to artists like Radiohead, Robert Johnson, Joni Mitchell and Davey Graham. These legends influenced Jack’s distinctive song writing, singing, production, and performance style, giving his music depth and heart that defies strict musical genre. Jack‘s performances exude a warmth, humour and energy that has electrified audiences worldwide.
Following a string of successful shows opening for legendary artists, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peter Frampton, Johnny Hallyday, Tony Joe White, Jack has headlined a series of international tours, playing sold out shows in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, the US and Canada. www.jackbroadbent.co.uk
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Fri15Oct20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
THIS SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED-STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES
After attending Manhattan School of Music as a percussionist for nearly a year, Sophie B Hawkins left to pursue a professional music career. She got her big break playing percussion for Bryan Ferry, and after he fired her she was inspired to write the hit single, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”.
Her first album, Tongues and Tails, full of primal, fiery pop, was an immediate success, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Sophie followed that with Whaler, which featured the smash ballad, “As I Lay Me Down."
More recently, Sophie has displayed her versatility starring as Janis Joplin in the stage musical, "Room 105," receiving rave reviews during its sold-out run.
Sophie has earned six New York Music awards as well as an ASCAP award for “As I Lay Me Down”. Her music has been a part of major television shows and films such as "Dawson’s Creek," "Party of Five," "Community," "40 Days and 40 Nights," and "Mrs. Winterbourne."
Sophie is preparing to release a new album. She has two children and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
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Fri29Oct20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Tell Tale Heart.
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Fri05Nov20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Nashville-based artist and Wrensong Publishing writer Sally Barris has managed to be successful in the mainstream world of country music without giving up her folk and Celtic roots. Her unique style, influenced by artists such as Tony Rice, Dougie Maclean and Richard Thompson, is what makes her stand out in a city known for “cookie cutter” talent. Her songwriting highlights include, “Let The Wind Chase You” (Trisha Yearwood), “Reluctant Daughter” (Martina McBride), “Some Things I Know” (Lee Ann Womack), “I’m On My Way” (Kellie Pickler), “The Innocent Years” (Kathy Mattea) and “Honeysuckle Sweet” (Jessi Alexander), which was featured in the Miramax film, “An Unfinished Life.” The Minnesota native is currently on tour with her latest CD, The Road In Me.
“Sally Barris has a voice like sparkling crystal. You could have knocked me over with a feather the first time I heard her. Her writing is from a deep, yet innocent, place and her point of view is just a bit off center. I am excited for her; she is standing at the beginning of her journey in this town, with all of it ahead of her. It reminds me of the first time I heard Beth Nielson-Chapman or Nanci Griffith. It’s going to be fun to watch.” – Kathy Mattea www.sallybarris.com
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Fri12Nov20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
FREE SHOW!
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is No Other Love. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri19Nov20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
FREE SHOW!
Rj Cowdery likes to make people think, laugh, cry and feel. Fans tell her it’s uncanny the way her songs seem to take a peek directly into their lives. Much like the Midwestern Ohio landscape she calls home, her songs are stories of middle ground, and her tales are expressions of being in the midst of life. Rj's distinctive characteristic style is fingerpicking with a deep bass line. She has been a winner at the Kerrville New Folk contest in 2008 and the Mountain Stage New Song Contest in 2007, and won at Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist and Sisters Folk Festivals, too. Her latest release, What If This Is All There Is, was produced by Amy Speace. Please welcome Rj to her first visit to Green Wood! www.rjcowdery.com
Rj will also provide 3 or more songs in the Saturday 5pm service on 11/20/21.
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Fri03Dec20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri10Dec20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Michigan native Claudia Schmidt has covered a lot of musical ground, beginning with a stirring rendition of "Tammy," at age 4, around a neighborhood bonfire. Claudia's 3-decade career touring North America and Europe includes regular stints on "A Prairie Home Companion;" participating in the delightful Les Blank movie, "Gap-Toothed Women," contributing a song as well as an interview; and performing a lead role in The Gales of November," a musical retelling of the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy from the point of view of three wives of the doomed crew of the Great Lakes ore-carrier. Claudia has recorded fourteen albums mostly of original songs, exploring folk, blues, and jazz idioms featuring 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer. I Thought About You is her second effort leading her own swinging sextet, Claudia Schmidt & The JumpBoys. In 2003 she released a spoken-word CD, Roads, which includes poems and essays from her rich performance repertoire. In 2006 Claudia released her first self-produced folk/acoustic CD, Spinning, with a studio full of Michigan s finest musicians. Claudia describes herself as a "creative noisemaker." You may expect anything at a Schmidt concert: hymn, poem, bawdy verse, torch song, satire. She can weave the elements of music and stage into a program so full of life that one critic has described a Claudia Schmidt concert as "...a lot like falling in love. You never know what's going to happen next; chances are it's going to be wonderful; every moment is burned into your memory; and you know you'll never be the same again." www.claudiaschmidt.com
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Fri17Dec20218:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s 2010 CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba. katiegeddes.com
Vocal trio All About Eve (Katie, Deb Wood, David Vaughn) offers up a variety of close harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs.
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Added to that is Matt's own special brand of humor. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, whether traditional or contemporary. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living.
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Fri07Jan20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
CANCELED
Due to a band member recently testing positive for COVID, and numbers on the rise, David Vaughn has made the decision to cancel his concert on January 7. Green Wood Coffee House wishes you a happy and healthy New Year and looks forward to seeing you Jan 14 for Harper and Midwest Kind. Mask, picture ID, and proof of vaccination required.
Facebook Event Page
You will not want to miss David Vaughn's first solo concert at Green Wood! David's repertoire spans opera, Broadway, gospel, R & B, and Great American Songbook. And what a voice! You've seen and heard his versatile vocals and stunning piano performance at Green Wood as part of vocal trio All About Eve and accompanying Katie Geddes in concert. David has appeared in numerous opera productions and oratorios; is sought after as a guest vocalist in concert band events; and he is a featured performer in Detroit's and Chicago's annual presentations of the jazz/gospel hit, "Too Hot To Handel." Bring a friend!
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Fri04Mar20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Peter Harper was born in the United Kingdom and raised in Western Australia.In Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world, there was a thriving blues and folk scene. The blues had a rawness, an honesty and a passion of the soul which affected Harper deeply. Then, like every blues lover, Harper began his journey backwards to discover the deeper roots of the music: the works of artists such as Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Harper did not stop his search with the blues. It was a chance meeting with Hopi "Dan Running Bear" in Colorado that led him down the path to rediscovering the music of his homeland. Fascinated with the spirituality and culture of the American Natives, he found similar qualities in the Australian Aborigines of his homeland. On adding the native didgeridoo to his music, Harper says, "The didgeridoo is a spiritual and healing instrument, and it seems blues music accepts it with open arms. Prior to his introduction to American audiences, Harper released six CDs in Australia. Harper received a Gold Record for "Sailing Australia" (America's Cup Theme). Harper had the honor of backing blues legend, Muddy Waters on harmonica for his West Australian tour. He was also invited to perform harmonica on stage several times with US super group, Journey.
With a home at a U.S. record label and a growing following from American audiences, Harper made the permanent move to the U.S. His high-energy shows are performed at club venues, blues festivals, and world music festivals, with an average of 25 festivals and 200 club dates per year. www.harper.biz
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Fri25Mar20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
3/25/22 Canceled
You haven't heard "Pinball Wizard" or "People Are Strange" until you've heard it played on jugs and "various other sundries." Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s.Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the "Today Show" and radio's "Dr. Demento Show." Their current CD is Jugs Up! www.juggernautjugband.com
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Fri01Apr20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Fri08Apr20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Facebook event pageAfter attending Manhattan School of Music as a percussionist for nearly a year, Sophie B Hawkins left to pursue a professional music career. She got her big break playing percussion for Bryan Ferry, and after he fired her she was inspired to write the hit single, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”.
Her first album, Tongues and Tails, full of primal, fiery pop, was an immediate success, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Sophie followed that with Whaler, which featured the smash ballad, “As I Lay Me Down."
More recently, Sophie has displayed her versatility starring as Janis Joplin in the stage musical, "Room 105," receiving rave reviews during its sold-out run.
Sophie has earned six New York Music awards as well as an ASCAP award for “As I Lay Me Down”. Her music has been a part of major television shows and films such as "Dawson’s Creek," "Party of Five," "Community," "40 Days and 40 Nights," and "Mrs. Winterbourne."
Sophie is preparing to release a new album. She has two children and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
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Fri22Apr20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Don Campbell is a contemporary/country crossover and folk-rock singer/songwriter whose presentation of music supports the story in the song and welcomes the audience on board for the ride. Often compared to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg, Vince Gill, and Chris Isaak, Don and his ensembles are based out of New England. In 2012, Don released a double CD, "Kites To Fly: Celebrating the Music of Dan Fogelberg," and in 2013 began presenting live performances of this music around his own busy schedule of Don Campbell shows.
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Fri29Apr20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
There are songs that transport you to good times remembered. Songs like, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,” and, “Love Is The Answer” have that effect on many of us. These songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend.
John is most revered as half of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The classically-trained pianist and talented guitarist continues performing the gold and platinum record hits for audiences around the world. Some of Coley’s other hits are, “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again,” and, “Sad To Belong."
John’s experiences comprise a broad background. Although he performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in college, and is an avid student of history. In the mid-1980’s, John began acting in television and in feature films. He recently penned a book, "Backstage Pass," about his years in the music industry.
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Fri06May20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri13May20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
In a career that spans 23 albums and includes three Grammy awards, Tom Chapin has covered a lot of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway and worked in films, television and radio. Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings, Harry and Steve, as one of The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began a five-year run as the host of the ABC-TV children's series, "Make A Wish." Chapin and his songs were also featured in the 1970 documentary film, "Blue Water, White Death," for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two parallel careers, as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth shine, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra, or in an intimate coffeehouse.
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Sat14May202212:00pm-2:00pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Motorcyclists and bicyclists invited to have their bikes blessed for a safe riding season by pastor Tim Kobler of First United Methodist Church. Complimentary pizza, canned soda, bottled water and home-made pie. No admission charge. No registration/reservation necessary. Scooters, skateboards, and wheelchairs also welcome. Noon to 2pm.
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Fri16Sep20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20 SOLD OUT!
Livingston Taylor's 50-year career has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first release at age 18, and continues to create well crafted, introspective, and original songs that have earned him fans worldwide.
From top-40 hits, “I Will Be in Love with You” and, “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman,” both recorded by his brother James, Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. He is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz—and from upbeat storytelling to touching ballads.
Livingston has never stopped performing since those early coffeehouse days, touring with major artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and Jethro Tull, and he maintains a busy concert schedule of over 80 shows a year. He is a natural performer, peppering his shows with personal stories, anecdotes and ineffable warmth. His relaxed on-stage presence belies the depth of his musical knowledge, as fans might be treated to classic Gershwin or something from the best of Broadway.
Livingston is a full professor at Berklee College of Music, where he has taught a Stage Performance course since 1989. He teaches young artists invaluable lessons learned over the course of an extensive career on the road. The course is consistently voted the most popular at the College. His 2011 book, "Stage Performance," offers those lessons to all who are interested in elevating their presentations to professional standards
Livingston's new album, "Safe Home," was released March 3rd, 2017. Featuring a world class band, the album gives playful bend to musical classics like "Anything You Can Do," and also presents Livingston Taylor originals such as, "I Must Be Doing Something Right."
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Fri23Sep20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Her songs? They’re about as idiosyncratic as anything in the wide world of “popular music.” They’re painfully personal, yet they somehow infiltrate the souls of her listeners, no matter how different the paths they’ve followed through their lives.
Songs aren’t so much written as harvested by Gauthier. Though she lives not far from the hit-making mills of Music Row, she admits to knowing nothing about how to write on command. She says, “I have to be called to write. The call comes from somewhere I don’t understand, but I know it when I hear it.”
That call first came to her a long time ago. Her life to that point had led her to extremes, plenty of negatives and a few brilliant bright spots. An adopted child who became a teenage runaway, she found her first shelter among addicts and drag queens. Eventually she achieved renown as a chef even while balancing her restaurant responsibilities with the demands of addiction to heroin.
Two more successful restaurants, an escalating addiction, and a subsequent arrest led her into sobriety. It was rehearsal for what was to follow, when she wrote her first song in her mid-thirties. From that point, Gauthier channeled a long line of eloquent works, including the achingly beautiful, "Mercy Now." www.marygauthier.com -
Fri30Sep20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth, intimate as a long overdue visit between old friends … such is a Jonathan Edwards concert. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, night after night – songs of passion, songs of isight, songs of humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.
This is one veteran performer who is neither grizzled nor nostalgic.
Jonathan's highly respected repertoire includes such classics as, “Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone’s favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.” And then, of course, there’s the anthemic “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” that fierce proclamation of protest and independence that resonated with thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women when it was first released in 1971. Almost 40 years later, at show after show, the song continues to be embraced by faithful followers and new fans alike.
Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including "Blue Ridge," his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and "Little Hands," his collection of children’s songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award. His brand new album is, "Tomorrow's Child." -
Fri07Oct20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Facebook Event Page
John Flynn's powerful songs of humanity and hope are deeply rooted in the traditions of Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs. From barbed political verse to joyous fun-loving lyrics for kids, John paints vivid, lasting images with words and music, drawn from a pallette of awareness, irony, humor and compassion. John began writing professionally in 1980 after graduating from Temple University with a degree in political science. A staff writing contract with Combine Music and a Billboard Magazine Top Forty country recording of his song, "Rainbows and Butterflies" by Billy Swann ("I Can Help") established John in the heart of Nashville's Music Row. Flynn's songs eventually transcended the boundaries of country music. His first main-stage appearance at the 1995 Philadelphia Folk Festival cemented John's reputation as a dynamic original contemporary folk artist. Songs that Flynn wrote for his own four children became the basis of two highly-acclaimed family CDs. Off the road, John enjoys time at home with his family. He volunteers with a men's discussion group in a Delaware maximum security prison. He is a devoted supporter of Camp Dreamcatcher, an organization providing a safe haven for children living with HIV/AIDS. With only an old Martin D-28 and harmonica for accompaniment, John's compelling songs, strong voice and open heart are turning strangers into believers and believers into friends.
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Sat15Oct20227:30 pm2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
This show is at our new WEST location 7:30 pm start time
Tickets $15
You haven’t heard “Pinball Wizard” or “People Are Strange” until you’ve heard it played on jugs and “various other sundries.” Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the Today Show and radio’s “Dr. Demento Show.” Their current CD is You Mean We Get Paid For This?
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Fri21Oct20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Mark Stuart has toured extensively in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe. Notable artists such as Freddy Fender, Steve Earle, Joan Baez, and Steve Forbert have employed him for his musicianship. In a duo act with his artist wife, Stacey Earle, he spent thousands of days on tour through the years. That duo would release many albums on their own independent label, Gearle Records.
Whether it be Cambridge Folk Festival, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, MTV, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Stan Rogers Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival, Merlefest, or countless small festivals and theaters, Stuart's storytelling, guitar playing, vocals, or songs have caught the attention of music lovers.
Rock, blues, folk, country, and more are evident in his performance. Electric, acoustic, and slide guitar make up his musical toolbox. Some songs are autobiographical; some are from the viewpoint of a lifelong troubadour who is paying attention to the world around him. He might very well toss a Paul McCartney, John Fogerty, or Woody Guthrie song into his set.
Come enjoy Mark's first visit to Green Wood Coffee House Series! -
Fri28Oct20227:30 pm2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
This show is at our new WEST location 7:30pm start time
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Tell Tale Heart.
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Sun06Nov20223:00 pm2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
PLEASE NOTE: This event is a Sunday 3pm matinee at our new Grass Lake location.
FREE SHOW!
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is No Other Love. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri11Nov20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Singer, songwriter, entertainer, poet and teacher, Tom Kimmel is all of these things and more.
Since 1980 dozens of Tom’s compositions have been recorded by a host of major artists, including Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker and Randy Travis. They’ve been featured in films from Twins to Serendipity and Runaway Bride, and in television shows from Miami Vice to Touched By An Angel.
An award-winning artist in his own right, he has released seven solo albums, published a book of poems and led songwriting workshops and classes across the US and in Europe.
Once an eclectic rock and roller, Tom found his voice as a singer-songwriter while touring with Nanci Griffith in the early 90’s. A New Folk winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival in ’93, he began performing solo, stressing a lean, acoustic approach to his music and bringing a humorous spirit to his poetry and storytelling.
After releasing two critically praised major label albums (in ’87 and ’90), Tom released his first independent album, Bones, in 1994. It was followed by Short Stories, which featured guest performances by Emmylou Harris, the Fairfield Four, Jerry Douglas and other Nashville luminaries. Then came Shallow Water, a collection of spirit-centered songs and hymns, and Light of Day, fourteen raw vocal-guitar tracks recorded in Tom’s home studio. Never Saw Blue, an anthology of TK songs featured in film and TV is his most recent release.
Other TK projects include well-received records written and recorded with three trios: The Sherpas (1998) (with Tom Prasada-Rao and Michael Lille), The Waymores (2013) (with Don Henry and Sally Barris), and The New Agrarians (2014) (with Kate Campbell and Pierce Pettis).
A self-described “closet poet” until the publication of his collection The Sweetest & The Meanest, Tom has been a featured writer at book festivals and writing retreats, and his poems have been published in a number of poetry and literary journals.
In demand as a songwriting teacher and lecturer, Tom offers workshop instruction tying the creative spirit to the nuts and bolts of composition.
Bottom line: Tom Kimmel is a unique artist who continues to write, record, entertain and inspire at the highest levels!
https://tomkimmel.com
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Fri18Nov20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Singer-songwriter/guitarist of the 1970s soft rock band Gallery, best known for their 1972 songs, "Nice to Be with You", written by Gold, and "I Believe In Music." Born and raised in Detroit, Jim began writing songs and playing guitar at age fourteen. In 1972, Gallery was voted Best New Singles Group by "Cashbox" and Best Vocal Group by "Record World." Since then, Jim has recorded as a solo artist.
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Fri02Dec20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri09Dec20228:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s 2010 CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba. katiegeddes.com
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Fri17Feb20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Songwriter and Michigan Emmy recipient Kitty Donohoe is not an Irish or Celtic singer, but she clearly draws from that part of her heritage, as well as her American roots, as an artist. A writer of tunes as well as songs, her originals are rich with her natural sense as a storyteller, her love for language and her ear for a melody. Her music is luminous, earthy and compelling, and all of her songwriter CDs integrate the textures and feel of accordions, whistles, pipes and bodhran alongside the more standard guitar, bass or piano. Some of her originals sound like they were written 100 years ago and others are clearly contemporary, but one thing is certain: with or without a band behind her, Kitty's striking voice carries it all, delivering each song with power and emotion. www.kittydonohoe.com
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Sat04Mar20237:30 pmGrass Lake train depot: 210 E Michigan Ave, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Due to power outage in Grass Lake, this Saturday's (3/4/23) Matt Watroba/Claudia Schmidt concert will be held in the beautiful historic Grass Lake train depot, 210 E Michigan Ave. Show time 7:30pm; doors 7pm. grasslakedepot.com
Amazing place for dinner before show: Sawd's Village Inn, https://www.sirved.com/restaurant/grass_lake-michigan-usa/sawds-village-inn/779915/menus
Amazing place for dinner after show: Missy's Grass Shack, https://www.allmenus.com/mi/grass-lake/414599-missys-little-grass-shack/menu/
Both establishments are owned by the extraordinary Missy. Photo attached is a burger you can order at either eatery.
Tickets $15
Matt Watroba brings a very special set of talents to the stage whenever he appears as a folk musician. His excellent guitar playing, mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Add to that Matt's own special brand of humor and you are in for a most entertaining and enlightening evening. You will feel his obvious love of folk music, both traditional and contemporary; its writers and performers, its heroes and villains. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living. www.mattwatroba.net
Michigan native Claudia Schmidt has covered a lot of musical ground, beginning with a stirring rendition of "Tammy," at age 4, around a neighborhood bonfire. Claudia's 3-decade career touring North America and Europe includes regular stints on "A Prairie Home Companion;" participating in the delightful Les Blank movie, "Gap-Toothed Women," contributing a song as well as an interview; and performing a lead role in The Gales of November," a musical retelling of the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy from the point of view of three wives of the doomed crew of the Great Lakes ore-carrier. Claudia has recorded fifteen albums mostly of original songs, exploring folk, blues, and jazz idioms featuring 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer. Claudia describes herself as a "creative noisemaker." You may expect anything at a Schmidt concert: hymn, poem, bawdy verse, torch song, satire. www.claudiaschmidt.com
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Fri17Mar20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
There are songs that transport you to good times remembered. Songs like, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,” and, “Love Is The Answer” have that effect on many of us. These songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend.
John is most revered as half of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The classically-trained pianist and talented guitarist continues performing the gold and platinum record hits for audiences around the world. Some of Coley’s other hits are, “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again,” and, “Sad To Belong."
John’s experiences comprise a broad background. Although he performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in college, and is an avid student of history. In the mid-1980’s, John began acting in television and in feature films. He recently penned a book, "Backstage Pass," about his years in the music industry.
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Sat01Apr20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Australian singer/songwriter/virtuoso harmonica player, Peter D. Harper, now based in Detroit, creates a heady mix of roots music through his creative use of the harmonica and the haunting drone of the didgeridoo. Harper has received an amazing 14 blues/roots music awards, in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, and has achieved 4 top ten Billboard blues charting albums. He recently won a Detroit Music Award for "outstanding vocalist." Peter D Harper is known for his powerful, soulful, voice and a deep, mystical approach to the roots genre. Harper and Midwest Kind have been nominated for the 2021 Independent Blues Awards for Best Modern Roots Band and Best Modern Roots Album: "RISE UP". Harper is backed by his touring band, Midwest Kind, which features Austin Johnson on guitar, Lee Lewis on bass guitar, Bud Smith on drums and Bobbi Llewellyn on backing vocals and percussion.
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Sat08Apr20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Harmonious husband and wife duo!
Through a chance encounter in Nashville in 2006, Benjamin and Kassie Wilson were sure of each other from the start. “Kassie knew she was going to marry me from the first time she saw me…and she was right,” Ben gloats. Formerly known as My One and Only, the duo has reimagined their southern-soul melodies and emotionally honest lyrics into Goldpine. After nearly a decade, they’re ready to give the world their self-produced debut LP, One. The album exposes the pain from severed relationships and unearths the pursuits of love and purpose. Laced with bold vocal harmonies and fervent lyrics, Goldpine's music is cathartic, moody, raucous, and relevant.
www.goldpinemusic.com
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Sat15Apr20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Singer/songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche grew up in an impressive musical family. She is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche, and half-sister of Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Born and raised in New York City, Roche spent years traveling with and amongst her large musical family. After college, she began teaching second and third grade. In 2005 she joined brother Rufus on tour to sing backup, and after releasing an eight-song, debut CD, Lucy became a full-time touring musician. Recent tours have included solo appearances; double bills with mom, Suzzy; and ensemble shows with Suzzy, Loudon, Rufus, Martha, and Sloan Wainwright. Lucy's recent CDs include solo release "Little Beast" and "Mud and Apples," a collaboration with Suzzy Roche. www.lucywainwrightroche.com
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Sun16Apr20233:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Matinee show, 3pm
An uplifting evening of fun with the Honey Dewdrops!
Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish celebrate their 13th year of touring full time as The Honey Dewdrops, having played stages and festivals all over North America and Europe. With tight harmonies and musicianship that features claw hammer banjo, mandolin, and guitars, they offer up a handcrafted repertoire of heartfelt lyrics and moving melodies. After leaving their home base of Virginia and living on the road for 2 years, Laura and Kagey now call Baltimore, Maryland home. Their songs and stage performance rock, reel, and rollick.When they're not on tour, you can find Laura and Kagey playing in Baltimore with their Fred Eaglesmith tribute band; contributing backing vocals and instrumental sounds to various community recording projects; and you'll probably see them going for a run in and around their neighborhood.
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Sun23Apr20233:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Matinee show, 3pm
Jon Shain is a veteran singer-songwriter who’s been turning heads for years with his words and his fiery acoustic guitar work. His musical style combines improvised Piedmont blues with bluegrass, swing, and ragtime. He is the 2019 winner of the International Blues Challenge in the solo/duo category. Shain’s most recent solo disc, Gettin’ Handy with the Blues: A Tribute to the Legacy of WC Handy, was released in 2018 and is soon to come out as a music book published by Mel Bay.
www.jonshain.com -
Fri28Apr20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
In a career that spans 23 albums and includes three Grammy awards, Tom Chapin has covered a lot of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway and worked in films, television and radio. Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings, Harry and Steve, as one of The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began a five-year run as the host of the ABC-TV children's series, "Make A Wish." Chapin and his songs were also featured in the 1970 documentary film, "Blue Water, White Death," for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two parallel careers, as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth shine, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra, or in an intimate coffeehouse.
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Sat29Apr20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
An eclectic mix of acoustic, melodic art/folk, with flavors of jazz, vaudeville and cabaret.
Rupert Wates was born in London and studied at Oxford University. His music is an eclectic mix of acoustic, melodic art/folk, with flavors of jazz, vaudeville and cabaret. He has released twelve solo CDs. They have received outstanding reviews in the international online press and tracks from them have been played on radio all over the world. In addition, Wates' songs have been covered by other artists in the UK, Canada and the US. Two full length tribute CDs to his material have been recorded: Crazy Puzzle by Nashville-based performer Roxie Rogers, and Wide Open Heart by vocalist Susan Kohler. Both these CDs were initiated and funded entirely by the artists themselves, and comprise exclusively songs taken from Rupert Wates' back catalog. Over 20 recordings featuring Wates's songs by other artists were made in 2016 alone.
www.rupertwatesmusic.com -
Fri05May20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Sun07May20233:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $20
Matinee show, 3pm
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Fri15Sep20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Raucous and relevant music from husband and wife duo, Goldpine, a Green Wood Coffee House favorite.
Through a chance encounter in Nashville in 2006, Benjamin and Kassie Wilson were sure of each other from the start. “Kassie knew she was going to marry me from the first time she saw me…and she was right,” Ben gloats. Formerly known as My One and Only, the duo has reimagined their southern-soul melodies and emotionally honest lyrics into Goldpine. After nearly a decade, they’ve given the world their self-produced debut LP, One. The album exposes the pain from severed relationships and unearths the pursuits of love and purpose. Laced with bold vocal harmonies and fervent lyrics, Goldpine's music is cathartic, moody, raucous, and relevant.
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Fri22Sep20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Claude Bourbon is known throughout Europe and America for amazing guitar performances that take blues, Spanish, and Middle Eastern stylings into uncharted territories.
Claude’s inimitable style incorporates all five digits on each hand dancing independently but in unison, plucking, picking and strumming at such speed and precision that his fingers often seem to melt into a blur. Thousands of people in the UK, Europe and USA have enjoyed listening to this virtuoso and for the majority of his audience it is an experience that compels them to return again and again to hear and watch him play, as his fingers lightly dance over the strings of his guitar and create a unique sound that is ’Claude’.
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Sat23Sep20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Born in Spain, raised in Chicago, holding dual Irish and American citizenship and now settled in rural England, Sarah brings the eclecticism of her background to her captivating, unorthodox songwriting and choice of material, spanning genres and defying categorization.
In 2020, with her spring tour cut short due to the COVID-19 crisis, Sarah mounted a successful crowdfunding campaign to finance the filming and recording of a full-length live concert sans audience in the beautiful medieval church of St Buryan, just over a mile from Sarah’s home.
The St Buryan Sessions was released in 2021 by Sarah‘s own Shovel And A Spade label on CD and limited-edition blue vinyl double LP. The album made it onto “Best of 2021” lists on three continents and features stunning solo performances by Sarah on acoustic and electric guitars, piano and floor tom drum, her lush, distinctive vocals echoing through the soaring space.
Photo credit: Phil Nicholls
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Fri29Sep20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Those hits! "It's So Nice To Be With You" and "I Believe In Music."
Jim Gold is the singer-songwriter/guitarist of the 1970s soft rock band Gallery, best known for their 1972 songs, "Nice to Be with You", written by Gold, and "I Believe In Music." Born and raised in Detroit, Jim began writing songs and playing guitar at age fourteen. In 1972, Gallery was voted Best New Singles Group by "Cashbox" and Best Vocal Group by "Record World." Since then, Jim has recorded as a solo artist. Tonight we get the entire band! Come hear that steel guitar and those harmony vocals!
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Sun01Oct20233:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $20
A capella vocal quartet returns to Green Wood!Windborne is Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon. Specializing in close harmony singing, the quartet has a vibrant energy and a strong connection, which is evident in their engaging performance. They educate as they perform, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing. The four Windborne singers grew up immersed in the traditional song and dance communities of New England and discovered a love of world folk music in their teens. Over the past decade, Windborne has sought out masters of traditional singing styles in the US and around the world to study a variety of vocal music. Through these collaborations, they have developed the vocal agility and authentic sound for which they are known. Their dynamic concert programs include songs from Corsica, the Republic of Georgia, Bulgaria, Quebec, and Basque country, as well as traditional and original American folk music. They believe deeply in the power of music to change hearts. -
Fri06Oct20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Hiroya is a one-of-a-kind composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter from Kyoto, Japan. He began playing the five-string banjo when he was thirteen, and took up the guitar shortly after.
In 2000, Hiroya received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and came to the United States. He formed his own group in Boston, INTEROCEANICO (inter-oceanic), which consists of unique musicians from different continents including Latin Grammy Colombian singer Marta Gomez. The group released three acclaimed records and Hiroya has released three solo albums.
Hiroya has been leading concerts internationally including several appearances at Blue Note (NYC), United Nations and Japanese National Television. In 2018, Hiroya won 2nd place in International Finger Style Guitar Championship.
www.hiroyatsukamoto.com -
Sun08Oct20233:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Matinee show, 3pm
Whether it be folk or bluegrass festival, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," MTV, or Merlefest, Stuart's storytelling, guitar playing, vocals, and songs have graced stages all over the world. He serves up rock, blues, folk, country, and more, on electric, acoustic, and slide guitar. Some songs are autobiographical; some are from the viewpoint of a lifelong troubadour. He might very well toss a Paul McCartney, John Fogerty, or Woody Guthrie song into his set.
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Fri13Oct20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is The Tell Tale Heart.
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Sat14Oct20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
This band of tender-hearted rascals -- brothers, Dan and Nate Monea -- has been bonded by three albums, years of touring and recording, and a deep love of music and bringing people together. They’ve played festivals all over the world, including Hard Rock Calling in London (Bruce Springsteen/Lady Antebellum) and The Rock Boat (Sister Hazel/Barenaked Ladies). In addition to traditional touring, the band travels annually to Guatemala with the Music Is Love Exchange for a week of service work and performances at schools and hospitals.
Hey Monea!’s pop-leaning rock music features soaring vocal harmonies. The band’s latest single, “Give A Little," is a fan favorite. It is the follow-up to “We’re Gonna Be OK”, featured in the NASCAR Heat 5 video game, a rallying cry for people around the world seeking connection and reassurance in these bizarre and uncertain times.
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Sun15Oct20233:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Matinee show, 3pm
Creating at the crossroads of healing and activism.
The Rochester, NY native began writing songs as a college student in Kingston, Jamaica, and is known for staking out brave lyrical and musical territory. Jess spent eight years soaking up the live music culture of Austin, TX. Jess was named a 2015 finalist in the highly regarded Kerrville New Folk Competition. Klein has performed to rapt audiences at the Newport Folk Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and packed houses in notable listening rooms including Joe’s Pub (NYC), The Borderline in London, Club Passim in Boston and Fogartyville in Sarasota, FL. She has appeared on "Good Morning America" and NPR’s "All Things Considered" and toured across the US, Europe and Japan on her own and with such artists as Arlo Guthrie, John Fullbright and Carlene Carter. www.jessklein.com
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Fri20Oct20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Based in Guelph, Ontario, James Gordon is one of Canada's most prolific songwriters, well known for his songs about social justice, heritage and environmental issues. His classic "Frobisher Bay" has been recorded and performed by hundreds of acts world-wide and was an audition piece for "Canadian Idol." His song, "Mining For Gold" was featured on the Cowboy Junkies' landmark album "The Trinity Sessions" and was heard in John Sayles' film "Silver City."
James has made countless appearances on television and radio, and was a resident songwriter on CBC radio for 12 years. He tours as a solo performer and with his sons, and has released over 30 albums as a solo artist or with the legendary folk trio "Tamarack." Between tours, James is a record producer, playwright, community activist and theatre director.
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Sat21Oct20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Facebook event pageChuck Mitchell started singing in Detroit folk clubs in the 1960s. In Toronto, on his first out of town gig, he met Canadian songwriter Joni Anderson. They married, and as a duo Chuck and Joni Mitchell played the coffeehouse circuit, and gin rummy, until they divorced in 1968. Mitchell's credits include A Prairie Home Companion and repertory theatre in Texas and in England. He has played Harold Hill in The Music Man and Woody Guthrie in Woody Guthrie's American Song. Most recently, he wrote and produced Mr. Foster & Mr. Twain, in which Stephen Foster joins Mark Twain for an evening of story and song. A Chuck Mitchell's show combines his seasoned skills as an actor, singer and guitarist with a selection of delightful material. He sings cabaret songs by Brecht and Weil -- "Mack the Knife" and "The Bilbao Song" -- and whimsical songs by Flanders & Swann -- "The Gnu" and "Have Some Madeira, M'dear". He roves the room singing "Freeborn Man" by Ewan McColl, or "Necessity" from Finian's Rainbow. He weaves poetry by Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot into his shows. He has been called a renaissance man, and thinks he is old enough to be one.
www.mitchellsong.com -
Fri10Nov20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $15
Ari is a Grammy nominated singer/songwriter who began his career as an independent artist in 2001. He built a loyal following touring the college circuit, after which he released two albums on Columbia Records, Someone To Tell and The Break-In, while touring in the U.S. and abroad with artists including Martin Sexton, Suzanne Vega, and Ani DiFranco.
In 2008 Ari wrote, recorded and released a new song every Monday in his 52 project, and in 2009 released Twelve Mondays, a collection of re-mixed fan favorites from 52. Ari has released four other albums: Sunset Over Hope Street, The Fire Plays, Shouts And Whispers, and the Grammy nominated Silver Skies Blue, a duets album with Judy Collins.
Many of Ari's songs have appeared in TV shows and films, including The Path, The Lincoln Lawyer, Private Practice, Army Wives, and One Tree Hill.
Celebrating 20 years as a songwriter and performer, Ari released a retrospective album, I Remember When, in 2021.
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Sun12Nov20232:00 pm2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
This is a 2pm matinee show
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis -- "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" -- but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio, yet his songs are more complex than either has traditionally allowed. He lives in a city that is known as much for its racial unrest and inner-city violence as it is for being the place Elvis called home, yet he leads worship at one of the largest multicultural churches in the South, where half the congregation is African-American. When you meet Jeremy, he looks and sounds just like the "guy next door" -- if the guy next door has a traditional southern drawl. Making music has preoccupied Jeremy Horn ever since he received his first guitar at age fifteen. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and the Beatles, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and songwriting styles of the popular culture. "I used to write songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. After a few years and conversations with a wise, older friend, Jeremy realized he could also write songs that aspired to give people hope, and not just write what everybody else was writing. Says Horn, "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." That progression started Jeremy Horn on the path of continued discovery --listening to artists both Christian and not -- to figure out how to express feelings and concepts that came from within, rather than from the evening news. Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels 'Round Your Throne" and "First Love" are two of his popular hits. Jeremy's new CD is No Other Love. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
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Fri17Nov20238:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Mary Gauthier was twelve years old when she taught herself to play guitar with a Mel Bay basic guitar workbook. Songs became lifelines to her, and she longed to write her own, one day. Then, for a decade, while struggling with addiction, her call to songwriting faded. It wasn't until she got sober and went to an open mic with a friend that she realized that she not only still wanted to write songs, she needed to. Gauthier has channeled a long line of eloquent works, including the achingly beautiful, "Mercy Now." The Associated Press named Mary Gauthier one of the best songwriters of her generation. Her album Rifles & Rosary Beads was nominated for a Grammy award. Her songs have been recorded by dozens of artists, including Boy George, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Bettye Lavette, Kathy Mattea, Amy Helm and Candi Staton. Mary has just released her first book, "Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting." Part memoir, part philosophy of art, part songwriting nuts-and-bolts, the book celebrates the power of song to inspire and bring seemingly different kinds of people together. www.marygauthier.com
Mary will also present 3 songs in the Saturday 5pm service on 11/18/23.
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Sat18Nov20237:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
Facebook event pageBuddy Mondlock writes songs. Great songwriters have recorded his songs on their own albums: Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, and Janis Ian, to name a few. You might’ve heard his song, “The Kid,” recorded by David Wilcox; Peter, Paul and Mary; and Cry, Cry, Cry.
Buddy toured North America and Europe with Art Garfunkel and Maia Sharp in support of their album, “Everything Waits To Be Noticed,” which they wrote and recorded together as a trio.
In recent years Buddy has been writing songs with military veterans through a program sponsored by an organization called Music Therapy of the Rockies and he includes several of those songs in his shows and on his latest release, Filament.
Buddy and Maia Sharp have also been collaborating on a new musical, “The Girl In the Red Dress.” It includes several songs from their project with Art Garfunkel and new material from Buddy and Maia.
In addition to writing and touring, Buddy also teaches songwriting in workshops and retreats across the U.S. and Europe, and has been a staff instructor at the Swannanoa Gathering and the Kerrville Folk Festival Song School.
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Fri01Dec20238:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Sat02Dec20237:30 pm2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
You haven’t heard “Pinball Wizard” or “People Are Strange” until you’ve heard it played on jugs and “various other sundries.” Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the Today Show and radio’s “Dr. Demento Show.” Their current CD is You Mean We Get Paid For This?
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Fri08Dec20238:00 pm1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Tickets $20
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba. katiegeddes.com
All About Eve (Katie Geddes, Deb Wood, accompanied on guitar by Eric Fithian) offers up a variety of close-harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs.
Matt Watroba brings a special set of talents to the stage. His mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Add to that Matt’s own brand of humor, and you will feel his love of folk music, both traditional and contemporary--the writers and performers, the heroes and villains. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living. www.mattwatroba.net
Reverend Robert Jones, Sr. is a singer, storyteller and multi-instrumentalist. He uses folk, blues, spirituals, and other American roots music to champion the beauty and power of our shared culture. A lifelong Detroiter, Robert has been performing professionally for nearly 40 years for festivals, schools, civil rights organizations and churches. revrobertjones.com
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Sat09Mar20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Sam Robbins' music evokes classic 70's singer/songwriters such as James Taylor and Neil Young. Sam adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. He was one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition.A 2019 graduate of Berklee College of Music's songwriting department, Sam has hosted many songwriting workshops and masterclasses, including at the Harvard Music Department, the Boys & Girls Club of Boston, and the Folk Project's Fall Acoustic Getaway. In his performances and workshops, Sam helps others to express themselves through the powerful medium of songwriting. -
Fri15Mar20248:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Suggested Donation $15
Facebook Event Page
Reggie Harris is a dynamic and superbly talented traditional folk performer, whose captivating stage presence has earned the respect and love of audiences throughout the US, Canada and Europe for over 35 years. Reggie entertains audiences of all ages and backgrounds, as singer, songwriter, educator, and interpreter of cultural history.Reggie combines a strong folk and gospel legacy with a solid background in classical, rock, jazz and pop music.As an expert on the music of the Underground Railroad and the Modern Civil Rights Movement he is at home on stage as performer, lecturer or leading discussion in seminars or in the classroom. -
Sat16Mar20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $20
David Francey was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, where he got his first taste of the working life as a paperboy. At age 10 he was devouring the newspapers he delivered, establishing a life-long interest in politics and world events while developing the social conscience that forms the backdrop of his songs.He was twelve when his family immigrated to Toronto. He traces his love of the land, the history, and the people of his adopted country to weekend family drives exploring southern Ontario. Music played a large part in these family outings. The family sang traditional Scottish tunes as they drove through the Canadian countryside, dad and. sister Muriel singing melody while mother and David sang harmonies.His first album came out in 1999 and was a hit in Canada. Since then, he has released eleven albums, won three Juno Awards, and has had his songs covered by many stellar artists.In concert David is a singer and a storyteller. His wry humor and astute observations combined with his openhearted singing style have earned him a loyal following. -
Fri22Mar20248:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Suggested Donation $15
Facebook Event Page
David Roth strikes many chords, hearts, and minds with his unique songs, offbeat observations, moving stories, sense of the hilarious, and powerful singing and subject matter. As singer, songwriter, recording artist, keynote speaker, workshop leader, and instructor, David has earned top honors at premier songwriter competitions and taken his music, experience, and expertise to a wide variety of venues in this and other countries full-time for more than two decades. David’s songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall; the United Nations; several "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books; the Kennedy Center; Peter, Paul, & Mary’s Discovered; the Kingston Trio’s Born at the Right Time; the classic folk song book, “Rise Up Singing," and 13 CDs.
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Fri05Apr20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Rupert Wates was born in London and studied at Oxford University. His music is an eclectic mix of acoustic, melodic art/folk, with flavors of jazz, vaudeville and cabaret. He has released twelve solo CDs. They have received outstanding reviews in the international online press and tracks from them have been played on radio all over the world. In addition, Wates' songs have been covered by other artists in the UK, Canada and the US. Two full length tribute CDs to his material have been recorded: Crazy Puzzle by Nashville-based performer Roxie Rogers, and Wide Open Heart by vocalist Susan Kohler. Both these CDs were initiated and funded entirely by the artists themselves, and comprise exclusively songs taken from Rupert Wates' back catalog. Over 20 recordings featuring Wates's songs by other artists were made in 2016 alone.
www.rupertwatesmusic.com -
Sun07Apr20243:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Matinee show, 3pm
Hiroya is a one-of-a-kind composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter from Kyoto, Japan. He began playing the five-string banjo when he was thirteen, and took up the guitar shortly after.
In 2000, Hiroya received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and came to the United States. He formed his own group in Boston, INTEROCEANICO (inter-oceanic), which consists of unique musicians from different continents including Latin Grammy Colombian singer Marta Gomez. The group released three acclaimed records and Hiroya has released three solo albums.
Hiroya has been leading concerts internationally including several appearances at Blue Note (NYC), United Nations and Japanese National Television. In 2018, Hiroya won 2nd place in International Finger Style Guitar Championship.
www.hiroyatsukamoto.com -
Fri19Apr20248:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Suggested Donation $20
In a career that spans 23 albums and includes three Grammy awards, Tom Chapin has covered a lot of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway and worked in films, television and radio. Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings, Harry and Steve, as one of The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began a five-year run as the host of the ABC-TV children's series, "Make A Wish." Chapin and his songs were also featured in the 1970 documentary film, "Blue Water, White Death," for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two parallel careers, as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth shine, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra, or in an intimate coffeehouse.
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Fri26Apr20248:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Suggested Donation $20
There are songs that transport you to good times remembered. Songs like, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,” and, “Love Is The Answer” have that effect on many of us. These songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend.
John is most revered as half of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The classically-trained pianist and talented guitarist continues performing the gold and platinum record hits for audiences around the world. Some of Coley’s other hits are, “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again,” and, “Sad To Belong."
John’s experiences comprise a broad background. Although he performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in college, and is an avid student of history. In the mid-1980’s, John began acting in television and in feature films. He recently penned a book, "Backstage Pass," about his years in the music industry.
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Sat27Apr20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $25
Under the lonesome cry of the midnight train, stars twinkling over hillbilly lights in the mountain fog, Nellie McKay returns with her first album of original material in 13 years. Recorded in Charleston, West Virginia with The Carpenter Ants & a roving retinue of musical compadres, Hey Guys, Watch This, traces the haunted sounds of Appalachia to a renaissance of revelry. So unpack your washtub bass, fill up your red cup & pull on your shitkickers ‘cause the night is young & the moon is bright, even if we’re not.
Nellie McKay’s music has been heard on Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Weeds, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Nurse Jackie, and SMILF, and she has appeared on TV shows including The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, Ferguson, and The View. Nellie has made numerous radio appearances on NPR’s Mountain Stage, A Prairie Home Companion, eTown, and Marion McPartland’s Piano Jazz. Her writing has appeared in The Onion, Interview and The New York Times Book Review.
She has won a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Polly Peachum on Broadway in The Threepenny Opera; performed onscreen in the films PS I Love You and Downtown Express; and her music was used in movies, Rumor Has It, Monster-in-Law, PS I Love You, Gasland, Last Holiday and Private Life.
McKay co-created and starred in the award-winning off-Broadway hit Old Hats and has written three acclaimed musical biographies: I Want to Live!, the story of Barbara Graham, third woman executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin; Silent Spring: It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature, an exploration of environmental pioneer Rachel Carson; and A GIRL NAMED BILL – The Life and Times of Billy Tipton. Her latest lady bio is The Big Molinsky – Considering Joan Rivers.
Nellie’s seventh album is Sister Orchid. Other albums include Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day and My Weekly Reader, music of the ‘60s, her second collaboration with famed Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick.
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Fri03May20248:00 pmSanctuary location: 1001 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Suggested Donation $20
Vocalist and composer Carla Cooke is the youngest daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke, whose musical life encompassed religion, romance, and history. Carla’s career mirrors that of her father, in that she crafted her sound in the church. Carla sought not to use her father’s name, but to build her own reputation. Now the younger Cooke knows that her roots are firmly entwined in her father's as she connects with them through his music.
Carla Cooke’s style is diverse in gospel, Christian, R&B, soul, and pop styles. With a strong vocal range and warm personality, Carla shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as she channels the raw talent, emotion, beauty, and charisma of the Cooke family persona.
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Sat04May20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Sun08Sep20243:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Sally Barris is a Nashville based performing songwriter whose songs have been covered by stellar artists including Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride, and Lee Ann Womack. Her song, “Let The Wind Chase You,” recorded by Trisha Yearwood and Keith Urban, received a Grammy nomination. Sally's bright spirit and expressive mountain soprano combine with her folk and Celtic roots for an exquisite evening of music. sallybarris.com
Bonus! Sally will provide special music in the 10am Sunday service at Grass Lake United Methodist Church, 449 E Michigan Ave, Grass Lake, on the day of her matinee, 9/8/24.
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Fri13Sep20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
The Black Feathers is duo Ray Hughes and Sian Chandler. Americana, folk, and acoustic indie rock sensibilities coexist comfortably in their musical world, with Hughes’ guitar work buoying the kind of harmonies often heard in family bands. The music is exquisite, the stage chemistry riveting. Partners in life and partners in music, The Black Feathers have been spreading their wings across the United States, having already built up a loyal following in the UK. theblackfeathers.com
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Sat14Sep20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Folk-Americana duo Kaston Guffey and Nick Pankey grew up together in the Ozarks and have been performing as My Politic for over 15 years. Across ten releases, their body of work showcases slice-of-life storytelling, expertly crafted characters, skilled acoustic instrumentation, and sibling-like vocal harmonies.
They made their Woody Guthrie Folk Festival debut in July 2023.
"My Politic has a style of intimate songwriting that is often reminiscent of the late, great John Prine." - Nashville Scene
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Sun15Sep20243:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $15
This is a 3pm matinee show
Jeremy Horn grew up in Memphis, but his music sounds more like the Beatles than B.B. King or Elvis. He writes songs for the church and songs for the radio. Growing up on the sounds of James Taylor and Tom Petty, Jeremy spent most of his early years emulating the sounds and styles of the popular culture. "I wrote songs about social injustices in the world," says Horn. "That progressed into writing songs for Jesus, and that was the process that unexpectedly led me to become a worship leader." Jeremy's music is a fixture on Michigan's 17 Smile-FM Contemporary Christian music stations; his "I Will See Angels" and "First Love" are two of his radio hits. This is a rare opportunity to see Jeremy Horn in a small venue setting. Bring a friend!
Jeremy will also lead worship in the Sunday 10am service at Grass Lake United Methodist Church on the day of his matinee, 9/15/24.
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Fri20Sep20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Heather Pierson is a pianist, singer/songwriter, song leader, and performer with a passion for cultivating joy, both onstage and off. Her uplifting live performances with her bassist/partner Shawn Nadeau delve into New Orleans jazz, blues, and folk, while highlighting their easeful musicianship. Her forthcoming sixteenth studio album, "Back To The Light", is slated for a September 2024 release. heatherpierson.com
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Fri11Oct20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Sam Robbins' music evokes classic 70's singer/songwriters such as James Taylor and Neil Young. Sam adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. He was one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition.A 2019 graduate of Berklee College of Music's songwriting department, Sam has hosted many songwriting workshops and masterclasses, including at the Harvard Music Department, the Boys & Girls Club of Boston, and the Folk Project's Fall Acoustic Getaway. In his performances and workshops, Sam helps others to express themselves through the powerful medium of songwriting. -
Sun13Oct20243:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Matinee show, 3pm
Whether it be folk or bluegrass festival, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," MTV, or Merlefest, Stuart's storytelling, guitar playing, vocals, and songs have graced stages all over the world. He serves up rock, blues, folk, country, and more, on electric, acoustic, and slide guitar. Some songs are autobiographical; some are from the viewpoint of a lifelong troubadour. He might very well toss a Paul McCartney, John Fogerty, or Woody Guthrie song into his set. markstuart.net
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Sat19Oct20247:30 pmDixboro United Methodist Church, 5221 Church Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48105
Suggested Donation $20
Those hits! "It's So Nice To Be With You" and "I Believe In Music."
Jim Gold is the singer-songwriter/guitarist of the 1970s soft rock band Gallery, best known for their 1972 songs, "Nice to Be with You", written by Gold, and "I Believe In Music." Born and raised in Detroit, Jim began writing songs and playing guitar at age fourteen. In 1972, Gallery was voted Best New Singles Group by "Cashbox" and Best Vocal Group by "Record World." Since then, Jim has recorded as a solo artist. Tonight we get the entire band! Come hear that steel guitar and those harmony vocals!
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Fri25Oct20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
There is no better storyteller than Chuck Brodsky. Ranging from poignant to hilarious, his songs are about the little things in the lives of everyday people. Chuck's soulful and compassionate voice brings his characters to life, and is the perfect instrument for infusing his lyrics with heartfelt humanity or biting wit. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds. Chuck is widely known for his many wonderful songs about the heroes -- and zeroes -- of baseball. His latest CD is Gravity, Wings, and Heavy Things.
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Thu07Nov20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $20
Sarah McQuaid returns!
Born in Spain, raised in Chicago, holding dual Irish and American citizenship and now settled in rural England, Sarah brings the eclecticism of her background to her captivating, unorthodox songwriting and choice of material, spanning genres and defying categorization.
In 2020, with her spring tour cut short due to the COVID-19 crisis, Sarah mounted a successful crowdfunding campaign to finance the filming and recording of a full-length live concert sans audience in the beautiful medieval church of St Buryan, just over a mile from Sarah’s home.
The St Buryan Sessions was released in 2021 by Sarah‘s own Shovel And A Spade label on CD and limited-edition blue vinyl double LP. The album made it onto “Best of 2021” lists on three continents and features stunning solo performances by Sarah on acoustic and electric guitars, piano and floor tom drum, her lush, distinctive vocals echoing through the soaring space.
Photo credit: Phil Nicholls
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Sat09Nov20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Facebook Event Page
Mike Green's songs cover much ground, painting human portraits of extended family members; humorous takes on being at home during the pandemic; and even a stream-of-consciousness journey that begins with housework and flies into memory and fantasy.
mikegreensongwriter.com -
Sun10Nov20247:30 pmDixboro United Methodist Church, 5221 Church Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48105
Suggested Donation $20
Livingston Taylor's 50-year career has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first release at age 18, and continues to create well crafted, introspective, and original songs that have earned him fans worldwide.
From top-40 hits, “I Will Be in Love with You” and, “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman,” both recorded by his brother James, Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. He is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz—and from upbeat storytelling to touching ballads.
Livingston has never stopped performing since those early coffeehouse days, touring with major artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and Jethro Tull, and he maintains a busy concert schedule of over 80 shows a year. He is a natural performer, peppering his shows with personal stories, anecdotes and ineffable warmth. His relaxed on-stage presence belies the depth of his musical knowledge, as fans might be treated to classic Gershwin or something from the best of Broadway.
A Message from Green Wood Coffee House:
Hello, Livingston Taylor fans!
Due to scheduling conflict, the location of the Nov 10, 2024 Livingston Taylor concert has been changed to:
Dixboro United Methodist Church, 5221 Church Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48105.
This location is exactly the same distance from your freeway exit (exit 41 off US-23) as the Grace Church location was.
See you in a few weeks!
-Katie and the volunteers
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Sat16Nov20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Facebook Event Page
Reggie Harris combines spirituals and roots music, historic inspiration, and moving original songs, often in the themes of unity and social justice: songs of joy, hope, and freedom. Known for over 40 years as one half of the duo, Kim & Reggie Harris, Reggie continues to crisscross the country, carrying the message of joy, unity, and peace through the powerful medium of live music. Reggie writes from a personal sense of mission filled with possibility and hope. His songs are about life and love and deep aspects of the human experience. He is a vocalist, arranger, and guitarist whose open spirit and wide smile invite us to share in an inspirational evening of music and stories.Bonus! Reggie will provide special music in the 10am Sunday service at Grass Lake United Methodist Church, 449 E Michigan Ave, Grass Lake, on Sunday, 11/17/24.
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Fri22Nov20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Facebook Event Page
Like fine wine, singer/songwriter Mark Dvorak keeps getting better with age. When he began his career in music, he knew right away he’d be in it for the long haul. Thirty-five years later Mark is still writing, recording and on the road performing. The Chicago Tribune called him “masterful,” and the Fox Valley Folk Festival describes him as “a living archive of song and style.” In 2012, WFMT 98.7FM Midnight Special host, Rich Warren, named him Chicago’s “official troubadour.” Mark has given concerts in almost all of the United States and has made visits to Finland, Canada and Ireland. To date he has released twenty albums of traditional and original music. Dvorak has won awards for children’s music and journalism, and was honored in 2013 with the Lantern Bearer Award from Folk lliance International. In 2008 he received the Woodstock Folk Festival Lifetime Achievement Award.
www.markdvorak.com -
Fri06Dec20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $20
Back by popular demand! Don White combines heartfelt, serious lyrics with side-splitting laughs to provide an evening not to be forgotten. This Massachusetts comedian/singer/songwriter/author is best-known in these parts for his radio gems, "Rascal," "Psycho Mom and Dad" and "I Know What Love Is." A Don White show promises to delight new audiences and devoted "repeat offender" fans, alike.
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Sat07Dec20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
You haven't heard "Pinball Wizard" or "People Are Strange" until you've heard it played on jugs and "various other sundries." Jug band music is blues, ragtime, swing and jazz combined in a strange concoction spawned in Loiusville, home of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Jug bands flourished in towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 1920s and 1930s.Today, as then, a jug band is the ultimate party band. The Juggernauts have been featured on the "Today Show" and radio's "Dr. Demento Show."
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Fri13Dec20247:30 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Tickets $20
Annual holiday show fundraiser for the Coffee House Series.
Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, country-folk, and folk-pop tunes. In deft interpretations of beloved songs, Katie's captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney. Katie’s CD release, We Are Each Other’s Angels, has received extensive airplay across the country and around the world. When not doing her own gigs, Katie has been known to “moonlight” singing harmony for folk-rock legend Melanie and local favorite Matt Watroba. katiegeddes.com
All About Eve (Katie Geddes, Deb Wood, Mary Fithian) offers up a variety of close-harmony pop covers and traditional and contemporary folk and gospel songs.
Matt Watroba's mellow voice, friendship with his audience, and knowledge of his presentations is impressive. Add to that Matt’s own brand of humor, and you will feel his love of folk music, both traditional and contemporary--the writers and performers, the heroes and villains. Matt sings songs of compassion, inner strength, humor, and everyday living. www.mattwatroba.net
Eric Fithian will accompany Katieon guitar and harmony vocals; and All About Eve on guitar.
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Sat14Dec20247:30 pmGrace Church, 3150 Glazier Way, Ann Arbor MI 48105
Tickets $20
"Drag queens in limousines, nuns in blue jeans, dreamers with big dreams, they all took me in." – "Drag Queens in Limousines," Mary Gauthier
What out lesbian moves to Nashville at 40 to start a troubadour career? Who goes from playing open mics to playing the Newport Folk Festival in one years time?It's been 25 years since Mary Gauthier, now revered songwriter, released her groundbreaking debut album Drag Queens in Limousines. Eighteen months after this record was released, the response was so incredible that she hung up her chef's coat, moved to Nashville, and started to make her mark as an exciting new voice in the songwriting world.
"Drag Queens in Limousines" is an anthem for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider. It turns out, that's all of us. For twenty-five years, Mary Gauthier has brought all kinds of folks from all walks of life together with her deeply personal, yet paradoxically universal work.
By writing about what matters most to her, having the courage to sing what's often too hard for us to say, and delivering the work authentically, Mary Gauthier opened the gate and widened the path that many who came after her have traveled.
Join us in celebrating twenty-five years of the unique, courageous songs of Mary Gauthier."
Mary will also present 3 songs in the Sunday 10am service at Grass Lake United Methodist Church on 12/15/24.
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Sun02Mar20253:00 pmOut of Eden location: 2415 Norvell Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Suggested Donation $15
Matinee show, 3pm
Grammy Award nominee Leslie Mendelson has released her fourth studio album, After The Party. For this latest effort, she collaborates with not one, but three producers: the legendary Peter Asher (James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt), the young, in-demand Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Sara Bareilles, Sara Watkins) and her longtime songwriting partner, three-time Grammy Award-winner, Steve McEwan. Recorded at Jackson Browne’s Grove Masters studio, she was joined by an ace band featuring guitarists Waddy Wachtel and John Jorgenson, bassists Leland Sklar and Derrick Anderson, and drummers Jim Keltner and Abe Rounds.
Mendelson crafts a distinctive folk-rock, pop-Americana flavor, evoking the sounds of Laurel Canyon, but with the downtown grit and sharp wit of Brooklyn, the city she has called home for over two decades.
With her enchanted voice and evocative songwriting, Leslie Mendelson has won the hearts and minds of both an adoring fanbase and fellow artists alike.