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THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FESTIVAL SPONSORS
Presenting Sponsor
Producers Circle Design Sponsor
Applauders Circle Sponsors Circle
Media Partners
Welcome to the 44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival This year The Ark presents an Ann Arbor Folk Festival like no other: a musical feast delivered to you at home, wherever that happens to be. In 2020 we counted ourselves lucky to have presented the Ann Arbor Folk Festival before Covid-19 arrived and changed the landscape so completely. This year, with venues shuttered and tours canceled, we’re thrilled to be able to present the Folk Festival at all. We’re deeply grateful to our Presenting Sponsor, Ford Motor Company Fund, and to all of our corporate partners for making this virtual production possible. And this year’s artists? We can’t thank them enough for bringing all this music to us at a time when we need it most. Although we miss being together in person, the virtual format does have some advantages: the 44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival is packed with nearly twice the number of artists we’re usually able to present. Featuring some of our closest Ark Family as well as a few artists we’re just getting to know, this year’s Folk Fest promises to be one for the ages. Another advantage to the virtual format: you can enjoy the program for a full week following the initial broadcast. In addition to showcasing some of the finest folk- and roots-based artists playing today, the Ann Arbor Folk Festival is The Ark’s largest annual fundraising event, typically supporting our presentation of over 300 shows each year in the 400-seat Ford Listening Room at The Ark. This year funds from the Folk Fest are more important than ever as we develop new ways in the pandemic environment to continue delivering our mission of enriching the human spirit through the power of music. Thank you for loving and supporting this music and The Ark in all the ways you do. Live music will be back. We’ll be ready! In the meantime, we invite you to put up your feet, turn up the volume and find your folk from the comfort of your home. Be well, Marianne James, Executive Director Anya Siglin, Program Director Charlotte Csicsila, Development Director Barb Chaffer Authier, Marketing Director Tom Stoll, Annual Giving Manager Emily Jo Ross, Operations Director Kathy Stanecki, Accountant Alison Reed, House Manager Karen Hillegonds, Office Manager Joe Giese, Technical Manager Allison Morris, Development Assistant Jennifer Durr, Peggy Geeseman, Tim Joy, Night Managers
Dedication John Prine October 10, 1946–April 7, 2020 When we say The Ark wouldn’t be what it is today without John Prine, that’s not just a figure of speech. John Prine was the headliner for the very first Ann Arbor Folk Festival in 1976, at a time when the club was deep in debt, and closing the doors was a distinct possibility. And he played for free, asking only that his transportation be covered. People sometimes ask us for inside information on what Ark performers are like, but the onstage John Prine, bemused yet warm, was the real John Prine. “John was just one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet,” then program director Dave Siglin told the Ann Arbor News. “He was wide open—you could just walk up to him and talk to him. Total strangers could talk to him, and he was kind of shy, but he liked people and he always gave 100% in every performance.” John Prine started out as a folk-singing mailman in Chicago’s south suburbs, appearing in small clubs in the glory days of Chicago’s folk scene. His first newspaper review, in 1970, came from the pen of film-critic-to-be Roger Ebert, who wrote, “He appears on stage with such modesty he almost seems to be backing into the spotlight. He sings rather quietly, and his guitar work is good, but he doesn’t show off. He starts slow. But after a song or two, even the drunks in the room begin to listen to his lyrics. And then he has you.” John played many shows at The Ark, the Michigan Theater, and the Folk Festival (in 1976, 1989, 2007, and 2018). Each time he came with some new life lessons and hard-earned wisdom under his belt. But in some ways, John Prine really never changed much at all. Songs from all phases of his life have an instantly identifiable mixture of streetwise humor and untrammeled imagination. And there was always something new to find in the classics that made him famous—slices of life like “Dear Abby,” take-no-prisoners antiwar pieces like “Sam Stone,” anthems for the try-to-stay-sane generation like “Spanish Pipedream (Blow Up Your TV),” portraits of everyday desperation like “Angel from Montgomery,” the widely covered “Hello in There,” which is the definitive song about old age, and profound little bits of fantasy like “Clocks and Spoons.” He spoke to the everyday experience of ordinary people with a simple honesty and an extraordinary ability to reach the heart of the listener. John released 18 albums, including one with bluegrass great Mac Wiseman, and each one is an American treasure. He beat cancer twice but was felled by COVID-19 on April 7, 2020. Later in life, honors poured in. Bob Dylan called his songs “pure Proustian existentialism.” He won three Grammy awards, including a 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated 11 times (next week, the win total may be boosted). He was the first songwriter to perform at the Library of Congress, and in 2016 he won the prestigious PEN New England’s Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award. But to us he’ll always be the artist who seized the rudder and steered us through stormy seas, early in the days of The Ark. On Sunday, Janaury 31, 2021, many beloved musicians with Michigan roots will pay tribute to John Prine by offering covers of his classic songs. Tickets to this livestreamed performance are available via the Ark website at theark.org/folk-festival The tribute will be available for rebroadcast through February 7.
In Memoriam Each year as Folk Festival approaches, we at The Ark think of the long parade of musicians who have made the club what it is, and we take a moment to reflect on the ones we lost over the past year—the creative figures who’ve played The Ark, appeared at the Folk Festival, or just helped shape the genres that nurture the club and its audiences. The toll over the last year, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic, has been especially difficult. We dedicate the 2021 Ann Arbor Folk Festival to the memory of John Prine, without whom The Ark would not be what it is today. The worlds of country and bluegrass were especially hard hit in 2020. We lost the rough-hewn country poet Billy Joe Shaver, a songwriting genius whose outlook lay behind the entire outlaw country movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Billy Joe performed into great old age, and we were lucky to host him for several Ark shows including a memorable Fall Fundraiser. The bluegrass guitarist and singer Tony Rice played The Ark numerous times in at least five different bands. His genius extended from traditional bluegrass to the far edges of contemporary styles, and he has set the standard for every bluegrass guitarist who’s played The Ark since his heyday and influenced plenty of players outside the genre. Jerry Jeff Walker’s songbag, as anyone lucky enough to have heard him at The Ark knows, was much deeper than “Mr. Bojangles,” and his influence on the Texas songwriting tradition was profound. “I used to follow Jerry Jeff around like a Deadhead,” says Todd Snider. Hal Ketchum was the king of country singer-songwriters in the 1990s and played some fine intimate shows at The Ark. The career of Justin Townes Earle was still on the rise at the time of his tragic death, and we are proud to have brought his music to the world at three Ark shows and a Folk Festival appearance. And Steve Gulley was a member of the bluegrass band Mountain Heart that played roof-raising shows that have made the band a perennial Ark favorite. We lost several great folk songwriters in 2020. Chicago’s Michael Smith, composer of “The Dutchman” and in the words of Sing Out! “one of the few undisputed geniuses among singer-songwriters,” was a fixture at The Ark for many years. David Olney appeared at The Ark and penned songs recorded by Del McCoury, Emmylou Harris, and Steve Earle. Texas songwriter Eric Taylor had his songs recorded by Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett, and he appeared at The Ark in the early 2000s. And Canadian folk songwriter Laura Smith played The Ark in the 1980s. We were lucky enough to hear the great Joseph Shabalala at The Ark—he was still performing with Ladysmith Black Mambazo when they played The Ark in 2001. And an offbeat Ark show vividly remembered by anyone there was that of Angolan singer and guitarist Waldemar Bastos in 2018. We note with sadness the passing of several artists who took to the Ark stage as part of larger groups: Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention), Bill Eaglesham (bass player with James Keelaghan), Peter Ecklund (trumpeter for David Bromberg and others), and Bob Shane (The Kingston Trio). And two local theatrical veterans who performed at The Ark have passed on. Bob Beaupre was an Ann Arbor professional actor who did a one-man show in the late 1980s about Ernest Hemingway, called Hem. And David Bernstein, founder of Ann Arbor’s Performance Network and Medieval Festival (which happened on the front lawn of the first Ark), appeared at The Ark in plays in the 1970s directed by former Ark program director Dave Siglin. The year 2020 also saw the passing of many artists who never played The Ark but who shaped the music we present. We never had Little Richard at The Ark, but the Summer Festival hosted him, and our hats are off to them. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen inspired plenty of players beyond his own hard rock genre, and Bonnie Pointer had a foundational influence on the various female vocal trios who have taken the stage at The Ark since her heyday. The songs of Bill Withers, with the combination of simplicity and originality that marks true folk music, are American treasures. Australian-American Helen Reddy sang an enduring feminist anthem that marked something entirely new in pop music. And the Texan folksinger Trini Lopez was a staple of any early 1960s collegiate party and brought the early music of Bob Dylan to a wider public. Country music lost the pathbreaking hitmaker Charley Pride to COVID-19, and the great Kenny Rogers and his inimitable rough-edged croon passed on as well. Another virus victim was Joe Diffie, who hit the top of the charts in a fine duet, “Not Too Much to Ask,” with Ark favorite Mary Chapin Carpenter. K.T. Oslin inspired many of the female singer-songwriters who ruled country in the 1990s, and we lost two great Texas honky-tonkers, James Hand and Tommy Hancock, one of the fathers of the whole highly influential West Texas scene. The world of bluegrass lost two banjo giants: Mike Lilly was a longtime member of Larry Sparks’s band and recorded some wonderful albums for Livingston County’s Old Homestead label in the 1970s, and Eric Weissberg, of “Dueling Banjos” fame, often toured with Tom Paxton. Eric lived in the Detroit area in his later years. Chris Darrow, a member of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in its formative period, also passed away, as did Steve Weber of The Holy Modal Rounders, and the old Uneasy Rider himself, Charlie Daniels. The name of the late Carl Mann, who rocked out Nat “King” Cole’s “Mona Lisa,” is well known to those who have attended our Ark rockabilly shows by George Bedard and others. And we lost the great Louisiana swamp blues piano player Henry Gray, who recorded 58 albums including a new one at 92 and performed almost until his death at 95 in 2020. The Ark has presented Hawaiian music many times, but we are sad that we never hosted Willie K, the winner of 19 Hoku Awards (Hawaii’s answer to the Grammys) over the years. Chad Stuart was one half of Chad & Jeremy, who played folk rock before there was such a thing. And lastly, Vera Lynn died at 103 in the village of Ditchling in East Sussex, England. A compilation of her hits rose to No. 3 on the British charts in 2017, making her the only centenarian ever to hit the Top Ten. Ark audiences: We’ll meet again. Don’t know where, don’t know when. But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.
44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival Artists The Accidentals with special guest Kim Richey Named among Yahoo Music’s “Top 10 Bands to Watch,” The Accidentals began their adventure in their hometown of Traverse City, when Katie Larson, a sophomore cellist, and Savannah Buist, a junior violinist, were paired for a high school orchestra event. The gifted young musicians became fast friends and before long, bandmates. Naming themselves after the musical notes that fall outside of a key signature, they were joined in 2014 by percussionist Michael Dause, and since then national attention has increasingly come their way. Along the road, where they’ve performed more than 1,000 shows over the last five years, they been open to and influenced by a dizzying variety of musical genres, from classical music to hip-hop. Signed to the major Sony label in 2017, the band has released three studio albums, an EP, a pair of live albums, and a single, the politically oriented “Heavy Flag.” Joining The Accidentals on stage tonight is legendary Nashville songwriter and longtime Ark favorite Kim Richey. Part of what draws people to the dusky honey of Richey’s crystalline alto is the way she writes: to and from the soul, never flinching from the conflicts and crushing moments, yet always finding dignity and resilience. Since the pandemic, The Accidentals have co-written 11 new songs with some of their musical heroes for thier upcoming EP, TIME OUT Session 1, and the first single--written with Kim Richey--will premiere at the festival on Friday night. We can’t wait for what they have in store for us! Alan Doyle Newfoundland’s Alan Doyle, formerly of Great Big Sea, chalks up a lot of where is he right now to luck. “I’m the luckiest guy I’ve ever even heard of,” he says. “This was all I ever wanted, a life in the music business, singing concerts. I was lucky to be born in the family I was, in Petty Harbour. I was lucky that Sean, Bob, and Darrell found me and asked me to join their band. I was lucky the Canadian music fans were into it.” And yet, one listen to any of his albums makes it plainly clear that there’s a lot more than luck at play in this decades-long, awards-studded career. An Alan Doyle show is chock-a- block with unmistakably rootsy tunes that hark back to some of Alan’s favorite bands, from John Mellencamp to Payolas, and he’s coming to the 2021 Ann Arbor Folk Festival with a new country-flavored EP, “Rough Side Out,” and a new book, “All Together Now: A Newfoundlander’s Light Tales for Heavy Times.” Amythyst Kiah Born in Chattanooga and based in Johnson City, Tennessee, Amythyst Kiah has been called “one of roots music’s most exciting emerging talents” by Rolling Stone. Amythyst has a commanding stage presence that’s matched by her raw and powerful vocals—a deeply moving, hypnotic sound that stirs echoes of a distant and restless past. Accompanied inter- changeably with banjo, acoustic guitar, or a full band, her eclectic influences span decades, finding inspiration in old-time music, alternative rock, folk, country, and blues. “Our Native Daughters,” her recent collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell (Birds of Chicago), has spawned a full-length album produced by Giddens and Dirk Powell, “Songs of Our Native Daughters” (out now on Smithsonian Folkways). NPR described the opening track, “Black Myself,” written by Amythyst, as “the simmering defiance of self-respect in the face of racism.” Andrea von Kampen Andrea von Kampen first appeared in the public eye with her submission of “Let Me Down Easy” into NPR’s 2016 Tiny Desk Contest. Within 24 hours of submission, All Songs Considered tweeted her video as the featured artist of the day, saying they were “completely blown away.” Andrea von Kampen is an independent folk singer-songwriter based in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her debut album, “Old Country,” features exclusively Nebraska-based musicians, and inspiration for her songs often comes from the literature, art, and nature of Nebraska and the Midwest. Andrea’s effortless vocal delivery has been praised by Hear Nebraska as “soulful and worn-in.” The album’s title track is based on the book My Ántonia by Nebraska author Willa Cather. Andrea has shared stages with such artists as Tall Heights, Ira Wolf, Dead Man Winter, The Brother Brothers, Dead Horses, Darling West and many more. She’s a major new Midwestern artist whose music has depth and homespun conviction. Bruce Cockburn The great Bruce Cockburn, recently inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in September, continues to find inspiration in the world around him and channel those ideas into songs. “My job is to try and trap the spirits of things in the scratches of pen on paper and the pulling of notes out of metal,” he once noted. More than 50 years after launching his singer-songwriter career at the Mariposa Folk Festival, Bruce Cockburn keeps kicking at the darkness so that it might bleed daylight. He’s a Canadian legend, and he’s rarely gone more than a couple of years without issuing new and original music; his latest is 2019’s “Crowing Ignites.” Much of Bruce’s music has had a progressive orientation, even during nonpolitical times, taking up such themes as the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples.
44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival Artists Colin Hay Scotland-born Australian artist Colin Hay is a master of the one-man show. Armed with an acoustic guitar, his rich memorable voice, and decades of road experience, he is an entertainer in the true sense of the word. Colin’s show takes his audience on a journey through song and stories (and poetry on occasion), and that journey is an experience not to be missed. “Hay is funnier than most stand-up comedians, so he’ll split your sides and then drop a heartbreaking ditty on you,” says the Houston Chronicle. The set list for Colin’s solo shows mixes tracks from his extensive catalog as a solo songwriter, new music, and, of course, from his time with the monumentally successful Men at Work. Colin comes to the Folk Festival with a new song, “Now and the Evermore,” which features his wife, the sensational Peruvian songwriter Cecilia Noël, and an as-yet-untitled recording to be released on the Compass label. Crys Matthews Ask about the new generation of social justice music-makers and Crys Matthews will be mentioned. A southeastern North Carolina native who now calls Washington, D.C., home, Crys has been compared to everyone from Toshi Reagon to Tracy Chapman and Ruthie Foster. Equally at home in an acoustic listening room as she is on stage at large music festivals, Crys quickly gathered a loyal following on the East Coast playing such prestigious venues as the Sundance Film Festival, The Birchmere, The Hamilton, and Jammin’ Java. A prolific lyricist, Crys blends Americana, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and funk into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies punctuated by honest, original lyrics. Her eighth studio release, “These Old Hands,” “is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been in my music,” Crys says. From the title track, written about picking up where a love leaves off, to the final track, written about familial complexities, Matthews is letting her listeners see behind what she calls her “titanium wall.” “These Old Hands” finished out 2019 in Folk Alley’s Top Ten, and Crys is already at work on a new project, “Changemakers.” Crys will be back with a full livestream on Friday, March 5. Dar Williams Dar Williams has always followed her muse. When she was in Somerville, Massachusetts, in the early 1990s, knowing that she wanted to pursue music or theater, she worked backstage at the Opera Company of Boston and wrote plays on the side. But she was in Boston, and the muse led her into the myriad open mics and tip jar gigs of booming folk revival. She opened a trunk of old songs and started writing new ones. Dar still loves every minute of her job and always advises folks to “follow their muse.” She still goes wherever the muse leads her, which, presently, is right back on her couch, coffee on the coffee table, guitar in hand, writing her next batch of songs. In the words of Rolling Stone, Dar takes “an aggressive, honest stance on everything from gender norms to aging.” She’s also an accomplished author of two children’s books and What I Found in a Thousand Towns, a gleaning of her hard-earned wisdom of the road. David Bromberg With his 1971 self-titled Columbia Records release, David Bromberg emerged as the wunderkind of American roots music. The disc’s compelling blend of traditional and original material, virtuosic musicianship and iconic cover art trumpeted the arrival of a new artist possessed of audacious and uncompromising vision. Over the course of four albums for Columbia and five for Fantasy Records, and through association with artists like Bob Dylan, Jerry Jeff Walker, John Hartford, George Harrison, the Grateful Dead, Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt, David’s reputation, repertoire and following grew exponentially. The incessant demands of touring brought the band’s recordings and shows to an end in the early 1980s, but David reemerged in 2006 with the release of the Grammy-nominated solo effort “Try Me One More Time,” and he was really better than ever. Since then, David has played solo and band shows at The Ark, and each one has revealed an American musical master. He comes to the Folk Festival with a new release, “Big Road.” Dom Flemons Dom Flemons is an American Songster—and multi-instrumentalist! He plays the bones. He plays the quills. He’s a walking historical encyclopedia of early American music, from old-time blues and country to African American folk music of a dozen kinds. But he doesn’t let that stop him from having a great deal of fun on stage. You may have heard Dom Flemons as part of The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Now he’s got several solo albums to his credit, along with a growing reputation as a musician who makes the past come alive in the present day. Says Living Blues: “No musician in recent memory has tackled so many different idioms with such sincerity and style as Flemons, making him easily the most gifted American songster of his generation.” Come out and dig deep into the American songbag with this unique musician!
44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival Artists George Winston George Winston is undeniably a household name. He’s inspired fans and musicians alike with his singular solo acoustic piano songs for more than 40 years while selling 15 million albums. A tireless road warrior playing nearly 100 concerts annually, Winston finds live performance akin to breathing. Winston’s music is evocative, offering us all a chance to take a step back from our perpetually busy lives and let our minds adventurously wander. George Winston’s classic albums, “Autumn” and “December,” are perennial favorites, along with “Winter into Spring,” “Summer,” 2017’s “Spring Carousel – A Cancer Research Benefit,” two volumes of the compositions of Vince Guaraldi, two volumes of benefit albums for the Gulf Coast disasters, and six other solo piano albums. He recently released his 15th solo piano album, “Restless Wind,” a portrayal of Winston’s place in a chaotic world—his compositions extend solace with an idiosyncratic grace. The album is available now at GeorgeWinston.com. Gina Chavez A multiethnic Latin pop songstress, Gina Chavez is a ten-time Austin Music Award winner. Her bilingual record “Up.Rooted” topped both the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts following a feature on NPR’s All Things Considered and has gained wide critical acclaim. Her Tiny Desk concert made NPR’s top 15 of 2015. Fresh off a 12-country tour as a cultural ambassador with the U.S. State Department, Gina offers passionate bilingual songs that take audiences on a journey through the Americas, blending the sounds and rhythms of the region with tension and grace. Her Spanish- language anthem “Siete-D” (Grand Prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest) recounts her experience volunteering in a gang-dominated suburb of San Salvador, where she co-founded the Niñas Arriba College Fund for young Latinas. She comes to the Folk Festival with her first all-Spanish album, the Latin Grammy–nominated “La que manda.” Glen Phillips Glen Phillips is the lead singer and main songwriter for the band Toad the Wet Sprocket, which he joined when he was only 14. In the words of local critic James Christopher Monger, “Phillips has matured into . . . a quiet storm that dutifully blends Cat Stevens’ confident huskiness and Jackson Browne’s weary but warm observer of all things broken.” Of Glen’s latest album, “Swallowed by the New,” Chris Steffen of Allmusic.com writes, “Songs like ‘Leaving Old Town’ and ‘Unwritten’ explicitly describe moving beyond the past and into the unknown.” Glen Phillips has evolved into one of the great folk-rock songwriters of our time, still staying true to his Toad roots but expanding into new realms of heart, spirit, and delectable hooks. Jeff Daniels, MC The Ark is very proud to present Jeff Daniels as the MC for both nights of the 2021 Ann Arbor Folk Festival. Much of the world knows Jeff as an actor, but we at The Ark were among the first to catch on to a whole new side of his talents. “In Hollywood,” Jeff says, “the joke is if you ask any actor what he really wants to do, he’ll say, ‘Direct.’ Not me. I wanted to write. So I did. With a guitar in my hands.” Since 2000, Jeff has been appearing at many of the country’s leading folk venues, including The Birchmere, Club Passim, Caffe Lena, City Winery in New York and Nashville, and Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music—not to mention appearing twice at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. He has shared stages with Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Joe Ely, Cheryl Wheeler, Guy Clark, Christine Lavin, Keb’ Mo’, and Bruce Hornsby. Jeff served as honorary chair of The Ark’s 50th anniversary celebration. And best of all, he comes to the Folk Festival with a new album, the coronavirus-era reflection “Alive and Well Enough.” When it comes to Jeff Daniels, it didn’t take Ark audiences long to fall in love, and with the 2021 Folk Festival, that relationship will take a new and satisfying turn. Joe Pug Joe Pug has collected plenty of the requisite Dylan comparisons over his career, but in his new music it’s easier to hear the sway of contemporary influences from the likes of The Milk Carton Kids’ Kenneth Pattengale, who produced Joe’s new album. “The Flood In Color” has been nearly four years in the making. But the album started with the goal of focusing on the simplicity of musicians playing together, live, in the same room. Recently relocating back to his childhood home in Prince George’s County, Maryland, after many years spent in Chicago and Austin, Joe wanted take a new approach. The partnership with Pattengale proved to be an irresistible opportunity to do just that. Come and check out this new direction from an Ark favorite! Joe has been posting weekly Sunday Songs livestreams during the pandemic, so he has lots of new material. If you haven’t been keeping up with Joe Pug since the last time we had him at the Folk Festival, now is a great time to reconnect.
44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival Artists Kiefer Sutherland You know the name. You know the face, even if you’ve never switched on a television set. But do you know the music? Kiefer Sutherland has been a professional actor for nearly 40 years, starring in movies like “Stand By Me,” “The Lost Boys,” “Young Guns.” “Flatliners,” “A Few Good Men,” “A Time to Kill,” “Dark City,” “Melancholia,” and the TV series “24.” But, unknown to many, he has taken on other vocations with the same kind of dedication and commitment. The first one, beginning around 1992, was that of a cattle rancher and competitive cowboy (roper) on the USTRC team roping circuit. And in 2002 Kiefer, with his music partner and best friend Jude Cole, began a small record label called Ironworks. In early 2015 Kiefer played Cole two songs he had written. Two songs became four and finally grew into Kiefer Sutherland’s debut album: “Down in a Hole.” Kiefer says: “It’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a journal or diary. All of these songs are pulled from my own personal experiences.” Since then, Kiefer has played the Ann Arbor Folk Festival and the Grand Ole Opry, released his second album, “Reckless and Me,” and honed his chops in advance of his appearance at the 2021 Ann Arbor Folk Festival. Matt Andersen New Brunswick might not be the first place you would think to look for blues and soul, but if so, that just means you haven’t seen Matt Andersen. Matt won the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, and his soulful voice is matched in intensity by his brittle, captivating acoustic guitar style. Matt does what we guarantee is the greatest version of “Ain’t No Sunshine” since the days of Bill Withers. He’s opened for Little Feat, Bo Diddley, Randy Bachman, and David “Honeyboy” Edwards in between about 250 annual headliner dates of his own all over North America and UK. Matt’s unique blues sound incorporates elements of rock, country, and other roots traditions, and pickers of any instrument are sure to learn a thing or two on the way to a great time. Since we saw Matt last at The Ark, he’s released a new album, “Halfway Home by Morning.” Raul Malo When Raul Malo came on the scene as the lead singer of The Mavericks, he already had a sound that didn’t fit the usual categories, and a luxuriant voice that brought to mind Roy Orbison. The Mavericks were a country band, but there was always more to The Mavericks than country: a Latin tinge, seriously ambitious songwriting, and a big dose of pure pop passion. For Raul Malo, The Mavericks were just a beginning of an American musical journey. He has sung in English and Spanish, and he’s at home with rock, country, Cuban music, and the big-band jazz that fits his romantic vocals so beautifully. He’s sung Latin rock, acoustic Americana, and even children’s music. And his voice has only improved with age. It’s a stunning instrument that has the rare quality of being big and intimate at the same time. Raul did some memorable Ark shows over the past 15 years, but he’s mostly outgrown the place, and we’ve mostly had to co-present him with larger venues. Raul has been quite active during pandemic with a series of online “Quarantunes,” and we’re honored to present him as part of the 2021 Ann Arbor Folk Festival. The RFD Boys Ann Arbor’s own RFD Boys last had a real retrospective at our 40th-anniversary Folk Festival, and on that occasion it was brought home to everyone there how deeply this group of musicians has been woven into the musical life of Ann Arbor. Recently they celebrated their own 50th anniversary (with a new album, “Still Delivering,” no less!). It’s hard to believe, because each show is fresh and new, but the RFD Boys have been delighting Michigan audiences since 1969 with their fabulous musicianship and sly, exquisitely timed between-song humor. They’re legends of Michigan bluegrass, but they’re more than that. With an appearance on the cover of Bluegrass Unlimited, with songs recorded by the likes of the Country Gentlemen, and with performances alongside bluegrass greats like Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley, the RFD Boys are a part of America’s bluegrass tradition. Ron Pope Marietta, Georgia native and Nashville-via-New York transplant Ron Pope has been making irresistibly melodic songwriter pop since 2008, when he released his full-length debut album, “Daylight.” The following year, he went viral with his single “A Drop in the Ocean,” which racked up more than 30 million plays on Spotify. Ron has made music for major labels, for independents, and on his own, but whatever the medium, his music has gathered a community that has only continued to grow during the coronavirus pandemic. Since July 23, 2020, he has been releasing a song every two weeks and doing online shows weekly. He also has a brand new album, “Bone Structure.” If you know Ron Pope, you’ll be hearing lots of new music on this Folk Festival show. If you don’t yet, then get ready for a major discovery—an artist who combines an exploratory spirit with the popular touch and a glorious voice.
44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival Artists Sierra Ferrell “Edith Piaf and Hank Williams had a baby,” says a YouTube commenter. With her spellbinding voice and time-bending sound, Sierra Ferrell makes music that’s as fantastically vagabond as the artist herself. Growing up in West Virginia, the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist got her start belting out Shania Twain songs in a local bar at the age of seven. She left home in her early 20s to journey across the country with a troupe of wandering musicians who played everywhere from truck stops to alleyways to freight-train boxcars. “The music they were making was so honest, so pure. It seemed important to bring that kind of music back, and it’s been with me ever since,” she says. After years of busking on the streets of New Orleans and Seattle, Sierra moved to Nashville and started landing gigs around town. To date, she’s enchanted audiences at major festivals like The Avett Brothers at the Beach, AmericanaFest, and Out on The Weekend. Sierra is at work on her full-length debut for Rounder, and listeners who attend the 2021 Ann Arbor Folk Festival just may get the first glimpse of a major new star. Todd Snider In many ways, acclaimed singer-songwriter Todd Snider has made a career out of turning left, when everyone else expected him to turn right. Now a quarter-century into that career, Snider has done it again. After making rock records of one kind or another for seven years, both as a solo artist and with his band, Hard Working Americans, Snider has made another left turn and returned to his folk roots with the release in March 2019 of his thirteenth studio album as a solo artist, “Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3”. As the title suggests, the album was recorded at the studio formerly owned by Johnny Cash and now owned by his son, John Carter Cash. Snider played all the instruments on the record, mostly guitar and harmonica, but he also played banjo on one song and overdubbed mandolin and percussion on some others. The only other people on the album are Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, who contributed backing vocals to several songs. Among the highlights of the record are a trio of talking blues numbers, which reinforce the fact Snider has come full circle with the album because it was the song “Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” from his 1994 debut, Songs For The Daily Planet, that first launched the native of Portland, Oregon, into the national consciousness. Now twenty- five years later, he has released another folk record, and as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and others did before him, reminded the world of the enormous power that can come from one man, his guitar, and the truth. Vance Gilbert Boston’s Vance Gilbert, in the words of Dirty Linen, is “among the quintessential musical poets.” Vance exploded onto the scene in the early 1990s, with buzz spreading quickly. Who was this multicultural arts teacher knocking them dead at open mics? After opening on Shawn Colvin’s 1992 “Fat City” tour, he took much of America by storm and by surprise. “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god, it was enough to earn him that rarity: an encore for an opener,” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. With 15 critically acclaimed albums, Vance Gilbert continues to refine his unlikely union of humor, virtuosity, and the unexpected. Whether with original songwriting or ageless interpretations of covers, his is a presentation steeped in deep humanism and bravery, stunning artistry and soul, and contagious, unbridled joy. Vance comes to the Folk Festival with a new album, “Good Good Man.” The War and Treaty The name itself represents the pull between trauma and tranquility, represents music inspired by darkness and despair that ultimately finds a higher spiritual purpose. It’s an idea made manifest in the music of Albion, Michigan’s The War and Treaty. For Michael Trotter Jr., the journey began in 2004, when he arrived in Iraq, an untested soldier stricken by fear and self-doubt. In one of Saddam Hussein’s private palaces, his unit found a black upright piano that once belonged to the dictator himself. Michael taught himself to play piano on that confiscated keyboard. “I wrote my first song after [my] captain was killed,” he recalls. “I sang it for his memorial in Iraq.” Then he met Tanya Blount, a seasoned performer whose musical influences include Mahalia Jackson, Dolly Parton, and Aretha Franklin. The two fell in love, got married and used the experiences they had gained to create a new musical collaboration. The results blend classic soul, country music, Americana, folk, and gospel sounds in a mixture unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Signed to the Rounder label, they recently released the album “Hearts Town.” Willie Watson In the exploding world of acoustic music, Willie Watson hardly needs an introduction. During his decade-plus tenure with Old Crow Medicine Show, Willie’s driving rhythm guitar, transcendent lead vocals and pure tenor were an essential part of the band’s success (over 600,000 albums sold, not to mention the platinum-selling single “Wagon Wheel”), but nowhere in OCMS’s catalog does his instrumental artistry and vocal prowess shine through as well as in his solo incarnation. Reaching back for inspiration to such artists as Utah Phillips, Leadbelly, and even the 1930s folk-country crossover artist Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Willie reinterprets and gives new life to a vast catalog of traditional songs that fit seamlessly beside self-penned classics cut from the very same cloth, creating a rich new patchwork of Americana. He comes to the Folk Festival following his acting debut in the Netflix film “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”
Folk Fest Running Order Friday, January 29, 2021 7pm ET Saturday, January 30, 2021 7pm ET Ark Welcome Ark Welcome The Accidentals with special guest Kim Richey The RFD Boys Jeff Daniels Jeff Daniels Joe Pug Andrea von Kampen Ron Pope George Winston Amythyst Kiah Crys Matthews Willie Watson David Bromberg Kiefer Sutherland Dom Flemons Jeff Daniels Jeff Daniels Gina Chavez Sierra Ferrell Glen Phillips Ford Motor Company Fund Ford Motor Company Fund Matt Andersen The War and Treaty Vance Gilbert Alan Doyle Bruce Cockburn Colin Hay Dar Williams Jeff Daniels Jeff Daniels Raul Malo Todd Snider Technical Support and FAQ The 44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival is streaming on the noonchorus.com platform. Instructions on how to access the folk fest stream are outlined below. You can find additional answers to frequently asked questions, including how to cast or connect to a TV at https://noonchorus.com/techfaq/ How to tune in 1. On the day of the show (or any day after through 2/7/21), return to https://noonchorus.com/the-ark/ -- the same link you used to buy the ticket. 2. Click on the “Already have access?” to login. 3. On the form that appears, enter your login credentials (email you used and password you created when you bought the ticket) or use either your Google or Facebook to login. 4. Click on Login. 5. The page will then refresh and if you have already purchased, the paywall will disappear and reveal the video player. If you haven’t purchased, it will direct you to the payment details. On the day of the show, there will be a countdown clock leading up to show time. If you have additional questions or need more technical help, please contact help@noonchorus.com.
Special Thanks The Ark would like to thank the following for making the 44th Ann Arbor Folk Festival possible: Andrew Sikora, Q Ltd. Andy Rogers The Ark Board of Directors The Ark Charter Members Chris Ammel, Ann Arbor’s 107one Christine Golus, Q Ltd. Cory Robinson Danielle Smith-Elliott, MetroTimes Darin Martin, Center for Campus Involvement Emily Cedar, Q Ltd. Gabrielle Piazza, MUTO Jan Stevenson, Between The Lines/PrideSource Jenny Jones, Sadie Madden Music Jeremy Baldwin, WEMU 89.1 FM Jim Manheim Kelsy Murphy Martin Bandyke, Ann Arbor’s 107one Mary Culler, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services Molly Motherwell, WEMU 89.1 FM Michigan Union Ticket Office Natalie Hensel, MUTO Rob Reinhart, Acoustic Cafe Shawn Thompson, Ford Motor Company Fund The Ark would also like to thank all the artists, agents, and managers whose support has made the Festival possible this year! Extra thanks to our Ann Arbor Folk Festival Benefactors Anne & Deron Brod George & Mary Tewksbury George & Nancy Sloan The Hurvitz Family Lieveka Scheys Morley Witus & Esther Ullman Richard & Linda Greene Steve Johgart Susie Thompson Tim Smith A very special thanks to those longtime partners and friends who, due to the pandemic, are not involved with the event this year, but whom we very much value and look forward to having with us when the Folk Festival can return to HIll Auditorium as an in-person event. Aeriel Enterprises Ann Arbor Theatrical Stage Employees IATSE Local 395 The Ark Volunteers Barry LaRue, University Productions Brian Truskowski, BMT Wellness Dane Racicot, Hill Auditorium Karin Blazier Paul Shapiro Prema Lindsay Smith, Inner Balance Therapy Shannon Rice, University Productions Susan Pile, University Unions and Auxiliary Services Finally, our deepest appreciation goes out to our friend, Ernie Caviani, The Ark’s official piano tuner for over 30 years. Ernie began tuning The Ark’s old upright piano at our second location in the late 80s. Prior to that, he tuned for the UM School of Music, Major Events Office, and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. Ark performers frequently comment on how good the piano sounds, and we give full credit to him! As you ease into your retirement, Ernie, and begin taking up biking, playing more golf, taking more walks, and pushing your own piano playing to new levels, don’t forget to stop by and take in a show with your Ark Family from time to time.
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