Weekend Music Guide: Singer/Songwriters

 

Halloween parties will be dominating the weekend after this one…  Bands in costumes taking on high-energy sets from myriad rock icons.

This weekend, I’d like to put the spotlight towards three unique presentations, each featuring local singer/songwriters. Their respective realms of style include the blues, gypsy jazz, and Americana-pop.

1.)
Mike Gentry at Crazy Wisdom
Gentry’s raconteurish charisma warms up the already-cozy ambiance of the upstairs performance space in Crazy Wisdom Bookstore. Gentry is a true student of rock ‘n’ roll, but he can channel arena-sized personality into a more poignant coffeehouse aesthetic, with surefire toe-tappers, twangy riffs, raspy-smooth rustbelt warbling and earworm melodies. He’s also just a student of music – he’s got the degree in Music Education to prove that – so it’s likely he’ll teach you a thing or two between his songs at Crazy Wisdom, when he shares stories of his time in California, or his previous local rock outfits. Check out the indelible ribbony melodies of “Table Song.”
More info 

2.)
Chris Canas Band at Mash
C
anas is a certified local treasure for the Michigan music community. If you’re a blues fan, look no further… Impassioned playing, heart-and-soul spilled out in verse, scintillating solos, and smoothly sequed medleys and covers. Canas channels the iconic masters of Blues, from the visceral 50’s to the rockin 60’s… But rather than prattle on anymore, I should just let this video do the talking

3.)
Harrington Brown
Two local musicians who were already significantly inventive in their stylistic pursuits and joined forces. Andrew Brown (of Appleseed Collective), and Michael Harrington, a solo guitarist and music teacher, are performing two shows on Saturday. Their blend of gypsy-jazz was forged when these two friends started bonding over that genres patron saint, Django Reinhardt. Their songs channel the fleet, fret-sliding grace of energetic swing rhythm and piquant picking styles from France and Belgium. They like to take on a few haunting traditional folk ballads from other spots throughout Europe, as well. You might already know that Brown is a proponent of swing-music, but what Harrington Brown also digs into is a bit of the ragtime-esque, boogie-inclined “hot jazz,” or the classic New Orleans jazz sound… Check it out

This group’s too new, just yet, to have songs up online. But you can see some videos on their Facebook page.

They’re performing at a matinee set, Saturday, at Cherry Creek Winery, south of Jackson. Later that same day, they’ll be heading back up home to Ann Arbor to play an evening set at Ann Arbor Distilling Co.  

 

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Jeff covers music for Current, posting weekly show previews and highlighting new bands in the area.

Jeff Milo
Jeff Milo
Jeff covers music for Current, posting weekly show previews and highlighting new bands in the area.

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