Since beginning in 2008, Ann Arbor’s Sonic Lunch has maintained a steady position as a summertime opportunity for anyone to enjoy a laid-back concert during the city’s lunchtime hours of 11:30am- 1:30pm, happening every Thursday at the corner of Liberty and Division in downtown Ann Arbor. While the series is known for providing a steady blend of local talent and nationally recognized names, for the past five years, the live music series has become home to Jason Singer, AKA Michigandar, who has made waves as one of Michigan’s biggest on-the-bubble-to-stardom talents. During this year’s Sonic Lunch, Michigander returns to grace the stage once again on August 8 alongside the band Metal Bubble Trio, promoting his forthcoming album “Over Before You Know It.”
Sonic Lunch is so accessible to people. It is in the middle of the day, so if you have a lunch break, you come to it, and it’s fun,” Singer said. “We never get to do the whole show that we would do in a normal club setting or theater setting, but that is why it makes it fun. It feels like a big hang, and we have done it so many years in a row now that it has become a tradition, and I am looking forward to it this year.”
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Ahead of the release of his album, Michiander released two singles, “Freaking Out,” a song capturing the ebbs and flows of life, measuring the weight of feelings like anxiety, overthinking, and fear, while understanding the metaphor of the sun coming after the moon, by noting the beauty of happiness, hope, and life’s simple pleasures.
The second single, “Over Before You Know It,” named after the album and also the project’s outro, tackles the instrumentation and feel of a film’s falling action and resolution. It’s at ease, while keeping the strong narrative and near-journalistic lyricism that has come to define much of Michigander’s music.
“’Freaking Out’ was the first song. That song was originally written for a different artist, and I had this idea that I brought into a session when we recorded it with her. She ended up not wanting to use it for her record, and I asked if I could use it,” Singer said. “Over Before You Know It” was the last song I wrote for the record, and it wraps everything up. I knew that was the title of the album, but I did not have a song that said, “over before you know it.” That is what the song is all about: slowing down, enjoying life and the journey. The journey is the only thing we have.”
For this upcoming performance at Sonic Lunch, Singer said this series has quickly become one of his favorites to perform at, as it allows him to break away from his constant touring to visit Ann Arbor and enjoy his favorite businesses and coffee shops.
“We have it down to a science at this point,” Singer said. “We usually get in the night before, enjoy a meal, and then we wake up early, play the show, and go to Lab Coffee. That is my tradition every time. There are so many people we get to see and talk to, so many friends and people we have not seen in a long time, and that is always great.”
With his album set to release on July 31, Michigander says those in attendance should expect a great performance and some new sounds that will often differ from the sounds on the actual album people will hear on streaming services. However, they should expect a blend of songs from his new project and his past hits.
The album would be fun to play in its entirety. We just did that with this record. It is hard to build a setlist that is neither too long nor too short and is engaging. It is hard to know exactly which songs need to be in the set; that will be an ever-evolving question,” Singer said. “I’m not the kind of band someone wants to go and stand for three hours. When I go see a band, if it’s an hour and a half, I’m stoked. That is all I need. Nothing but the hits.”
Antonio Cooper is a freelance journalist from Detroit, Michigan. His coverage of music festivals and interviews with local celebrities appeared in The E-Current Magazine, The Detroit Metro Times, XXL Magazine, RichMagDigital, The Ann Arbor Observer, and Pop Magazine.
