Summer is here! That means it’s time for another stacked/staggering lineup of diverse, musical talents from around the region rocking out live in Ann Arbor’s Ingalls Mall. The 34th annual Summer Festival kicked off a week ago with a performance by Diana Krall’s jazzy ballads and hit full stride last weekend with local favorites The Macpodz and The Crane Wives.
Summer Fest is an exceptional effort employed to enrich the overall vitality of Washtenaw County through showcasing both local and world-class artists such as Rhiannon Giddens and Pink Martini. Organized and run by by a board and volunteers that foster a hub of creative and community energy. There are several activities for families, film screenings, and of course, lots of live music! There are more than 170 events, performances and activities – all free (although donations are kindly suggested).
Tonight, June 13, Detroit-based electro-pop powerhouse band Flint Eastwood is taking the stage at Top of the Park. You can find the full schedule of events here, as well as information about the layout of the festival, and specific entertainment destinations, right here.
The majority of our Michigan-bred music artists, the hometown favorites, will be performing throughout the next month at the Top of the Park stage. And, truly, there are so many great acts scheduled this season that we couldn’t even narrow it down to a top five – or anything close. We wound up creating a veritable 20 must-sees, with a Spotify playlist to get you acquainted.
There’s Liquid Monk’s acid-jazz, October Babies’ zesty world-fusion, Chris Dupont’s heart-swelling folk, Appleseed Collective’s throwback string-band stomps, and Chris Canas’ blend of blues, funk and soul. But there’s SO much more!
Again, check out A2 Summer Fest’s information over here…
But, if you’ve got your Spotify player or app pulled up, check out this playlist, compliments of Current.
While you’re here – we also want to highlight a can’t-miss local show happening this Friday night at the Blind Pig!
Recently, a friend asked me if there were any good jammy/prog/psychedelic kinda jazz-rock fusion bands in the area. I had two come to mind: Stormy Chromer and Desmond Jones. Lo & behold, just a few days after I said that out loud, I find that they’ve already linked up for a super-sized concert, where each band is going to play two unique sets, and invite some special guests to sit in for auxiliary flares.
Both of these bands epitomize a versatility, and a diversity – in sound and style. Stormy Chromer may be more towards rock and Americana, but definitely have a lot of spacey/indie-pop experimentalism going on.
Desmond Jones looks back to the knottier, complex arrangements of post-bop jazz and seminal psychedelic compositions, while successfully redefining the misperceived idea of the “jam band” genre.
Desmond Jones and Stormy Chromer
Friday, June 16 at the Blind Pig
More info
Have a great week! Have an even greater summer!
Jeff covers music for Current, posting weekly show previews and highlighting new bands in the area.
