DIYpsi Summer Fest / Annie Palmer / Foxfest / Scrappers

Everyone discounts the surplus of summer that we still have yet to savor… as if the looming Labor Day means the end of fun… But you’ve heard all this before, my typical intro where I make you self-conscious for secluding yourself on a weekend night and encourage you to get out the door and bustle your way downtown to see some bands… You know…

You could start your Friday off with some funk!

Funk Friday In The Beer Garden

Cultivate Coffee & Tap House invites you in (and then back out again, through the front door and out onto their serene patio), for an evening of cool funk riffs, danceable grooves, and maybe some hip-hop vibes. The crew at Cultivate had a good reception with a recent Funk Night foray, so why not try it again? It’s free and all ages are welcome. Funk-hop specialist Original Kolorblind will go on at 9pm, but things will get started around 7:30pm with Kyle Rybak and Messy J. & Codoni.

Friday
7:30 pm
Cultivate Coffee & Tap House
307 N. River St, Ypsi
More info

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Singer/songwriter Showcase at Crossroads

You know, when I write those words, singer/songwriter showcase, it smacks of some clichéd coffeehouse evocation, Pete Seeger covers and warm/fuzzy vibes. But…no, not exactly the case here. The three voices aligned for this Friday’s Crossroads set are singular, boundary-pushing, atmospheric-heavy genre-mutators who want to find new, weird ways to pluck a few of your heartstrings until they slacken into sublime new minor keys.

When Annie Palmer sings, her voice transmits a nebulous cluster of emotions, soothing but not a lullaby, cathartic but not anguished, going from breathy to blunt with grace, while the guitars and ambient atmospherics create a dreamlike space between each tone and timbre. The room should stop when she starts.

Cash Harrison, meanwhile, will be coming in from Redford to bring his resplendent rasp-and-twang, and Jim Cherewick is continuing to experiment with his solo incarnation. The pair of them present refreshed takes on Americana and lo-fi folk, respectively, but notably bring a lot of heart and originality to the table… (or in this case, to the stage).

Annie Palmer / Cash Harrison / Jim Cherewick
Friday
Crossroads Pub
517 W. Cross St., Ypsi
9pm
$5
More info

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DIYPsi Fest

A trio of local artists collaborate to host this late-summer festival, meant to bolster the creative sector and make this a nurturing place for the arts ~ similar to First Fridays, or the Arts Alliance, or Sonic Lunch. DIYpsi, Do-It-Yourself…or, properly pronounced “dip-see…” is an art fair happening Saturday and Sunday in the business district, a crafter’s bazaar, if you will, where you can shop at vending tents that support and celebrate the work of local artists…

…there will also be live music!

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor and Willa Rae & The Minor Arcana will be headlining two days of live music lineups hosted at Corner Brewery (720 Norris St.), starting in the early afternoon and stretching on until the late evening. The Landmarks will be performing (possibly one of their last hometown appearances for the foreseeable future…), there will be a solo set from Tom McCartan, and Detroit-area outfits like Young Punk, Bruised Reed and White Bee will also perform. Closing out Sunday evening will be DJs Agent 99 and Wasted Trip.

Full lineup

And click here for more info on DIYpsi. The event’s musical programming is co-hosted with the Music & Arts Guild of Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti, which, by the way, you can read more about in Current’s forthcoming September issue, where we’ll chat about helping artists and bands find more audiences (and more places to play/show…).

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Meanwhile in Detroit

Foxfest 3 kicks off at 8pm at the Tangent Gallery (715 E. Milwaukee). This is a fundraising art exhibit and concert benefiting three local women’s groups, Girls Rock Detroit, Alternatives for Girls, and Genesis House. The bands all feature prominent and dynamic women and the same goes for each solo exhibitor, spanning various mediums and styles. Carmel Liburdi, The Luckouts, Odd Hours, Dear Darkness, Catty Club and DJ Cait Ash will provide music, while the Ava East, Gwen Joy, Lisa Powszywak, Joanna Dietz, Candy Draper, and Jenny Creech will have work on display. (Hosted by Dena Lucket)

Foxfest 3
Saturday
Tangent Gallery
715 E. Milwaukee, Detroit
8 pm
$10 suggested donation (also accepting clothing donations for women’s shelters)

More info

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If you dig a bit of country, a bit of sweet 70s psychedelia, a bit of twangy-rock and Neil-Young-gunned riffing, then I’m sure you’d dig The Scrappers. The Detroit-based quartet come prepackaged with plenty of know-how and hot-blooded experience from their garage-rock days, but now they’ve honed all of that ragged riffing into a fully-buttoned-up shirt and straightened collar, with a toe-tapping beat and a proclivity toward smooth harmonies. Also, that pedal steel is a subtle kick in the ass… I’m eager to hear their new album, released this Saturday at the UFO Factory

Scrappers Record Release with The Drinkard Sisters and Eric Allen & His Loose Koozies
Saturday
UFO Factory
2110 Trumbull, Detroit
9 pm
More info

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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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