This year marks the seventh anniversary of “My Folky Valentine”, presented at 8pm, Sunday, February 13, at the Ark. Tickets are $15. The tagline of the show is “Together in life… together in music”, as several musical couples take the stage to share their talent and maybe even a few love songs. I spoke with Annie Capps, who anchors the show this year, along with her husband, Rod, about what treats are in store for us.
Current: I note that your usual co-conspirators are off the lineup and three new couples are appearing. What about these acts made you decide to include them, particularly as two of them are definitely not local?
Capps: The truth is, I’ve been thinking about changing it up for the past couple years. I mean there’s no shortage of married duos out there and we’ve been honored to meet quite a few of them on our travels. The problem is that now there are so many who we love and admire and want to invite, but there’s only so much room on that stage!
What should Current readers know about them that would make them eager to see the show this year?
Capps: Most folks in the Ann Arbor area should already be familiar with – if not fans of – Shari Kane (Madcat & Kane) & Dave Steele (Big Dave & the Ultrasonics). Shari & Dave as a duo are so magical and moving. They don’t play shows together that often so this is a real treat.
Neither Jeff & Vida (https://www.jeffandvida.com) nor Doug & Telisha Williams ( https://www.dandtw.com) have played The Ark before—something I find completely surprising—but that fact played a big role in our decision. We wanted to expose them to The Ark audience so people could see how amazing they are. Both couples feature ladies with powerhouse voices, dynamite songwriting, superb playing and high energy roots music making lots of waves with Americana chart-topping albums. Jeff & Vida played the Wheatland Festival main stage this year and have toured internationally for years. Doug & Telisha tour tirelessly and have headlined major venues & festivals all across the country. They are always a huge hit and I believe they will dazzle The Ark audience as well.
Are you planning on having more couples that aren’t local as the show continues?
Capps: I think that’s a safe bet. Like I said, we’ve met so many incredible duos over the years and it was hard choosing just three for this one. I have more couples in mind for next year but would also like to bring back one or two of the original duos. We’ll just have to see how this one goes.
And, finally, is there anything else you’d like to say about the show that would be interesting for our readers?
Capps: This concert is not just for couples celebrating their coupleness! While we’re definitely taking advantage of a theme, the music isn’t all about lovers and love songs. As in the past, we’ll play in-the-round and promise plenty of mayhem, heart-break and murder ballads. The excitement is in the music obviously, but also the energy and spontaneity that happens any time you have friends sharing the stage together, the likes of which you can’t predict. You just have to be there.
