The “Sing for Mother Earth,” portion of the 50th Ann Arbor Pow Wow Celebration, will be held at The Ark, 316 South Main St., on March 23 at 8:30 p.m.
The Ark is partnering with the University of Michigan Native American Student Association (NASA) and local singer/songwriter Joe Reilly, who is a NASA alumnus. The concert also commemorates the Golden Anniversary — 50 years — of the Ann Arbor Pow Wow.
“I wanted to offer my musical performance and invite some of my musical mentors from the Native community to share their music together in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Ann Arbor Pow Wow,” Reilly said. “I want to bring together members of our local Native American community in southeast Michigan, as well as non-Native community members, to lift up Indigenous voices in contemporary song.”
Veteran Native American singer-songwriters and Native American Music Award winners Annie Humphrey and Keith Secola will be headlining the show.
Reilly is of Cherokee, Choctaw, Irish and Italian heritage, and has been performing for over 20 years. He released his first album of original songs in 2001. Reilly has 8 CDs and his music has been described as community building.
Reilly will be joined by his band, The Community Gardeners; John Driscoll (drums), Chris Good (bass), Billy King (lead guitar), Jenny Jones (vocals), Lesley-Anne Stone (vocals), and Mark Stone (percussion). They will also be joined by the All Nations Dancers, a group of Anishinaabe pow wow dancers from Mt. Pleasant.
Reilly described who would most enjoy this concert. “Anyone who would like to hear contemporary Native American musical voices, as well as those who want to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ann Arbor Pow Wow and support our local Native community,” Reilly said. “Discounted tickets are available for students with student IDs and will be for sale at the pow wow as well.”
The Ann Arbor Pow Wow will be held at Skyline High School, 2552 North Maple Road, March 23-24. The event is sponsored by the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives at the University of Michigan and NASA.
More information can be found online.
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Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
