TARTAN TERRORS
Friday, November 3, 2023, 8:00pm
Tickets: $20
Not a band, but a Celtic extravaganza!
Tartan Terrors (main photo) are not a band but, in the words of the organizers, “North America’s premiere Celtic event, featuring the best in music, comedy and dance.” Amazed by the blistering chops of a two-time world champion bagpiper, the driving tones of drums from around the world, and a guitar played unlike any you’ve ever heard, standing-room-only audiences come to understand why Dig This magazine declares Tartan Terrors “one act to keep an eye on!” Combine all the music with championship-caliber Highland Dancers and internationally recognized comedic performers, and this Celtic group goes beyond the ordinary. Members of Tartan Terrors have performed on four different continents; in some of the most prestigious festivals, Highland Games, and theaters in North America, for a U.S. president and Britain’s Queen, and on Good Morning America. Experience the phenomenon of Tartan Terrors and see why Celtic Beat hails them as “the heirs apparent to the mayhem”!
https://www.tartanterrors.com/
THE JUDY BANKER BAND
w/sg ANNIE BACON
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 8:00pm
Tickets: $25
New music!
Americana and Alt-Country artist Judy Banker returns to The Ark with her all-star band for a birthday concert that also celebrates the release of her fourth studio album, “Bona Fide.” With this newest release, Judy’s songwriting—rife with melodic hooks and raw, poetic lyrics set to layered, innovative arrangements—has evolved, crossing over and blending jazz, R&B, and rock to create something that feels at once familiar and wholly original. Judy and her band—David Roof, John Sperendi, Tony Pace, Alan Pagliere & Brian Williams—will be performing “Bona Fide” cover to cover as well as favorite selections from Judy’s other records. As a longtime Ann Arbor–based musician, Judy has deep connections to the region. Musical partner to Michigan songwriting legend Jay Stielstra for nearly 15 years, and music director of the fall 2022 40th-anniversary revival of Jay’s musical play “North Country Opera,” Judy has been writing and recording her own music for the past decade, with her debut release, “Without You,” nearing its ten-year anniversary. With three highly regarded studio albums under her belt and a single, “Blessed Be the Nation”—a poem of Pete Seeger’s Judy set to her original music—Judy has established herself as a staple of the southeast Michigan music scene. Along with copies of “Bona Fide” and other music merch, Judy will have available for purchase copies of photographs she is known for capturing of the rural/natural areas surrounding Ann Arbor. A portion of photograph sales will go to support the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. Ann Arbor songwriter Annie Bacon opens.
https://www.judybanker.com/
https://www.anniebacon.me/
MIPSO
Sunday, November 5, 2023, 7:30pm
Tickets: $25, $65 VIP
Renegade traditional music from North Carolina
Chapel Hill’s indie Americana quartet Mipso—Jacob Sharp (mandolin, vocals), Wood Robinson (bass, vocals), Joseph Terrell (guitar, vocals), and Libby Rodenbough (fiddle, vocals)—just keeps growing in reach. Influenced by the contradiction of its progressive home and the surrounding rural southern landscapes, Mipso has been hailed as “hewing surprisingly close to gospel and folk while still sounding modern and secular” (Acoustic Guitar) and was recently recognized by Rolling Stone as an “Artist You Need to Know.” The band brings a unique sound, full of wistful beauty, hopeful undercurrents, and panoramic soundscapes. Venturing ever further from its string-band pedigree to discover a broader Americana where classic folk-rock and modern alt-country sounds mingle easily with Appalachian tradition, Mipso’s music is lush and forward moving, with lyrics that sear and salve in turn.
https://www.mipsomusic.com/
