The 35th Annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival arrives at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor on Friday and Saturday, January 27th and 28th (doors at 6:30pm each night). And there will definitely be pretty wide variety of folk styles on display, ranging from Mexo-Americana, to blue grass chanteuses, to alt country.
The Friday night line-up boasts headliner Ryan Adams, who is currently touring in support of his new album, Ashes & Fire. Adams returns after a 2-year break from music, where previously, he had churned out albums like an assembly line, for example, releasing 3 albums in 2005 alone (Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights with his previous band The Cardinals, and 29, a solo effort). He says he’s clean now, which will hopefully lend itself to a more controlled, sober performance – I saw him perform at the Opera House in 2002, and he proceeding to polish off a bottle of wine before even being halfway through the set, leading to some amusing antics and him singing Sylvia Plath twice (in his defense, when taking suggestions from the crowd for what to sing, someone shouted it out even though he had already played it). Ashes & Fire is a very mellow album in the same vein as Love is Hell, so it should pair well with an acoustic-style performance. But here’s hoping he at least pulls out some old school stuff (a little Come Pick Me Up would make a girl happy).
The Friday night line-up boasts headliner Ryan Adams, who is currently touring in support of his new album, Ashes & Fire. Adams returns after a 2-year break from music, where previously, he had churned out albums like an assembly line, for example, releasing 3 albums in 2005 alone (Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights with his previous band The Cardinals, and 29, a solo effort). He says he’s clean now, which will hopefully lend itself to a more controlled, sober performance – I saw him perform at the Opera House in 2002, and he proceeding to polish off a bottle of wine before even being halfway through the set, leading to some amusing antics and him singing Sylvia Plath twice (in his defense, when taking suggestions from the crowd for what to sing, someone shouted it out even though he had already played it). Ashes & Fire is a very mellow album in the same vein as Love is Hell, so it should pair well with an acoustic-style performance. But here’s hoping he at least pulls out some old school stuff (a little Come Pick Me Up would make a girl happy).
Also joining the Friday line-up are Denver-based, Russian gypsy -sounding, DeVotchKa (by the way, did you know that they used to be a back-up band for burlesque shows and even toured with Dita Von Teese? Learn somethin’ new every day), probably best known for their contributions to the score and soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine. Also on the docket are, Dawes, Carbon Leaf, Elephant Revival, Sunny War, and David Wax Museum.
The Saturday night line-up is a pretty venerable who’s-who of folk rock legends, including Nanci Griffith, Glen Campbell, and headliner, Emmylou Harris (making white hair hotter than any other woman possible). Glen Campbell announced last summer that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease 6 months earlier, so the Ann Arbor stop with the folk fest is included as part of his farewell tour, essentially the last time he’ll ever perform in the Detroit area. Not a performance to be missed. Also performing Saturday line-up are Michigan local Joe Henry (did you know that he’s married to Madonna’s sister? Again, sharing all kinds of interesting tidbits today), Sarah Jarosz, Caravan of Thieves, and Grammy-nominated Seth Glier.
As a warning, tickets may be a bit hard to come by at this point. Tickets are still available for Friday night ($35 to $47.50) but it appears as though Saturday is sold out. Or else I'm really technologically impaired and can't figure out how to purchase tickets through the Michigan Union Ticket Office's website. But your best bet might be trolling the web for those looking to sell tickets. Based on the solid line-ups though, I'm going to wager a bet that it would be worth every penny.
As a warning, tickets may be a bit hard to come by at this point. Tickets are still available for Friday night ($35 to $47.50) but it appears as though Saturday is sold out. Or else I'm really technologically impaired and can't figure out how to purchase tickets through the Michigan Union Ticket Office's website. But your best bet might be trolling the web for those looking to sell tickets. Based on the solid line-ups though, I'm going to wager a bet that it would be worth every penny.