Music City comes to Tree Town for the 12th year in a row of Kerrytown's Nashbash Music Festival 2018. Set in the Ann Arbor Farmers Market the event features a roster of first-class national and local performers in an intimate neighborhood atmosphere, making Kerrytown the place to be on Thursday evening during the dog days of summer. One of the founders of Nashbash is Whit Hilll, a longtime member of the Ann Arbor arts community who now lives in Nashville. True to Nashbash tradition, she and her band Whit Hill and the Postcards headline the Nashbash roster, which features Nashville guest artist, Annika Bennett, along with local favorites Hoodang, The Judy Banker Band, The Whiskey Charmers, and Joe Shields: aka Cousin Joe Twoshacks.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Nashbash takes place in the Ann Arbor Farmers Market and is free and open to the public. We'll have delicious BBQ courtesy of the Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery and popular food carts/trucks and drinks (including beer from Wolverine State Brewing Co. and wine) will be available along with fabulous face painting for kids and adults with Motor City Kitty. Immediately following Nashbash, the Aut Bar (315 Braun Court) will host a free "afterBASH" party from 9:30 to 11 pm, with headliner Ann Arbor country-americana artist Ed Dupas, followed by performances by Nashbash and other favorite locals on the courtyard stage.
WHIT HILL AND THE POSTCARDS - Whit Hill and the Postcards features singer/songwriter Whitley Hill, singer/keyboardist/guitarist/husband Al Hill, bassist Patrick Prouty and drummer Chuck Navyac. Driven by Whitley Hill, the Postcards was formed in the winter of 2001 in order to bring interesting, literate and unexpectedly beautiful alt-country music the greater Detroit area. Hill, well known for her versatile creative talents, having spent much of her creative life in Ann Arbor, moved with her husband Al Hill to Nashville in 2010 and has quickly become a vital part of music community there. She comes home to Ann Arbor each year as one of the founders and leading lights of Nashbash.
ANNIKA BENNETT - Annika Bennett has been a songbird from day one. Early photos show her onstage strumming an electric guitar the size of her entire body. Day in and day out, she listened to Queen, the Beatles, Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and more. After learning several Beatles songs note for note on guitar, Annika was inspired to write her first song at age nine - and hasn’t stopped since. Her music captures a unique blend of pop melodies with introspective, thought-provoking lyrics. Suffice it to say Annika’s youth belies her prolific nature: At 20 years of age, she's already written a few hundred songs and received multiple awards including ASCAP’s Robert Allen Award for excellence in songwriting, WNYC’s Battle of the Boroughs Queens champion, Folk Alliance International Executive Director's Choice Artist, and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s #1 Emerging Artist. In 2016, after studying pop music production for one year at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music on a scholarship, Annika moved to Nashville to work as a developing artist with Sony Records. She currently spends her time traveling between New York and Nashville, recording, playing shows, and writing songs every step of the way.
HOODANG - For more than a decade, Hoodang has been mesmerizing audiences with its unique blend of dark, driving, off-kilter alt-country music. The band writes songs, often in the first-person, of people tarnished by bad blood and bad luck who still find ways to make it through to the next town, day, marriage, con, or bottle. Hoodang members include a Who’s Who of local music legends including Dave Rossiter, Sophia Hanifi, Dave Keeney, Ralph McKee and John Crawford. Their combined talents bring a driving, fingerstyle rhythm guitar sound with a thrumming bass, chiming electric guitar, hammer down percussion, and soaring vocal harmonies, that creates Hoodang’s emblemic onstage comfort zone that is a spontaneous, careening edge, playing off the moment, the mood, and the room.
JUDY BANKER BAND - Ann Arbor’s country-americana singer-songwriter Judy Banker, fronts her band of Michigan musical luminaries including bassist/multi-instrumentalist Dave Roof, dobro/electric guitar player Tony Pace (Cold Tone Harvest) and percussionist Brian Williams (Cold Tone Harvest). Rooted in 60’s folk and vintage country, Judy’s songwriting echoes the sensibility of that era but with a contemporary twist. With a voice described as reminiscent of Loretta Lynn and Rose Maddox and a high energy delivery her live performances are always memorable. With two CDs under her belt, 2014’s “Without You” and 2016’s “Devils Never Cry” (awarded a 2017 Philby Award for Best Folk Album), Judy will begin recording her third release later this year.
THE WHISKEY CHARMERS - The Whiskey Charmers is a Detroit-based Americana band led by Carrie Shepard and Lawrence Daversa. Fans have often compared their sound to riding through the desert with the top down. They recently released their second full-length album “The Valley”, which just received a Detroit Music Award for Best Country Recording on CD, digital outlets, and vinyl to rave reviews. The title track “The Valley” has just been chosen by Alternate Root Magazine as one of the top ten songs of the week. In addition , three of their songs have recently been included in the new video game “Detroit: Become Human” (Sony Interactive Entertainment for Playstation 4).
JOE SHIELDS – Grand Rapids artist, Joe Shields is a Kerrville New Folk award winning songwriting and notable animator under his internet alias Joe Cartoon. Joe keeps his music simple with tasteful chord progressions, deep country-fried singing and a tinge of the blues. He completed his first studio album “Rocks and Toads” in 2014 and has two projects completed for a fall release, one recorded with well-known Austin singer-producer, Gorf Morlix.
afterBASH Headliner ED DUPAS - Americana singer-songwriter Ed Dupas' lived-in melodies unwind with reflective lyrics and speak to the current state of the human condition, soothing where possible, agitating where necessary, and seeking change where appropriate. Crafted from the heart, Ed Dupas’ simple yet soulful music flows from an array of broad social themes to more personal narratives of love and loss. website: eddupas.com
The Kerrytown District located in Ann Arbor Michigan has become an Ann Arbor retail destination making it convenient to stroll the neighborhood and check off your shopping list at a wonderfully diverse selection of locally owned businesses.
Featured Events
Ann Arbor Farmers Market
Located in the Kerrytown district, the Ann Arbor Farmers Market has been connecting producers with consumers for over 90 years! Located in the Kerrytown district, the Ann Arbor Farmers Market has been connecting producers with consumers for over 90 years!
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Edgefest 2024
Kerrytown Concert House’s 28th annual 4-day festival, an exploration of new music, improvised and composed. A diverse and deeply inclusive roster of innovative artists (local to international, emerging to established) bring their inspirational new music and collaborations which always contain messages relevant to our lives and the world today.
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Kindlefest
Festive outdoor market features artisans and vendors selling their holiday wares, plus traditional food and hot mulled wine. Kerrytown District retail businesses and restaurants stay open late on this evening as they participate in the festivities. You can expect a variety of artisans selling their wares, food and crafts as well as local food trucks & vendors. Beer and Glühwein will be available for sale, too!
