The Breakthrough Acts

Sept. 2, 2016

Breaking out of northern Michigan to achieve a major career in music takes more than talent. While our communities are avid supporters of all kinds of music, and our region’s beauty inspires many a tune, the hard facts are that there are fewer venues, auditions, music managers, record labels, and other resources here than in larger cities. But it can be done, and here are some of the talented musicians from Up North who have proven in.

Andrew Dost

Dost, a graduate of Frankfort High School, attended Central Michigan University in pursuit of journalism but soon found himself spending more time playing in bands, including the indie-rock outfit Anathallo. He’d met musicians Nate Ruess and Jack Antonoff through his musical travels, and with them, the multi-instrumentalist formed Fun., an indie-pop band that broke out quickly from its new base in New York City. Fun.’s 2012 album Some Nights spawned three hit singles: “We Are Young” (featuring Janelle Monáe), which topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for seven weeks; the title track, which became Fun.’s second Top Ten single; and “Carry On,” which they’d perform on Saturday Night Live. Two Grammy Awards and loads of touring later, Fun. is taking a break while singer Ruess promotes his solo album, Grand Romantic, and Antonoff works with his side indie band project, Bleachers. Dost, meanwhile, has made an additional music career for himself in television and film scoring. You’ll hear his music in the MTV show Faking It, as well as in the Jack Black/ James Marsden movie The D Train. Fun. reportedly will be back in full force eventually, but in the meantime, Dost’s having plenty of it doing other things.

Find Out More: andrewdost.com and ournameisfun.com

Fan Sighting Potential: Possible. Dost has spent time living in both Royal Oak and New York City but mentioned in a recent interview that he’ll “always return” to his hometown of Frankfort.

Sufjan Stevens

Born in Detroit and transplanted to Petoskey with his family when he was nine years old, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens attended Petoskey High School, Harbor Light Christian School, and Interlochen Arts Academy, finally ending up at Hope College in Holland, Mich., after high school. But New York City was calling his name. He moved there to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from The New School and began pursuing his own music with a vengeance. In addition to co-founding the boutique record label Asthmatic Kitty Records, Stevens’ own musical career quickly became a critically acclaimed one, even as the musician himself became more elusive, as demonstrated by his cryptic website. His skills on a wide range of instruments — guitar, drums, piano, oboe, and banjo — lend an eclectic feel to his autobiographical folk-pop tracks. Rolling Stone dubbed Stevens’ 2005 album, Illinois, one of the Best 100 Albums of the 2000s; that album would also win a slew of nods from Spin, KEXP, Billboard, and the PLUG Independent Music Awards. Most recently, Pitchfork called his 15th album, 2015’s Carrie and Lowell (named after his mother and stepfather), among the best of the year. Stevens continues to record and tour.

Find Out More: sufjan.com and asthmatickitty.com

Fan Sighting Potential: Unlikely. While Stevens is thought to still have relatives in Petoskey, he now lives in Williamsburg, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Kenny Olson

It’s been said that if you hung out in Traverse City’s nightclubs in the early to mid ’90s, you’ve seen Kenny Olson play. Olson often performed at venues like TC’s Union Street Station, where his guitar-shredding abilities were local legend. With skills like that, it was inevitable that a bigger name would take notice — and that’s exactly what happened when Olson became a founding member of Kid Rock’s Twisted Brown Trucker Band. Olson remained with Rock’s outfit for 11 years (until 2005), snagging praise from such big names as Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers, who called him a “rare talent”; Metallica’s James Hetfield, who said “ … Olson’s guitar-playing speaks for itself ”; and the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, who called him “one of the best rock guitarists on the scene.” (And you can’t really top getting your own animated character on The Simpsons, another of Olson’s accomplishments.) Today, Olson has stepped out with his first full-scale solo album project, The Kenny Olson Cartel, a “loud and proud” rock extravaganza that Olson said he’ll tour with “as long as he’s alive and kicking.”

Find Out More: kennyolson.com

Fan Sighting Potential: Possible. Olson reportedly lives in Detroit and also spends time in Nashville but is still spotted in Traverse City on occasion.

Matt Noveskey

A 1994 graduate of Saint Francis High School in Traverse City, bass player Matt Noveskey has been in a number of local bands, including a couple you might recognize: Switch and Botfly. When already-signed alternative rock band Blue October lost their original bass player (Liz Mullally, who quit), Noveskey utilized his musical connections to snag an audition, and he nailed it; his first show as an official Blue October band member was at the Satellite Lounge in Houston, Texas in 1999. After a brief hiatus from the band in the early 2000s, Noveskey returned in 2004, also having formed a second band, (a+)machines, in the interim. Blue October continues to record and tour, and most recently released their eighth studio album, Home, on Up/Down Records this past April. When the band’s not on the road, Noveskey can most often be found touring solo, or at his own Orb Recording Studios in Texas, where he works as a bassist, songwriter, and record producer, hosting sessions for Justin Bieber, Pentatonix, and Odd Future, among others. He’s also a celebrity endorser of Fender bass guitars and Aguilar bass amplifiers.

Find Out More: blueoctober.com and orbrecordingstudios.com Fan Sighting Potential: Unlikely. Although Noveskey tours, he calls Austin home.

Britta Phillips

Whether or not you recognize the name singer-songwriter Britta Phillips, if you watched cartoons in the mid ’80s, you’ve likely heard her; Phillips performed the singing voice of the character Jem in the animated TV series Jem and the Holograms, which ran from 1985 to 1988. Born in Boyne City, Phillips was perhaps destined for a life of music. Her father, Peter Phillips, was a musician, jingle composer, and former music teacher of Paul Simon. After spending part of her childhood in Boyne City, Phillips moved to Pennsylvania with her family, and then to Brooklyn on her own to pursue her music career. Following her Jem years, Phillips in the ’90s shifted through a series of landmark indie-rock bands, most notably Luna and Belltower. She eventually married her former Luna bandmate Dean Wareham, which led to the acclaimed duo project Dean and Britta, as well as scores for movies like The Squid and The Whale. This year finally sees Phillips stepping out on her own. She released her debut solo album, Luck or Magic, this past spring, a set of five original songs and five covers; the album includes contributions from Wareham as well as from Jeffrey Brodsky of the electronica-rock band Yacht.

Find Out More: brittaphillips.com Fan Sighting Potential: Unlikely. Phillips and Wareham live in Los Angeles and seem to have few ties to the region.