Music

Music Patrick Ivory Travels with Charlie:Singer/songwriter brings songs of the road back home
By Pat Ivory
It’s been a long trip for singer/songwriter Charlie Loesel, from playing next to the salad bar at Blondie’s roadhouse diner out on Chum’s Corner in Traverse City years ago, to releasing his own recording with session musicians from bands that backed Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Paul Simon.
Loesel, who now lives in Seattle, will make it a full circle with a homecoming performance as Sleder’s Tavern in TC on Sunday, November 28, at 4 p.m.
Loesel grew up in Traverse City and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in electrical engineering. After working a couple of years as a computer programmer in Chicago, he joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Africa.

Music Robert Downes Sound of Music :New amphitheatre dovetails with garden & barns project at GT Commons
By Robert Downes
A new 1,000-seat outdoor concert facility at the site of the historic barns of the Grand Traverse Commons could fill the surrounding hills with the sound of music within the next two years.
“We’re very excited about this project, which will combine the efforts of the Botanic Garden Society to create a new 25-acre botanic garden, along with a plan to renovate and restore the cathedral barns at the Grand Traverse Commons,” says Benjamin Marentette, executive director of the Recreational Authority for both the City of Traverse City and Garfield Township.

Music Rick Coates Triple Shot: Jackyl, hip-hop pioneer DMC & Uncle Kracker roll out the rock
By Rick Coates
Jackyl is arguably the hardest working band in rock and roll. They hold two Guinness Book of World Records, one for playing 100 concerts in 50 days and another for performing 21 concerts in a 24-hour period. The band is most infamous for their chainsaw wielding frontman Jesse James Dupree.
The band makes no apologies for their controversial shows, because as Dupree says: “That ain’t the rock and roll way, you don’t apologize.”
The band will make their way to the Ground Zero Nightclub on Friday as they kick off their new tour. Joining them will be Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member DMC of Run DMC fame.

Music Ross Boissoneau Bryan Ferry – Olympia - Astralwerks
The bad news is this was originally going to be the first new Roxy Music album since 1982’s Avalon. The good news is that despite the fact it isn’t, it’s Ferry’s best in a while. And it still has contributions from original Roxy members Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, and Brian Eno, as well as latter-day Roxy contributors Neil Hubbard and Andy Newmark, as well as Marcus Miller, Flea, Nile Rogers and many others. The music is a bit more strident than Roxy’s swan song, but Ferry is still as suave as ever.

Music Kristi Kates The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night - Jagjaguwar
Montreal band Besnard Lakes add even more power to their orchestral pop-rock blend, with epic compositions and dense yet opaque song structures. “Land of the Living Skies” stacks instrument upon instrument as it moves along, adding each element with precision until the song is at its optimum balance. “Albatross” sketches in horns, layered vocals, and chilled drums, and “Chicago Train” utilizes strings to interplay its sad feel with the guitar work. All of the attention to detail is what makes this one of the Canadian band’s more accessible yet still unique sets.

Music Kristi Kates The Wiyos: Redefining Americana
By Kristi Kates
The Whyos were an intimidating street gang who raged through NewYork’s
volatile Five Points region from the 1860s until the early 1890s,
controlling much of the Manhattan territory and shouting their gang
cry of “Why-oh!” throughout the rough city streets.

Music Kristi Kates ‘Phantom‘ plays TC’s Opera House: Dashing D’Ambrosio
By Kristi Kates
There’s a phantom lurking in Traverse City’s Opera House this week,
but this time he’ll be spending all of his time onstage, rather than
in the cellar.

Music Kristi Kates A Concert Series for SoBo: Boyne City gallery merges art with music
By Kristi Kates
The SoBo Arts District in Boyne City continues to boom, not the least of which is via the musical offerings of a new concert series.
Singer-songwriter Michael Lee Seiler has amped-up his participation in the Sobo scene as entertainment director for the BAC (Boyne Arts Collective), bringing live performances to the artsy little town’s roster of activities.
Begun at the end of August with a fundraiser that helped revamp the BAC’s South Gallery room that serves as the music venue, Seiler is offering concerts on the second and fourth Sunday of each month from 4-6 p.m., usually in conjunction with an art exhibit in the BAC’s gallery.

Music Danielle Horvath In Frankfort: Sweet Sounds from Miranda Music
By Danielle Horvath
Few would guess that Frankfort would be home to what is most likely Northern Michigan’s most ‘international’ music store: Miranda Music.
That’s based on the experience of its owners: Bogar Guzman and his wife Elizabeth Shrake.
Bogar is an internationally-known musician, conductor, professional oboe and English horn player, while Elizabeth is a professional singer, choral conductor and music educator with a degree from DePaul University.
Their combined music experiences have taken them from Guzman’s native Venezuela – where he was a founding member of the Venezuelan Youth Symphony Orchestra – to touring Europe and playing professionally with the Lyric Opera in Chicago, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, conductor Leonard Bernstein, and opera greats Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

Music Erin Cowell We‘re Dreaming of a White Christmas
By Erin Crowell
Old Town Playhouse director Phil Murphy grew up wanting to be Danny
Kaye after he watched the 1954 Paramount Film “White Christmas.”
“Bing Crosby…not so much,” said Murphy. “I didn’t make much of a
dancer and I’m not much of a comedian.”

Music Kristi Kates Hillbilly Music: Old Sledge brings the music of the mountains
By Kristi Kates
The sound of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia comes to Northern Michigan this week, with the arrival of Old Sledge.
“This winter is going to be a busy one for Old Sledge,” begins the band’s Sabra Guzmán. “we wrapped up a great summer with festivals and new venues, and for this fall, we’re getting to visit four new towns in Michigan. We’re really excited to be treading into new territory, and hope to make some new friends and fans!”
If you’re a fan of traditional “old-timey” music, whether fiddle tunes, Appalachian classics, or revitalized blues, chances are you’ll quickly become a fan of Guzmán and her bandmate, aptly named Chance McCoy. The pair of friends, who often round out their duo sound by adding frequent live collaborators Ben Townsend or Jake Hopping, will be performing in Petoskey this Saturday at the Crooked Tree Arts Center.

Music Kristi Kates Brian Wilson - Reimagines Gershwin - Disney
The uber-talented Brian Wilson keeps evolving as a creative musician, this time taking on two pieces of music left by the equally skillful George Gershwin when he passed away (with the approval of the Gershwin estate.) Wilson’s gift for melodies blends perfectly with Gershwin’s
lush, beautiful compositions, adding modernity to the likes of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and “Summertime.” And Wilson completes the unfinished “The Like in I Love You” and “Nothing But Love” with his gift for songcraft; he adds beachy buoyancy and delicate emotion to both of these tracks that Gershwin unintentionally left in very good musical hands.

Music Rick Coates Exotic Import Hana Malhas
By Rick Coates
The Mideast meets the Midwest when Jordanian singer-songwriter Hana
Malhas brings her indie folk to the stage of the InsideOut Gallery
this Saturday.
Born and raised in Jordan, Hana (pronounced Hena) made her way to the
U.S. 11 years ago to attend the University of Michigan, earning both
undergraduate and graduate degrees from the prestigious Stephen M.
Ross School of Business. She fell in love with Ann Arbor and found a
financial position with a non-profit.

Music Kristi Kates Fox on a Hill: Celebrates Four Years
By Kristi Kates
Fox hunting takes a musical twist this week with an organization whose
‘targets’ are promising musicians.
Founded by Patrick Schaller, Susan Fawcett, and Clay Ebert, Fox on a
Hill Productions is becoming well-known for their promotion of
primarily Michigan-based musicians, artists, and filmmakers.

Music Kristi Kates Benny Green‘s Been Around: 100 album jazz odyssey for swing maven
By Kristi Kates
Benny Green’s discography reads like - well, like a very long discography. Green’s work, both on his own as a highly-regarded jazz pianist and also as a sideman to everyone from Art Blakey to Cecil Brooks III, Betty Carter to Bob Belden, Ray Brown to Freddie Hubbard, is more than impressive, spanning well over 100 album appearances.
And now, he’ll be adding to his equally lengthy list of live performances with a show at Interlochen’s Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall on November 4.