Kristi Kates

Dining Kristi Kates Café Santé brings a taste of Europe to Boyne City
By Kristi Kates
If you’re at all familiar with the Red Mesa Grill in Boyne City (and
if you’re not, you should be), then you’ll be thrilled to hear that
the folks behind that favorite restaurant destination have added
another café to the local scene.

Music Kristi Kates Breaking In the Flat Broke Blues
By Kristi Kates
Originally founded as a duo in Marquette, Michigan in 1991, the band known today as the Flat Broke Blues Band was given its moniker due to the obvious.
“It was a reflection of the financial status of both of the founding members,” says guitarist and vocalist Michael Letts, who should be doing a little better on that score when the band plays Petoskey’s Crooked Tree Arts Center this Friday.
Today, Flat Broke Blues Band is pretty much the opposite, due to the success of their current lineup, which includes Letts as well as Mark Johnson on bass and vocals, Jim Cohen on drums, and Lorrie Hayes on vocals and harmonica, plus founding member Walt Lindala on guitar and vocals.
Initially, several members of the band came and went. “By fall of 2001, our current lineup was assembled, and has worked together ever since,” says Letts

Music Kristi Kates It’s Always the Blues for John Latini
By Kristi Kates
“Blues music is an American folk music, and as such, how can I help
but love it?” says singer-songwriter John Latini, “It’s basic, raw and
full of feeling for those playing it and those listening to it. Blues
lovers are loyal and faithful to the music and will actually leave
their houses to seek it out.”

Music Kristi Kates Cool Music in Hot Chicago: A 2010 Lollapalooza Preview
By Kristi Kates
It’s road trip time once again for Northern Michigan music fans. The
much-revered big-time Midwestern music fest is back for its 2010
incarnation, this year scheduled for August 6-8 at its home locale of
Chicago’s own Grant Park.

Music Kristi Kates The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang - Side One Dummy
Despite looking like they were part of the cast of The Commitments (the 1991 movie about Irish rockers), The Gaslight Anthem is actually from New Jersey, where they’ve adapted bits of The Ramones and Bruce Springsteen both into their sound. Their sophomore set on the SideOneDummy label, this album is loaded with mean-street guitar riffs, soulful character sketches, and chugging rhythms. Highlights include the experimental “Diamond Street Church Choir,” the anthemic “Orphans,” and the memorable reminiscer “Old Haunts.”

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Arcade Fire Take Their Tunes to The Suburbs
Canadian indie-rockers Arcade Fire have announced a short U.S. tour to support their new album, The Suburbs, which will hit stores on August 3 on Merge Records. The Suburbs was recorded with producer Markus Dravs, who also took the boards for Arcade Fire’s last album, Neon Bible. The band will take to the road the first half of August, playing shows in Boston, Philly, NYC, Columbia Maryland, Nashville, and Atlanta, Georgia, plus a stop at the Lollapalooza Fest in Chicago (August 6-8). Several of the dates will also feature Spoon as opening act...

Music Kristi Kates Peter and Paul: Seeing what tomorrow brings without Mary
by Kristi Kates
Singer Mary Travers, one-third of the influential ’60s folk group
Peter, Paul, and Mary, passed away last September, after a life
well-lived and five decades of collaboration with her bandmates Peter
Yarrow and Noel “Paul” Stookey.

Music Kristi Kates Hazy Daze... Chasing indie-rock with Cloud Cult
By Kristi Kates
With a new album on the way in September (Light Chasers, on their own
Earthology Records), experimental indie-rockers Cloud Cult are doing a
great job of balancing life in the Midwest with being a swiftly-moving
national touring band.

Music Kristi Kates Punch Brothers - Antifogmatic - Nonesuc
Recorded and mixed in Hollywood with legendary producer Jon Brion
(Fiona Apple, Kanye West), Chris Thile and crew’s latest manages to
converge the generally-divergent genres of pop and bluegrass with both
emotion and sheer get-up-and-go. Opener “You Are” blends staccato
guitar with strings, while “Don’t Need No” rallies up the beats and
“Next to the Trash” is the closest thing to “real” bluegrass you’ll
find on this outing. It’s quite an accomplishment for a string band to
actually make tracks that are this crossover-friendly and catchy, too.

Art Kristi Kates Niagara Brings ‘Dangerous’ Art from Detroit
By Kristi Kates
Detroit performer Niagara isn’t one to pull punches. When asked how she feels about beating Lady Gaga to the scene - Niagara was doing avant garde performance art long before Gaga was even born - she bluntly replied, “I’m not about to jump on the Gaga bandwagon. She’s doing fine without me promoting her anyway.”
Niagara isn’t known for her subtlety. And that seems to be part of the flamboyant persona she’s fashioned for herself.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Magic Numbers’ Runaway Set For July Release
The Magic Numbers have rescheduled the release date for their brand new album and its accompanying tour dates, after having previously planned to release it on June 7. Now, the album, The Runaway, will hit stores on July 26, with limited-edition versions of the set arriving with a four-track live CD as well. And those live dates have been pushed to September/October, with stops only scheduled so far in the UK...
Pearl Jam’s plans to release the shows from their current world tour have gotten more detailed over the past month or so, and now there are several options for fans to choose from. The “bootlegs” will be available in MP3, FLAC, or CD format, with prices beginning at $9.99; fans will also be able to order a box set of all four of the band’s shows at Philly’s Spectrum last October, which will run $60. If this is all too pricey for your wallet, check out Pearl Jam’s official radio station, which you can listen to for free on their website, http://pearljam.com...

Dining Kristi Kates Johan’s : A New Look for an Old Favorite
By Kristi Kates
New cathedral ceilings, bright and airy surroundings, more indoor seating, air conditioning, and outdoor patio tables are just a few of the offerings at the brand-new Johan’s location in Harbor Springs. Locals and visitors alike had been keeping an eye on the bakery’s remodel for the past several months, as the old Johan’s building was transformed into a gleaming new Johan’s worthy of their legendary donuts and other “must-have” baked goods.
“Even though the previous building was quaint, the new customers are in awe of the new store and all it has to offer,” says Johan’s Harbor Springs manager Kathy King.

Music Kristi Kates Various Artists - Lilith 2010 - Arista
Lilith Fair, the female-centric concert tour that hasn’t been active
in a decade, is now back and running this year, with over three dozen
U.S. dates. Much like the Lilith of yore, Canadian musician Sarah
McLachlan serves as headliner; the other acts rotate depending on the
city. Among them, the musicians included in this compilation album;
Dixie Chicks side project Court Yard Hounds (“The Coast”), jazz
standout Norah Jones, and singer-songwriters Brandi Carlile and
Corinne Bailey Rae (“Dreams” and “The Blackest Lily,” respectively.)

Music Kristi Kates Find Your Inner Drummer at Boyne
By Kristi Kates
“Our workshop is designed to give people the chance to engage totally in the drum process,” artist and Ayurvedic practitioner Rolinda LeMay explains.
The workshop LeMay is speaking of, the Drum Your Art Out event, will be taking place at Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls this month, offering ample opportunity for those interested - musician or non alike - to learn about, craft, and how to play hand drums. And according to independent artist LeMay and co-presenter David Gierke of the Toledo School of the Arts, drumming is about far more than simply crafting rhythms.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Imogen Heap Working On Music Documentary
Singer-songwriter Imogen Heap, recent winner of the Grammy for Best Engineered Album, is currently working on a DVD documentary that was, surprisingly, fan-generated. As-of-yet untitled, the doc is being put together from over 350 hours of footage that was filmed from 2007-2009, while Heap was recording her current album, Ellipse. Fans emailed Heap and asked if she could please videotape some of her songwriting process and recording, so they could get a behind-the-scenes look at her album progress, and she did exactly that, filming from her first songwriting days through mixing...