Kristi Kates

Music Kristi Kates Jesse Winchester: 40 Years of Songs
By Kristi Kates
 When asked what the audience can look forward to at his upcoming City
Opera House show in Traverse City, singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester is
either the humblest of performers, or merely the soul of brevity.
“(It’ll be) me, playing my guitar and singing. Doesn’t sound like much,
does it?” he says.

Music Kristi Kates Steel Wheels’ Rolling Medicine Show
By Kristi Kates
 Blissfest’s concise description of the four-piece band known as The Steel
Wheels is simply this: “an old time medicine show with modern energy and
an Americana heart.”

Music Kristi Kates Badly Drawn Boy - It’s What I’m Thinking: Part One - The End Records
Chock-full of emotional filling and dusted with instrumental sugar, Badly Drawn Boy’s latest - like so many of his best albums - is another musical treat that’s light enough to not be overwhelming, but still a rewarding and smart listen. His personal lyrics tell the stories, while the melodies remain as catchy as always, right from the temperate opener (“In Safe Hands”) to the reflective “What Tomorrow Brings,” the simple but effortlessly pretty balladry of “Saw You Walk Away” and “The Electric,” and onward to the slightly more musically-adventurous “A Pure Accident” and “This Beautiful Idea.” It’s fairly apparent that most of the album is inspired by relationships - but hopefully something else he’s thinking about is how to make more great music like this.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Buzz band Mumford and Sons, along with Old Crow Medicine Show Buzz band Mumford and Sons, along with Old Crow Medicine Show and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, are kicking off their Railroad Revival Tour in a pretty cool way - all three bands will be traveling through their tourdates across the American Southwest in vintage railroad cars, which will be pulled by two locomotives. The train itself, 1500 feet long, will travel over 2000 miles during the tour dates that will take the trio of bands across five states. Fans can either buy regular tickets for $55, which include a commemorative ticket and an MP3 download of some of the tour’s live recordings; or shell out $155 for all six commemorative tickets,

Music Kristi Kates R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now - Warner Bros.
The Little Athens Band That Could harken back to their good old days with their newest set, as produced by legend-in-the-making Jacknife Lee. Tracked in New Orleans and at Berlin’s famed Hansa Studios, the album includes special appearances by Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith, and Hidden Cameras’ Joel Gibb - but the real elements to note are the songs themselves. “Discoverer” is classic R.E.M. (their more optimistic side, as well), with big Peter Buck guitars and an undeniable hook; “Uberlin” and “Oh My Heart” showcase R.E.M.’s ability to craft evocative indie ballads; and album closer “Blue” lets Stipe’s speaking voice take center stage.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Storytellers and Their Songs Return to VH1
VH1 is moving into the 15th season of its intriguing Storytellers series, which feature a wealth of stories, explanations on how songs were written/recorded, tales from the tour bus, and more in between performances of songs by a wide range of artists. This season’s roster will be kicked off in May by Kings of Leon, who will be followed in the 2011 lineup by the likes of Maxwell, Cee Lo Green, Ray LaMontagne, and Death Cab for Cutie…

Dining Kristi Kates Building Up a Business: Boyne City’s Wine Emporium and Market
By Kristi Kates
Revamping a building into a new business can offer up challenges that are completely unexpected. Just ask Ed Brehm, who opened Boyne City’s Wine Emporium and Market late last year. While he and his wife, Kristine Brehm, were accustomed to the usual week-to-week tests of running a business, the expansion of their Boyne Country Provisions store into a new division presented a few surprises that almost threw them off track - but not quite.

Features Kristi Kates The Planting of Yoga Roots: Tiffany Lenau has a lifelong commitment to yoga
By Kristi Kates                       
 The story of how Tiffany Lenau’s Yoga Roots studio began, Lenau says, is a
“magical and miraculous story” that has its own roots early in her life.
It’s also part of the path that led her to being named “Best Yoga
Instructor” for Emmet County/Petoskey by Express readers.

Features Kristi Kates A River of Dance from Chicago
By Kristi Kates
The famed River North Chicago Dance Company celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, with no sign of those dancing shoes slowing down any time soon.
Performing in Northern Michigan for the first time ever at the City Opera House in TC, the group will bring their nationally-acclaimed, critically-lauded skills to the region, led by artistic director Frank Chaves, who feels that one of the group’s biggest appeals is in its ability to mix and translate a wide variety of musical genres into expansive, emotional dance numbers that are performed by dancers at the top of their game.

Music Kristi Kates Solas: Lighting a Path to Irish Music
By Kristi Kates
It was May of 1996 when Irish-American folk group Solas first snagged
national attention on A Prairie Home Companion, and also the same year
that the band recorded their first album; quite a landmark year for them.
Currently a five-piece outfit, Solas’ music is pure Irish and full of
emotion, from the classic instrumentation right down to the often
haunting, lilting vocals. This year, they’ll be showcasing their talents
in Harbor Springs for a Performing Arts Center performance this Saturday,
March 26.

Music Kristi Kates Tango’d Web: The Oblivion Project plays Piazzolla
By Kristi Kates
Gabe Bolkosky, Derek Snyder, John Holkeboer, Alex Trajano, Tad Weed,
Julien Labro, and sometimes Peter Soave make up the unique jazz/classical
group known as The Oblivion Project, whose music may be somewhat oblivious
to those not familiar with the singular artist Astor Piazzolla.

Music Kristi Kates Rochelle Clark steps out solo
By Kristi Kates
Under-the-radar duo The Potter’s Field may be a little tricky to find on the Internet, but you can find its members all ‘round Northern Michigan, performing at local venues as well as clubs in the Ann Arbor region. Rochelle Clark is one of those two members, and she’ll be performing her own solo show as part of the Charlevoix Library’s Winterfolk Concert Series this month.
Clark, who says she’s been interested in playing music since she was a little girl, was inspired in part by family, and in part by an inherent need to craft music.
“Both my dad and my grandpa were musicians, so music has always been a big part of my life,” she explains.

Music Kristi Kates Foo Fighters - Wasting Light - RCA
Recorded on defiant analog tape in Dave Grohl’s garage (albeit with the
assistance of superproducer Butch Vig and top-notch mixer Alan Moulder),
the songs on the Foo’s latest are an equally yin-yang mix of the high
sheen and the grungy. First official single “Rope” has pushy drums that
solidify the raw pop/rock beat and charging punk-popster “Bridge Burning”
plays out that garage-band feel, while more restraint and smoother
arrangements are shown on tracks like “These Days,” “I Should Have Known,”
and the Bob Mould-guesting “Dear Rosemary.” The new songs are definitely
fodder for the Foo’s potential headlining spot at Lollapalooza this year.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Got Foo? Get It at a Theater Near You
Foo Fighters revealed their documentary at SXSW (the South by Southwest Fest) last week, and now the masses will be able to view the band’s latest film project. Back and Forth, as the doc is titled, will now be showcased in theaters across the country, starting with a series of special screenings on April 5 during which the film will screen and will be followed by the broadcast of a live performance by the Foos themselves, who will perform their new album, Wasting Light, which hits stores on April 12…

Music Kristi Kates Serious Moonlight... Moonlight Red brings a mix of instruments & influences
By Kristi Kates
Talking to Laren Corie and Donna Klein of Moonlight Red, one gets the
impression that they’ve been performing together for a very long time; but
in reality, they’ve only been working together for about a year, and had
to follow quite the twisting road to find each other’s work.