They Might Be Giants have always operated on their own terms, a self-contained universe of accordion-driven art-pop and hooks that burrow into your skull for decades. On the second and final night of their two-night stand at Detroit’s Majestic Theatre, the Johns delivered exactly that: a joyful two-set evening celebrating...

Finishing off the last day of classes, students flocked to the Power Center to see Indigo de Souza (they/she) perform in all her glory, the perfect way to end the school year, and more importantly, to start the summer. Opening for Indigo de Souza was Claud and Hannah Boike, both...

April 6th will be a day for the history books. The Michigan basketball team won their first national championship since 1989! The WCBN Sports Department was live in Indianapolis to bring free and high-quality coverage to listeners at home. Jaden Fode and Zach Warshaw reported on the game of their...

Horst Christian Simco, also known as The Vanilla Gorilla, The Cherry Chupacabra, Rap Game Bon Jovi, The Tangerine Tiger, Caucasian Cassius Clay, White Judge Judy, Butterscotch Boss, Iceberg Simpson, Jody Highroller, and most commonly as Riff Raff, performed at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Thursday night. Joining...

When The Ark’s Night Manager Peggy Geeseman asks “Who’s here for the first time tonight?” on Wednesday, dozens of hands shoot up. The crowd, mainly younger women in their teens and twenties, waits with anticipation for headliner Eliza McLamb, who is on tour promoting her sophomore album Good Story. McLamb first...

The first night of the 49th Ann Arbor Folk Festival was unique to the festival's two-night format. Rather than an evening of five performers/bands and an MC, Friday night's show featured two groups: Junior Brown and Greensky Bluegrass. The departure from past folk festivals proved to be a big hit:...

Seeing John Prine in person, hearing him sing his brilliant songs live on stage, was a gift cut short by his 2020 untimely death from covid complications at the age of 73. His songs have been covered by many, including locally by a Michigan-based group of musicians who honor John...

It’s with a heavy heart that WCBN shares the news of Jim “Tex” Manheim’s passing with our community. Tex was an integral part of the station for decades, and although he has been off the air for a few years now while in retirement, his presence will be deeply missed....

I sure do love a good documentary film . . . and I equally love folk music. As a former director of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and a current folk music DJ at WCBN, this film spoke to me on both levels of my artistic interests. My favorite genre of...

After experiencing 2 prior King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard performances here in Michigan, I thought I knew what to expect coming into this show: Jammy tunes, disorganized production setup, nigh incomprehensive band chatter, and a setlist consisting of none of my favorites (boo hoo for me!). Needless to say,...

I had an opportunity to chat with the members of Pure Prairie League before their Ark show Sunday, August 10th in Ann Arbor. The original band was formed in 1970 by singer/guitarist Craig Fuller with drummer Tom McGrail and pedal steel guitarist John David Call, musician friends from Waverly, Ohio. They...

I had the great pleasure of seeing Laufey perform with the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Ross Jamie Collins. She performed at the Blossom Music Center as part of her A Night at the Symphony tour circuit. For those unfamiliar, Laufey is an Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter who is known for her jazz-inspired...

Michelle Zauner, the woman that you are! I got the chance to see her in Detroit last weekend at the Fillmore, and perhaps it would be dramatic to call the concert life-changing… but I truly can’t think of a better word to describe it. Her fourth headlining tour for her...

If you happened to find yourself on Main Street on the evening of Wednesday the 19th, you may have noticed a line stretching down the block from The Ark. What were all those people waiting for? According to the performers themselves, possibly the “stupidest show” the historic venue has ever...

PJ Harvey and her band, including long time collaborator John Parrish, returned to Detroit this fall. The concert featured mostly music from her newest release, 'I Inside The Old Year Dying'. Her new material is more contemplative and introspective. The band members are all multi-instrumentalists, switching easily between guitars and...

After headlining last year's 47th Folk Festival's opening night, Old Crow Medicine Show's energetic founding member and front man Ketch Secor was selected to be MC for this year's Festival. With his larger-than-life personality, a wit not to be messed with, being accomplished on any instrument he grabs and an...

On a fateful October night (October 5th to be exact) Jonathan Richman blessed all in attendance with a performance that truly embodied his whacky and unconventional songwriting. Richman and accompanying drummer Tommy Larkins were in the middle of a short midwest run, and stopped in Ferndale, Michigan after playing in...

Last Monday, Vampire Weekend returned triumphantly with the Cults to the Meadow Brook Amphitheatre in Rochester Hills. It’s been ten years since they took that very stage with the Cults as their opener. There’s just something about hearing the music that accompanied your adolescence live: it’s a callback to the...

The newest iteration of Bad Plus performed at the Detroit Jazz Festival over Labor Day Weekend. In 2021 they changed from a piano based trio to a quartet with guitar and reeds.The newest members are Ben Monder (guitar) and Chris Speed (reeds), both veteran progressive jazzmen. It's a newer sound...

When I walked into Blue LLama Jazz Club last Saturday, I first saw a standard elegant bar setup. Neatly arranged bottles on warm wooden shelves. Pendant lights. A dapper bartender shining a marble countertop. Stuff I knew. But as the host escorted me into the seating area, I felt like...

The theme of Judy Collins’ soulful show at The Ark: spellbound. Incidentally, this is also the name of her newest album, her only release of completely original songs in her 60 year career. Collins came out onto the stage at The Ark in a flowy blue dress with a twelve-string...

SONY DSC Last summer I was on a bit of a 90’s nostalgia kick. Even though I’d heard the name before, my introduction to the Violent Femmes’ music was the 1994 film Reality Bites, where a sexually frustrated Ethan Hawke plays an angsty rendition of ‘Add It Up’ to Winona Ryder...

Being introduced to They Might Be Giants through a live performance is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you’re seeing one of the most prolific and unique rock bands of the last forty years. On the other hand, the inevitable visit to their studio albums will probably...

This past Saturday Frontier Ruckus held their release party for their new album "On The Northline." Fittingly, almost seven years ago, they threw an album release for their prior album, Enter the Kingdom–also at the Loving Touch! I was told great things about the venue from friends before attending the...

In early February, the Detroit-based band Protomartyr collaborated with the multidisciplinary and experimental duo Lost Souls of Saturn, featuring on the last track of LSOS’s newest album, "Reality." Melding evolving ambient atmospheres with droning fuzz and frontman Joe Casey’s metrical recitation of lyrics, the immersiveness and entrancing deviation from Protomartyr’s...

Hill Auditorium was set on fire Friday night, January 26, by the 2024 47th Ann Arbor Folk Festival's headliner band, Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS). They rocked the house and brought the audience to their feet with their high energy country roots stringband music. Discovered by Doc Watson in 1998...

Hi WCBN, I am a UofM Alumnus from the 1980’s, and I had a number of WCBN DJ friends back in those days. (I’m not sure if I should name names… there was often some drama going on down there! One of them broadcast me snoring in a chair during his midnight...

Billie Marten photographed by Katie Silvester UK Singer-Songwriter Billie Marten joins WCBN’s Dexter Kaufmann ahead of her tour stop in Detroit on November 12th at St Andrew’s Hall. Billie gained popularity in the UK folk scene as a teenager and has spent the last decade evolving her sound. The culmination of...

I arrived early to the venue on Sunday night, excited not only to see Kota the Friend live but also to experience my first show at Saint Andrew’s Hall. “Doors 7PM” held true, and my naïveté with the venue meant that I was slightly underdressed for the wait outside on...

Ayreon is a hard project to describe succinctly, but then, Ayreon isn’t succinct. It is a musical project where only the complexity of the sound outweighs the complexity to bring the project to the stage. Led by Dutch singer, songwriter, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Ayreon is a...

At the historic theater The Magic Bag, Desmond Jones and Dogs in a Pile provided an evening full of grooving fun. Michigan Natives Desmond Jones took the stage and I could tell off the bat these guys loved providing a true show. The performance was full of funky swaying instrumentals,...

The last time Busta Rhymes was at Pine Knob, I missed him. The night was Sep 3, 2022, and Nas & Wu-Tang Clan came to town for their “NY State of Mind Tour.” I left the show towards the end, having already heard all of my favorite hits from each...

Australian punk rockers CIVIC launch their first-ever US tour later this month, with a stop in Detroit at The Sanctuary on October 11. Frontman Jim McCullough joined WCBN’s Dexter Kaufmann to discuss CIVIC’s new record and give a crash course on the history of Punk Music in Australia. Catch them...

If I had to limit myself to a single word to describe this lineup, it would be best delineated as this: electric. The concert began with Luna Pier, an indie rock band based right here in Ann Arbor, Michigan and fronted by WCBN’s very own, Dexter Kaufmann. Luna Pier demonstrated...

After a summer devoid of live music experiences (and the cash necessary to enjoy them), I yearned to catch a concert upon returning to Michigan. Hearing wind of Alex G and Alvvays’ co-headlining tour stopping in Royal Oak, I spent the time between moving in and the FDOC scouring for...

The Montreal-based Producer-DJ Sits down with WCBN’s Dexter Kaufmann to discuss the influences behind his latest album Creatures of the Late Afternoon, tour stories, and his collaborations with filmmaker Edgar Wright.  What was the creative process like for Creatures of the Late Afternoon? What do you want this record to represent...

Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C.–with former Palma Violets member Chilli Jesson as their bassist–opened to the moody atmosphere created by the downpour that started minutes before their set at the Pine Knob Theater. Frontman Grian Chatten broke the calm, indifferent facade he had during the first song when he took...

I forgot why I originally signed up for email updates Mass Appeal, but on June 9, 2023, that decision paid off.  The email informed me of an all-star line-up for a massive concert at Yankee Stadium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip hop, specifically 50 years to the day...

It’s not often you get to see a show that puts on display the breadth of styles in a genre in metal, but here we are. Each band on this bill put on a display of the different influences you can match up with death metal (specifically on this bill)...

Last month, devoted music lover, sporting enthusiast, journalist, and WCBN deejay Michael G. Nastos passed away. Michael G’s influence and legacy cannot be appropriately summarized by one page; like a thread, he wove himself through the instrument keys of Eclipse Jazz, along vinyl grooves of Bonzo Dog Records, between the...

The time has come for music publications to release year-end lists. Unlike some lists that come out too early, I waited to listen to as many albums as I could. The new SZA album hasn’t been on most lists for this exact reason. While there’s a possibility Frank Ocean comes...

Balladic, smoky, and tender, this series of duets by two greats of the modern avant-garde jazz scene feels more reminiscent of 70’s European free improvisation than one might initially expect. Perelman leads on most of the tracks here, playing lines that despite their fractured syntax maintain a linear, legato-bound cohesion...

I recently talked with multi-hyphenate Pulitzer-Prize winning author, producer, and songwriter Michael Chabon. While he’s primarily known for his literary works such as Wonderboys, and the Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, I wanted to delve deeper into some of his musical influences, along with his collaborations with Tame Impala and...

Flashback to 2005 yo! As we entered the Fillmore that night, we were greeted by venue employees who provided us with complimentary thick-rimmed glasses, oversized beanies, and flannels. Talk about immersion! Starting off the night were Secret Machines. First time seeing them live, and I gotta say this band really seems...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Walking into the Little Caesars Arena and looking at the crowd that had come to see the Gorillaz, you can truly understand how diverse their discography is. From 14 year olds to 50 year olds, dressed in all fashions from scene from Lolita to cosplays of the band...

Seven years ago, I bought tickets to Alvvays’ Adult Diversion tour only to have my dreams crushed by the fine print– the show was 18+, and I was thirteen years old. Another two years passed and the band released their sophomore album Antisocialites, the tour for which my  fifteen year...

Violin Memory is a collaboration between John Stowell, an excellent jazz guitarist; Dave Glenn, a trombonist; and the Hawčaptak Quartet. The result is a unique ensemble bringing together funky jazz sounds with the smooth sound of a violin quartet. The pieces are also very unique with nine pieces arrangements of Stowell...

Every couple of years, my wife and I travel overseas for a few club shows overseas and schedule a vacation around the concerts.  We like to travel to see bands one doesn’t get to see often in the States.  This year, we’d been hoping to see Voyager after their near...

The bulk of the Dekmantel festival took place in the Amsterdamse Bos forest over 3 days (Friday/Saturday/Sunday). With 8 simultaneous stages, some of which are a bit of a hike from each other, and some of the spaces filling up pretty quickly, one has to coordinate and prioritize which sets...

Hilton delivers a masterful album with this creation. The trio of her on piano, Luques Curtis on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums locks in so tight to the music, yet gives every piece room to breathe. Every song sounds so well put together, and yet they all have a lightness...

Mhondoro means “the lion spirit” in Shona, a language of Zimbabwe, and this was a group born during the pandemic. Saxophonist Idit Shner, vocalist/percussionist John Mambira, pianist Torrey Newhart, bassist Garrett Baxter, and drummer Ken Mastrogiovanni came together as a parent pod to jam while their kids attended virtual school. The resulting...

It is difficult to conceive of Boyle as anything other than an ensemble of at least 8 players, but somehow the entirety of It is difficult to conceive of Boyle as anything other than an ensemble of at least 8 players, but somehow the entirety of “Psych-Jazz Collage 1” was...

Few commodities are as coveted in the modern imperialist west as the image of revolt. Its rancor, its passion, the conflict that is inherent within the concept itself, revolt serves as an excellent thematic starting point for the artist. However, as per the nature of commodification, “revolt” can be very...

Throughout our Saturday Governors Ball coverage, it was clear to both Laura and me that Joji’s performance was a highly anticipated one: from our interviewed attendees saying that they were most excited to see his set to the groups of media personnel planning to cover it, the signs for that...

I've loved Norah Jones' music since childhood, and when I got the opportunity to buy tickets to this show at Frederik Meijer Gardens, a beautiful music amphitheater in Grand Rapids, MI, I couldn't pass it up. Fortunately, getting to see Norah Jones live in concert at one of my favorite outdoor venues...

This past Wednesday at the Magic Stick: Boris took the stage with opening act Nothing on their North American tour! Nothing is a band I’ve been aware of for a few years now but it was a pleasure being able to see them for the first time on this tour....

Walking into the back room of the Otus Supply in Ferndale, I was incredibly excited for the concert that was to come. Having interviewed the lead of Tenci, Jess Shoman, I was looking forward to meeting her in person and hearing their album “My Heart is an Open Field.” This...

The Godspeed and Silver Mt. Zion comparisons are inevitable, of course. Not that that is inherently a bad thing, and there definitely is inspiration both direct and indirect littered across the tracks(both parts of “Entropy” being one example). But “Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More” is, for the...