As usual, Charlie Parr, Minnesota folk legend, is on the road. And if he’s not driving his car, he’s probably playing his guitar. The man is a fiend. “Playing the guitar is your reward for driving all day,” he tells me. I caught Parr in Nebraska on his way to a show in Kansas City. We talked setlists, Springsteen, furniture stores, and growing up in SPAM town USA: Austin, Minnesota.  

"If you can imagine a Bob Dylan solo acoustic record from the early 1960s and a Lyle Lovett record from the 90s,” English singer-songwriter Lloyd Cole says to sound technician Curt Hamilton, “I want the 1960s one.”

Cole came to play The Ark with a desire common among many of the musicians who have played the storied venue before him.

“I just want to sound like a folk singer,” he clarifies during soundcheck.

Since 1969, when Dave Siglin took the job as The Ark’s manager, The Ark’s sound technicians—all of whom, like the ushers and concessions staff, volunteer their time—pride themselves on providing first-rate sound for performers and audiences. 

Singer Ásgeir Trausti Einarsson released an album in 2012 that has become the biggest selling debut ever in his native Iceland—Sigur Ros and Bjork’s homeland. This year Ásgeir released the album again, in English. In The Silence balances classical guitar with modern folktronica and a delicate vocal timbre akin to Thom Yorke and Jonsi. In anticipation of his show in Royal Oak, Ásgeir chatted with us about performace, his creative process, his collaboration with his poet father, and Nirvana. 

Perhaps best known for his career in Hollywood, Chelsea native Jeff Daniels has been honing his musical career in front of local audiences here in Michigan for years. And his roles in Hollywood, ranging from Harry Dunne in Dumb and Dumber to Will McAvoy in HBO’s The Newsroom, match the sweep of his song selection, which goes from light-hearted, crowd participation songs like “How ‘bout We Take Our Pants Off And Relax” to sentimental, introspective tunes like “The Michigan In Me.”

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Daniels, who, backed by The Ben Daniels Band, headed by his son, plays The Ark on August 17. We discussed his origin story as a musician—connecting his concert performances to his history with musicals. He draws a contrast between performing as a musician and performing as an actor. And he told me about the time he sat in with John Hiatt, Joe Healy, and Guy Clark.

Chris Smither, with his weatherworn vocals and his busy blues-based fingerstyle guitar, has been quietly establishing his legend for the past half of a century. And he’s celebrating his 50-year run on tour with his latest album, Still On The Levee, a double disc retrospective reinterpreting 25 songs from across his little-known, yet prolific career. I caught up with Smither in anticipation of his October 31 stop at The Ark and asked him about his new album, his guitars, and his development as a musician.  

Austin’s The Whiskey Shivers call themselves "a freewheelin', trashgrassin' folk tornado." Since forming in 2009, when stand-up bassist Andrew VanVoorhees answered a Craigslist ad from a man named Bob (frontman and fiddler) looking to form a bluegrass band, Whiskey Shivers have been tirelessly honing their string-based stomp sound from coast to coast. I had a chance to catch up with the band’s banjo-man James Bookert in anticipation of their show at The Ark.

If being mentioned on NPR means you’ve made it, Hey Rosetta! arrived in 2010. Along with Panda Bear and Dirty Projectors, their second album, Into Your Lungs, landed on the career-boosting All Songs Considered program. Now, with the release of their latest album, Second Sight, this seven-piece outfit out of Newfoundland has returned to the limelight. Led by singer-songwriter Tim Baker, Hey Rosetta! produces a capacious, swelling sound incorporating piano, violin, and cello into the traditional four-piece rock setup.

Bluegrass power couple Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn released their first album together in October, eponymously titled Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, and have been picking their way across the country ever since. I had the opportunity to catch Bela Fleck between shows, and before their Ann Arbor appearance a the Power Center, to chat about songwriting, stage banter, and plans for the future.