The headliners at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, a 2-Day annual event in late January as a fundraiser for The Ark (www.theark.org), are always fabulous. But, beyond the fundraising, it is the discovery of new music and bands that makes the event so worthwhile. All the bands were good, but there were two that struck as "keepers". The first, Hoots and Hellmouth (http://hootsandhellmouth.com/ ) was electrifying. High-energy to the extreme, this band played with a precision and skill and passion that had the entire audience enthralled. Perhaps best described as "punk grass", this band brought down the house Friday night and was asked back on Saturday. We will be back to see them in April at The Ark. The second band we especially enjoyed, The Hot Club of Cowtown, played only on Saturday. Another energetic and extremely talented band, this trio brought the crowd to its feet with their brand of Texas swing and charm. We will be back to see this band at The Ark in April as well. Visit their website http://hotclubofcowtown.com/.
We also were lucky enough to see The Bad Plus, http://www.thebadplus.com/, at The Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre in Ann Arbor. This progressive jazz trio (piano, bass and drums) gave a fantastic musical performance the likes of which I can honestly say I've never heard before. Not afraid to get outside the comfort zone of the audience, the band entertained us both with their music and their interaction with each other. See them if you can.
After The Bad Plus concert, we ventured into Ypsilanti to eat at one of my favorite places, Sidetrack. (http://www.sidetrackbarandgrill.com/). I ordered the black bean tacos (the black bean chunks are hand rolled and beyond tasty) and my perennial dining companion had the lake perch and fries. 2 Hearted Ale is on tap (as well as many other beers including quite a few local varieties) which is always a plus. Great music plus great food equals a great evening.
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