Chordiology Barbershop Quartet

The Chordiology Quartet (C4 for short) has been singing together since 1989 and were known for years solely as a highly sought after comedy quartet, but more recently are most notably recognized for their status as being the 2007-2008 Pioneer District Quartet Champions of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the largest a capella society in the world. It is a title prestigious enough that once it is won, you may never compete for the title again.

Whether the performance be for friends and family, barbershop audiences, TV or corporate gatherings you can always count on Chordiology to bring a performance chocked full of entertainment, their infectious enjoyment of being on stage and of course that beautiful music. Chordiology asks that you stop by after the performance and say “hi” as they would love to meet you, or just feel free to say “hi” online at www.Chordiology.com. Like thousands of audience members before you, we hope you enjoy, the CHORDIOLOGY QUARTET.

Elephant Revival

Nederland, Colorado is high up in Rocky Mountain country, a place where people live and play in a picturesque time and space. And in this remote mountain town, there’s a unique ensemble of egoless Earth dwellers that are known around these parts as Elephant Revival.

This soulful, seductive quiver of 20-something songwriters and multi-instrumentalists reign from points across the United States. Since Oct. 2006, Dan Rodriguez, Bonnie Paine, Dango Rose, Sage T. Cook and Bridget Law have herded in a greatly applauded neo-acoustic gyptic revival at festivals, clubs, house concerts and theaters from the Rockies to the Ozarks and all points in between. The revival is totally original yet pays homage to some influences - Little Feat, The Band, Leftover Salmon, Tha Musemeant, Billie Holiday, Bonnie's mom, Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan, Randy Crouch, Holy Modal Rounders, traditional Celtic and Scottish song-craft, Colorado bluegrass, roots reggae and mountain hip-hop.  More from their website...

The Forbes Brothers

Detroit hardly enjoys a reputation as a country music bastion, but for more than a decade the Forbes Brothers have bucked that situation to produce vital music that has plenty of twang but never loses the flavor of where it comes from.

So while the Forbes crew is down-home enough to more than hold its own in venues such as the annual Downtown Hoedown, the group brings with it a sound that also sports the tight harmonies and easy grooves associated with Motown and even a bit of hip-hop sensibility that’s part of the air in a metro area that’s produced the likes of Eminem and Kid Rock. Moreover, the music moves like the fine-tuned autos that are produced throughout the Forbes’ domain, cruising steadily and easily with plenty of horsepower to accelerate when the band deems it appropriate.

— Gary Graff (UPI, New York Times Syndicate, Launch Radio Networks,
CDNow, Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Oakland Press, Guitar World, Revolver,
Red Flag Media, among others)

Colin Gilmore

Austin singer-songwriter Colin Gilmore is building his reputation the old-fashioned way: hard work and imagination. He and his new wife’s idea of the perfect honeymoon was a tour of Japan, where he played eight cities in 10 days, complete with a different backing band at each gig. Gilmore recently energized an entirely different crowd at the inaugural Big State Festival, a two-day musical throw-down on the Texas State Speedway in College Station. Up next is a tour of the West Coast, followed by a Northeast jaunt with Austinite-turned-New Yorker Ana Egge, and a swing through Holland in April.

“I’m getting out there and doing it,” says Gilmore, who was invited not long ago to open for pals Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines, two Grammy-winning members of Austin’s musical royalty, at the Columbus (Ohio) Performing Arts Center. He was particularly thrilled with the reception he got at a song swap with a few other Austin notables: Ruthie Foster and Grammy winners Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel) and Joel Guzman (Los Super Seven, etc.). “I was playing with some of my musical idols but I felt like I was in my element and made a real connection with the crowd,” he recalls. More from his website...

Alex Graham

Alto saxophonist (and Music Director at Grand Hotel) Alex Graham has performed with several of today’s top jazz artists including Wessell Anderson, Nnenna Freelon, Louis Smith, Diane Schuur, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Mark Levine, Peter Bernstein, Steve Davis, Joe Magnarelli, Michael Weiss, Aaron Goldberg, Rodney Whitaker, Jim Rotundi, Sam Yahel and Dena Derose. He has performed at festivals and clubs in the United States, Europe and Japan and has appeared on several recordings. More from his website...

Freshwater

In an age of technological saturation, FRESHWATER strives to rediscover the joy of live acoustic music. Drawing from the ethnic traditions of the British Isles, Canada, and our United States, FRESHWATER creates a simply exuberant musical experience using song, instrumental music, and the power of percussive step-dance. More from their MySpace site...

Grand Hotel Orchestra

Information coming soon...

Kraig Kenning

Call him contemporary folk, blues, roots rock, American Fingerstyle or Americana. Regardless of the genres crossed, Kraig Kenning manages to leave every audience feeling like they've just spent some quality time with an old friend.

Few artists are as capable of connecting so directly with such diverse listeners while playing over 200 dates a year, receiving airplay on 40 stations nationwide, and selling 60,000+ recordings of six self-produced CDs. But Kenning has shaped himself into one of the most capable performers on the planet, touring non-stop for the past decade.

"There is an exchange at a spiritual level in a great performance. My goal is to journey with all my listeners to this magical place." Together with his trademark dobro and passionate lyrics, Kraig reminds us just how personal--and potent--original music can be.

Rick Niemi and the Shotgun Willie Band

In Rick Niemi's own words...

"Like many other musicians my age and younger, my musical interest was sparked by The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan show I was in 1st grade, I got my first guitar soon after. Though I’ve been playing guitar for over 40years I’ve never considered myself a guitar player, more a singer/songwriter. I’ve been in bands since about the 3rd grade playing pool parties and school fairs or where ever we could get a gig (all Freebies). By junior high I was writing original music (not real good) and playing in a power trio called Bryant, inspired by Grand Funk, Hendrix and Cream, we never left the basement. By high school our group of musician friends had grown and I was playing with much better players, we had a group called Quarter Tea with Andy James on Bass/vocals, Andy Coombs on drums (Andy Coombs went on to play with Dave Edwards from the Look and then Orange Lake Drive), John Haggerman and Dyke Price on guitars and myself as the front man, we played mostly school dances and private parties (again Freebies)." More from his MySpace site...

The Mickeys

Meeting the Mickeys for the first time is like heading into a 90-mph wind. Passionate, driven and vibrant, Amy and Julie are the compelling musical force known as the Mickeys. Identical twins, this striking twosome blends Americana, Country, Celtic, Blues, and Bluegrass music; creating a unique acoustic sound with unbeatable vocals.

With a focus and determination that are rare in young artists, the Mickeys have accomplished some amazing feats in their career. They formed their own record label (RiverBeat Music), co-produced (with John Albani) and recorded their first CD, Finding Our Way, and secured nationwide distribution (Select-O-Hits) for the record, without any assistance.

The sisters co-wrote five of the project’s eleven tracks and performed all vocals. Moreover, it’s the vocals that shine on this freshman offering; bell-like clarity weaves with shimmering harmonies, creating a magic that is palpable.

Finding Our Way was Chapter One in the book of dreams for Amy Sherman and Julie Peebles (maiden name Mickey). “We both love our music and we love each other,” says Amy. “We believe we can do this and do it with integrity.”

Petoskey Steel Drum Band

The Petoskey Alumni Steel Drum Band consists of a small arrangement of 3-5 players that performs at events such at weddings, parties, festivals, and more.

The group members all played in the larger ensemble directed by Barry Bennett during their high school years, and most have traveled to places such as Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Mardi Gras with the larger group.

The small ensemble lets listeners hear each type of steel drum be played by only one or two players, and the drums together produces a full caribbean sound that includes a rhythm section.

Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

High octane, turbo, high performance, super charged…MITCH RYDER & The Detroit Wheels didn’t need to hail from the Motor City for those adjectives to be tossed their way, but it was certainly appropriate that they called Motown home.

It was Mitch and The Wheels who served as the musical bridge between the Motown soul factory and the high energy, take-no-prisoners rock’n’roll that would roar out of Detroit via Iggy & The Stooges, MC5, Ted Nugent and Bob Seger. With Ryder, it wasn’t attitude or public outrage or politics that generated the charge… you could simply hear it in the music.

Steppin in it: Shout Sister Shout

After playing concerts as a double bill, Rachael Davis and the boys from Steppin’ In It found a common love for Jazz music of the 1930’s and ‘40’s. The summer of 2006 found the two acts working at the same festivals, which led to joining each other for a classic tune by Nat King Cole or Billie Holiday during their respective sets. By mid summer, the quintet was dubbed ‘Shout Sister Shout’ and an album was in the works.

Although both are known nationally for their folk repertoire, Shout Sister Shout stretches them in the realm of old-time American Jazz with torch swing numbers alongside bluesy ballads. Steppin’ In It, known for their revival of old-time music, provide the perfect backdrop for Rachael Davis who posses a voice that demands your attention.

“The quintet is a tribute to the smoky, sophisticated sound of 1930s and '40s jazz, with plenty of influence from Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole Trio and Sarah Vaughan, and it's a trip to hear Davis channel those old greats. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a bunch of guys playing the hell out of vintage instruments as backup.” The Metro Times- Detroit, MI
After playing concerts as a double bill, Rachael Davis and the boys from Steppin’ In It found a common love for Jazz music of the 1930’s and ‘40’s. The summer of 2006 found the two acts working at the same festivals, which led to joining each other for a classic tune by Nat King Cole or Billie Holiday during their respective sets. By mid summer, the quintet was dubbed ‘Shout Sister Shout’ and an album was in the works.

Switchback

When they met in 1984, Switchback's Martin McCormack was studying voice in college, and playing in a well-known Chicago pop band with his brothers. Brian FitzGerald, moonlighting as a house painter, was playing Freddy Green-style guitar on Chicago's Maxwell Street and learning mandolin from Jethro Burns.

Both were drawn into Irish music--McCormack through his family's connection with County Mayo and FitzGerald through the meeting with County Kerry legend "Cuz Teahan." Over the next few years, the pair played together in three different bands (two of them traditional Irish).

McCormack contributed bass and his classically trained tenor, and FitzGerald supplied guitar and fleet mandolin. By 1993, the tug of their own songwriting talents and love for American roots music inspired them to break away and form their own duo - Switchback.

VSM
Roger Humphrey & Lisa Wassom

Lisa Wassom – flute
Roger Humphrey – guitar

BIOGRAPHY

Lisa Wassom is a 1993 award winning graduate of Michigan State University with a MM in Flute Performance.  She has been a performer and teacher in the Lansing area for over 15 years.

Roger Humphrey is a veteran guitarist who has been performing and teaching guitar throughout Michigan since 1968.  He has composed music for several award-winning documentary films, arranged music for hand-bell groups, and composed for organ as well as guitar.  He has written a guitar method for young children and another guitar method for beginning adults.  He is currently on faculty at Olivet College and Alma College.

Wassom and Humphrey have been performing as VSM since 1994.  Their repertoire ranges from the music of the Renaissance to the early 20th century.  Although their performing has been primarily at private functions, they began giving concerts and recitals in 2006 to very enthusiastic audiences on Mackinac Island and in the mid-Michigan area.  They are currently planning on releasing an album in late 2008 .