Ann Arbor Folk Festival gets rootsy, rocking, relevant with Crane Wives, Amos Lee, Dawes

The second day of the 49th festival at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium melded Michigan charm with national esprit after Greensky Bluegrass kicked things off the night before. The review and photos.

 

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For its second night, the Ann Arbor Folk Festival offered musical nourishment and a welcome respite from the outside world.

The audience at The Ark’s 49th annual festival escaped frigid temperatures and political tensions to enjoy enticing folk sounds — not to mention rootsy charm and rock-hued strains — at the University of Michigan’s Hill Auditorium.

Five acts served up a smorgasbord of folk music, ranging from electronic to acoustic to electric.

Saturday night’s lineup included a mix of celebrated returns — Amos Lee, Dawes, The Crane Wives — and noteworthy debuts for Jon Muq and Rabbitology.

Show emcee and singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleau jokingly lauded his return to the festival after a lengthy absence.

“As many of you know, I go way back with this particularly, the Ann Arbor Folk Fest,” he said. “I first played on this stage at the Ann Arbor Folk Fest in 2009 with my band … and then the second time I got to play Ann Arbor Folk Fest was tonight. I really want to thank The Ark for having me at Ann Arbor Folk Fest every 17 years.”

Montbleau engaged the audience with his wry humor and intelligent folk songs between acts. His song, “If a Corporation,” drew laughter and applause from the audience as he compared an entity to a despicable person.

In addition to his songs, Montbleau provided brief. but sincere introductions for each artist.

“Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to start with brilliance and continue with brilliance and finish the night with brilliance,” he said before Rabbitology took the stage.

Ann Arbor’s Rabbitology, also known as Nat Timmerman, a U-M student, enchanted the audience with mesmerizing vocals and atmospheric electronic samples and loops. A set-list favorite included the hypnotic and infectious sounds of “Preybirds (Watcher Song).”

Another festival highlight included the introspective songs of Jon Muq, a singer-songwriter who’s from Uganda but now resides in Austin, Texas. He stole the show with his candid stories, soulful vocals and earnest acoustic performance.

He discussed learning music in Uganda, working on a cruise ship, getting his driver’s license at a Department of Motor Vehicles, and relocating to the United States.

“Within two weeks, I had my visa to go sing on a boat,” he said. “I went on a boat [and] sang for six months; I wouldn’t do it again. And then I decided after my contract was [done] in [the] Bahamas, I was like, ‘I need to find my way back to America.’”

That experience inspired Muq’s bold song, “Runaway,” which captivated the audience and allowed them to briefly experience life from another perspective.

The festival then took an electric turn with Grand Rapids alt-rock/folk-rock favorites The Crane Wives, who boosted the energy level considerably just before the intermission, while referencing their first-ever appearance at the festival as a young, up-and-coming band back in 2014.

“We were just little babies,” quipped guitarist and singer Emilee Petersmark.

Starting with “Scars,” the haunting and cinematic opener from 2024’s “Beyond Beyond Beyond” album, members Petersmark, Kate Pillsbury, Dan Rickabus and Ben Zito enthralled the audience with the band’s spirited set while drawing loud cheers from fans while delivering tight harmonies, emotive guitars and pounding drums.

“But I was thinking back to 2014 and playing the Folk Fest, and we played a show at The Ark around that time as well. The Ark is just a really special place. They bring in national artists who can perform these listening-room shows … but they also highlight the local talent,” Pillsbury said.

“And we are immensely grateful for that because without shows like that, as a young artist, you start to lose your faith in what you’re doing. I think The Ark just keeps the faith of the musicians alive here in the room.”

DAWES GETS ELECTRIC, AMOS LEE GETS SOCIALLY RELEVANT

The night’s most electrifying performance came from Dawes, the Los Angeles band fronted by brothers Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. During their second appearance at the festival, Dawes increased the decibel levels in Hill Auditorium with fiery electric guitars and thumping drums.

They shone on songs like “Front Row Seat,” “Comes in Waves,” “When My Time Comes” and “All Your Favorite Bands.”

Vocalist-guitarist Taylor Goldsmith energetically moved around on stage and encouraged the audience to sing along during the band’s set.

“I’ll give you two things right now. One of them is: That was pretty loud. The other one is: Aren’t these supposed to be folk songs?” said Taylor Goldsmith, who first appeared with Dawes at the festival in 2012. “But I promise you, if we can get on the same wavelength, that’s where all of these tunes are coming from. These songs … start as folk songs, and then we just pile up a bunch of electric guitars on top.”

The set took a more serious turn with “Crack the Case,” a track from Dawes’ 2018 album, “Passwords.” It’s about having open communication between opposing parties. Taylor Goldsmith said the track was written on a bus in Minneapolis in 2016 or 2017 and is especially relevant today.

Headliner Amos Lee also adopted a serious mood during his set and expressed his dislike of the current state of the world.

“What a time is it, goddamn, it’s f—ed up out there,” said Lee, who last performed at the festival in 2015. “I’m just taking it all in, and I don’t like it. … It’s disgusting, really. We don’t have to be this way, and especially we have so much to be grateful for.”

With just an acoustic guitar, Lee delivered a powerful set, which included “Built to Fall” from the 2024 album, Transmissions. He also shared the unreleased song, “North Star,” about the separation of immigrant parents and their children. Other highlights included “Violin,” which featured a snippet of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” as well as “Flower” and “Windows Are Rolled Down.”

Lee closed the show with a cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” leaving attendees with thoughts of hope and resilience.

Considering the troubled times, there were moments of solemnity and reflection on Saturday night, too, with Lee and Montbleau both unfurling politically and socially conscious songs relevant to the current state of the nation.

On Friday, Michigan progressive bluegrass heroes Greensky Bluegrass, with special guest Junior Brown, launched the festival with a light-festooned, crowd-pleasing set. Check out the full review and photos at Local Spins here: Greensky Bluegrass takes Ann Arbor by storm with electrifying festival debut.

PHOTO GALLERY: Ann Arbor Folk Festival (Day 2) at Hill Auditorium
Photos by Andrew Rogers and Anna Sink

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