With weekend shows at Otsego’s Liquid Note and Trufant’s Bus Benefit, the band revs up fans with new and familiar songs. The story & radio podcast, with music by The Blue Herons, In the Valley Below & more.
‘The Band Never Runs Out of New Songs’: Silver Creek Revival has a new studio album on the way. (Courtesy Photo)
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Hannah Woodruff of northern Michigan’s Silver Creek Revival calls the band’s music “song-oriented.”
For this Great Lakes State indie-folk and Americana outfit, that means serving each piece of music with the varied instrumentation that it demands.
“We are all musicians that can play multiple instruments, so we like to switch it up during our live performances,” said Woodruff, who plays saxophone, flute, acoustic guitar and bass, as well as singing lead and backing vocals.
“We don’t keep the same instrumentation throughout a set, because like I said, we like to serve the song. Maybe a song would sound really great with a saxophone solo, so we accommodate that, or maybe it’s a mandolin solo instead. So when you see us live, you’ll see us maybe passing an acoustic guitar around the stage and we try to utilize all of those different skills.”
Formed in 2021, the band – Woodruff, Sam Hess (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals), Ashley Christopher (banjo, lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and kazoo), Henry Hess (mandolin, piano, lead vocals, backing vocals and bass), Jack Jensen (drums) – has captivated fans ever since.
VIDEO: Silver Creek Revival, “I Need a List” (Live at The Starlight Room)
Based in Manton, where rehearsals take place, members actually come from communities throughout the region, Traverse City to Kalkaska.
Silver Creek Revival released its self-produced, self-titled full-length album in 2022, followed by a live EP recorded at Dogtown Studio in Grand Rapids later that same year.
A follow-up studio album is slated for release this summer, recorded this time around with producer and recording engineer Shane Cody of the band Houndmouth. “We are incredibly proud of this project and are currently playing these songs live,” said Woodruff.
Woodruff called the band’s musical progression “an interesting journey,” noting that production of the band’s first album was actually the final project for her audio recording class.
Switching Up Instruments on Stage: The band recently added Henry Hess to make it a quintet. (Courtesy Photo)
“Shane (Cody) brought kind of a new, different element and really inspired us to maybe try different chord progressions under a melodic line … or maybe moving verses and choruses around and things like that.”
She described the new material as more guitar-driven as well. “It’s going to be a really interesting, fun listening experience,” predicted Woodruff, who attended Interlochen Arts Academy and now works at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
The album builds on the extensive catalog of songs the band has created.
“Ashley and Sam are the main songwriters of the band. Not only are they great lyricists, they are also prolific,” said Woodruff, noting that she and Hess also contribute “to the pool of original material.”
“The band never runs out of new songs. The songs are well-crafted from the start, so they rarely need much thought and effort to be ready to play live.”
As for those live shows, Silver Creek Revival plays the Americana Fest at Liquid Note in Otsego on Saturday, followed by the Bus Benefit hosted by Buses by the Beach in Trufant on Sunday. (Get the Local Spins preview of the Bus Benefit online here, with a story about the Liquid Note summer concert series here.)
Their summer schedule also includes shows as part of the Coyote Crossing summer concert series in Cadillac, Hoxeyville Music Festival in Wellston, Wheatland Music Festival in Remus and tour stops in the Upper Peninsula, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
“The band only plays a few choice covers during performances, even the longer ones, and fans really respond to, and connect with the original songs,” Woodruff said.
“We are all so grateful and feel lucky to have such a platform for creativity, with support from listeners.”
This week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE — airing Michigan-bred music at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE 88.1 FM and online at wyce.org — showcased the Silver Creek Revival tracks “ “Ooh Wee” as well as music from a host of Michigan artists: The Blue Herons, Money Soup, Grace Theisen, DJ Holographic, Bryan Klinesteker, Mosby Jaye, St. Sinner Orchestra and In the Valley Below. Listen to the radio show here.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (5/24/24)
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