2025 Performers
Jill Jack
Jill Jack’s career has spanned decades and taken her around the globe, performing solo and with her band at sold-out shows, and opening for world-renowned acts.
Jack grew up in Huntington Woods and has lived in Ferndale for the last 24 years. Her work includes self-written songs in a style she broadly calls Americana, encompassing elements of folk, rock, country, pop and blues. She plays acoustic and electric guitar, and describes her stage presence as friendly, with a focus on storytelling and a dash of humor.
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“By the end of the show, we will all be great friends,” Jack said in an email. “As a musician, I feel we can heal with music. Listening to music is an emotional experience. I want to bring all of those emotions to the surface, while allowing the audience to be relieved of anxiety from their life.
“My storytelling is very relatable,” she added. “While some of my stories can be emotionally deep, I always add a hint of humor. It helps people feel a connection, and also that they are not alone in their troubles.”
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Since 1997 she has won 46 awards from the Detroit Music Awards Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to recognize Detroit-area artists at the local, regional and national levels. Her career spans more than 25 years and 12 award-winning CDs, as well as three new singles during the pandemic.
She has toured across the country, appearing as a headliner at venues and festivals such as SXSW (South by Southwest), the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, the 30A Songwriters Festival, the WYCD Downtown Hoedown, the Blissfest Musical Festival, The Bluebird Cafe and The Living Room in New York City. She has played for audiences as big as 20,000 people and as intimate as 20.
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​She is currently working with nonprofits, established musicians who need encouragement and even senior citizens who want to leave their mark in music.
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“It is never too late to pursue a dream. The only thing that can get in your way is you,” Jack said. “Each client is different, with different needs. Some meet with me weekly, and some biweekly, monthly or quarterly. I am flexible and do not force. I am here to guide and be a support system.”
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Written by https://www.candgnews.com/reporterbio/andy-kozlowski
Jennifer Naegele & Jake Priest
Jennifer Naegele is a singer/songwriter and folk artist who brings a bit of her own sunshine through song. Jake Priest is the lead singer and songwriter of rock band Here After Six, and singer and co-writer as part of acoustic folk-rock duo Fischer Bridge.
Jen spent her early musical years honing her skills in the San Francisco Bay Area, before being drawn back to her first bay area and hometown in the Great Lakes Bay Region of Michigan. With sweet, smooth vocals, and intricate, relatable songwriting, here she found renewed inspiration and a new music community that rivals any large town. In 2017 she released an album of original music, “Chickadee with a Little Jet Lag”, followed by the 2021 release of her holiday album “Summer Snow: Christmas Collection”. Her third album is slated for release this year.
For over 20 years Jake has spent his time sharing his vocal prowess and lyrics with multiple projects, performing throughout the region, and releasing albums with Here After Six and Fischer Bridge. With a voice that blends power, warmth, soul, and a bit of grit, Jake weaves effortlessly between genres, and according to Jen, there isn’t a harmony that Jake can’t find.
It was harmony and a little magic that brought these two together at a tiny gazebo in their original hometown of Bridgeport, Michigan in 2016. A marriage three years later and shared love for music led them to combine their unique vocal styles to create a crowd-engaging harmonic, acoustic duo.
Jo Serepere
Earthwork Collective artist Jo Serrapere (sarah-pear), a songwriter from Detroit, Michigan, started playing guitar at 23 when seeking out lessons from Delta Blues guitarist, Shari Kane. Shortly thereafter, Jo began writing her own songs while completing her college studies in clinical psychology. She now plays at music venues throughout the United States as well as maintaining a successful psychotherapy practice and raising her delightful daughter.
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Whether recreating old classic songs or performing original songs in her own deeply confessional and comic styles, Jo’s music stands original while always reflecting her love of American roots music. Her eclectic writing and performance fuses elements of various modern and traditional folk music,
Delta and electric blues, roots rock, classic and alt-country, garage rock surf and swing.
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Jo often performs with her partner, John Devine, where she plays drums and guitar. She also performs regularly with her bands, the Willie Dunns (John Devine, David Roof and Stuart Tucker), Stella! (Jen Sygit and Julianna Wilson) and the LaFawndas (Joel Jackson, Lindsay McCaw, John Devine, Jason Oberliesen and Stuart Tucker). They bring added depth and musical styling to Jo’s original songs as well as classics from such artists as Mississippi John Hurt, Wanda Jackson, Bessie Smith and Tom Waits. Jo is also the founding member of the old-time group Uncle Earl.
Judy Banker
A longtime fixture on the Ann Arbor acoustic music scene (performing with Michigan folk legend Jay Stielstra for over a decade), Judy emerged as a solo artist and songwriter in 2014, releasing 4 well-received full-length albums since that time. Judy’s first release, Without You, a raw folk-country acoustic project, is at turns a celebratory and heart-wrenching ode to love and loss with the recent passing of her husband and lifetime musical partner, John Sayler. She went on to pen a dozen new songs for her acclaimed sophomore pure Americana release, Devils Never Cry (2016), a testament to love and life’s unexpected turns expressed with high lonesome dobro, fiddle, and close harmonies. In 2019 Judy released a single, “Blessed Be The Nation”, a poem written by Pete Seeger and Jim Mussleman in 1964 that had never been set to music. Judy composed music for the poem with the exclusive permission of the Seeger family estate to help spread the “people not profits” message of the poem via free downloads of the song (free download available on this site's "Pete Seeger Project" page.) Taking a quantum leap with her third studio album, Buffalo Motel (2020), Judy moved into expansive, atmospheric alt country/indie rock territory. Dubbed by Current Magazine (2020) “a big sounding record…a hybrid of Americana, folk-rock and tender balladry…momentous, and ruminative”.
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Judy has assembled an All Star group of Michigan artists who she performs and records with including multi-instrumentalist David Roof (who also is head recording engineer at his studio, Rooftop Recording, the home of all of Judy's recording projects) guitarist Tony Pace, percussionist Jim Latini, bassist John Sperendi, and pedal steel player Alan Pagliere. In November 2023, Judy released Bona Fide, her fourth studio album, which landed on a number of “best of” 2023 lists both regionally and in the U.K. Bona Fide also landed on the Americana charts within a a couple weeks post-release, wrapping up the year at #138. Radio stations both locally and from coast to coast have picked up Bona Fide. Recorded with her band and at David Roof's Rooftop Recording Studio, Grand Blanc, with her son, Ben Sayler, producer, Bona Fide has been dubbed Judy's “best record yet”, hitting even more refined, signature sonic territory, while Judy's songwriting continue to grapple lyrically with universal issues of when to stay and when to go, and what is love all about.
Keynote Sisters
Sisters Phoebe and Jaclyn, known as the Keynote Sisters, have been captivating audiences for over 10 years with their acoustic blend of pop, folk, and Americana. Hailing from Lake Orion, Michigan, they have graced stages across the Midwest bringing their signature knit-tight harmonies to life with guitar, keyboard, and cajon. In honor of their late grandmother Dr. May Ling Lie, the Keynote Sisters released their first CD of covers, Come What May (2016), with all proceeds benefiting the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. Passionate about songwriting, they followed up with their first EP of original music, Rose Colored Glasses (2019), and their debut single "Done and Damned" (2021). The Keynote Sisters are currently in production for their debut album, set for release in 2025.
Kyle Rasche (Alto, MI) is a father, songwriter, playwrite, & assistant soccer coach for the U8 Girls Purple Hyenas. To make things confusing, he has released seven albums under the moniker Chain of Lakes. He writes what he knows: family, friendship, and the beauty and strife that comes with an unflinching compulsion to sing about his feelings. His gift is translating those feelings in full, delivering delicate, thoughtful songs that span the spectrum from heart-wrenching to hilarious - often in the same song.
In addition to his work with CoL, Kyle curates a songwriters guild called The Song Haul, is the primary songwriter for The Real Humdingers (“kid songs for everyone”), has contributed songs for several musical theatre works, including his own Michigan folk musical called The Keeper, which is currently in workshop stages.
Kyle Joe
With roots spanning from Texas all the way to Canada, Lucky 17 has forged a unique new musical offering here in Michigan. Singer-songwriters Ed Dupas, Caroline Barlow and Tony Pace have joined forces with local bass legend Ozzie Andrews to share their collective stories via song. Whether it's a dusty back road hymn, a song of loss, or a tune of hope and love, they deliver it all with authentic and soulful perspective. Three-part harmonies weave together with acoustic and electric instrumentation to offer an eclectic mix of song styles and textures. Collectively, their talents have graced many stages here and abroad including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Ann Arbor Folk Festival, and Blissfest to name a few.
Lucky 17
After a childhood spent in the opera world with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, pivoted to busking in downtown Toronto when the pandemic closed the doors on live theatre. Now, she is developing a career in indie folk music around Ann Arbor, while she pursues a music degree from the University of Michigan.
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As the daughter of a born-and-bred Canadian and an American peacenik, her multi-instrumental songwriting draws inspiration from American music of the 70s and the indie music of today with a mezzo folk tone like Gillian Welch and jazz inclinations reminiscent of Joni Mitchell. Her solo show and upcoming album ,“People of the Earth and Sea”, tells stories of people and places in a modern technological world. At just 20 years old, she brings a contemporary edge to the timeless music tradition of American folk music, having quickly brought her to the forefront of the Southeast Michigan folk scene.
Maddy Ringo
Mark Jewett is an insightful Michigan storyteller with listeners in over 60 countries. He writes songs that push the boundaries of Americana into an uncommon blend of folk, rock, blues, and prog rock. Throughout them, listeners can hear and feel his honesty, gratitude, and introspective thoughts, with healthy doses of humor and drama to vary the pace.
His songs betray the effort he makes to find just the right words, taking cues from the likes of Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, Randy Newman, and JD Souther. As a writer, he finds the lighter side of life easy to put to music, but writing about love, loss, and the road between them is harder to get right. Sonically, his tunes span the space between classic folk and epic soundscapes you might expect to hear from Pink Floyd. Somehow, it all fits together to provide an intriguing, self-contained variety show.
Mark Jewett
Writer, singer, and guitar slinger Michael Robertson has spent a lifetime chasing songs. Known to friends and peers as MFR, the Michigan native delivers songs that meet at the crossroads of hope and heartbreak, delivered with a nuanced perspective (OK maybe a little irony) about the unremarkable - yet universal - life experiences.
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A veteran of the road, Michael has toured with the various incarnations of the Robertson Brothers. His accomplished touch on the guitar has made him an in-demand sideman for some of Michigan’s most acclaimed songwriters like Drew Nelson, Amy Petty and Kyle Rasche.
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In 2016, MFR released his award-winning debut solo record “All My Stories”, followed 2 years later with “Moon Over Michigan”. Now making West Michigan his home, Michael continues pursuing his journey through song with the heart of a musician who knows the value of love and time.
Michael Robertson
Michelle Held is a singer-songwriter whose music is heart-centered and deeply resonant. Known for a voice that recalls folk legends, she blends beautifully crafted, poetic lyrics with soulful, genuine narratives that capture the human condition. Her songs invite listeners into a space where authenticity and warmth shine through, building a timeless connection across generations.
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Held’s self-written and -produced debut single The World Moves On, featuring strings by Sav Madigan and Katie Larson of The Accidentals and horns by CJ Camerieri, is an evocative and hopeful folk song that realizes the fragility of life. The subject is personal; Held’s childhood was marked by great tragedy with the unexpected loss of her father. This is a reflective piece about those moments when everything unalterably changes forever and yet, somehow the world keeps spinning as if nothing has changed at all.
Michelle Held