Author

Mark Wedel

Mark Wedel has been a freelance journalist since 1992, covering a bewildering variety of subjects. He also writes books on his epic bike rides across the country. He's written a book on one ride, "Mule Skinner Blues." For more information, see www.markswedel.com.

Mark Wedel's Latest Articles

New KSO President Amy Williams is on a mission to make orchestral music feel like home

Amy Williams, the new president of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, brings a community-focused vision shaped by her success in Savannah, aiming to make symphony music more accessible and inviting to people across Kalamazoo.

Jazz went fearless, strange, and brilliant at the Gilmore Finale — and Kalamazoo loved it

At the Gilmore Piano Festival finale in Kalamazoo, Grammy-winning pianist Sullivan Fortner and fellow jazz innovators delivered a daring, emotionally charged performance that proved the city’s audience is sophisticated enough to embrace adventurous modern jazz.

House show or hair show? Inside Kalamazoo’s ‘secret’ salon concert scene

A downtown Kalamazoo hair salon is transforming into an intimate monthly live music venue, where Trim Salon owner Patti Ann McNulty hosts folk and Americana concerts in a uniquely DIY community space.

Kalamazoo asks residents to take a close, personal look at streets on walking audit for ‘Design It! Downtown’

A lively Downtown Kalamazoo walking audit highlights community-driven ideas and upcoming “Streets for All” improvements aimed at creating a safer, more welcoming, and pedestrian-friendly city center.

From ancestral trails to two-way roads: How Kalamazoo streets keep changing with the times

Kalamazoo’s shift from one-way to two-way streets reflects centuries of evolving transportation as the city reimagines a more walkable, people-centered downtown.

Neighborhood nonprofit rehabs houses to help new homeowners and break the rent cycle

Edison Initiatives was formed to help others become homeowners and build wealth.

“I sing because I feel free”: Las Cafeteras led Kalamazoo on a musical journey of solidarity and joy

Las Cafeteras transformed a Sunday afternoon into a high-energy celebration, blending centuries of musical tradition with a joyful call for unity and shared humanity.

Readers and bakers eat their words at Kalamazoo’s 19th Annual Edible Book Festival

See who took the cake at this year's Kalamazoo Book Arts' Edible Book Festival.

Symphonic Beats celebrates women, proves Kalamazoo’s hip hop culture is thriving

Blending symphony, rap, poetry and dance, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra’s “Symphonic Beats” celebrated women in hip-hop culture while showcasing the strength of Kalamazoo’s local scene.

All aboard for a perfectly college ride at WMU Theatre

WMU Theatre’s intimate staging of Keith Bunin’s “The Coast Starlight” captures the restless hope, impulsiveness and emotional rawness of youth, showcasing how college theater turns a deceptively simple train ride into a poignant exploration of growth, connection and exhilarating uncertainty.

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