Folk music. Three syllables that are liable, for the uninitiated, to conjure a montage of soft-focus visuals: be-ribboned tambourines, flower-woven braids, and natural-fiber clad musicians wielding guitars and earnest expressions. While the folk-music stylings of the '60s and '70s are still hale and hardy in southeast Michigan (especially at
The Ark), another, stranger, muddier strain has been vying for primacy. Call it what you will: neofolk, alt-country, alt-folk, traditional, roots, folk-noir… whatever it is, or isn't - it's trickling out of watering holes and music venues all over town. And it's very, very different.
As Bob Dylan might say, "The times they are a changin".
"Suddenly we all came out and realized there was a 'scene'," says
Chris Bathgate, local Americana-luminary and songsmith. Whether strumming solo (heavily looped electric guitar, percussion and Bathgate's single-malt-smooth vocals), or with his band (horns, double drums, pedal steel, cymbals, fiddles), Bathgate's music draws heavily from traditional music (British Isles fiddle tunes, to name one source).
"I'm not sure the term neofolk describes the scene," he explains. "There are many commonalities and many differences." Bathgate's own oeuvre conveys a taste of the genre's fluidity - swaying as it does between Motown, blues, soul, and yes, folk.
Local crooner, drummer, and guitarist
Matt Jones says the indie-boom has accelerated in the last five years, with more folk-traditional-alt acts appearing and more interest in general. The shift away from the region's '60s and '70s roots has been dramatic, he says, morphing toward rock, world music, classical, and even punk genres. Overall, more instrumentation – cellos, mandolins, electric guitars – has nudged traditional folk sounds into new territory. "That's the way things evolve. And it's a lot more interesting than it used to be," he says.
Jones is known for his debut album
Black Path. He grew up in Adrian, Mich., and now lives in Ypsilanti. Jones' work appears on many local projects, on which he plays guitar or drums. He and his band have performed all over the country, and have played numerous festivals –from
MittenFest to SXSW-- and local venues, including the Ark.
With a sweet, lilting voice that belies the often darker message of his lyrics, cascading pianos, cellos, and circus-dark waltzes that Danny Elfman might envy, Jones' music is hard to describe. "It's like if classical music had really good vocals," he laughs. "I'm not saying mine are good, but once in a while… they are okay. I have a connection with instruments that don't plug in -- they have a lot more character, and a lot more depth."
And across the board, character and personality seem to be defining aspects of the burgeoning genre: Singer/songwriter Misty Lyn of
Misty Lyn and the Big Beautiful describes her music as personal: "It's a connection with the audience," she says. "People that like folk music are looking for a connection with the artist and the crowd instead of simply being played at."
Indeed, Lyn's music exerts a deeper country feel to it in general – making it one of the stiffer alt-country selections in the indie-folk scene. Lyn's warming – at times haunting – voice couples with pedal steel guitar, distorted and/or twanging instruments in a way that verges on the ethereal. Based in Ypsilanti, she and her band perform locally and statewide, making occasional touring forays to the greater Midwest, New York City, and more. Lyn is currently working on her second album with
Jim Roll and Back Seat Productions.
So, how many folk bands can one city hold?"Ann Arbor has more country-folk talent than any other city," says Jim Roll, veteran musician and owner of the Ann Arbor recording studio
Back Seat Productions. Roll is known as one of the local indie folk scene's originals. Not only did his experiments help foster today's scene, but his mentorship has helped many young artists, Lake Folk and Matt Jones among them, develop their musical visions.
A musician in his own right, Roll describes the growing indie-folk scene as one that bends and breaks a lot of the rules of folk. His own music alternates traditional folk songs with rock songs. "Sometimes it's a folk song based in rock, and sometimes it's a rock song based in folk," he says.
So what are the rules of folk? There are no rules. You’re as likely to hear the mellow drawl of a cello as a banjo, or a fiddle plucked as a twanged guitar. You might hear distorted guitars, calliopes or pianos, sounds from a bygone era or something you've never imagined. Today’s folk is a mélange of styles that produce distinct sounds that you’d be hard pressed to define.
Exploring the dark sideOne band defying description is the year old
Lake Folk. Started by two PhD students and an oceanographer, all educated, in part, at Case Western and the
University of Michigan, Lake Folk melds acoustic instruments like bright banjos with mourning cellos and melancholy narratives.
"We distinguish ourselves from the folk of the '60s," says lead singer and bassist Erin Shellman. "We call ourselves folk-noir or roots noir." The name fits: Lake Folk's line up of dusky, moody, cello-supported music boasts a handful of traditional murder ballads such as "Lizzie's Waltz."
"We're roots, but the darker side of roots," she laughs.
Shellman had her roots in jazz music, loving Etta James, Big Mamma Thornton, and Billy Holiday. "Jazz can be a little sterile, " she says. "It's about musicianship and being serious about your instrument. Yet folk music is about being expressive. It's a community thing. The tunes are so simple that anyone could come and play. Folk music is something you do together."
Founding band member Eric Anderson (the oceanographer) agrees that his music is a little darker than other indie-folk/alt-country/roots-music bands in the area. Born in Pennsylvania, Anderson is inspired by Midwest stories. "I think the crumbling aspect of Michigan is similar to Pennsylvania. It has the same deteriorating atmosphere."
"This area has definitely been conducive to the growth of this type of music," says Jeremy Peters, co-owner and co-founder of
Quite Scientific Records. "There's a lot of friendship between the older vanguard of folk music and the younger. There isn't necessarily a direct influence, but the older generation has laid the groundwork for the new music – it's definitely allowed artists like Chris Bathgate and Frontier Ruckus to have a good place to grow as artists."
Peters says the local music scene has a strong foundation of support, with musicians collaborating on records and appearing at each others' shows. “It's the nature of the Midwest," he says, "you put your nose to the grindstone and keep working."
Inspired by the great indie-folk scene, Peters started his label in order to push a few of his favorite forward. And so far, the labor of love has done well: "Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti fans are rabid. Even with the economy being what it is, they are buying tickets and albums."
Michigan Meltdown BluesTimothy Monger is a Michigan native and a co-founding member of
The Great Lakes Myth Society, a folk-based group with robust, energetic alt rock-band leanings. The band has two albums and one single; Monger is currently laboring away on what will be his second solo album. Involved in the Ann Arbor rock and folk scene since the mid '90s, he attributes the surge of folk-based creativity to the foundering Michigan economy.
"Everyone is in the same mess right now and there's a lot of really creative stuff coming out of it," he says. "Ann Arbor also has the university and an outlying rural environment – I think that both are conducive to singer-songwriters doing their work in folk." Monger also credits mentorship from Back Seat Productions owner Jim Roll, as well as having a world-class live music venue like The Ark nearby.
Perhaps economic struggles lend themselves to the creation of folk – at least the kind requiring less equipment: As Matt Jones says, "I try to do as much musically as I can with as little as possible – because it's way cheaper."
"There's a lot of beauty here," adds Monger. "Artists can be inspired by the decay, and there is a Midwestern resilience and a loyalty in a lot of us who grew up around here. We are going to stick it out and that's great."
A folk movement by any other name...Although many of the more popular indie-folk bands have played at larger venues, most of their scene orbits the Blind Pig, the Savoy, Old Town, and even Ann Arbor's repository of fringe entertainment, the Yellow Barn. There is also a healthy festival scene. Monger himself throws a solstice festival at his farm in Britton, Mich., and every year Ann Arbor's nonprofit 826 holds the infamous MittenFest in Ypsilanti to raise money.
"Our scene is edgy – we keep reinventing ourselves," says Monger.
Of course, there are countless other bands making the rounds. The most popular right now is
Frontier Ruckus, currently touring the nation.
Orpheum Bell produces a more traditional variety of '40s-style folk, and
Gun Lake is the "finger-picking" genre with a modern twist.
You really have to hear some of the collection to get what's going down – but once you do – you can count on an indie-folk infection. Just take a tip from Matt Jones and don't change your "look" to fit in with the crowd when you go to listen: According to Jones, the scene has a definite look. "If I see another singer-songwriter wearing a beard and a plaid shirt I'm going to throw up. And layering is out of hand."
What was he wearing when he said that? "Lots of layers, and a beard."
Want to hear music by some of the bands in this article? Check out these tracks, courtesy of the musicians.