Category: Music

As Talisk’s performance began, their rich music charged into the audience of the Ark not unlike a great gush of water breaking past a dam. It is truly exciting to witness a band’s live set after hearing their recorded music, but Talisk presented a set that would blow anybody’s expectations out of the water. Their bright, booming entrance brilliantly set a high musical bar that instantly pulled me to the edge of my seat.

Each member of this group brings a specific and unique element that contributes to their overall quality: BBC Radio Scotland best summarized the stage presence and musical talent of Mohsen Amini when they called him a force of nature. With a speaking voice that sounds the way a rich, dark lager tastes, Amini’s concertina playing is the lifeblood of Talisk. Accompanying the concertina is the seemingly-effortless violin playing  from the sweetheart of Talisk, Haley Keenan, who possesses musical range and technical excellence. Lastly, guitar player Graeme Armstrong, newest member of Talisk, provides a strong and constant presence through his powerfully precise pickings and strummings.

Talisk’s musical set at the Ark was so sharply delivered and seamless that I often wondered if this performance had been pre-recorded. Not so! Through ever-so-slight onstage communication, Talisk took their audience through corridors of traditional acoustic folk music only to thrust them into great halls of pulsing Celtic rock. How enchanted I was by the genre barriers they crossed, and the ease at which they operated their respective foot pedals and switches that allowed them to pivot back and forth into various  musical modes.

I had the pleasure of chatting with the Talisk members after the show, and it really struck me how charming each member was.  It left me wishing that they had shared more stories during the set. Additional banter and camaraderie between the individual members during a performance would definitely round-out their collective stage presence. Alongside this, I believe that an attention-getting opener is well placed for a venue like the Ark, however, Talisk could have allowed themselves a bit more space and time to build their sound and reveal all of their musical tricks, lest they exhaust their audience’s excitement with no direction to expand.

Turnout for this event was unusually low, I believe, because of Ann Arbor’s social-distancing initiative to slow the spread of corona virus. This is a true shame, especially as Ann Arbor faces an artistic desert for the foreseeable future. With a musical set that was tightly synchronized and an off-the-hook ambiance, Talisk really blessed their audience with a warm and lively spirit that I truly hope carries over into our daily lives through these unique times to come.

This next Tuesday, March 10th, Talisk is coming to Ann Arbor! This performance will mark the second time that this world-renowned Celtic/Folk band has played at the Ark! Within only four years since their formation, Talisk has already raked in several major awards, including Folk Band of the Year 2017 at the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Music Awards.

With tickets priced at $20, the doors open at 7:30PM and the show starts promptly at 8:00PM.

Be sure not to miss out on this terrific trio!

Mike Marshall and Darol Anger, a duo that has been playing together for over forty years, brought back their mix off bluegrass, jazz, and chamberfolk music to the stage of the Ark. The two continue to push boundaries in the genre of American acoustic music for stringed instruments and erase the barriers that separate bluegrass and traditional American string music from jazz, world music, and the avant garde. They spanned multiple genres over the course of the night, seamlessly taking the audience on a tour of the music world they have experienced.

Before the duo, Westbound Situation, a group that formed at Marshall’s camp: the Savannah Music Festival, played a set of their own. Made up of umich alumni and current students, the Ark was excited to welcome back Westbound to the stage for the second time this season. The group played tunes off their first record titled “pilot,” as well as some new tunes written and arranged by members of the group. Westbound had a really dynamic energy that pulled in the crowd, and was the perfect way to usher in Marshall and Anger.

With Anger on fiddle and Marshall switching back and forth between guitar and mandolin, the two reminisced about old tours and tunes they had shared over the years. The night was filled with fantastic improv and even better dad jokes shared between two very good friends. They played tunes that spanned the past 4 decades, many written by the two themselves. They had a very distinct style of playing with rhythm and tripping up the audience member. I heard lots of twisty tunes that night that made me want to rewind and listen again.

For the second half, Westbound joined the duo to play some of their tunes off of their record ” Chiaroscuro.” It was fun to see this next generation of musicians play with their mentors and and personal inspiration. Mike Marshall commented that “the future of this music is in good hands,” and how excited he was that this group of musicians was able to meet and continue to make music together. Mike Marshall and Darol Anger continue to be some of the most prominent musicians in this mixed genre scene, and I am so glad I got to see them play at the Ark:)

Every time I go to the Ark I am always in awe of how good the acoustics are. The space is inviting and intimate, and the popcorn is really good (fun fact!!!). It is a very student friendly venue and I am sure I will find myself back there within the next month!