The 22nd Annual
Nor-east'r Music & Art Festival June 12th-14th, 2026
Our 2026 Performers!
Since picking up a music career through busking on the streets of Toronto, Maddy Ringo has been a fresh voice in the timeless tradition of American folk music. The daughter of a born-and-bred Canadian and an American peacenik, Maddy learned the Rise Up Singing catalogue as a seven-year-old, creating her foundation in the works of Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and the like.
Now, based in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan, she brings a contemporary spirit to the folk format, with her multi-instrumental songwriting, with blues inclinations and rich mezzo vocals. Her latest album “People of the Earth and Sea” explores vivid narratives of earth, faith, and meaning in an ever-changing world. “I write a lot about the experience of having human emotion within a really alienating post-industrial society,” Ringo says, “so everything is set within that context of fighting against this stasis and this feeling of apathy that is so easy to access right now, a sort of dulling of the senses”.
Since moving to Ann Arbor, Maddy has come to prominence in the Southeast Michigan folk scene. She has headlined at landmark folk venue The Ark, and performed at renowned festivals including Sonic Lunch and the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. You can also catch her busking at the Kerrytown Farmer's Market on Saturdays when the weather is nice.
Maddy Ringo
When it comes to movers and shakers in the bluegrass world, Full Cord is a super- group on the rise.
After winning the prestigious 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition in Colorado, the Michigan-based group followed that with another much-coveted honor when the International Bluegrass Music Association named Full Cord its “Momentum Award Band of the Year.”
While mandolinist Brian Oberlin notes the band’s music “is new and fresh to the ears of seasoned bluegrass fans,” the bluegrass traditions in Full Cord have deep roots.
The group’s members – Brian Oberlin, guitarist Eric Langejans, bassist Todd Kirchner, banjo Max Allard – boast decades of musical artistry, with experience in popular performing bands from Michigan to Oregon. The group brings along top players to fill in fiddle and banjo to round out that rich bluegrass tone. The band’s debut album on Nashville’s Dark Shadow Recording released in Nov. of 2023 and has maintained charting positions through spring of '24.
Full Cord’s songwriting has reached a new “tipping point,” Manager Katie Kirchner suggests, enhanced by the group’s vast repertoire and robust experience in numerous band projects over the years. And Oberlin insists the band is “just hitting its stride” – ready to follow in the
footsteps of fellow Michigan bluegrass icons Billy Strings and Greensky Bluegrass as yet another star in the making.
Full Cord
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Songs tend to originate in some Nashville/LA factory with the glossy coating shaped by a countless number of “pros”. The writers upon engineers upon co-writers upon writers upon stylists pass these song-objects down a huge manufacturing line and then watch the dollar signs flash. The song (that you’ve heard before) enters the public consciousness, launches a career or two, and then vanishes into oblivion. The throw-away culture strikes again.
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There are other songs, though, that come from craftsmen, like the characters you see working away at some Americana exhibit creating relics of an unknown past. These song craftsmen create works that are plucked from the air, like lightning bugs destined for an old Mason jar. The songs of these artists become polished like the ancient stones in the Flat River. These songs come wrapped in brown paper with an old twine ribbon. These songs come from the soul and etch themselves into your fabric. Josh Rose is one of these craftsmen.
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Josh grew up in the northern woodlands and fine tuned his songwriting in the borderlands. He has spent the past ten years touring the Midwest, teaching, writing, and creating a rich body of work. Josh is the type of writer who labors over every word and wants his songs to be injected into the listener’s permanent being.
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After his three previous studio albums; Firework Letdown (2005) Slow Bloom (2007), and Old Laminate (2014); Josh is more than pleased to bring you Foreverland (2023). Now available on Apple Music.
Josh Rose
& The Founding Fathers
Singer-songwriter Ani Mari’s debut album, girlfriend, explores the ambiguities of coming of age in a beautifully precarious world. Across ten warmly combative tracks, her songs fight for grace and connection amidst the anxieties, desires, heartbreaks, and oftentimes wearying joie de vivre of being young in America’s heartland.
Though just having graduated college, Ani Mari has been performing solo, with her backing band, and with her folk duo, Ani & Kora, across her home state of Michigan for almost a decade, along the way sharing stages with prominent artists such as The Accidentals, Lindsay Lou, May Erlewine, and Joshua Davis, among many others. On tracks like “whitefish bay” and “the prettiest things,” listeners will hear echoes of the forests and waters of the Upper Peninsula where she was raised, and the bluegrass and folk musical influences she grew up around. While the title track, “girlfriend,” might triangulate Ani Mari’s current temperature somewhere between Liz Phair, Waxahachee, and Ratboys, comparisons ultimately fall short. Compelling, alive, humming, and hungry, her indie-folk songwriting is 100% original, and definitely not to be missed.
girlfriend was produced, recorded, and mixed by Erik Koskinen, mastered by Tom Garneau, and released by production house Real-Phonic Records, St. Paul, Minnesota. Songs by Ani Mari (guitar, banjo, lead vocals). Backing musicians include long-time collaborator Kora Melia (violin, mandolin, backing vocals), Michael Michaud (bass), Jack Harris (drums), Ruby Howard (cello, backing vocals), and Koskinen (guitar). Available on all streaming platforms.
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
The North Ingalls Band is a seven-piece indie folk-groove group with all members hailing from the University of Michigan. Formed in 2023 the core group includes Corazon Szell (guitar/vocals), Liam Charron (piano), Andres Soto (bass), Jack Harris (drums), Eric Bressler (trumpet), Em Spencer (saxophone), and SC Klein (trombone).
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Each member of the band brings their unique sound, that has been shaped through diverse personal experiences, to the original music you hear from them today. As a group, they continually explore and pull from each and every genre that catches their ears, lights a fire in their souls, and sings from their instruments.
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The North Ingalls Band performs mainly original music (written and arranged) by Szell, as well as some covers. The vision is inspired by the many diverse musical styles the band collectively listens to and studies. Genres including folk, jazz, popular, R&B, rap and rock, are reflected in the compositions and the band’s setlist, along with music by artists including The Lumineers, Noah Kahan, Caamp, and Jack Johnson.
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Currently based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, The North Ingalls Band has played throughout the area in established venues such as North Star Lounge, Canterbury House, and The Blind Pig.
The North Ingalls Band
Singer/Songwriter
Drew Nelson
& Highway 2
Erik Koskinen is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, whose music is not categorized by sub-genres. Stylistically he is on his own while heavily influenced by American roots music. The rhythmic integrity and musical tone is as important as the lyrical content and the artistic intent. Koskinen has reverently entered the anthology of uniquely crafted wry songs with the likes of Woody Guthrie and Ry Cooder while speaking as plainly as your neighbor. The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls Koskinen “the real deal” and “The best country songwriter in Minnesota”
Erik Koskinen
The Blue Water Ramblers write and sing traditional music with modern themes - the songs of Michigan, America and YOUR life. Our repertoire comes right out of our Michigan life experiences and the history of the Great Lakes. We think our hero, Woody Guthrie, would approve because we're singing the people's songs about the people's lives and they can join right in.
As the founder of Farmhouse Music Organization in northern Michigan once wrote of the Blue Water Ramblers, "There are few music groups who take so little and give so much. The Ramblers' deep love for good music and the people who attend is evident in all you do. You bring so much joy and good will with you wherever you travel."
So we hope to see you soon - stop in to one of our shows, sit a spell and enjoy our unique take on some songs old, some songs new, some songs borrowed and some songs blues!
Blue Water Ramblers
Jill Jack
Jill Jack’s decades-long career has taken her across the globe, performing solo and with her band, opening for acts like Bob Seger and Loretta Lynn. Her Americana music blends folk, rock, country, and blues, and she’s known for storytelling, humor, and heartfelt performances. With 12 CDs and 51 Detroit Music Awards, she’s also composed for documentaries and ad campaigns. Jack gives back through missionary work, nonprofits, and mentoring artists of all ages. She’s launching a podcast and encourages perseverance in music: “Be yourself. Work from your heart. Not everyone will like you, but they’ll respect your authenticity and hard work.”
Annie & Rodd Capps
Annie and Rod Capps have established themselves as well-respected songwriters, musicians and performers, with three albums topping the Folk Radio charts and as 2-time Kerrville New Folk Finalists.
The Capps’ sound meets at the intersection of Americana & Folk citing rock, jazz and bluegrass influences. The duo is on a musical journey that began in 1982, culminating into a symbiotic sound that reflects their deep and intuitive understanding of each other. Annie’s disarming, earthy voice and solid command of her guitar are punctuated by Rod’s effortless, accompaniment and beautiful solo work on both guitar and viola. Together they weave unforgettable melodies that are at once intricate and sparse – musically completing each others’ sentences.
9 studio albums later they continue to explore their love of blending diverse styles to create a fresh and unique amalgamation all while sticking to their narrative “songs about broken things and poignant little ponderings delivered with a rootsy vibe, a touch of twang and soulful groove”.
Sam Robbins is often described as an "old soul singer songwriter." A Nashville based musician whose music evokes classic 70's singer songwriters like James Taylor and Neil Young, Sam adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. An avid performer, he has gained recognition from extensive touring and as one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition, one of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country.
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Sam released his debut album, Finally Feeling Young, on May 14th, 2021. The album is reminiscent of his 70's singer-songwriter heroes, with a modern perspective. On the heels of the award winning opening single, 'Remind Me", Finally Feeling Young has already garnered radio airplay and critical acclaim. Two album tracks, Remind Me and Saying Amen, won him a place as one of the six Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk winners. Americana Highways writes: “He writes of subjects that others don't explore. Saying Amen has Robbins touching that special place Leonard Cohen went. This is brilliance." Fateau Magazine in the UK writes "One of the most promising new songwriters of his generation".
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A multi-instrumentalist from a young age, Sam began learning drums and piano, falling in love with guitar at age 15. He then started writing original music, recording his first CD during his sophomore year of high school, while playing open mics in his hometown of Portsmouth, NH.
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Sam is a full time troubadour, playing over 150 shows a year across the country, including the MainStage at the Kerrville Folk Festival, Dripping Springs Songwriter’s Festival, and as one of the “‘Most Wanted to Return” artists in the 2023 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.
Sam Robbins
Shari and Dave throw a four handed acoustic party – street swing, stomp blues, mountain twang – music from the holler and swamp. Blues and gospel shouting, stellar fingerpicking, deep slide, banjo, dobro, mandolin, and Appalachian harmony singing. Gary Davis meets Dock Boggs and Muddy Waters and they share a jug.
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Shari and Dave shows are steeped in folk and blues roots, blended with Appalachian grind – serving up an intoxicating acoustic brew. Dave’s smoky vocals, percussive rhythm and innovative lead, and Shari’s crisp picking style, rootsy leads, and stinging slidework are a testament to sounds once heard on the streets of Harlem, juke joints of Mississippi, the Carolina hills or the jug bands of Memphis.
Shari Kane & Dave Steele
One time garage rock troubadour Dave Boutette, and former Radio City Rockette Kristi Lynn Davis make what could be considered an odd musical pairing, but they have most certainly found a way to make it work. Since pairing Dave’s celebrated songwriting with Kristi’s natural gift for harmony, the duo has delighted audiences at music festivals, house concerts, and listening rooms from the Porcupine Mountains down to Oberlin, Ohio. Their releases together include Easy as Pie (2018) and Seven Stars Around the Moon (2020).
Dave & Kristi’s music is a blend of many schools of American roots and popular music including folk, blues, swing, and old time country. The lyrics testify to the power of true love, rebirth, coffee, and even migrating fish.
Dave Boutette & Kristi Davis