Musical Awakening — Dexter’s Brad Phillips Rediscovers His Purpose for Writing and Performing Music

Brad Phillips, right, performs with Jeff Daniels at JD’s Stage Bistro in Chelsea. Photo by Bern.

After years of working as a sideman, Brad Phillips realized it’s time to be front and center.

The Dexter, Michigan, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is focusing more on his own material and live shows.

“I’m at this point where I’m looking back at the whole road that I’ve traveled; I’ve done a lot of stuff, and I’m grateful for it,” Phillips said. “It’s exciting to think about what comes next, and instead of waiting for who’s going to call me next, I’m calling me. And so, I’m trying to be intentional about just doing that on purpose.”

Phillips spent four days this summer revisiting his musical purpose in the woods by writing and practicing music. Playing a variety of different instruments—acoustic guitar, mandolin, and violin, to name a few—helped him feel reconnected to it.

“I brought my little recording rig and creative-vomited for four days, and I got back to basics and practiced my scales and my etudes,” he said. “It was like: ‘Oh yeah, this is a part of who I am, and it always has been.’”

Before taking his musical retreat, Phillips had been touring on and off with actress and singer Patti LuPone for the last two to three years. He also collaborated with LuPone on her 2024 album, A Life in Notes.

“That’s been the primary thing, all while trying to understand what inspires me musically as an individual and as the musician Brad under my own name,” Phillips said. “My whole thing over the last 20-25 years has been: ‘How can I best serve other people’s visions?’ And of course, that is essentially a side man, which I love, and I will always love.”

While he enjoys collaborating and performing with a roster of Michigan musicians, including May Erlewine, Joshua Davis, Chris DuPont, Rachael Davis, and Jeff Daniels, he’s begun releasing his own material.

Americana-folk songs like “How Sweet the Sound” and “Dance Again” demonstrate the musical depth and breadth he brings as a singer-songwriter.

“I’ve gone through a lot in the last decade—a lot of transition, a lot of change—and all of it has brought me closer to living more truthfully, more authentically, which then allows for the creativity to flow a little more organically,” said Phillips, who’s a lecturer at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

I recently spoke with Phillips about his career ahead of an October 10 show at Rancho Tranquilico in Dexter.

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Fifth Edition — Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert Marks First Major Milestone for Kalamazoo’s Sounds of the Zoo Music Festival

Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert. Courtesy photo.

For Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert, the fifth year feels special.

It marks the start of longevity and the first major milestone for Sounds of the Zoo, the free-admission music festival she’s hosted since 2022 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

“It feels pretty amazing to still be here,” said Hudson-Prenkert, founder, curator, and director of Sounds of the Zoo.

“Recently, Sounds of the Zoo was recognized by Local Spins as the No. 2 September music festival in Michigan—right behind Wheatland. That’s an incredible honor and something I’m really proud of. I’m trying to take a moment to sit back, take it in, and recognize that we made it to year five. But honestly, I also feel like I’m just getting started.”

Running September 21-27, the festival features more than 40 acts at several locations across the city. Some of the acts include Myron Elkins, The Mark Lavengood Band, Desmond Jones, The Go Rounds, MexiCuba, The Rupple Brothers, Grace Theisen, Kylee Phillips, Chris Canas, and others.

In addition to celebrating Michigan music, Sounds of the Zoo has become part of the city’s cultural movement and has built partnerships with local venues, Western Michigan University, and other organizations.

“Sounds of the Zoo is so much more than a festival,” Hudson-Prenkert said. “It’s rooted in community, but it also reaches beyond the community. I think that’s part of what makes it different. Festivals can sometimes have a certain stereotype or formula, and I’ve always wanted Sounds of the Zoo to feel different.”

I recently spoke with Hudson-Prenkert about preparing for the festival and celebrating its first milestone.

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Highway Companion — Joe Jaber Celebrates the Open Road on “Ride With Me” Single

Joe Jaber. Courtesy photo.

Joe Jaber relishes the freedom of the open road on “Ride With Me.”

The Novi, Michigan, singer-guitarist captures that sense of adventure and the enjoyment of sharing it with someone special on his latest blues-rock single.

“We all have so much in our daily to-dos, and sometimes we lose track of what’s important,” Jaber said. “Traveling with someone that lights your fire and exploring what’s on the open road without restrictions makes us feel alive.”

Backed by fiery electric guitar, upbeat piano, and pounding drums, Jaber sings, “Gotta get away / Can’t wait another day / The grind is going to beat me down / I know you’re the one / Let’s ride under the sun / Our destiny is now.”

“I hear a little Bob Seger inspiration in that one,” he said. “I’ve been releasing some of the deeper-side-of-life songs lately, and I wanted to put one of the many I haven’t released yet that has that roll-the-windows-down and crank-out-the-jams vibe for summer. I’ve been told this one will deliver.”

Once he had “Ride With Me” written, Jaber shared it with producer Bryan Reilly at Scramble Shack recording studio in Ferndale. The two recorded the song with guitarist Pete Peltier, who brought an explosive sound.

“It was especially fun in the studio with the band, and Pete Peltier is an excellent guitarist and so easy to work with,” Jaber said.

“He had a great tone and drive for the song throughout it. At the end, I heard an outro melody in my head that I loved. I verbalized it to Pete, and he nailed it. I love the final stamp on the song.”

Jaber and his band The Last Divide will share songs like “Ride With Me” and his previous single “Paper Doll” during a September 18 show at Cadieux Café in Detroit. He will also premiere the new video for “Paper Doll” at the show.

“The setlist will be a variety of songs … but we will also be playing some good-time Americana / blues rock,” Jaber said. “We are playing with up-and-coming artist Cami Rose, and we are still finalizing an opener. Both the opener and the closer will be great female artists.”

I recently spoke with Jaber about his background and recent releases ahead of the show.

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Nothing Personal – Bill Edwards Explores Songs From Different Perspectives on “Enough About Me” Album

Bill Edwards. Photo – Jeff Fasano

Editor’s Note: For a related article, see the One Track Mind feature from Pulp.

Bill Edwards is satisfied with having one less personal collection of music in the world.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, singer-songwriter adopts that mindset and overarching premise for his new album, Enough About Me, and its title track.

“I read American Songwriter magazine, and there’s an article on the cover that says, ‘So-and-so has put out their most personal album yet,’” said Edwards, who’s also multi-instrumentalist.

“I don’t think a statement is intrinsically more important because it’s your personal history. It can be, if it’s something you’ve gone through and it’s really important and something that people will recognize and feel themselves, but there are other ways to do it too.”

On the title track, Edwards sings, “Must we keep dronin’ on / About ourselves? / It’s a big ol’ world out there / Can’t we talk about somethin’ else?”

“I don’t mean anything against anybody,” he said. “People do what they need to do or what they want to do, but just for me at my stage of life and stage of music production, I was ready to say, ‘You know, I want to write about something else; I want to write about other people.’”

Featuring 14 tracks, the country-bluegrass album explores songs from the perspectives of several characters, including women, men, teens, veterans, sanitation workers, and drifters.

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Remember the Time — The Brothers Harrington Return With “Experience the Music of 1971” Show in Canton

Amy Petty and Jason Briggs perform as part of “Experience the Music of 1971” at the Canton Village Theater in 2025. Courtesy photo.

The Brothers Harrington are musical time travelers.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, musicians and siblings are building a metaphorical portal to 1971, a year that featured era-defining music from iconic artists like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Carole King, Marvin Gaye, and David Bowie.

That portal is in the form of a live revue-style show called Experience the Music of 1971. After debuting at the Canton Village Theater last fall, the show is back for a two-night run—October 1-2—at the same venue.

“It will be a completely organic performance, and that’s in the spirit of the music,” said Billy Harrington, a drummer who’s co-producing the show with his younger brother, guitarist Michael Harrington.

“We’re doing it the way that people did in the early ‘70s, given the tech that we have. It’s live instruments and live music in a room, and hopefully, we’re connecting with the audience and reminding them, or introducing them to this music.”

The Brothers Harrington developed the concept for the show after discussing a shared love of songs and albums from that transformative year with friend Mark Jay, owner-engineer of Immersifi Recording Services in Ann Arbor, and a sponsor of Experience the Music of 1971. (Immersifi Recording Services specializes in live recording, audio preservation and restoration, and noise and vibration consultancy services.)

“It kept coming up, and Mark was one of the inspirations to push it into the show world,” said Billy Harrington, who’s also performed and toured nationally with different tribute shows.

Last year’s inaugural show sold out and featured a roster of Michigan musicians performing songs like “Stairway to Heaven,” “What’s Going On,” “Roundabout,” and “Baba O’Riley.”

“It’s a lot of really challenging music, and it’s on our shoulders [again] to perform and do it right,” said Michael Harrington. “I think it will be fun, but it will be a lot of hard work and really rewarding.”

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25 Years Later – Kitty Donohoe Marks Milestone Anniversary of Her 9/11 Song, “There Are No Words”

Kitty Donohoe. Photo – Tim Anderson

Friday marks the 25th anniversary of both 9/11 and Kitty Donohoe’s folk song, “There Are No Words,” which pays tribute to the fallen heroes, family members, and friends we lost that day.

Donohoe, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, singer-songwriter, wrote the song in response to the day’s tragic events.

On the song, Donohoe sings, “In one single hour in one single day / We were changed forever, something taken away / And there is no fire that can melt this heavy stone / That can bring back the voices and the spirits of our own.”

“I think it’s the hope of every artist to create something that affects people in a strong way, and I’m honored that ‘There Are No Words’ has played a part in the healing process of our country for so many people,” wrote Donohoe on her website.

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Escape Room — OMO x Le Dawg Create Alternate Sonic Worlds on Their Electronic Music Album

OMO, aka Javan Cain, and Le Dawg, aka Evan Haywood, in Ann Arbor. Photo – DJ Cataclysmic, aka Jacoby Simmons.

Editor’s Note: For a related article, see the One Track Mind feature from Pulp.

OMO x Le Dawg’s self-titled album provides a brief respite from the outside world.

On their debut release, the Ann Arbor, Michigan, electronic duo creates different vibes and sonic spaces for people needing an escape.

“I want to get into that place where I’m no longer in my consciousness, but I am depersonalized completely into the music,” said Evan Haywood, aka Le Dawg.

“When you’re in that music, it frees you from all of the other things going on: all of the bills you have to pay, all the things you have to worry about, all the craziness in the world. It’s like a place of peace, and it can sound like anything.”

Featuring six tracks, the album is a collection of minimalist, ambient techno that explores a spectrum of sounds, ranging from meditative and percussive to dreamlike and intergalactic.

The music emerged over a series of jam sessions the duo had at Haywood’s home studio.

“We met once a week for a good couple of months,” said Javan Cain, aka OMO. “It turned into a lot of different jams, and there’s going to be a lot of different projects with different sounds. We were jamming together and growing within that, seeing what we could build because it’s endless if you really think about it.”

Those jam sessions quickly reflected the different roles the duo had while making the album: OMO as the creative force and Le Dawg as the editor and observer.

“It’s great because we both have so much going on musically, especially me with my studio work and Javan with all of his live performances that he’s been doing,” Haywood said. “It’s like we’re both bringing those skills and bringing those sensibilities into the process.”

To learn more, I spoke to OMO x Le Dawg about the creative process for the album.

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Reality Check — Ann Arbor’s Toadally Explores the Ups and Downs of Everyday Life on “Crash” EP

From left: Kim Truong, Spencer Mullins, Jake McCarthy, Fangbo Yuan, and Victoria Horne of Toadally. Photo by Yiyun Huang.

Editor’s Note: For a related article, see the One Track Mind feature from Pulp.

For Toadally, the struggle is real on Crash.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan band explores the ups and downs of personal and professional challenges on its debut EP.

“We had a general vibe of what we were writing, and it just seemed to impact the songs in that kind of way,” said Spencer Mullins, Toadally’s vocalist and guitarist.

“And then later on, once we started organizing and revising the songs, that’s when it started to take shape as one project—one EP. We chose Crash at the very end because we didn’t know what to call it.”

On Crash, the band addresses themes of impulsivity, courage, and disappointment across five multigenre tracks that primarily reside in the indie-rock world.

Bandmates Victoria Horne (vocals, piano, synth, flute), Fangbo Yuan (vocals, guitar), Jake McCarthy (drums), Kim Truong (bass), and Mullins weave a compelling tapestry of tongue-in-cheek stories and energetic sounds that resonate with all kinds of listeners.

“I’m sure you’ll pick up on those themes of being dissatisfied with the way the world is or being dissatisfied with yourself,” said Kim Truong, who’s also Toadally’s loremaster.

“Even though a lot of our music tends to be a mishmash and in the moment and reactive, I think those themes of how we navigate ourselves, the world, and other people are pretty common.”

I recently spoke with the band about the inspiration behind its latest EP.

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Head Over Heels — Kelsey. Chronicles the Cycle of a Passionate Relationship on “LOVE HARD” Album

Kelsey. Courtesy photo.

Kelsey. follows her passion on LOVE HARD.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist embraces that intense emotional state on her full-length debut album.

“It was written about one relationship, and it’s very dynamic,” said Kelsey. (pronounced Kelsey period), aka Kelsey Detering.

“There are a lot of layers to it, and every relationship is kind of like mini relationships all in one. It was one epic encounter, and that’s why I felt the need to write this whole album about it.”

On LOVE HARD, Kelsey. explores the intimate cycles of a volatile relationship—love, heartbreak, and longing—and its trajectory across 16 tracks.

“It was more like my own therapy when this happened to me,” she said. “I had to communicate my feelings about all of this … and whatever was going on with it, a song would just come out.”

Featuring a detailed storyline, LOVE HARD is an immersive, multigenre release that lands somewhere in between a concept record and a double album.

“I wanted it to be a cohesive piece of art that you sit down and listen to, and you immerse yourself in,” Kelsey. said.

“It has those segues, instrumentals, and things to really keep you in there. It’s very much for the music lover, especially if you’re the kind of person who wants to put your headphones on and really immerse yourself in something.”

Kelsey. also plans to recreate that immersive experience live on August 21 during her album release show at The Arboretum in Saline.

“It’s going to be a cool format, and I want to play [the album] by side,” she said. “We’ll play a side, and then we’ll talk to the audience for a minute. Then, we’ll play the other side, and it’ll literally be like you’re listening to the record.”

I recently spoke with Kelsey. about her new album ahead of the show.

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Ongoing Evolution — Annie and Rod Capps Embrace Self-Improvement and Lessons Learned on “Never Done” Album

Rod Capps, Annie Capps, Ozzie Andrews, and Jason Dennie. Photo – Jen Prouty.

For Annie and Rod Capps, self-improvement is a lifelong process and commitment.

The Chelsea, Michigan, couple explores that concept and the lessons they’ve learned on their latest folk album, Never Done.

“I’m always trying to do better, be better,” said Annie Capps. “I don’t always succeed, but the best kind of growth is that which creeps up on you after a long time of doing a lot of inner work.”

As part of that inner work, the duo examines the impact personal growth and wisdom have on them over time. They also reveal epiphanies about past behaviors, decisions, and actions that surfaced while writing the 10 tracks for Never Done.

“It’s almost as if a light bulb goes off and those self-improvements start to show themselves in real ways,” said Annie Capps. “I write what I’m feeling, and my lyrics often reflect a combination of reality—the kind of person I am—and the kind of person I want to be.”

Annie Capps (songwriting, vocals, guitar) shares those self-reflections through lyrics that range from personal and anecdotal to conversational and humorous.

“Part of the healthier version of self-reflection is not to take myself so seriously, especially when lamenting the mistakes of my youth,” she said. “I guess I’m in the season of life where reflecting on the past is natural, but I’m also looking at it through a more compassionate lens.”

Through another lens, Annie and Rod Capps (guitar, viola, vocals) view Never Done as a milestone of sorts—it’s their 10th studio album.

They recorded the album in their Chelsea home studio and at Ann Arbor’s Big Sky Recording with bandmates Jason Dennie (mandolin, vocals), Dan “Ozzie” Andrews (bass), and Michael Shimmin (drums, percussion).

“Fast forward, I think we have gotten very comfortable with certain musicians and certain ways of recording,” Rod Capps said “I think we’ve learned what we can do and what works and what doesn’t.”

To learn more, I spoke with Annie and Rod Capps about their album ahead of an August 27 show at The Ark in Ann Arbor.

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