Mark Jewett and Jackamo are eager to make their Ark debut on July 9.
For both acts, playing the Ann Arbor acoustic and folk music venue is a rite of passage, especially as seasoned live performers in Southeast Michigan.
“I hope about 400 people find that The Ark holds a special place in their heart—that would be nice,” said Jewett, an Americana singer-songwriter based in Plymouth. “I’m really glad that Jackamo was able to take on the show.”
Jewett and his band, The Strategic Advisors, are headlining the show while Jackamo is opening.
“We’ve been to The Ark many times to see many different acts, but we’re really excited about it,” said Alison Wiercioch, who performs in the Detroit indie-folk band with vocalist and sister Tessa Wiercioch and guitarist Jimmy Showers. “It holds a special place in our hearts.”
As a special show, both bands promise engaging, intimate performances with a variety of songs from their growing catalogs.
“You want to show it has some flow and dynamics,” Jewett said. “Typically, you open with something that wakes everybody up, then there’s a steady-state portion, and then things quiet down, and you ramp it up. Hopefully, you close with a bang.”
To learn more, I spoke with Jewett and Jackamo ahead of the show.
Q: Mark, how did Jackamo become part of the show?
Mark Jewett (MJ): It was in January at the Darkness on the Edge of Corktown benefit show for the Motor City Mitten Mission at Lager House where I got the idea.
After I heard Jackamo singing there, I thought, “That’s a really good vibe complement and mix,” because we touch on that vibe a little bit, but we also have some radically different material. That’s one of my goals; I try to stay unpredictable.
Q: Mark, what plans do you have for your set?
MJ: I’ve released four singles since the last record, which was in 2021, and I think we can play three of those four. We’ve played “I Like Peaches,” and it’s gone over really well. It’s goofy, and it’s a little silly. I’ve been shopping around for some artificial peaches that won’t rot in your car.
I’ve also kicked around some new songs, and it’s possible they could come together before then. (Jewett’s band, The Strategic Advisors, includes drummer-vocalist Billy Harrington, guitarist-pedal steel guitar player Michael Harrington, bassist Ken Pesick, vocalist-guitarist Amy Petty, and keyboardist Dale Grisa.)
As the final setlist comes together, I think there’s a possibility of having some guests on stage, depending on who’s in town and who can make it. There are multiple situations where we could use more voices. Maybe we’ll get some extra voices from Jackamo.
Q: Jackamo, what can people expect from your performance?
Alison Wiercioch (AW): It will just be the three of us, and we love to play that way, too.
Jimmy Showers (JS): It’s kind of like working in reverse because we started with just the three of us, and then we grew to a full band. We just recorded a [new] record as a full band, and now we’re trying to figure out how to play those songs acoustically. It’s an interesting challenge, and we’re trying to see what songs will connect with people.
We have an older song that we’ve never put out, but it’s going to be on the record. It’s called “Paper Cranes.” We have these “Paper Cranes” kits for sale, and Ali is the origami master. She leaves a trail of paper cranes at all of our houses, and I’ve found them in my office.
Wherever Ali has been, she’ll leave behind a little paper crane. We’re asking people to do the same thing, so we have these kits for sale with instructions on how to make a paper crane. It’s for an eventual visual or maybe a music video. We want people to make paper cranes and then share videos and pictures of the interesting places where they leave them.
Q: Mark, you recently released an EP called Acoustic Remixes – Volume 1. What inspired you to release acoustic versions of your songs?
MJ: I worked with Kari Estrin, who’s a promoter in Nashville, and it was for a single called “That Snow Song” I did with Annie and Rod Capps. One of her suggestions was to redo some older songs in a more acoustic style.
We had tracks on some of the previous songs we released that weren’t in the final mix, or they weren’t as prominent. For instance, on “The Lucky One,” we had Jason Dennie come and play mandolin, but that was after a lot of other things had already been done.
Back then, he couldn’t comfortably find a place to squeeze in anything that he thought was worth squeezing in. This time, we pulled the piano out of it, and what do you know, there’s all kinds of room in it. Jason and his mandolin are now a little more prominent in the remix.
“Connoisseur” started out acoustically, but it was so much fun in the studio, we just kept adding stuff to it. I thought, “OK, let’s strip it back and just see how this goes.” I picked that one because I thought it had some potential.
Q: Jackamo, what’s the status of your new album?
JS: The [new] record is done, and it’s been mixed and mastered. It’s coming out in the fall, and we’re going to start rolling out some singles. We’ve been playing the record out, so it’s been interesting to see how the songs translate live.
Some of the ones are our favorites in the studio, but you never know which ones are going to be crowd favorites. We’re in that phase right now, trying to determine which ones will be the crowd favorites. The song “Lucy” is a crowd favorite.
Q: Jackamo, you’ve been playing different-size venues lately. How does that impact your live shows?
AW: It’s been a lot of fun. We always love The Blind Pig, and we love the sound there. We love Ann Arbor, and we have our crowd of people in Detroit. It’s been an interesting learning experience to reach the masses in that way.
We also love playing The Pike Room, and the last time we played there we opened for Sammy Boller. The three of us did an acoustic set, but it’s been fun. We’ve met a lot of new people, and it’s getting that ball rolling to other parts of Michigan we haven’t really touched on yet.
Q: What’s up next for each of you?
MJ: I am going back to Nashville for another workshop at the end of July with Bill Edwards and with Gretchen Peters as the instructor. I’m [also] open to going back into the studio, and it’s always dependent on budget, too.
If I am striving for simpler ideas, in theory, they should be less expensive, but I love Geoff Michael, the engineer at Big Sky Recording. He always says, “My job is to make it sound expensive,” and he’s pretty good at that.
AW: We’re focused on playing these [new] songs live in both capacities—acoustic and full band. Since we’ve started playing these new songs, it already feels comfortable and natural because we all work together. Trying to relay that to the masses is important to us, and we’re showing others that we’re having a great time and that it’s fun. We’re so proud of it and happy with it.
JS: As much as we’re looking forward to playing, I’m really excited to go to outdoor music events. That’s my favorite thing to do in the summer, and we have some friends playing really amazing shows.
Mark Jewett & The Strategic Advisors perform with Jackamo on July 9 at The Ark, 316 South Main Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan. For tickets, visit The Ark’s website.
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