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.”

This year’s lineup includes vocalists Jason Briggs, Amy Petty, Chris Joseph, and Athena Johnson; keyboardist-vocalist Loren Kranz; horn players Matt Martinez, Scott Brown, and Bobby Streng; bassist Ken Pesick; The Brothers Harrington; and others.

“There was a big buildup and a lot of anticipation [from last year’s show], and the performance was so much fun and such a joyous experience for me,” said Pesick.

I recently spoke with The Brothers Harrington and Pesick about Experience the Music of 1971 ahead of its return to the Canton Village Theater.

Q: What are some of your biggest takeaways from last year’s show?

Billy Harrington (BH): One of the biggest things was figuring out our balance with delegation. It was asking: “Am I gonna have someone do this, or am I gonna do that? Because I’m really worried about it and have a particular vision for it, but do I want to work on this myself?”

We had our good friend Tom Gallagher come in, and he became our personal assistant and showrunner overnight. If I could learn a lesson, it’s to have someone like him. He allowed me to work on something, and then Mike could work on something.

If we were doing more artistic stuff working with the band, Tom was that guy who would tap you on the shoulder and say, “You said you wanted to do that at 5 pm. Do you still want to do that?” He did that every 15 minutes for me, and the show happened the way it did because there were so many moving parts.

I learned how many moving parts there were, and there was always something new to think about. He really helped us see things from a different angle because he’s not a musician, but he’s worked in the music industry. From the admin, advertising, and personal relations side, that’s something we’re working pretty hard on this time around. We’re getting way ahead of it.

Michael Harrington (MH): I think [it’s] definitely planning for anything to happen. We had someone drop on us not too far before [last year’s show]. We were worried about that, but it all worked out. It’s nice to have a backup option.

Ken Pesick (KP): This is a project that Billy’s been talking about for a couple of years, and it took some time and a lot of work to get going. Billy did the vast majority of the work, and I helped in the ways that I could.

When it was over, I experienced such a crash from the height of that experience. I needed to recover for a couple of days. You have to learn how to manage going into this performance with a lot of anticipation. It can be challenging for artists, and challenging for me—that’s something I learned.

Q: How have you been preparing for this year’s shows?

BH: We’ve been chipping away at refining the actual books and the sheet music for everyone. There’s also a lot of admin work that’s happening. This is the first time I’ve ever done a mailer. We’ve been working with a group called RSVP Detroit, and they send out a postcard that you get in the mail. The ‘71 show is on the front of the postcard, and we’re seeing how that goes.

We’re figuring out different ways to engage with people and seeing what works well. That’s all thanks to Tom Gallagher, and we would have never had a media calendar spreadsheet before. Now, we’re trying to gauge what works well for a show and what doesn’t, and we’ll see how this mailer does. If it works, then it will probably become part of every big show that we want to do.

Q: What type of live experience are you creating with these shows?

BH: With both of these shows, we’re trying to be conduits conjuring the spirit of the music and the players. We’re going to have a more informed wardrobe, so I think that will be really exciting for a lot of people who like the look we’re going for. We’re having the same lighting designer back, and he’s had more time to develop it. This year, it’s going to be more polished up and fine-tuned. There’s just going to be more confidence on stage and all of that.

Q: What do you enjoy most about producing a live show like Experience the Music of 1971?

BH: It’s having a hand in the overall artistic vision. I’m not there just playing the drums; I get to pick the setlist and all that fun stuff. It’s another chunk of being artistic. Now, I get to think of the lights and where we are on stage. I really get a kick out of the nuts and bolts of a show like that and what the overall experience is like when you’re an audience member sitting down and watching it.

I’ve seen plenty of shows, and I’ve done a lot of musical theater shows, too, where that’s a big part of it. I’ve done so many shows where I was just in the pit, and I didn’t have a say in it. I like the idea of spending more time working a show, crafting it, chipping at it—it’s like a piece of marble. You’re chipping away at it and doing all of the fine details.

It’s been really rewarding to work on a show over the course of a year, as opposed to doing a bunch of dates every week. I’m moving into that zone of wanting to do fewer shows and having a higher production value on those shows.

KP: These shows we’re doing, it’s like making a painting, and you’re slowly putting it together. The more it progresses, and you see it, it’s really rewarding, as opposed to just showing up, unplugging, and running away as fast as possible to the next [show].

Q: What’s different about this year’s lineup for the shows?

BH: Our lineup is slightly different. We have Athena Johnson from Dames Brown. Athena’s fantastic, and her Dames Brown group is like this ‘70s retro R&B vocal trio with electronic and dance music.

We’re keeping Amy Petty, Jason Briggs, and Chris Joseph in the front, and we’re bringing in Bobby Streng for the horn section. But for the most part, it’s going to be the same lineup as last year.

Q: How will the setlist vary from last year?

BH: There’s a Curtis Mayfield song we’re thinking about putting in there. I don’t want to let it run away and change too much because that’s something that I’ve learned. Even though I’m still learning with the ‘71 show, I’m learning every day.

With doing my fourth time around with The Simon & Garfunkel Story, I’ve learned a lot and seen how much those shows don’t change for the longest time and for what reasons. Oftentimes, every year, something comes up. Someone will say, “Why do we do it like this every time? Or why does it have to be like this?” When you’re thinking about trying to make a show that is carved away so meticulously, you want to let it go for a while and get a couple of runs in before you keep changing it.

For these shows, I’m keeping it the same, but it’s become more polished so people know it [in its current form], instead of doing a different setlist. Some of the performances may change. I don’t want people to feel locked into [something] if Mike or Ken is taking a solo, or even if a vocalist has a particular thing that they want to do. They don’t necessarily have to stick to it note-for-note. I want it to feel organic.

Q: What does the future look like for Experience the Music of 1971?

BH: We won’t do a show in Canton next year, so then the question becomes: do we do a string of dates, or do we go somewhere and try to sit down for a week? We’ve [considered] doing a mini-Michigan tour for two weeks.

We’ve even had a couple of theaters knock on the door about the show, and they’re interested in putting it on their seasons. I would love to see it move around Michigan a little bit. If we do it, it will be elsewhere. Mike and I are also looking at doing a [run of shows] at a theater out of state, and they might want to do it for two weeks or so.

Q: Tell me about your newest tribute project, Big Pink to Jericho: Music of the Band. How did that come together?

BH: The three of us have talked about The Band at some point, whether it’s appreciating a song, the players, or the aesthetic. I was trying to think of shows that would be great in the summer outside around sunset. I thought The Band would be perfect because they have this all-natural, rustic, semi-curated [approach] with tons of character.

It’s been in the works for a few years, especially since I first saw Levon Helm play drums and sing [years ago]. Ken is also a really big fan of The Band, and he constantly nudged me to keep going. We worked on a lot of stuff together last year, and we did a couple of impromptu hangouts and pulled in two other guys.

KP: We’ve all put a lot of work into learning the tunes and picking the setlist and the flow of the show. It started with the three of us, and then we started plugging in other players and thinking about who could bring what to that production. It’s having a vision, seeing it come to fruition through the work, and cultivating a product that is a fun experience.

Experience the Music of 1971 is October 1-2 at the Canton Village Theater, 50400 Cherry Hill Road, Canton, Michigan. For tickets and show info, visit OvationTix.