After more than a decade of releasing music, Chris DuPont wants to revisit one of his earliest albums.
The Ypsilanti, Michigan singer-songwriter is paying tribute to his second album, Outlier, for its 10th anniversary with a show at Willis Sound.
“For many Ann Arbor listeners, Outlier was an introduction to my songwriting,” said DuPont, who’s performing songs from the indie-folk album with a full band on July 10.
“The longer I make music, the more important it feels to pause and celebrate milestones and to look at how I’ve changed and grown since then. The season of creating and releasing that album holds a great deal of memory, and I want to honor it before I dive fully into my next body of work.”
In 2015, he penned Outlier’s 10 tracks after confronting personal challenges related to his mental health and faith.
“In terms of what it means to me now, I think Outlier contains the opening statements of a discussion I’m still having with myself and the world around me,” DuPont said. “It’s the writings of a young man who’s coming to terms with his own mental health challenges, but still in the earliest stages of owning his problems and being good to those around them.”
Looking back, DuPont sees the emotional and spiritual growth that’s come from that creative experience.
“It’s the serpentine spiritual musings of someone who is enamored with the faith tradition he came from, yet deeply saddened and enraged by the abuses it inflicts,” he said. “These songs took some big swings to talk about relatively tough things, but looking back I think I may have pulled my punches in ways I wouldn’t now.”
I recently did an email interview with DuPont about Outlier ahead of his celebratory show.
Dave Boutette and Kristi Davis in the studio at Ann Arbor’s Big Sky Recording. Photo by Misty Lyn Photography.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulpblog.
Dave & Kristi feel a special connection to the chickadee.
The Dexter duo embraces the songbird as a symbol of joy and hope on their new folk album, The Chickadees.
“The chickadee reference is about the spiritual part of you that lives on,” said Kristi Davis about her latest release with husband and musical partner Dave Boutette.
“That’s the hopeful part, and they represent good luck, happiness, knowledge, truth, and adaptability. That’s exactly the stuff that we need right now.”
Davis and Boutette channel the chickadee’s positive spirit as they reflect on love, loss, and aging across the album’s 13 tracks.
“As far as things that are on the record, we’ve experienced a lot of loss in the last two or three years,” Boutette said. “And also this summer we’re both turning 60. It’s everything from family members and friends passing.”
The duo unexpectedly lost three family members and a pet during the last few years.
“Our dog passed very unexpectedly and a week later my dad passed,” said Davis, who sings and plays percussion on the album. “Dave lost his mom and his brother. There’s a little memorial to them on [the album], but it’s been an inspiration for the music.”
Some songs from The Chickadeesalso reference Dave & Kristi’s growing concerns about the nation’s changing political climate and its impact on our future.
“There are different parts of our foundation that we’ve been walking on for a long time and counting on for a long time that have shifted and are slipping,” said Boutette, the duo’s co-lead vocalist and guitarist.
“We’re OK, we have a roof over our head, and there’s food in the cupboard. It’s just that we’re older now—things are different underneath us now. We’re in uncharted territory, and we’re just trying to make our way through it.”
Dave & Kristi explore those themes and reflections through singable lyrics, rich harmonies, and emotive instrumentation.
To learn more, I spoke with the duo ahead of their June 1 album release show at Ann Arbor’s Old Town Tavern.
“My daughter Alyson is off to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts next month, and I’ve been weeping big dad tears on and off all summer,” said the Dexter singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Alyson is a singer, and she’ll join her dad for a special show at The Ark on August 8 along with bandmates Chris DuPont, Drew De Four, Brennan Andes, Keith Billik, and Mike Shea.
Brad has also been busy as a lecturer at the University of Michigan, a resident artist at The Purple Rose Theatre Company, touring with actress and singer Patti LuPone, and featuring on her new album, A Life in Notes, playing violin, mandolin, guitar, octave mandolin, and U-bass.
“Patti is an icon and it’s no accident. She’s a legend for a reason and to be on stage with her in front of her adoring fans is electric,” Phillips said. “Summer has been both chaotic, emotional, and wonderful all at the same time! It’s been a big year around here.”
To learn more, I spoke with Phillips about his work and tour with Patti LuPone and his family’s artistic accomplishments.
Chris DuPont and Kylee Phillips’ new DuPont Phillips EP, “Big Sky Sessions,” features stripped-down instrumentation, emotive duets, and lush harmonies. Photo – Misty Lyn Bergeron.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.
After several years of performing and recording together, the singer-songwriters pooled their talents, catalogs, and influences to form DuPont Phillips and releaseBig Sky Sessions.
“This Big Sky SessionsEP was a very natural project. We used stuff that we have, and we used songs from our catalogs that have been out,” DuPont said.
“What feels good to me is that all of these interpretations of our songs that exist live now have a home. This project proved to me that putting out something doesn’t have to make you suffer. … We cut it in two days.”
During those two days at Ann Arbor’s Big Sky Recording, DuPont Phillips reimagined three tracks from prior solo releases and recorded two renditions of Sheryl Crow and Jason Isbell classics along with a new song.
“Sometimes it can be hard to explain to people what we’re doing because we’re playing things from our individual catalogs, but we’re supporting one another,” Phillips said. “For me, it’s fun to have something we can show people and say, ‘This is what it is. It’s this cross-pollination of what we both do.’”
Those collaborative efforts have resulted in an intimate folk-pop EP filled with stripped-down instrumentation, emotive duets, and lush harmonies. The six tracks featured on Big Sky Sessionsoffer vulnerable tales of love, growth, and change.
I recently spoke to the duo about revisiting and reworking older tracks, doing covers, recording a new song, spending time in the studio, preparing for an EP release show, and planning for the future.
Chris DuPont explores the trajectory of relationships and the vulnerability, honesty, and wisdom that comes with them on “Fragile Things.” Photo – Robby Fisher of Dogtown Studio
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.
Chris DuPont didn’t go into making his new EP with a plan.
Instead, the Ypsilanti indie-folk singer-songwriter opted to write and record what came to him naturally.
“I just thought, ‘These songs are close to me.’ I didn’t have as much of an elevator pitch this time. It felt like a relief because sometimes I hide behind the elevator pitch. Sometimes I hide behind [this idea of], ‘Oh, this is what I’m about as an artist, and this is what I’m trying to say,’” said DuPont about Fragile Things.
“And instead, I just decided I’m gonna cut the crap and let people have it, and I hope they respond to it. If they don’t, then I will still know that those stories needed to get out of me for me to be OK.”
What resulted are five intimate songs about the trajectory of relationships and the vulnerability, honesty, and wisdom that come with them. OnFragile Things, DuPont shares those tales through emotive vocals, atmospheric folk-pop instrumentation, and ambient soundscapes.
“When I play them and share them, the consensus tends to be like, ‘Someone’s going to get something out of this,’” he said.
“When I play them live, they connect quickly—usually better than I expect. One thing I’m learning is that I think it’s just my job to create and not treat them like they belong to me as much.”
I recently spoke to DuPont about writing songs for his new EP, creating videos for the title track, recording the EP at multiple studios, preparing for a Nov. 17 EP release show, and collaborating with Kylee Phillips on a duet EP.
The Americana singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist revived the initial stripped-down track from the 2018 World War II era play and transformed it into a sweeping, cinematic ballad.
“The song was only two verses with a chorus and was performed with only voice and a simple, lonely acoustic guitar part. There was a lot of anguish and longing at its core at that point,” said Phillips, who’s from Dexter and teaches at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
“Since then, there has been another verse added, and the arrangement grew quite dramatically. The instrumentation of this new version is several layers of both acoustic and electric guitars, piano, bass, percussion, background vocals and a violin orchestra.”
Out Feb. 10, “Dance Again” soars and flourishes as Phillips’ debut songwriting single. As a longtime sideman, he’s spent most of his musical career playing acoustic guitar, mandolin and violin with Michigan-based artists, including Jeff Daniels, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, The Verve Pipe and May Erlewine.
“For years, I had wanted to be a songwriter, but I could never get out of my own way enough to let it happen. It wasn’t until I was given permission to be and encouraged to be exactly who I am that I was able to let the music in my heart flow freely,” Phillips said.
“I think I always wanted to share this song with the world beyond its place in Willow Run. This song really represents one of those rare moments in creativity in which it feels like someone else wrote it, and I was simply the conduit through which it was transmitted.”
Bart Moore embarks on a storied folk journey through history and beyond on “Graveyards Wind & War.” Photo – Jen Hovey
In early 2020, Bart Moore tried to see the bright side of the pandemic.
The Grand Ledge, Michigan alt-folk singer-songwriter and guitarist noticed a burning desire to write new material and responded with a creative zeal. Instead, an unexpected feeling emerged.
“It’s interesting to me how everything is kind of shaped by the mood of the pandemic. When I would write a song, I would think, ‘This is pretty dystopian. I’d better write something that’s a little bit brighter,’” Moore said.
“Then, I would write another song, and it would turn out to be also kind of dystopian. I was like, ‘Wow, this is kind of a recurring theme here.’ It was hard to get out of that kind of dark tone to the songs.”
That dark tone produced Moore’s new otherworldly album, Graveyards Wind & War, which embarks on a storied folk journey through history and beyond.
Throughout his latest release via Nature Boy Records, Moore seamlessly transports listeners to Gettysburg, Dublin and San Francisco while encountering the spirits of Winfield Scott Hancock, Chris Cornell and “Marcelena.”
Immersed in acoustic introspection, Graveyards Wind & War’s memorable tales also land at the intersection of fantasy and reality and explore the possibilities of the future.
“That definitely influenced the content … the whole pandemic thing and going into the 2020 election thinking, ‘Good God, what fate is in store for us, depending on how this all goes?’ That fear and that tension were there,” said Moore, who expressed concern about the likelihood of another Trump-era administration.
“If I’m going to suffer through this, then I’m going to at least get some good music out of it. This is gonna inspire some good writing and push me to be as eloquent as I can be to write about this stuff or just get my thoughts out there.”
Rin Tarsy embarks on an emotional and spiritual quest of self-discovery on “Paradox.” Photo – Justin Snavely
For Rin Tarsy, life is filled with beautiful contradictions and imperfections.
The Grand Rapids folk singer-songwriter and guitarist embraces authenticity, yet re-examines her purpose on the aptly titled album, Paradox.
“For a while, people would ask, ‘What’s the theme of Paradox?’ And for a while, I didn’t know. Finally, it dawned on me one time when I was listening through all the tracks – it’s about self-trust and self-discovery,” said Tarsy, who grew up in Portland and started singing in church.
“I hope all these songs make sense together, and I really like them, but I wasn’t sure if they did. It’s comforting and scary at the same time. Are these thoughts ever gonna go away? Am I always gonna be questioning everything? Maybe I will.”
Tarsy’s lingering questions slowly spark an emotional and spiritual quest of self-discovery on Paradox that spans several years. Each poetic track celebrates intuition and explores emotion.
“The first songs I wrote for this album – ‘Stay,’ ‘Dear Heart’ and ‘Suitcase’ – were in the summer of 2016 after I got back from Africa. It was the first time I had examined who I was when I took away all of the pursuits that I had and the things I had wanted to go after,” said Tarsy, who visited Tanzania, Zambia and Namibia.
“At the time, I had asked myself, ‘Who am I if those things don’t go exactly the way I want? Or if my idealisms of what they could be don’t match up with the reality of what they actually are?’”
Hannah Baiardi’s “Reason” single inspires listeners to embrace their authentic voice and rediscover a sense of purpose. Artwork – Abby Clemens
Immersed in sophisticated jazzy soul-pop sensibilities and refreshing, colorful sonic textures, Hannah Baiardi beautifully steps outside her comfort zone.
The Ann Arbor vocalist-composer and pianist provides a calm, soulful reassurance to embrace our authentic voice and rediscover our true calling on her latest hopeful single, “Reason.” It’s her first new material since releasing her genre-bending album, Straight from the Soul, in March.
“There’s a lot of weight on our shoulders right now, but it’s also a very inspiring time. Lightworkers are individuals who come with a purpose and are very driven to make social change and be their true selves and not hide their identities out of fear or shame,” Baiardi said.
“I was blown away when I got responses from other musicians saying, ‘Hey, that really resonated with me and made me feel like you’re standing up for the underdog.’ That’s totally my whole MO, even from being in high school and resonating with clique-busting and trying to be a friend to the friendless.”
Throughout “Reason,” shimmering piano, spirited drums, luminous slide guitar, fervent finger snaps, smooth electric bass and Baiardi’s confident vocals drench listeners in a sultry, protective dreamscape while inspiring a renewed, united social consciousness.
Once inside her encouraging, hypnotic sonic realm, Baiardi thoughtfully sings, “You never fit in/Stood out from the crowd/You waited you turn/Took courage to speak out loud/But now’s your time/You have to see/Your worth.”
“If someone feels alone or thinks it’s a really tough period of time … know there are others out there who see them and want to champion them. We’re all in this mess together while riding the waves. Water and waves are a theme in the song, and I’m trying to incorporate more sounds with nature and more sounds that evoke a feeling of tranquility,” Baiardi said.
Baiardi magically creates a peaceful “Reason” atmosphere with producer Marty Gray and bassist Ryan King of Stormy Chromer. Together, Baiardi and Gray spent two to three months recording the track in the studio for a late summer release.
“The rough melody and rough sketch of the lyrics came over a couple of weeks. The magic really happened when I brought it to Marty, and I was introduced to him through a mutual friend, David Magumba,” Baiardi said.
“We knew each other from the University of Michigan, where we were both students. Our paths didn’t really cross because he was a vocal major and I was a jazz major. We got together to work on this track, and instantaneously there was this sense of creative synergy. I came with the bones and left with a wonderful song, thanks to Marty.”
Baiardi also translates “Reason” into a gray-tinged lyric video filled with placid, flowing waters. While watching the video, viewers float above and reflect on their personal challenges as snippers of white light permeate the screen.
“The grayness of it conveys the uncertainty of the murky waters that we’re in right now. My social media manager Melissa (Zhuang) played a huge role in helping me craft that, and she’s very adept with Adobe,” said Baiardi, who’s also working on a new video for “How Do You Want Your Love.”
“I was like, ‘Hey, we just need water and some gray, so run with it.’ I think lyric videos are powerful so that someone can contemplate as they’re watching the visual element.”
The Stratton Setlist 