Tag: Forgiveness

A Decade Later — Chris DuPont Celebrates 10th Anniversary of “Outlier” Album With Willis Sound Show

Chris DuPont. Photo – Misty Lyn Bergeron

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.

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The Voice Within – Mike Green Follows His Instincts on ‘Listening for the Bell’ Album

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Mike Green sings about life choices and lessons on Listening for the Bell. Photo courtesy of Mike Green

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

Mike Green listened to his inner voice but wasn’t sure where it would take him.

The folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and booking agent ruminated for years about how to share his life experiences.

“I always thought as a younger adult that I wanted to write a book of my personal philosophy, but I never had anything to say,” said Green, who resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “Then when I started writing these songs [during the pandemic] … and all these things I’ve always thought about, they just sort of came out in poetic ways.”

What resulted were 12 insightful tales for his debut album, Listening for the Bell, which explores the ups and downs of following your instincts.

“There’s a bunch of those songs that were written that way, and I just trusted it,” said Green, who started as a touring musician in 1978. “And then what I realized early on—after studying all of this—is that I had been in songwriting school for nearly 40 years.”

That schooling came from representing artists like Utah Phillips, Carrie Newcomer, Jesse Winchester, and John McCutcheon as a booking agent and listening to singer-songwriters like Greg Brown, Kenny White, Chris Smither, and Stephen Fearing.

“Chris Smither, probably more than anybody, is the gold standard to me on how you marry lyrics and words and have them come out … to be that way,” said Green, who started as a booking agent in 1986 and opened his own agency in 2004. “There’s no other way you can say it, and if you don’t say it just the right way, it doesn’t fit.”

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En Route – Daring Detour Returns to Live Music Thursday at Ypsi Alehouse

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Daring Detour’s Kathi Dvorin and DeVeaux Gauger perform at a house show. Photo – Richard Greene

For Daring Detour, the new year arrives at a long-awaited destination.

The Ann Arbor acoustic Americana duo of Kathi Dvorin (vocals) and DeVeaux Gauger (guitar) marks the return of their intimate live music performances after a pandemic-induced hiatus.

“We decided to put Daring Detour on hold early in the pandemic. Part of that was due to closing venues, and part was our general emotional state with all the upheaval going on at the time,” Gauger said.

“We tried writing virtually and that didn’t work out, so we agreed not to force the creative process and would pick it up when we both felt comfortable.”

With comfort now on their side, Daring Detour will share their emotive originals and covers Thursday at Ypsi Alehouse in Ypsilanti. It will be their second live show since December.

“Playing at the Ypsi Alehouse was a wonderful experience. We had quite a few friends show up despite it being on a weekday evening and lingering COVID concerns,” Gauger said. “All the rehearsal time and mentally being on the same page showed as the music flowed, and we told some stories in between songs.”

During their two-hour set, Daring Detour will perform poignant renditions of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Almost Home” and “I Feel Lucky.” They’ll also share an unnamed Taylor Swift cover.

“We draw cover material from decades of artists, much of it out of our generation. We wanted to expand our repertoire to include some more upbeat songs and have some fun in between the more introspective tunes,” said Gauger, who’s inspired by Harry Chapin, James Taylor and Jim Croce.

“It’s highly possible that Ted Badgerow, Alehouse owner and brewer, will make an appearance. I played there solo the week before Halloween, and Ted joined me for a couple of songs playing flute, harmonica and some backing vocals.”

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