Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features indie-pop by Idle Ray, experimental jazz by Adam Shead, cinematic electronica by KUZbeats, weirdtronica by Corrupt Immortal, and instrumental thrash metal by Paralyzer.

The One Love Symposium (February 17-19) offers the community a chance to engage with public service professionals and help design a certification program to foster more effective communication between people in need or crisis and those who are called upon to help.

The symposium begins on Thursday, Feb. 17 at Ypsilanti District Library, Whittaker Road Branch. Local high school students will be presenting original musical and theatrical performances, as well as participating in a panel discussion with law enforcement, education, and healthcare professionals including Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton, EMU Police Chief Matt Lige, Ann Arbor Pioneer High School Principal Tracey Lowder, and others.

The Symposium continues on Friday, Feb. 18 with a special virtual edition of Jazz Chat Live, hosted by Detroit Jazz Festival director Chris Collins and featuring a discussion with renowned jazz performers Marion Hayden, Sean Dobbins, Keyon Harrrold, and Marcus Elliot. Following the discussion will be a live performance by trumpeter Allen Denard at the Andy Theatre in Detroit.

Saturday, Feb. 19, the Symposium wraps up with a virtual panel discussion on alternative methods of gauging public opinion.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features a soulful jammer by Chirp, Kraftwerk-ian electronica by Telesonic 9000, a MEMCO mix by zagc, hip-hop-pop by Evan Starr and Naxxar, and a new video by Nadim Azzam.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features electric solo folk from Lily Talmers, acoustic folk by Daring Detour, jazz by Meg Brennan, a techno/house mix by Joshua Orange, and experimental ambient and pop by Samn Johnson and friends.

This story was originally published on June 2, 2021. An album release concert is happening Saturday, January 29, 2022 at Blue LLama.

When you walk into Ann Arbor's Blue LLama Jazz Club, the first thing you notice isn't the sound booth. It's the curved long bar that starts near the front door, the ceiling's circle lights, or perhaps the textured sound-absorbing panels that line the back wall of the club. But the sound booth is outfitted with oodles of high-end audio and video gear, and Blue LLama is able to document every performance it chooses to with relative ease. Since the venue often books local artists, recording these shows will provide an invaluable resource covering the recent history of the Ann Arbor and Michigan jazz scenes.

But touring artists are also taking advantage of Blue LLama's high-tech capabilities.

The first live album recorded at the club came out last September on Denmark's venerable Storyville Records: Adonis Rose Piece of Mind-Live at Blue LLama. The New Orleans drummer and Blue LLama artistic director Dave Sharp discussed making this record while the club was still being designed, and the results are an excellent mix of electric and acoustic jazz.

The club has now taken the next step and formed a label, Live at Blue LLama Records.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features hypno-rock with Winged Wheel, folk-pop soul by Rebekah Faidia, sci-fi soundtracks via VBlank, solo piano from Edward Diehl, and lo-fi indie courtesy of Ness Lake.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features hip-hop from Hi Potent C & Omnichron, video-game-inspired music from Test Device and Quality Jones, funk and fusion by Morel Compass, and dance-floor bangers from Price.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features country-blues from Scotty Karate, hip-hop folk by Nadim Azzam, an uplifting dance mix courtesy of Chris Purdy, a single and video by R&B-influenced jam band Chirp, and a Chris Bathgate folk-rock reissue.

Ypsi-Arbor mainstay Fred Thomas has been creating and releasing music since he was a teenager—only slightly before the Illinois-based record label Polyvinyl launched in 1996.

Polyvinyl made its name initially by featuring punk-inspired, melodic-emo ragers by the likes of Rainer Maria and Braid before its evolution into a more indie-rock-oriented label with the signings of eclectic artists such as Of Montreal and Thomas' Saturday Looks Good to Me (SLGTM).

While Thomas often releases music from his various projects on his Life Like label, the prolific artist's relationship with Polyvinyl has carried on ever since SLGTM's 2002 LP, All Your Summer Songs: The Champagne-based label put out the last three full-length "proper" records Thomas made under own name, and now he's the host of a podcast that looks back at Polyvinyl's history.

It's a rich past to dig through, too: Polyvinyl has released music by more than 100 artists, many of whom Thomas will speak with as the podcast plays out, including members of American Football, Alvvays, Japandroids, of Montreal, Laura Jane Grace, and Xiu Xiu along with the label's Natalie Dávila, Andy De Santis, and Seth Hubbard.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features synth-pop by Same Eyes, indie by Jim Cherewick, orchestral crooning by Chip Clip, folk by Adam J. Snyder, and hip-hop by Dre Dav.