On April 4, Ann Arbor native DJ Tim Baker died of a heart attack while spinning for a charity live stream on Easter morning.

A 1985 graduate of Huron High School and Eastern Michigan University, Baker had residencies at Ann Arbor's Nectarine Ballroom in the late 1980s and in the 1990s he started touring Europe and producing his own Detroit techno- and Chicago house-influenced tracks for a variety of labels including his own, Real Estate Records.

Baker died in Chicago, where he had lived since 1998.

A service was held April 15 at Nie's Family Funeral Home on Carpenter Road in Ann Arbor, and according to a friend, Baker was "laid to rest in a U of M casket with a [drum machine] on his lap and some silver shoes."

Below are a selection of Baker's tunes, mixes, live appearances, and some remembrances by several electronic-music website's and the family's obituary.

During this cloistered pandemic year, lots of us have daydreamed about escaping to sunny, tropical destinations.

So readers drawn to the beach-y cover of Ann Arbor-based novelist Camille Pagán's latest release, Don’t Make Me Turn This Life Around, may be initially surprised to find that the book tells the story of a family getaway to Puerto Rico that goes very, very wrong.

But let’s keep in mind the time in which it was born.

“It’s my pandemic book,” says Pagán, and it follows up on the characters from her Amazon bestseller Life and Other Near Death Experiences but can also stand on its own. “It took me a while to get excited about it. … But I knew I wasn’t done with Libby. She’s my favorite of any of the characters I’ve created.”

Friday Five is where we highlight music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features ambient techno by John Beltran, hip-hop from Approachable Minorities and Prhyme Rhyme Boss, indie-folk rock by Canada, and neo-lounge via Velveteen Blue.

Last October, The Brass Tacks Ensemble Theater released Our Regularly Scheduled Program, a unique take on quarantine theater, created by Isaac Ellis and James Ingagiola. The 10-part original YouTube series features short performances that touch on comedy and drama, featuring people who must show off their talents to the public, which demands entertainment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Should these people refuse to perform? The consequences are dire.

The Brass Tacks have just announced that the second season of Our Regularly Scheduled Program will debut on June 3:

Pulp received some sad news from Ann Arbor's long-running Wild Swan Theater:

Curtain Call for Wild Swan Theater

Dear Friends,

It is time to bring down the curtain on Wild Swan Theater. After more than four decades of joyful, exuberant, sometimes zany, sometimes poignant, always heartfelt theater making, it is time to say our goodbyes. 

Avery Williamson (b. 1990)
Cleo, Tidal and Delores 1948
averywilliamson.com
Instagram: @aisforavery

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist and AADL Black Lives Matter Mural Artistic Coordinator Avery Williamson.

Curtis Wallace
Instagram: @cw_creatyv | @BeCreativeYpsi
Facebook: @curtis.creatyv | @BeCreativeYpsi

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist Curtis Wallace.

Jaleesa Rosario Turner (b. 1989)
jaleesarosario.com
jahjahjah.com
Twitter: @jaleesarosario
Instagram: @_by_jah

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist Jaleesa Rosario Turner.

Rachel Elise Thomas (b. 1988)
ABUNDANCE
rachelelisethomas.com
Instagram: @implied_wisdom

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist Rachel Elise Thomas.

John Rodriguez (b. 1977)
Blessing
jrvag.com
Instagram: @bruinprophet
Facebook: @jrartsite

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist John Rodriguez.