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

This edition features two doses of ambient trumpet from Mark Kirschenmann and Justin Walter, a wintry country-folk song from Mark Jewett, hip-hop from Isaac Castor & Foul Mouth, and metallic hardcore grunge via Tension Splash.

Musical brothers Billy Harrington and Michael Harrington relish performing and recording with different artists.

As sidemen and session players, the Ann Arbor-based musicians—known as The Brothers Harrington—have shared the stage and studio with several local acts, including Chris DuPont, Kylee Phillips, Adam Plomaritas, Kelsey Detering, Bobby Streng, and Mark Jewett.

They spend a lot of time backing those artists at The Ark and Trinity House Theatre and laying down tracks with them at Big Sky Recording and Solid Sound Recording Company.

“It’s cool watching from the sidelines and seeing where the artists go, where they play, and what their next album looks like,” said Billy Harrington, a drummer, percussionist, vocalist, and producer.

“It’s fun to observe, but it’s like having all these family connections, and you get to enjoy that—the fruits of your labor. You get to do a session, and it comes back with 10 to 15 gigs, so it’s nice for a freelancer.”

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

This edition features R&B from Vonsiwel, electronica from DJ Renovation, rap by Big Planet, hip-hop soul blues by Fearless Amaretto, and industrial ambient by Wolf Named Sköll.

Marty Gray empathizes with loved ones battling dementia, depression, and other personal challenges on his latest album, Disassemble.

“The whole album is autobiographical, it’s just about the people around me,” said the Ann Arbor singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. “It’s rare that there is a song about me, but I’m telling you how I feel about these people throughout the whole record.”

Gray explores that fragility and the observations of a concerned bystander on Disassemble. The album’s poetic lyrics, ethereal vocals, and cinematic instrumentation convey the emotions he encounters while witnessing family and friends decline.

“There are some songs about my friends and the things that they’re going through,” said Gray, who studied opera at the University of Michigan. “There are friends in my life that are losing the battle with depression. I have a couple of songs about my grandparents; I have one about my opa and one about my [late] oma … and my oma’s dementia and seeing what happened with her brain, her mind, and her life.”

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

This edition features psychedelic pop by George Mashour and psych-rap with side-project VaporDaze, jazz by Rick Roe, indie pop by Toadally, trippy improvisations by Cats Jams, and noise rock by Horse Bomb.

The Monday Mix is an occasional roundup of compilations, live recordings, videos, podcasts, and more by Washtenaw County-associated artists, DJs, radio stations, and record labels.

This edition features an interview with Kerrytown Concert House's Artistic & Executive Director Monica Swartout-Bebow on Michigan Creates; a chat with Ann Arbor cellist Thor Sigurdson on Music Un-Tuxed; two short promo videos for Ann Arbor Art Center's 2024 public art projects; Blue LLama concert live streams; and the numerous arts documentaries created for the Ann Arbor 200 birthday celebration.

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

This edition features emo-punk by The Great Homesickness, experimental jazz by Marc Hannaford, electronica by Catspangold, cloud rap by Nem?, and hip-hop by Gostbustaz.

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

This edition features hyperpop by GVMMY, hip-hop by Dastardly Kids, country by Kandy Fredrick, electronica by Kaito Ian, and jazz by Eric Nachtrab.

If you're an Ann Arbor District Library cardholder, you receive a weekly email newsletter listing news, upcoming events, and a slew of recommendations from the catalog. Those recs are also available at aadl.org/reviews, and we're always happy to make suggestions for books, audiobooks, streamable content in the catalog, DVDs, board games, tools, etc. if you visit us at the branches.

But our 2024 Staff Picks allow the AADL crew to go beyond the library catalog—and the calendar year.

We don't limit our year in review to things that came out in 2024 or that can be checked out from AADL; the staff comments on whatever favorite media and events they experienced this year, no matter when or where they originated. Maybe a favorite album of 2024 came out in 1973, or the best book someone read this year is so old that it's out of copyright. It's all good, and it all counts.

Here are the categories of AADL's 2024 Staff Picks:

➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Homepage
➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Words
➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Screens
➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Pulp Life

AADL 2024 STAFF PICS: AUDIO
Music, podcasts, CDs, records, and more: