Pulp Bits: A Roundup of Washtenaw County Arts & Culture Stories, Songs & Videos

Dani Darling and her band outside Ziggy's in Ypsilanti

Singer-songwriter Dani Darling (far right) with her band Joel Harris, Noor Us-Sabah, and CA Jones outside Ziggy's in Ypsilanti. Darling's latest release is the Nocturne EP. Photo by Kyla McGrath via Facebook.com/pg/danidarlingmusic.

A round-up of arts and culture stories featuring people, places, and things in Washtenaw County, whether they're just passing through or Townies for life. Coverage includes music, visual art, film & video, theater & dance, written word, and Pulp life (food, fairs, and more). If you're reading this in the future and a story link is dead, look up the URL on web.archive.org; we've cached every post there.

This is the vacation-catch-up edition of Pulp Bits, so we have links going back to late June -- a true smorgasbord of culture news. Feast!

MUSIC

➥ "50th Anniversary Ann Arbor Blues Festival - photo story" [Life in Michigan, Aug. 21]
➥ "Listen to curated playlists by Ann Arbor's University Music Society on Spotify, Apple Music" [All About Ann Arbor, Aug. 19]
➥ "Blue LLama Jazz Club brings big jazz, inventive eating to downtown Ann Arbor" [All About Ann Arbor, Aug. 19]
➥ "Ann Arbor Blues Festival celebrates 50 years" [MLive, Aug. 17]

➥ "Eight Carl gives U-M a good name" [The Michigan Daily, Aug. 16]
➥ "New performing arts company launches with trans-themed folk opera at Ypsi Freighthouse" [Concentrate, Aug. 14]
➥ "50th anniversary of Ann Arbor Blues Festival aims to carry on tradition" [MLive, Aug. 14]
➥ "After a rocky road, the Ann Arbor Blues Festival is back just in time to celebrate its 50th anniversary" [Metro Times, Aug. 14] 
➥ "Encore Records Escapes to Kerrytown" [Ann Arbor Observer, Aug. 2019]
➥ "Profile: Ann Arbor Blues Festival Producer James Partridge Is In Tune With Nature" [We Love Ann Arbor, July 30]
➥ "Ann Arbor Blues Festival set for Aug 16-18 at Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds" [All About Ann Arbor, July 25]
➥ "Art & Soul: The Performing Arts - The Ann Arbor Blues Festival, Ann Arbor Pride, And More" [WEMU, July 25]
➥ "Hip-hop producers compete -- and collaborate -- at new monthly Ypsi event" [Concentrae, July 24]
➥ "#OTGYpsi: 'Plugin' Showcase Helps Local Musicians Get Their Dream Shot" [WEMU, July 24]
➥ "Ann Arbor Musician "Mr. B" Brings A Different Form Of Art To Annual Art Fair 40 Years In A Row!" [WEMU, July 17]
➥ For All and None album by Jake Riley and The Social Workers [Americana Highways, July 5]
➥ "Nocturne" EP by Dani Darling [Facebook, June 28]

VISUAL ART

➥ "Penny Stamps Fall 2019 Speakers Series [PDF]" [stamps.umich.edu, Aug. 2019]
➥ "creative:impact - Creating Joy And Meaning Even After A Memory Loss Diagnosis" [WEMU, Aug. 20]
➥ "Elegant abstraction at UMMA" [Detroit News, Aug. 15]
➥ "'Challenge Everything. Change Anything.' Mural Celebrates Art and Creativity in Ann Arbor" [We Love Ann Arbor, Aug. 14]
➥ "Art & Soul: The Visual Arts - Sharing The Joy Of Art At Any Age" [WEMU. Aug. 9]
➥ "creative:impact - Fashion Forward In The 1500s: Melanie Schuessler Bond, EMU professor of costume design, on her book 'Dressing the Scottish Court, 1543-1553 Clothing in the Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'" [WEMU. Aug. 9]
➥ "‘Graffiti as Devotion Along the Nile' moves into the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology in Ann Arbor" [All About Ann Arbor, Aug. 6]
➥ "U-M Art Professor Susan Crowell's Work Addresses Nature, Direct Experience" [arts.umich.edu, Aug. 5]
➥ "UMMA: Exhibitions and events for September 2019" [We Love Ann Arbor, Aug. 3]
➥ "Hymns of the Huron: Singer/songwriter Kat Steih discusses her latest" [Current, July 31]
➥ "creative:impact - Collaborations Can Make For Creative Business Success: Ypsi Alloy Studios" [WEMU, July 30]
➥ "‘Copies and Invention of East Asia' to open at Ann Arbor's University of Michigan Museum of Art" [All About Ann Arbor, July 30]
➥ "Behind the scenes at Ann Arbor Art Fair setup day" [All About Ann Arbor, July 17]
➥ "creative:impact - Meet This Year's 'Emerging Artist' At The Ann Arbor Art Fairs: Jon Van Eck, owner of Van Eck Pottery & Tile Works" [WEMU, July 16]
➥ "Art & Soul: The Visual Arts - Ann Arbor's International Museum Of Dinnerware Design" [WEMU, July 11]

FILM & VIDEO

➥ "FYI: 906: Interview with Adrian Diffy on Mind the Gap Lux’s Production of The Birthday Party, Monarchs in the Rough and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum Summer of Space" [CTN, Aug. 16]
➥ "Cinema Chat: Fall Film Fest Dates, 'Blinded By The Light,' 'Good Boys,' And More" [WEMU, Aug. 15]
➥ "FYI 905: Interview with Officer Steven Dye & Sergeant Jamie Crawford on their Kidney Transplant Journey, the Rosie the Riveter Craft Show & Washtenaw County’s 4H Youth Show" [CTN, Aug. 9]
➥ "Cinema Chat: Toni Morrison Remembered, 'Them That Follow,' 'The Kitchen,' And More" [WEMU, Aug. 8]
➥ "Ann Arbor Tonight, episode 21: Chrissie Wywrot (LinkedIn profile optimization expert), musical guest Erin Zindle (The Ragbirds), and a stand-up performance by Tiffany "T.Barb" Barber" [Zach Damon/YouTube, Aug. 5]
➥ "Cinema Chat: 'The Farewell,' 'Marianne & Leonard: Words Of Love,' '5B,' And More" [WEMU, Aug. 2]
➥ "FYI 904: Interview with Dr. Aimee Kotrba on Teen Anxiety, plus Elvisfest 2019 & I Wan Jan Puppet Theatre" [CTN, Aug. 2]
➥ "FYI 903: Interview with Dr. Missy Stults on the City of Ann Arbor’s partnership with the Climate Mayors Electric Vehicles Purchasing Collaborative, Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour & Puppet Coloring Workshop at AADL" [CTN, July 26]
➥ "Art Fair Booth 2019 (artist interviews playlist)" [CTN, July 26]
➥ "Cinema Chat: 'Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood,' 'The Farewell,' The Grateful Dead, And More" [WEMU, July 25]
➥ "FYI 902: Interview with Stephanie Willette on the Ann Arbor Farmers Market 100th Birthday, Musical Theater Camp and Water Lantern Festival" [CTN, July 23]
➥ "WLAA Q&A: Local filmmaker Christina Morales Hemenway on her latest film 'Bride +1'" [We Love Ann Arbor, July 30]
➥ "Profile: Ann Arbor filmmaker killing it Up North with release of 'Boyne Falls'” [We Love Ann Arbor, July 30]
➥ "Cinema Chat: Russ's Big Award, 'Echo In The Canyon,' 'The Lion King,' And More" [WEMU, July 18]
➥ "Michigan Theater Foundation Director And Ann Arbor Cultural Leader Russ Collins Receives National Award" [WEMU, July 15]
➥ "Cinema Chat: Nevertheless Film Festival, 'Wild Rose,' 'Stuber,' And More" [WEMU, July 11]
➥ "Ann Arbor Tonight, episode 21: musical guest Nadim Azzam, and a stand-up performance by Billy Hoffman" [Zach Damon/YouTube, July 8]

WRITTEN WORD

➥ "Art & Soul: The Art Of Well Being - Intriguing And Insightful Lessons For Business And For Life" [WEMU, July 18]
➥ "creative:impact - A Literary Look At Ann Arbor's Changing Nature: Patti F. Smith, co-author of 'Vanishing Ann Arbor'" [WEMU, July 9]

THEATER & DANCE

➥ "And The Winners Are…The 2019 Wilde Awards" [Encore Michigan, Aug. 19]
➥ "U-M Alumna Brings New Life to Meredith Bixby's Famous Marionettes" [arts.umich.edu, Aug. 19]
➥ "Four Wise Monkeys presents new play Oct. 17-20"  [Encore Michigan, Aug. 17]
➥ "Mind The Gap’s ‘The Birthday Party’ rattles audiences sixty years after its debut" [Encore Michigan, Aug. 17]
➥ "creative:impact - Seeing The World From Backstage: Susan Guszynski and Greg Mazure" [WEMU, Aug. 13]
➥ "U-M, MSU Professors Create a Sensory Theater Experience for Children With Autism" [arts.umich.edu, Aug. 11]
➥ "Theatre Nova announces 2019-2020 season" [Encore Michigan, Aug. 10]
➥ "The Believers Are But Brothers Takes Tech & Theater Down A Dark Web Rabbit Hole" [Chronicle Press, Aug. 6]
➥ "'Little Women’ a big success by One Off Productions" [Encore Michigan, July 31]
➥ "Profile: Local Horizon Performing Arts Has 'Changed People’s Lives'" [We Love Ann Arbor, July 30]
➥ "Profile: Carla Milarch Was Perfectly Cast In Theatre NOVA’s Most Important Role" [We Love Ann Arbor, July 30]
➥ "‘Stargazers’ explores modern digital love and the stars" [Encore Michigan, July 26]
➥ "Penny Seats’ ‘La Mancha’ sparkles under the moonlight" [Encore Michigan, July 26]

PULP LIFE

➥ "Orangesplash’s Geoxhibit Brings Interactive Machine Learning To Museums & Zoos" [Chronicle Press, Aug. 20]
➥ "Unique home of Ann Arbor political memorabilia collector for sale" [MLive, Aug. 19]
➥ "Scavenger Is An Augmented Reality Scavenger Hunt For Adults" [Chronicle Press, Aug. 16]
➥ "Historic photos: Ann Arbor Farmers Market turns 100" [MLive, Aug. 16]
➥ "Ypsi nonprofit seeks to empower urban communities through dance team, gun buyback, and more" [Concentrate, Aug. 14]
➥ "Beyond Books: The Ann Arbor District Library Brings You 'Nerd Nite' Each Month" [WEMU, Aug. 7]
➥ "Historian seeks wartime stories of former women's boarding house in Ypsi" [Concentrate, Aug. 7]
➥ "U-M Student Recycles Plastic Waste From the Great Lakes Into Clothing" [arts.umich.edu, Aug. 7]
➥ "Art & Soul - The Culinary Arts: Meet The Local Woman Known As The "Tomato Evangelist' - visual artist Tammie Gilfoyle" [WEMU, Aug. 1]
➥ "The Farmers Market at 100" [Ann Arbor Observer, Aug. 2019]
➥ "Louis Ghoral: Executive Chef at Blue LLama Jazz Club" [Current, July 31]
➥ "creative:impact - Expanding Offerings At U-M's New Planetarium And Dome Theater" [WEMU, July 23]
➥ "Heart Shaped Games’ We Are The Caretakers Is An Afrofuturist SciFi Squad Mgmt Game" [Chronicle Press, July 12]
➥ "Gradient Valley Builds New Machine Learning AI Company In Ann Arbor" [Chronicle Press, July 11]


Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.


Did we miss a Washtenaw County-linked arts and culture story? Let us know about it at pulp@aadl.org.