Ann Arbor's Peter Siers was born in 1961.

Ypsi's Kenji Lee graduated from U-M in 2019.

But the drummer in his 60s and the saxophonist-bassist in his 20s have teamed up for two cross-generational jazz showcases in different parts of Ann Arbor.

Siers and Lee recently started the Ann Arbor Jazz Workshop on a revolving date every month at the Elk's Lodge, 220 Sunset Road. The duo is encouraging everyone from high school students to longtime musicians to join the session, which next occurs on Saturday, March 22. Doors open at 5:30 pm, the jam starts at 6 pm, and then the Pete Siers/Kenji Lee Quartet performs at 8 pm. Cost is $10.

Just a few days later, Siers and Lee are at it again across town with a new concert series at Mothfire Brewing, 713 West Ellsworth Road. Starting March 26 and continuing every Wednesday from 5-8 pm, a local jazz group will perform at the Pittsfield Township pub known for its locally brewed IPAs, sour ales, pilsner, and dark beers as well as the food trucks that operate in its parking lot.

The first three concerts will feature: 

Brazilian pianist Heloísa Fernandes first played in the Kerrytown Concert House in 2014. She's returning to Ann Arbor for the second time on Friday, February 21, but this will be the third time she's played for the venue.

Like many clubs during the pandemic, Kerrytown Concert House hosted concerts on its YouTube page featuring artists performing at home. On July 11, 2021, Fernandes performed a solo 50-minute set from her living room in São Luiz do Paraitinga, a city in the eastern part of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The local connection that brought together Ann Arbor and São Paulo was Musica Extraordinaria, an artists' representative org run by Tree Town's Michael Grofsorean.

The video below gives you a taste of what you'll hear when Fernandes physically returns to Kerrytown for a solo concert that will serve as something of a warm-up to record her next album. Fernandes spent most of this American tour in a quartet, exploring the jazz-classical-Brazilian hybrid she's explored her whole career. But after playing in Ann Arbor, Fernandes will go to Chicago for one more concert and to record her latest solo album, Dream of the Waters, which will be a mix of older originals and a new series of works inspired by a 2023 stay she had in the Amazon forest. 

Check out her 2021 virtual Kerrytown Concert House show below: 

In January, the University of Michigan Organ Department launched a new recital series in conjunction with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 306 North Division Street in Ann Arbor near Kerrytown. The Division Street Pipes concerts happen every Thursday at 12:15 pm and the free 30-minute shows feature students and faculty performing on the church's exquisite organ. Attendees are welcome to bring in their lunches, too.

Upcoming performers include:
February 20 - Nicholas Welch, BM student
February 27 - Ben Sidoti, BM student
March 6 - Ye Mee Kim, DMA student

The series continues until April 24 (with a break on April 17 for Maundy Thursday). Visit the announcement page for more info.

Below is The Division Street Pipes's debut concert from January 16 featuring the playing of master’s student Oliver Steissberg:

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: Screens
➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Audio
➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Pulp Life
 

AADL 2024 STAFF PICKS: WORDS
Books, audiobooks, graphic novels, comics, websites, and more:

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

AADL 2024 STAFF PICS: SCREENS
TV, movies, DVDs, video games, YouTube, streaming, etc.

➥ 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:

➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Homepage
➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Words
➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Screens
➥ AADL 2024 Staff Picks: Audio
 

AADL 2024 STAFF PICS: PULP LIFE
Games, apps, sports, outdoors, and any other kind of hard-to-categorize cultural and life activities:

The Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF) draws experimental filmmakers from across the world, but ever since it began in 1963 it's also made room for local creators to show their works.

The 62nd edition of AAFF is running March 26-31, and the fest's website and YouTube page have a ton of info, interviews, and articles about the hundreds of films that will be screened this year alongside dozens of social events, panels, and exhibitions.

But it's a lot. Like, a lot a lot, which means you would have to comb through a ton of material to figure out the creatives with local connections.

So, being the hyperlocal fans that we are, we did that for you and collected the events, screenings, and installations created by Washtenaw County-associated artists, curators, and film lovers who will have a moment to shine at the 2024 Ann Arbor Film Festival.

Peter Andrews, organizer of the Freeing John Sinclair rally, Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival mainstay, and longtime music promoter died on December 31, 2023, according to a post by Joe Tiboni on A2 Music History page on Facebook. (Tiboni owned Joe's Star Lounge and hosts the Big City Blues Cruise on WEMU.)

Andrews wrote about his life in the Ann Arbor music scene in The Joint Was Jumpin’: A Promoter’s Story, which was published as an ebook in 2018. You read an MLive interview with Andrews about the book here.

Michael Erlewine, founder of AllMusic, was the leader of The Prime Movers, which was the house band at Mother's, the influential teen club Andrews launched in 1966. Erlewine published a long interview with Andrews about organizing the Sinclair rally; you can download a PDF of the conversation here.

All Ann Arbor District Library pages tagged with Peter Andrews' name, featuring articles and photos, are here.