Nightspots
Events for August 16, 2026
Nightspots
“Ann Arbor/Ypsi Acoustic Jammers.”
All acoustic musicians invited for an open mic followed by an hour of jamming. Participants welcome to bring chord-and-lyric sheets of any well-known song for the jam.
Nightspots
Phil Ogilvie’s Rhythm Kings
Local 10-piece big band led by tubaist Chris Smith that specializes in the old-time big band music of the late 1920s and early 1930s associated with Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver.
Nightspots
Braxton Cook
Acclaimed jazz vocalist & multi-instrumentalist whose music is a blend of hard-edged tightly-arranged contemporary jazz instrumentation and soaring 90s R&B–style vocals. “Cook stands at the crossroads of jazz and contemporary R&B, and the album thrives in that space,” writes Shatter the Standard in a review of his most recent album, Not Everyone Can Go. “It’s a deliberate blend he has pursued for years, and here he doubles down. The production balances in-the-pocket warmth—buttery keys, laid-back bass lines—with the spontaneity of a live session.” Dinner shows: 6 & 8 p.m. $85.
Nightspots
Unkle Lay Lee & the Moonshine All-Stars
Local quintet led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Gray Motsinger that plays an eclectic brand of outlaw country with punk, funk, and rock influences.
Nightspots
American Patchwork Quartet
Roots music ensemble led by Hindustani classical vocalist Falu Shah and veteran guitarist & arranger Clay Ross, best known as the frontman of the acclaimed Gullah group Rank Tanky. Its music is a forward-thinking homage to America’s past with an eclectic blend of Appalachian folk, gospel, and Indian classical music that one Mix Magazine reviewer calls “a breathtaking confluence of heritage roots, jazz, and world music influences.” $29.
Nightspots
“The Sunday Circle.”
A set by a house band led by local jazz trumpeter Ingrid Racine. Followed by an open mic for vocalists, instrumentalists (including electronic), MCs, & poets.
Nightspots
Jazz Jam Session
Jazz ensemble led by Kenji Lee, a local saxophonist whose expressive brand of jazz draws on Japanese folk music, Western classical music, and punk.