2007 December

Local music lovers know soprano Whitnie Crown Wolverton primarily from her work with Vox. Founded in 2000 in Ann Arbor and relocated to Chicago in 2006, Vox was a twelve-voice a cappella ensemble dedicated to medieval and...

I love Christmas music — the carols, the classics, even many of the novelty tunes; perhaps a surprising admission from a Jewish boy who as a child never sang them, or even heard them much. Okay, you're waiting for the...

Don't let the name fool you (even though that last syllable is pronounced with a long A). Todd Deatherage is not goth or heavy metal or punk. This young singer, songwriter, and electric guitarist, recently transplanted to...

A handmade sign is taped to the front door at the monthly Huron Gun Collectors meeting at the Washtenaw County Farm Council Grounds. It says, "Cameras, video equipment, tape recorders, and concealed weapons strictly...

Over the Rhine, which takes its name from a tough but increasingly creative area near downtown Cincinnati, essentially consists of vocalist Karin Bergquist and pianist and guitarist Linford Detweiler. They write almost all their...

Once a year Michigan Peaceworks throws a fund-raising party at the Ark. When I arrived last year, I found a gaggle of local singer-songwriters and musicians lining the back halls, waiting to play their one song each. Engineers...

Robert Hass, former poet laureate of the United States, won the National Book Award a couple of weeks ago for his most recent collection, Time and Materials. Hass has never shied away from ambitious titles — a couple of...

Some kids want to grow up to be president. Not Sarah Cleveland. “I always knew I wanted to be an orchestral player,” says the principal cellist of the Ann Arbor Symphony. Cleveland grew up in Livonia in the 1960s....

Whenever I stop in at the downtown Sweetwaters, I see nearly as many laptops as coffee mugs. Sure, most of those laptop tappers are probably rapping out term papers, checking emails, or instant-messaging friends, but I’m...