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.”

What does it mean to create a flourishing society? What does it mean to be American? What does it mean to be an artist in America, to produce artwork about the American condition?

These are a few of the questions posed to the audience in Hey, We Need to Talk!, an exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). Curated by artist Philippa Pham Hughes, the current visiting artist for arts and civic engagement, the project requests that visitors participate in a dialogue about their views on topics such as: How do we build a sustainable future? How do we build meaningful connections in our communities? How do we overcome division?

Hughes has adorned the Eleanor Noyes Crumpacker Gallery with a custom decorative floral wallpaper. It is not just any floral wallpaper, but a composite of 50 individual flowers, representing each state flower. Not only that but it was designed by Ouizi (Louise Jones), an artist revered both internationally and locally for her large-scale floral murals, one of which can be found at 200 South Ashley Street. In a short essay, Hughes writes on the significance of the floral motif, noting their symbolic use throughout history in a variety of contexts, many of which included political revolution, making them “beautiful and powerful symbols of resistance, revolution, and resilience.”

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.

A new art installation in Liberty Plaza intends to spark play and social interaction in Ann Arbor.

Oscillation relies on people’s movements to create different colors, sounds, and pitches when they interact with it. The installation features five crystal-shaped pieces and acts like a theremin—a musical instrument that you can play without touching it.

“The idea of a theremin interested us because of how it could be played with motion, and we had been wanting to think of a way to enlarge that interaction in the public space,” said Ryan Swanson, whose Brooklyn, New York-based design studio, The Urban Conga, created Oscillation.

“This work felt like the perfect opportunity to develop that interaction to become a public instrument for communal interaction.”

As part of that communal interaction, people will be able to experience Oscillation starting January 17.

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is collaborating with The Urban Conga and its touring partner Creos to bring the installation to the city through March 16.

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.