BY BY KIMBERLY CHOU
Daily Arts Writer
Published January 26, 2006
Folk music isn't just for old folk. At least that's what The Ark would like you to think.
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This weekend's Ann Arbor Folk Festival will feature a cross-generational jam of folk, blues and Americana 29 years in the making.
The festival's third decade concludes with two consecutive nights at Hill Auditorium. The Ark's largest fundraiser is also one of the biggest folk festivals in the country.
Both Friday and Saturday welcome as-yet-undiscovered acts as well as artists whose names might ring a bell with the average college student.
Blues great Robert Cray and his band will headline on Friday, with gothic vaudevillians Blanche fitting the bill alongside Iris DeMent, the Greencards and others.
"Friday night will be a little edgier and louder," said Barb Chaffer-Authier, marketing director of the Ark. "Saturday will be more traditional."
Headlining on Saturday will be the Lyle Lovett Trio. Though the frontman is best known to most University students as the beaky Texan once married to Julia Roberts, Lovett also plays a rootsy brand of country folk.
Also playing Saturday night will be Adrienne Young and Little Sadie, the Holmes Brothers and Don White.
Organizers have not set a definite lineup.
"Robert Cray could request to play first," Chaffer-Authier said. "We'll know (the lineup) by the night of the concert."
This will be the Ark's fourth year hosting the two-night festival, which shifted venues during Hill renovations a few years ago. The Ark split the bill into two nights to accommodate the bands and their audience.
"The crowd varies. There are the baby boomers, then (also) University students," Chaffer-Authier said.
Although in the past the Ann Arbor Folk Festival has booked major artists such as Emmy Lou Harris, the Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco, the festival has increased the number of smaller bands.
"With a 3,000-person crowd, it's a boost for them to be seen," Chaffer-Authier said.
And with two full nights at the spacious Hill, it's a great opportunity for even the most casual of folk fans to see them.
