Press Release
September 14, 2012 For more information contact: Chris Falk, Special Events Coordinator [email protected], 269-373-7970
Kalamazoo Valley Museum Kicks off Friday Night Highlights Series The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is the place to be on Friday nights in downtown Kalamazoo. The Museum’s “Friday Night Highlights” series, with its classic movies, concerts, Art Hop events, and laser-light planetarium shows, is kicking off its 2012-13 series. The Art Hop events are free. From 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 5, the museum’s Art Hop attractions include a musical performance by Branden Mann and The Reprimand and a gallery talk about the current traveling exhibit, “Good Design: Stories from Herman Miller” by Museum Design Assistant Megan Burtzloff. Also part of the "Friday Night Highlights" agenda each week is an 8:30 p.m. showing of the planetarium show featuring the music of Led Zeppelin. Admission to planetarium shows is $3. The laser light shows are held every Friday night through Dec. 28.
Here is the complete “Friday Night Highlights” schedule:
October 5, 6 to 8 p.m., Art Hop; Branden Mann and The Reprimand, (Folk, Rock, Blues, Jam, Alt- Country, Hip-Hop), free. The core members of BM&TR are Branden Mann (Vocals, Guitar) Tommy Ufkes (Drums, Guitar), Jeff Weller (Bass) and Jason Walker (Banjo, Vocals). Formed in 2007 with a slightly different lineup, the band can be anything from a 2-piece (Mann/Ufkes) to a 6- piece powerhouse complete with lead guitar, keyboards, saxophone, and any other instruments Mann's musical friends decide to use to make their contribution. As a band, BM&TR have been compared to Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals, The Black Keys, Wilco, Traffic, Dave Matthews Band and CCR, but the majority of listeners say that the diversity of the band's sound makes them a one-of-a-kind act. http://www.brandenmann.com
October 12, 7 to 9 p.m., Billy Bynum & Co.in concert, (Americana, Bluegrass, Country), $5. This band’s core of guitar, pedal steel, fiddle, bass, and harmony vocals can learn into country, veer toward bluegrass, or take listeners on a unique journey through Bill’s original songs. http://www.billbynum.com/
October 19, 7 to 9 p.m. “Faces of America” (Movie, rated G, 120 Minutes, PBS), free. What made America? What makes us? These two questions are at the heart of the new PBS series FACES OF AMERICA. Using the latest tools of genealogy and genetics, we explore the family histories of 11 renowned Americans. Looking to the wider immigrant experience, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. unravels the American tapestry, following the threads of his guests' lives back to their origins around the globe.
October 26, 7 to 9 p.m., Venice Gas House Trolley, (Madison, Wisconsin-based Cerebral “Groovalicious,” Existential Sacred Fusion Rock), $5. Venice Gas House Trolley has been said to “groove’s body and mind,” creating a unique and organic live music experience. VGHT's original jam-based songs and poems transport audiences on a creatively wild and transformational trip through darkness and into the light. Members of VGHT include Adam Pergament (Voice, Vocal Effects), Tim Peeters (Bass, Vocals), Nikk Cramer (Guitar, Vocals), Josh Pultorak (Drums), and Dr. Beats (Percussion).http://www.vght.net
November 2, 6 to 8 p.m. Art Hop, Matt Gabriel Trio, (Blend of Folk and Blues with a solid Rock and Roll center), free. In less than one year's time, The Matt Gabriel Trio has been written up twice in Recoil Magazine, been interviewed live on the radio, and played their native state of
Michigan from top to bottom. Working on a follow-up record to their first album "People and Places" at the moment, "The Thief" is an honest blend of Folk and Blues with a solid rock and roll center-- the exact quality of music you would expect from three boys who grew up between Chicago and Detroit. A must-see live show with a very approachable recorded sound, it's music you can trust and believe in. http://Mattgabrielmusic.com
November 9, 7 to 9 p.m. “Just the Facts: U.S. History: Native Americans,” (Movie, rated G, PBS), free. Over 25,000 years ago, the first people began to arrive in what is now known as America. In this video, you will learn about early civilizations. Facts will be presented about Christopher Columbus's fateful voyage in 1492 and the encounters of Indian tribes of North America and their cultures. The history of the Western expansion in the U.S. which led to the formation of Indian reservations is revealed, along with more.
November 16, 7 to 9 p.m., The Turnips, (Roots, Rock, Folk, Blues, Americana, Jazz), $5. The Turnips were the 2012 winners of the Fretboard Festival Play-In Contest at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Joey Artibee (Guitar, vocals, glockenspiel), Andy Kirby (Guitar, vocals, dobro), Scotty Hicks/Curt "Manimal" VanWagoner (Drums, Body), Chris Bemben (Keyboards), and Paul Geoghan (Basses) make up the band The Turnips. The multi-talented members of The Turnips have been busy playing and recording with prominent members of the Michigan folk scene, including: Seth Bernard and May Erlewine, Rachel Davis Band, Jen Sygit, Steppin' In It, Breathe Owl Breathe, and have emerged to cultivate a great new sound. Bringing an eclectic, roots- based blend of rock, blues, folk, Americana and more, the Turnips have had no trouble bringing inspiration and energy to any audience. http://theturnipsband.com
November 23, 7 to 9 p.m. “Lidia Celebrates America: Holiday Tables and Traditions,” (Movie, rated G, PBS), free. When immigrants came to America, they brought with them not only their grandmothers' recipes, but also centuries-old traditions. Join beloved chef and cookbook author Lidia Bastianich on an eye-opening culinary journey as she visits with families sharing their traditions, getting a rare and deeply personal glimpse into the wonderful diversity of American culture and food.
November 30, 7 to 9 p.m., Stikyfüt, (Kalamazoo-based Alternative/ Blues/Rock/Funk), $5. Stikyfüt, was founded by three members while watching a sport from the north called curling. They found the “sticky foot” crucial to curling, and an underlying factor determining where the rock will land. Though most aspects of life are not as certain as where a rock might land on a bull's- eye, Stikyfüt's music is certainly a progressively moving force in the rock and roll sphere. The journey began towards recording and performing their newly discovered sound: a collaboration of sweet, soulful vocals blanketing over powerful blues and funk rhythmic arrangements with an attitude for that good, old-fashioned “rock your face off." http://www.stikyfut.com
December 7, 6 to 8 p.m., Art Hop, Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra concert, (Classical), free. The Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra presents holiday music old and new, along with other traditional audience favorites. The Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra is a plucked string ensemble consisting of mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, guitars, and bass. The KMGO was founded in 2003 to revive the mandolin orchestra tradition in Kalamazoo. Under the direction of conductor Miles Kusik, the orchestra enjoys performing a wide variety of music including classical, ethnic, and “golden era” mandolin orchestra music. http://www.kalmando.com/
December 14, 7 to 9 p.m. The Mushmen in concert (SKA-Core), $5. These band members call their music “serious fun” and say it will ‘make you feel the way music made you feel in high school.” https://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-MUSHMEN/329714853663
December 21, 7 to 9 p.m. “Life Beyond Earth” (Movie, rated G, 110 minutes, PBS), free. Does life exist beyond Earth? The unanswered question has transfixed stargazers for centuries. Life Beyond Earth, hosted by Timothy Ferris, tells the story of humanity's search for life beyond our own planet. Today's astronomers can see planets orbiting distant stars. As probes head to the farthest reaches of our universe, and scientists scan the heavens for alien radio signals, some predict the discovery of life elsewhere by century's end.
December 28, 7 to 9 p.m. “America Revealed” (Movie, PG, 120 minutes, PBS), free. Take to the skies for a bird's-eye view of how this vast and complex country actually works. Stunning aerial footage, high-definition video, and real-time satellite data reveal the American landscape as you've never seen it before, and host Yul Kwon climbs, leaps, and rides across the U.S. to find out what makes this nation tick. This is a celebration of a nation in the 21st century.
January 4, 6 to 8 p.m., Art Hop; Mark Sahlgren and Friends in concert (Folk), free. Stringband and bluegrass music has been a near obsession for Mark since the 1950’s. Beginning with the Weavers and the New Lost City Ramblers, then delving further into the ‘roots’ music of groups like the Skillet Lickers and Flatt and Scruggs, the guitar became the driving force in his musical life. Having led his own band Sweetcorn for many years, developing recording projects, producing music festivals, teaching guitar workshops throughout southern Michigan, and hosting the radio program Grassroots on public radio for over 30 years – Mark remains active in Americana music.
January 11, 7 to 9 p.m., The Moody Coyotes concert, (Rootsy Americana, Bluegrass, Rock-n- Roll, Country), $5. The Moody Coyotes are a band from Kalamazoo that has played together for nearly 20 years. The musicians include Mike Siegel on guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonica; Robin Nott on guitar and mandolin; David Johnson on bass; and Rick Bengelink on drums. Vocals are traded off between Siegel, Nott, and Johnson. The band likes to cover music that gives listeners a wide variety of musical styles, including folk, country, bluegrass, and rock and roll.https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Moody-Coyotes/325828787451846.
January 18, 7 to 9 p.m. “NOVA: Musical Minds,” (Movie, rated G, 56 minutes, NOVA), free. Through the remarkable case studies from neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks' latest book, Musicophilia, NOVA investigates the extraordinary impact music can have on the human brain. Viewers meet people like Tony Cicoria, who was struck by lightning and was suddenly inspired to become a pianist, and Matt Giordano, who uses drumming to alleviate his severe Tourette syndrome.
January 25, 7 to 9 p.m., Pleasant Drive in concert, (Alternative), $5. Pleasant Drive began when Jason and Matt Curtis were in high school, playing around town in 2007/08 with bassist Jordan Jackson, who passed away in 2008. The band re-formed in 2011 with extraordinary bassist Evan Sean Kincaid, and now with the latest addition, keyboard player Cris Kauffman. Bring your stepping shoes to this concert because you'll want to keep on tapping to this band's tunes long after the show is done! So grab your favorite person, sit back, and enjoy the Pleasant Drive. https://www.facebook.com/PleasantDrive
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum, located at 230 N. Rose Street in downtown Kalamazoo, is operated by Kalamazoo Valley Community College and is governed by its Board of Trustees. For more information, go to www.kalamazoomuseum.org.