Open Mic Night - Youth Night!

Sunday, Apr. 14 | 7:00pm ET (6:00pm CT)

We're putting the spotlight on young performers with our April Open Mic Night Youth edition!

Where else in Harbor Country can you go for an evening filled with amazing talent? Come experience Harbor Country’s most exciting array of acts, packed into one night on the fabulous Acorn stage with a state of the art, professional sound system.

No Admission Fee, Donations Encouraged

Ages 8 to 18 recommended. Performer Inquiries: Email openmic@acornlive.org

This activity is supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and sponsored by The Frederick S. Upton Foundation.

RESERVED SEATING DONATION option includes a $25 tax-deductible donation to The Acorn and guarantees you a seat with optimal sightlines. $25 Donation per ticket holder in your group.

The Acorn is hosting a Community Book Drive in celebration of the life and legacy of Dolly Parton! Bring a book to The Acorn throughout the month of April and receive a Dolly Parton themed gift. Bring a book to The Acorn the night of The Music of Dolly Parton on April 27 for $3 off our specialty drink for the night - the Wine to 5! Books should be new and chosen for children of any age - infants through teens! Books will be distributed to River Valley Schools.

The Heavy Heavy w/ Sugadaisy

Thursday, May. 16 | 7:00pm ET (6:00pm CT)

The Heavy Heavy is a 5-piece retro inspired rock band, making the music the sixties forgot - with bombastic soul and peaceful goals.

About the Artists

The Heavy Heavy creates the kind of unfettered rock-and-roll that warps time and place, immediately pulling the audience into a euphoric fugue state with its own sun-soaked atmosphere. Led by lifelong musicians Will Turner and Georgie Fuller, the Brighton, UK-based band began with a shared ambition of “making records that sound like our favorite records ever,” and soon arrived at a reverb-drenched collision of psychedelia and blues, acid rock and sunshine pop. As revealed on their gloriously hazy debut EP Life and Life Only, The Heavy Heavy breathe an incandescent new energy into sounds from decades ago, transcending eras with a hypnotic ease.

In dreaming up Life and Life Only, The Heavy Heavy tapped into many of the musical touchstones that Turner describes as “deeply entrenched in our psyche”: Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones, British Invasion pop acts like the Hollies, folk-blues duo Delaney & Bonnie, to name just a few. Pushing past the confines of reverential pastiche, the band imbues their output with a strangely charmed quality and heady authenticity undeniably tied to their status as artists on the fringe, both philosophically and geographically. To that end, Turner hails from the remote town of Malvern, an enchanted stretch of the English countryside once frequented by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and Kate Bush. “It’s famous for the healing qualities of its water, and there are ancient trees where the Druids used to worship—there’s a sort of magical-hippie aspect to it,” he notes. Fuller, meanwhile, elevates every track with her spellbinding vocals and magnetic yet wholly unaffected presence, building upon a kaleidoscopic career that’s included performing at Montreux Jazz Festival as a teenager as well as acting in the London theater.

Rooted in their effusive harmonies and fuzzed-out guitar work, Life and Life Only contains the first track Turner and Fuller ever recorded as The Heavy Heavy, a lilting piece of psych-pop titled “Go Down River.” “I’d had this song a while and couldn’t quite finish it, but then once Georgie added her vocals, it all came together,” Turner recalls. “The male-female harmonies gave it this whole new sound; it just felt like lying in the green grass on a hot sunny day.” Self-produced in a London flat, the six-track project also brings that transportive power to songs like “Miles and Miles” (a bright and jangly number whose whirlwind velocity calls to mind late-’60s/early-’70s road dramas like Easy Rider and Vanishing Point), “Man of the Hills” (a groove-heavy homage to Turner’s otherworldly hometown), and “Sleeping on Grassy Ground” (a sweetly languid epic featuring a near-operatic vocal performance from Fuller, a classically trained singer).

With their full-length debut due out in next year, The Heavy Heavy recently expanded their lineup to five members, allowing for an even more vast and bombastic sound now touched with heavenly four-part harmonies. A massively prolific outfit who’ve written and recorded hundreds of songs in the last two years alone, the band feels perpetually inspired by the pursuit of making music that provides a rarefied pleasure. “The driving force behind all our songwriting is to feel good, and to make other people feel good too,” Fuller points out. And thanks to their uncanny grace as sonic alchemists, The Heavy Heavy ultimately perform a certain magic with their music: eliciting a sublime daze that goes far beyond pure escapism.

In a little over one year The Heavy Heavy have toured relentlessly in the United States and Europe, selling out shows from London to Chicago and garnering numerous accolades from both fans and critics. The Guardian deemed the band “one to watch” and praised their “thrillingly instinctive retro rock;” NME listed them as an Essential Emerging Artist for 2023. The Heavy Heavy appeared on national television on CBS Saturday Morning, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Their singles “Miles & Miles” and “Go Down River” reached the top 5 of the Billboard AAA and Americana Radio Charts. The band also landed high profile placements, such as Netflix’s popular series Outer Banks. ATO Records released an expanded version of their EP Life and Life Only in March 2023, which includes harmony-laden covers of Father John Misty’s “Real Love Baby, CSNY’s “Guinnevere,” and Jonathan Wilson’s “Desert Raven.”

Sugadaisy

Zach Littleton and Johny Lovan have been aware of each other’s existence since third grade in Bowling Green, Ky. — after all, Littleton “dated” Lovan’s sister in that era “mostly because we were both big redheads and everyone said we should,” he recalls. It took many years for them to start making music together, and even longer for them to realize they worked best as a duo, but since 2016, Sugadaisy has quietly built a substantial fanbase by simply being its weird, wonderful selves.

Indeed, Sugadaisy is no ordinary band, largely because Littleton and Lovan are no ordinary musicians. One of their songs (“Space Cadet”) has nearly two million listens on Spotify simply thanks to word of mouth and some love from high-trafficking YouTube creators. They’ve performed live in shirts and ties and with their heads covered in pantyhose. With tongue more often than not firmly in cheek, they’ve largely released tunes rooted in guitar-based folk and singer/songwriter fare, but they also have punk, hip-hop, Spanish, and math rock songs itching to emerge.

RESERVED SEATING DONATION option includes a $25 tax-deductible donation to The Acorn and guarantees you a seat with optimal sightlines. $25 Donation per ticket holder in your group.

Acorn Music Festival: DAY THREE featuring Heartless Bastards

Sunday, Jun. 16 | 4:00pm ET (3:00pm CT)

The Acorn Music Festival celebrates the music and artistry rooted in the traditions of American music. DAY THREE of The Acorn Music Festival features indie rock band Heartless Bastards.

Sunday’s first show starts at 4pm ET, with multiple performances leading up to Heartless Bastards’ headlining show. Additional performances include Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express, Bee Taylor, Bowmanville, Anne Harris, Nikki Morgan, and Mike Struwin.

4:00 Bowmanville
5:00 Mike Struwin (*)
5:45 Bee Taylor
6:45 Anne Harris (*)
7:30 Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
8:45 Nikki Morgan (*)
9:30 Heartless Bastards

(*) performance in our outdoor space

Tickets are on sale now!

Day 3 ONLY

3-Day Passes available!

Sponsors:

Heartless Bastards

No salve soothes quite like music does. Like the ultimate balm, it releases tension and stress and reinvigorates the spirit. With a warm patchwork of rock ‘n’ roll, psychedelia, folk, alternative, and blues, Heartless Bastards unlock healing and catharsis within their music. Whether in the studio or on stage, the Austin-based band fronted by vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Erika Wennerstrom calm as they captivate. After generating over 100 million total streams and enrapturing audiences at legendary venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the group continue to connect with listeners everywhere through boundary-breaking sonics and straight-from-the-heart lyrics.

“Music is medicine,” observes Erika. “It gives me a sense of purpose beyond just creating art. The idea someone might find comfort in it or it can actually help another person is incredible to me. I don’t know if I ever thought about it in those terms when I was younger. I’ve realized it over the years though.”

At the turn-of-the-century, Erika founded Heartless Bastards in Cincinnati, OH. Inspired by the likes of Joan Jett, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and more, she cut early demos in 2003, performing the bulk of the instruments herself. A bartending gig inspired the name Heartless Bastards. The bar’s touch screen game posed the question, “What is Tom Petty’s backing band?” and offered “The Heartless Bastards” as an answer option, so she accepted this humorous twist of fate and adopted it as her band’s moniker. Learn more

Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

Since his neo-psychedelic Green On Red days, Chuck Prophet has been turning out country, folk, blues, and Brill Building classicism. After a false start recording in his hometown of San Francisco, Prophet decided to get out of Dodge and found himself re-energized in Upstate New York just a few miles from the Vermont border to make 2020’s The Land That Time Forgot, a record that is much a 21st century exorcism as it is America. Learn more 

Bee Taylor

“Bee Taylor is an artist and lyricist who’s melodies will conjure up all the feelings of a mysterious night in New Orleans. Whether you want to parade down the streets or peek inside a shade drawn window, she is not one to miss the appointment of jazz, funk, roots, and soul. If you’re wanting a unique experience of musical and lyrical gumbo, Bee Taylor is the show to see.” - Tes Hill, LBS Magazine Learn more 

Bowmanville

Chicago-based genre bending ensemble Bowmanville is driven by a profound passion for creating melodies that resonate with the soul. With a deep-rooted love for jazz, blues, rock, and enchanting ethnic stylings, Bowmanville weaves together sounds of timeless musicality. Learn more 

Anne Harris

Singer-songwriter and fiddle player Anne Harris has been carving out a very special place in the Blues and American Roots world, touring internationally and recording with artists such as Otis Taylor, Guy Davis, Markus James, Cathy Richardson, JP Soars, Shemekia Copeland, Cracker, Cedric Burnside, and hippie legends Jefferson Starship, to name a few. Learn more 

Nikki Morgan

For many of us one of the first things we want to know about a new music artist is what type of music they create. It’s a question that has been asked many times over and to that Nikki Morgan would say “DIY Country!” Learn more 

Mike Struwin

Incorporating a myriad of genres, including Alt-Country/Blues & Bluegrass/Roots/Folk/Soul and even Reggae, this Michigan born artist has forged a truly unique style all his own. Learn more 

The Acorn Music Festival takes place at The Acorn theater, 107 Generations Drive in Three Oaks, Michigan.

Acorn Music Festival: DAY TWO featuring The Verve Pipe

Saturday, Jun. 15 | 4:00pm ET (3:00pm CT)

The Acorn Music Festival celebrates the music and artistry rooted in the traditions of American music. DAY TWO of The Acorn Music Festival features iconic rockers The Verve Pipe.

Saturday’s first show starts at 4pm ET, with multiple performances leading up to The Verve Pipe’s headlining show. Additional performances include Lilly Hiatt, Joe Pug, Fox Crossing Stringband, Gerald Dowd, Eric O'Daly and Naomi Ashley & Jon Williams.

4:00 Fox Crossing Stringband
5:00 Gerald Dowd (*)
5:45 Joe Pug
6:45 Eric O'Daly (*)
7:30 Lilly Hiatt
8:45 Naomi Ashley & Jon Williams (*)
9:30 The Verve Pipe

(*) performance in our outdoor space

Tickets are on sale now!

Day 2 ONLY

3-Day Passes available!

Sponsors:

The Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe has spent the better part of three decades in evolution, creating a sound that transcends genre and generation.

It's a sound rooted in pop hooks, alt-rock guitars, and the sharp songwriting of front man Brian Vander Ark. A sound that's taken the band from the golden days of late-'90s modern rock — when The Verve Pipe enjoyed multi-platinum success with hits like "Photograph" and the chart-topping "The Freshmen" — to the rule-breaking creativity of the 2010s and beyond, an era that's found the band reinventing itself with each release. Throughout it all, The Verve Pipe has released critically acclaimed music as both a major-label act and an independent band, maintaining a commitment to forward-thinking rock & roll with albums like 2021's Threads.

Co-written by Vander Ark and backup vocalist Channing Lee, Threads marks a collaborative peak for The Verve Pipe. It's an album about the trials and triumphs we all face — love, loss, abuse, addiction, romance, anger — laced with orchestral strings and The Verve Pipe's lifelong willingness to stretch its legs.

If "The Freshmen" — one of the most inescapable hits of the alternative era — introduced The Verve Pipe as young, melody-fueled Michiganders with an iconic frontman, then Threads positions them as pop/rock graduates who honor their musical past while also moving beyond it. Atmospheric one minute and anthemic the next, Threads is the sound of a band that remains at the peak of its powers, turning the everyday experiences of modern existence into songs that are celebratory and cathartic. Learn more

Lilly Hiatt

Lilly Hiatt has been making music since she was 12 years old, when her father, acclaimed singer-songwriter John Hiatt, gave her her first guitar, a 1953 parlor-size Martin, and truly even before then. As the daughter of one of America’s leading songwriters, Lilly stands on her own two feet as a talented singer and gifted songwriter in her own right. Learn more 

Joe Pug

A singer-songwriter known for his lyrical acumen and plaintive harmonica style, Joe Pug dropped out of college and moved to Chicago where he worked as a carpenter before breaking into the city’s music scene. Since 2008 he has released a string of critically-acclaimed albums and toured heavily in the U.S. and abroad. Learn more 

Fox Crossing Stringband

Harmony is at the heart of their sound with a strong versatility that leans deep into tradition, then nimbly dives into modern tunes with a bluegrass twist. Fox Crossing Stringband showcases tight vocal harmonies and bluegrass instrumentation. Learn more 

Gerald Dowd

Boston-raised, Chicago braised drummer/singer/songwriter Gerald Dowd has been described as “the hardest working drummer in Chicago” (Richard Milne, WXRT), playing on over 100 albums, and averaging 150 live dates a year around the world. Learn more 

Eric O'Daly

If you're looking for music that will move you, challenge you and inspire you, then look no further than Eric O'Daly. A keen songwriter, O'Daly knows how to craft a beautiful ballad that will stay with you long after the song is over. Learn more 

Naomi Ashley & Jon Williams

Chicago Americana singer-songwriter Naomi Ashley’s songs are intimate, plain-spoken and gorgeously sung. Lyrically layered and drawing from folk, blues and country traditions, they surge with the contradictory impulses of real, imperfect life. She is joined by accomplished multi-instrumentalist Jon Williams (Mountainaires, Hatstretchers). Learn more 

The Acorn Music Festival takes place at The Acorn theater, 107 Generations Drive in Three Oaks, Michigan.

Acorn Music Festival: DAY ONE featuring Red Wanting Blue

Friday, Jun. 14 | 5:00pm ET (4:00pm CT)

The Acorn Music Festival celebrates the music and artistry rooted in the traditions of American music. DAY ONE of The Acorn Music Festival features indie rock band Red Wanting Blue.

Friday’s first show starts at 5pm ET, with multiple performances leading up to Red Wanting Blue’s headlining show. Additional performances include Chicago Farmer & The Fieldnotes, Abbie Thomas & The Crazy Hearts, Christina Eltrevoog and Reilly Downes.

5:00 Abbie Thomas & The Crazy Hearts
6:15 Christina Eltrevoog (*)
7:00 Chicago Farmer & The Fieldnotes
8:30 Reilly Downes (*)
9:15 Red Wanting Blue

(*) performance in our outdoor space

Tickets are on sale now!

Day 1 ONLY

3-Day Passes available!

Sponsors:

About the Artists:

Red Wanting Blue

The music industry is a destructive animal where even the fittest isn’t guaranteed unscathed survival. That means indie rock band Red Wanting Blue is rare indeed. Take melodic heartland rock ‘n’ roll sprinkled with dashes of down-home Americana and dip it in the modern, metropolitan rock world. Then add muscle, from a robust rhythm section to the full-throttle vocals of frontman Scott Terry. The results are truly a music industry story worth telling.

Red Wanting Blue, formed in 1996 in Athens, Ohio, is comprised of Scott Terry on lead vocals, tenor guitar, and ukulele; Mark McCullough on bass, chapman stick, and vocals; Greg Rahm on guitar, keyboards, and vocals; Eric Hall on guitar, lap steel, and vocals; and Dean Anshutz on drums and percussion. Together the five musicians have forged a creative path that grows and expands with each successive recording.

By gradually morphing from self-sufficient, independent outfit to skirting the mainstream without losing underground cred, Red Wanting Blue earned the right to enjoy the benefits of longevity. The band’s music followed suit. Take melodic heartland rock ‘n’ roll sprinkled with dashes of down-home Americana and dip it in the modern, metropolitan rock world. Then add muscle, from a robust rhythm section to the full-throttle vocals of frontman Scott Terry. The results are truly a music industry story worth telling. Learn more

Chicago Farmer & The Fieldnotes

The son of a small town farming community, Cody Diekhoff logged plenty of highway and stage time under the name Chicago Farmer before settling in the city in 2003. Profoundly inspired by fellow midwesterner John Prine, he’s a working-class folk musician to his core. Learn more 

Abbie Thomas & The Crazy Hearts

Fresh off of her 2023 JMA Artist of the Year award at The Grand Ole Opry, Abbie Thomas is a rising singer songwriter who is gaining international attention and nominations for live performances, lyricism and visual content. Learn more

Christina Eltrevoog

Christina Eltrevoog was born in the last decade of the twentieth century, near the confluence of the Fox and Illinois Rivers. The seeds of spiritual songs, folk, and classical music planted in her early years have grown to feed the souls of listeners throughout the US. Learn more 

Reilly Downes

An Americana artist hailing from the Texas Hill country, Reilly cut her teeth as a session musician in Nashville, singing behind some of Americana’s favorite singer/songwriters. Learn more

The Acorn Music Festival takes place at The Acorn theater, 107 Generations Drive in Three Oaks, Michigan.

Marrakesh Express: Crosby, Stills, & Nash — Their Debut Album

Saturday, May. 04 | 8:00pm ET (7:00pm CT)

Marrakesh Express, "the" premier midwest Crosby Stills Nash and Young tribute, returns to The Acorn to perform the self-titled debut album of Crosby, Stills, & Nash all the way through, track by track...followed by a set of additional music.

About the Artists:

There are hundreds, if not thousands of tribute bands performing the music of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, U2, and other monsters of rock. But Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young? Next to none.

A band dedicated to tributing CSNY is unheard of due to the difficulty in replicating the 3- and 4-part vocal harmonies that made the group international superstars. Marrakesh Express excels at reproducing CSNY's complex songs and cascading, layered harmonies, and takes the audience back to the late 1960s with energetic musicians who bring an authentic hippie vibe and visuals to the stage.

CSNY was arguably the biggest band in the world after the demise of the Beatles, and is one of the most enduring and influential musical groups of all time. The band, born in the turbulent years of the late 1960s, released hit after hit that spoke directly for their generation. Their songs remain in heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations to this day.

Marrakesh Express upholds the integrity of that music with their vivid and realistic performance of CSNY’s most recognizable songs. Featuring four harmonizing vocalists backed by a top-flight band, they deliver a unique and energetic concert performing the classic CSNY hits, deep cuts, and fan favorites.

Marrakesh Express has played to literally tens of thousands of appreciative fans, including headlining a Woodstock 40th Anniversary Tribute Concert. The music of CSNY has stood the test of time and fans of the classic rockers, as well as young people who are curious about “the 60s,” are anxious to venture out to hear it represented live.

RESERVED SEATING DONATION option includes a $25 tax-deductible donation to The Acorn and guarantees you a seat with optimal sightlines. $25 Donation per ticket holder in your group.

Marrakesh Express: Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young — Deja Vu

Saturday, Nov. 09 | 8:00pm ET (7:00pm CT)

In a companion event (to 5/4/24), Marrakesh Express play Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's album Deja Vu all the way through, track by track, followed by a second set of music.

About the Artists:

There are hundreds, if not thousands of tribute bands performing the music of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, U2, and other monsters of rock. But Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young? Next to none.

A band dedicated to tributing CSNY is unheard of due to the difficulty in replicating the 3- and 4-part vocal harmonies that made the group international superstars. Marrakesh Express excels at reproducing CSNY's complex songs and cascading, layered harmonies, and takes the audience back to the late 1960s with energetic musicians who bring an authentic hippie vibe and visuals to the stage.

CSNY was arguably the biggest band in the world after the demise of the Beatles, and is one of the most enduring and influential musical groups of all time. The band, born in the turbulent years of the late 1960s, released hit after hit that spoke directly for their generation. Their songs remain in heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations to this day.

Marrakesh Express upholds the integrity of that music with their vivid and realistic performance of CSNY’s most recognizable songs. Featuring four harmonizing vocalists backed by a top-flight band, they deliver a unique and energetic concert performing the classic CSNY hits, deep cuts, and fan favorites.

Marrakesh Express has played to literally tens of thousands of appreciative fans, including headlining a Woodstock 40th Anniversary Tribute Concert. The music of CSNY has stood the test of time and fans of the classic rockers, as well as young people who are curious about “the 60s,” are anxious to venture out to hear it represented live.

RESERVED SEATING DONATION option includes a $25 tax-deductible donation to The Acorn and guarantees you a seat with optimal sightlines. $25 Donation per ticket holder in your group.

Sold Out

Matthew Sweet w/ Abe Partridge

Sunday, Apr. 07 | 7:00pm ET (6:00pm CT)

American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician Matthew Sweet comes to The Acorn!

About the Artists

Before the gold and platinum albums, before the MTV hits and critical renown, power-pop and alternative-rock pioneer Matthew Sweet was just a 13-year-old bass player sitting alone in his Nebraska bedroom, daydreaming of a life spent making music. “I was just starting to write songs and play a little guitar and I had this thought: I wonder if when I’m old and I’ve been around music a really long time, I might suddenly just be able to play lead guitar without ever properly learning how. Maybe if you just play a really long time, it just kind of comes together? And the funny thing is, it did. I’m able to.”

On Catspaw, his 15th studio album, due out January 15, 2021 on Omnivore Recordings, Matthew Sweet cranks his vintage amplifiers and steps into a role previously played by some of his generation’s most unique and incendiary lead guitarists from Richard Lloyd (Television) to Robert Quine (Lou Reed) and Ivan Julian (Richard Hell & the Voidoids). Though Catspaw is absent of his famous collaborators, their presence is felt in the mark they left on Sweet’s guitar work. His solos are audacious, confrontational, and inspired.

“I play free form,” he says. “Nothing is too labored over and that was important. It’s spontaneous. The more you can do that, the more organic it is.” He refined his style over decades of collaborating with great guitarists. “Richard’s [Lloyd] playing influenced me a lot — the ambition he has, that feeling when he just lets loose. I not only related to the approach, I related to it musically. I was also developing my ear over time. Now I can hear where I want a lead line to go.”

Catspaw is guitar-driven: 12 songs, lean and consistent, direct, and notably darker than Sweet’s recent song-cycles. Apparent in tracks like “Best of Me” and album-opener “Blown Away,” the inner-turmoil harkens back to the angst of 1993’s Altered Beast. But where Beast was the self-interrogation of an artist in his mid-20s, Catspaw is the confessions of a career artist, mature and assured in his craft and achingly transparent in his confrontations of aging and the search for meaning. “I’m trying to get my head around getting older, I want to let go, I want to tell the ugly truth … I want to do all kinds of different things in my head and they really popped out in these songs.”

In true Sweet fashion, Catspaw’s mischievous title was born from equal parts grappling with his own mortality and some television obscura from his childhood. “I learned the term from a 1967 Star Trek episode I adored as a kid. (The storyline features a gigantic feline villain). “Recently I heard “catspaw” again and started looking up definitions. I really connected to the idea of the certain and deadly inevitable — the pounce. Don’t ever forget life is totally cruel and the catspaw is already coming down on you.”

But despair is not the conclusion of Catspaw; one song, “Challenge the Gods” urges quite the opposite. “That song is about defiance. I’m saying, ‘to hell with fate and gods and things like that.’ Like Dylan Thomas said, ‘Rage against the dying of the light.’” Bolstered by a layer of chugging rhythm guitars, this pick-me-up anthem is his “I Won’t Back Down” — “Rise above, take your place / Punch the world in the face,” he sings.

Catspaw was finished just before COVID-19 struck, but tonally it feels right on time. “It really feels like the fruit of the pandemic,” says the artist. This is at least partially due to how it was written and recorded: aside from excellent drumming by longtime collaborator Ric Menck (Velvet Crush), this is Matthew Sweet’s first entirely solo effort. Sweet handles all of it: recording, mixing, Höfner bass, electric guitars, and Pet Sounds-like background vocals. Catspaw was recorded in his beloved home studio, Black Squirrel Submarine (named in part for the dark wooden interior). Prefiguring the quarantine and social distancing era, Sweet has created something whole and beautiful within the confines of isolation. It’s a testament to the potency of art-making in solitude.

“For me, being an artist is ultimately a solitary thing,” he allows. “I’ve taken comfort in that as I’ve grown older. Success and people come and go in life, but I know I will always be making music and that it continues to be fun and intriguing — that mystery of discovering what a song is going to become.” Catspaw is the latest product of a remarkably fertile period that began when Matthew and his wife returned to his native Nebraska in 2013 after two decades of living and working in the Hollywood Hills.

While recent efforts Tomorrow Forever (2017) and Tomorrow’s Daughter (2018) derive their strength from a diversity of textures and moods, Catspaw strikes with a uniformity of intent and focus. The soft, natural psychedelia of “Drifting” and “Hold on Tight” provide subtle shifts in landscape, while the longing of “Come Home” once again reiterates Sweet’s uncanny ability to capture the wavelike motion of heartache. Overall, these songs create a pleasing sensation of a prolonged, happy blur. The effect is reminiscent of Cheap Trick’s debut LP or Big Star’s Radio City, products of a bygone era of record-making when long-form flow and coherence — the exact amount of time it took to share a joint with a friend or build up the courage for that first kiss — were essential to a successful album.

It was this quality that found Catspaw a home on Omnivore Recordings. “They loved the wholeness of it,” says Matthew. “They understood it and for that reason I was really excited to give it to them.” Catspaw was mastered by industry legend Bob Ludwig.

Matthew Sweet’s journey began with a move to Athens, Ga. in the early 1980s at the urging of his pen pal, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. As a student at University of Georgia, he was immersed in the college town’s burgeoning alternative rock scene, playing in pioneering acts like Oh-OK and the Buzz of Delight. At 20, he left Georgia for New York City and a major deal with Columbia, where he released his debut solo album, Inside, in 1986. Earth, his 1989 follow-up on A&M, showcased a songwriter with extraordinary pop sensibility on the cusp of something greater. A year later, amid the smoldering ashes of heartbreak and divorce and an escape from New York to the outskirts of Princeton, New Jersey, Sweet composed the songs that became 1991’s Girlfriend, lighting the fuse for the creative triumph and commercial breakthrough that his longtime supporters in the industry knew to be inevitable. “When you’re young, you feel it differently. It’s life or death. I remember it so clearly.” Singles “Girlfriend” and “I’ve Been Waiting,” paired with their Japanese anime-laced music videos (a novelty to the American market at the time), won Sweet a lifelong international following. Altered Beast (1993) continued the hot streak with singles “Ugly Truth” and “Time Capsule,” while 1995’s 100% Fun single “Sick of Myself” reached #2 on rock radio, breaking him even wider.

Sweet continued to evolve over a string of well-received albums in the early 2000s. In 2006, he joined forces with Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs to record a series of covers from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, Under the Covers, Vol. 1–3. Sweet’s music has appeared in numerous films, television shows, and games, including Austin Powers, Guitar Hero II, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Simpsons, and Scooby-Doo, among many others. Sweet was a lead consultant on Tim Burton’s Margaret Keane biopic Big Eyes in 2014.

And he’s still checking accomplishments off the list — Catspaw is the latest. “I realized after I’d finished the record that I had made it just after turning 55 and that was coincidentally the exact age I fantasized I would be all those years ago when I was hoping someday I’d be able to play lead guitar on my own album.”

Abe Partridge

Abe Partridge is a heralded musician, singer/songwriter, visual artist, and podcaster based in Mobile, Alabama. His 2018 debut, Cotton Fields and Blood For Days earned him rave reviews, with Tony Paris saying in The Bitter Southerner: "He plays guitar the same way he writes lyrics, bashing the strings with abandon until they are just about to come loose, then beautifully picking the notes until every last word falls into place. More to the point, Partridge writes to make you sit up and think. He wants to jar your reality. Sometimes, his lyrics are sly and subtle. Sometimes they come at you with a roar and thunder, as if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were approaching, and the heavens were opening up to herald a warning."

Since the release of his debut, Partridge has toured relentlessly, including several tours of the Netherlands and the U.K. developing a reputation for moving, passionate, and sometimes comedic performances at prestigious songwriter festivals such as 30A Songwriters Festival, Frank Brown Songwriters Festival, and Americanafest. He is a regular at the Bluebird Café in Nashville and Eddie’s Attic in Decatur. He has performed on the syndicated radio programs, Mountain Stage and Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour. He has shared the stage with Morgan Wade, Paul Thorn, Steve Poltz, Dan Bern, Jerry Joseph, Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sprocket), Tommy Stinson, Shawn Mullins, John Fullbright, and more.

RESERVED SEATING DONATION option includes a $25 tax-deductible donation to The Acorn and guarantees you a seat with optimal sightlines. $25 Donation per ticket holder in your group.

The Acorn is hosting a Community Book Drive in celebration of the life and legacy of Dolly Parton! Bring a book to The Acorn throughout the month of April and receive a Dolly Parton themed gift. Bring a book to The Acorn the night of The Music of Dolly Parton on April 27 for $3 off our specialty drink for the night - the Wine to 5! Books should be new and chosen for children of any age - infants through teens! Books will be distributed to River Valley Schools.

Art Attack Launch Party: Faces of Harbor Country

Thursday, Apr. 25 | 7:00pm ET (6:00pm CT)

The Acorn celebrates the kickoff of Art Attack Weekend in Harbor Country with a unique art event featuring live portrait creation with notable Harbor Country models, appetizers, cash bar, and live music with Patti Shaffner and Buddy Pearson.

Five Harbor Country Influencers, if you will, will be sitting for portraits that will come to life before your eyes during this live portrait session held as part of the Launch Party for Art Attack Weekend! Allen and Lynn Turner, Suzanna Bierwirth, Zach Hackett, Bridget Verdun and Laura Jolly each touch our community through the work they do and the energy they bring to the region. Watch as talented artists David Baker, Eric Bradford, Lea Bult, Jessica Hightower and Zech Ray capture the spirit of these notable models. 

Portraits will be available for purchase through silent auction. Proceeds of these art sales will be shared equally between the artists and Art Attack.

You might even choose to sit for a quick sketch portrait of your own with guest caricaturist Kenjji. Your caricature experience is included in your ticket price, along with the fabulous food at this artistic social event!

Come celebrate the biggest art weekend of the year in Harbor Country, and commemorate the 30th year of Art Attack!

Seating is limited.

About the Artists:

Patti Shaffner
Patti Shaffner performs a wide variety of musical styles including Folk, Blues, Jazz, Theater and Improvisational Singing with ease. As a seasoned performer, she is dynamic and engaging on stage. Her music is thought provoking and reaches out to the heart of our longing for connection with love and hope. She puts her heart and soul into whatever she sings.

Buddy Pearson
Hailing from a very musically supportive family, Buddy Pearson was given his first upright bass at age 9 and in one way or another, has never looked back. Soon after schooling, Buddy immersed in the local and Chicago jazz scene and continues to share the stage with heavy hitter players to this day.

David Baker
David Baker is a visual artist who specializes in poetic landscape painting, much of it done en plein air. His studio pieces are often reinterpretations of paintings done outdoors. His principal media are watercolor, oil, and charcoal. David is a lifelong artist/teacher. He recently retired as art professor Emeritus from Southwestern Michigan College. He still teaches a bit at Ox-Bow School of Art and at the Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, Michigan.

Eric Bradford
Eric Bradford has always kept a special place for portrait painting as he’s come through many phases of art and life, that include realism to cartooning, murals to digital media, philosophical to reason, all in any number of social, political, or work environments, and, amidst the great technology revolution. At this stage, Eric’s style seems to find a comfort and balance between all those mediums, phases and ideas to develop a versatility that he applies as a working artist.

Lea Bult
Lea Bult received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kendall College of Art and Design and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. She has worked with numerous arts organizations including Gallery Project - Detroit, the Ann Arbor Art Center, and the Greatmore Studios in Cape Town, South Africa. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, and has been the recipient of several awards including a MacDowell Fellowship. Lea was an art teacher at SMC and the Krasl Art Center for many years, and currently works as a designer for Colson Group.

Jessica Hightower
Jessica Hightower, the vibrant artist from Benton Harbor, MI, who's making waves with her vibrant and captivating portraits! With a passion for celebrating the beauty and diversity of people of color, Jessica's artwork is all about making a statement. Inspired by everything from African textiles to comic books, her paintings burst with energy and personality. But what really sets Jessica apart is her knack for playing with colors in a way that grabs your attention and pulls you into the story behind each face. Through every brushstroke and expression, she's inviting you to join in the conversation, to see yourself reflected in her art, and maybe even discover something new about yourself along the way.

Zech Ray
Zech Ray is a realist artist living in Southwest Michigan. Zech works in oils and watercolors, primarily focused on his life experiences and the people and places around which he lives. His work is executed in a primarily impressionistic and brushwork-forward style that he hopes challenges the viewer to see both the subject and the brushwork simultaneously. In the past, Zech has been featured in Southwest Art Magazine’s ‘21 Under 31’ issue in September 2018. He also placed 1st in the watercolor category of the Box Factory for the Arts 2021 MAAC show.

Kenjji
Kenjji is an award-winning artist who has created comics and caricatures independently for more than 20 years. His illustrations have appeared in the New York Times, Orlando Wired magazine, and other publications. As a freelance artist he has a client list that includes MTV, Absolut Vodka, The Detroit Lions, and Michigan National Bank.

About Our Models:

Allen and Lynn Turner
Lynn Turner is an active volunteer focusing on socially important causes. She has served on the Boards of Directors of the Aids Foundation of Chicago, and Child Abuse Prevention Services and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Metropolitan Family Services. Lynn was a member of the Board of Directors of Hubbard Street Dance and Facets Multimedia. In addition, she has served on the Women’s Board of the Goodman Theater and is currently a member of the Women's Board of the University of Chicago. Allen Turner is a Three Oaks resident and the former Board Chair at The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Goodman Theatre and Columbia College. He is also a playwright, musician and author of the Three Oaks sesquicentennial play, Three Oaks Against The World.

Suzanna Bierwirth
Suzanna Bierwirth is the owner of Goods & Heroes, a lifestyle store in Three Oaks. She grew up in Germany, is a photographer and designer by training and spent years working as a Creative Director in the Advertising and Marketing Industry living in Chicago, Detroit, LA and NYC. Today she calls Three Oaks her home, where she lives with her partner, her cats and her poodle. 

Zach Hackett
Zach Hackett is the owner of the Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI. Originally from Florida, Zach and his wife Christina, along with their two children, now consider Harbor Country to be home. As a family, they are proud to continue the tradition of bringing film, music and art to the community. 

 

Bridget Verdun
Raised by a professional clown/performance artist mother and a blue collar, city of Chicago pipefitting father Bridget learned both to juggle and to fix things at an early age which has served her well. Having come from hardworking and highly creative roots, Bridget developed an unwavering desire to succeed at all that she set out to do. People energize her so it’s not surprising that Bridget’s work centers around creating meaningful connections. Whether that’s been her work professionally in staffing and search, through her art gallery in Three Oaks where she connected buyers with artists for 15 years, or through Occasionally Speaking, her line of greeting cards that have connected more than 750,000 people by sending words of encouragement, comfort, inspiration, and joy, Bridget is a connector at heart.

Laura Jolly
Laura Jolly represents the 100+ faces of The Acorn's volunteers and board members who generously give their time and talents to our special theater here in Three Oaks. Having moved to Southwest Michigan just seven years ago, both Laura and her husband Fred have been unwavering in their enthusiasm for Community and The Arts here in Harbor Country. Their dedication and commitment to the growth and future of The Acorn is celebrated.

RESERVED SEATING DONATION option includes a $25 tax-deductible donation to The Acorn and guarantees you a seat with optimal sightlines. $25 Donation per ticket holder in your group.

The Acorn is hosting a Community Book Drive in celebration of the life and legacy of Dolly Parton! Bring a book to The Acorn throughout the month of April and receive a Dolly Parton themed gift. Bring a book to The Acorn the night of The Music of Dolly Parton on April 27 for $3 off our specialty drink for the night - the Wine to 5! Books should be new and chosen for children of any age - infants through teens! Books will be distributed to River Valley Schools.

Frontier Ruckus

Friday, Mar. 29 | 8:00pm ET (7:00pm CT)

Roots-based band Frontier Ruckus performs at The Acorn on the heels of their latest album release On the Northline.

About the Artists

Since the release of their 2008 debut album, the songs of Frontier Ruckus have delivered a singularly detailed representation of the glorious yet grim minutiae of Midwestern life. Songwriter Matthew Milia’s obsessively crafted lyrical world is given color by David Jones’ spidery banjo and Zachary Nichols’ seemingly endless array of instruments ranging from obscure marching horns to melodica and musical saw. From stages at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo to the intimate living rooms of fans, this magnetic chemistry helped Frontier Ruckus garner a dedicated following across the United States and Europe. In 2017 the band released their 5th LP, Enter the Kingdom—co-produced by founding Wilco drummer, Ken Coomer. The record’s complex rhyme schemes and winsome charm were praised by legendary rock critic Robert Christgau. After taking a hiatus, the band will now release their 6th album (On the Northline) in February—promising more of the magic that led AllMusic to deem Frontier Ruckus “one of the best things to come out of Michigan since Faygo Redpop.”

RESERVED SEATING DONATION option includes a $25 tax-deductible donation to The Acorn and guarantees you a seat with optimal sightlines. $25 Donation per ticket holder in your group.