The Michigan Theater is proud to present this ongoing series of special concerts featuring the true giants of rock & roll and related genres. Prior seasons have included such artists as Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Stephen Stills, Brian Wilson, B.B. King, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Joe Jackson, Todd Rundgren and many more.

Members of the theater's Backstage Club receive prime seating to these concerts along with pre-show dinners and dessert receptions during intermission. Please email Lee Berry at lberry@michtheater.org for more information about this exciting program.

Ian Anderson, known throughout the world of rock music as the flute and voice behind the legendary Jethro Tull, celebrated his 40th year as a recording and performing musician in 2008. Widely recognized as the man who introduced the flute to rock music, Ian Anderson remains the crowned exponent of the popular and rock genres of flute playing. So far, no pretender to the throne has stepped forward. Ian also plays ethnic flutes and whistles together with acoustic guitar and the mandolin family of instruments, providing the acoustic textures which are an integral part of most of the Jethro Tull repertoire. Anderson has so far recorded four diverse solo albums in his career: 1983's "Walk Into Light", the flute instrumental "Divinities" album for EMI's Classical Music Division in 1995 which reached number one in the relevant Billboard chart, and the more recently recorded acoustic collections of songs, "The Secret Language of Birds", and “Rupi’s Dance”.

Presented by Live Nation

Official Jethro Tull Website

Dave Mason is one of classic rock’s most underrated artists. The versatile singer, composer, and guitarist co-founded the seminal jazz/jam rock group Traffic in 1967 and proceeded to contribute some of the band’s biggest songs, including “Feelin’ Alright,” “Shouldn’t Have Took More than You Gave,” and “You Can All Join In.” His solo career has included collaborations with Mama Cass Elliott, Delaney & Bonnie and Derek & the Dominos, and has included songs like “Only You Know and I Know,” World in Changes” and many more. In 2004, Dave Mason was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic with bandmates Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and (posthumously) Chris Wood.

Leon Russell has been described by artists from Elvis Costello to Elton John as one of rock's most influential forces: a veritable musician's musician who has repeatedly demonstrated his abilities as an outstanding songwriter, performer and producer. With his unique singing style and keyboard wizardry, his career includes such gems as “Delta Lady,” “This Masquerade,” “Song for You” and “Tight Rope.” He was recruited by George Harrison for the Concert for Bangla Desh in 1971 and his “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” medley was among the highlights of that legendary event.

Presented by The Ark.

Dave Mason's website
Leon Russell's website

Mark Knopfler with special guest Pieta Brown

A four-time Grammy winner, Mark Knopfler has sold 118 million albums as a solo artist and as the front man of the legendary Eighties' band Dire Straits. Famous for his scorching guitar in concert, Mark Knopfler plays solo favorites from albums such as the top twenty "All the Road Running" as well as Dire Straits classics like "Money for Nothing."

Presented by Live Nation.

Mark Knopfler's website

Ray Davies with special guests The 88

Called rock's most "witty and insightful songwriter" when inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Kinks, the legendary Ray Davies is the man behind the classics "You Really Got Me" and "Lola." Now an acclaimed solo artist, Ray Davies plays solo favorites as well as a healthy dose of Kinks' classics during his unforgettable concerts.

Presented by Live Nation.

Ray Davies' website

Throughout their long careers as both solo performers and as members of the group that bore their family name, the Neville Brothers proudly carried the torch of their native New Orleans' rich R&B legacy. Although the four siblings -- Arthur, Charles, Aaron, and Cyril -- did not officially unite under the Neville Brothers aegis until 1977, all had crossed musical paths in the past, while also enjoying success with other unrelated projects

Dr. John is universally celebrated as the living embodiment of the rich musical heritage exclusive to New Orleans. His very colorful musical career began in the 1950s when he wrote and played guitar on some of the greatest records to come out of the Crescent City, including recordings by Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Joe Tex and Frankie Ford. Dr. John garnered Grammy award wins in 1989, 1992, 1996 and 2000.

Presented by WEMU and The Ark.

Born in 1940 in Chicago, most of Mavis Staples' career has been as lead singer for the Staple Singers. She first recorded solo for Stax subsidiary Volt in 1969. Subsequent efforts included a Curtis Mayfield-produced soundtrack on Curtom, a disappointing nod to disco for Warner in 1979, a misguided stab at electro-pop with Holland-Dozier-Holland in 1984, and an uneven album for Paisley Park. Staples has a rich contralto voice that has neither the range of Aretha Franklin nor the power of Patti LaBelle. Her otherworldly power comes instead from a masterful command of phrasing and a deep-seated sensuality expressed through timbre manipulation. Both the Staple Singers and Mavis found fresh audiences stemming from their participation on the CD Rhythm Country and Blues, and in 1996 she issued Spirituals & Gospel: Dedicated to Mahalia Jackson. Her next recording project didn't land for another eight years, although Have a Little Faith on Alligator became her highest-profile release in years. We'll Never Turn Back appeared three years later in 2007.

Presented by Avalon Housing.

With almost 40 years of recording and touring experience behind them, renowned horn-driven funk outfit Tower of Power melds jazz, funk, rock and soul in a way no group ever has. Well known in the 70s for tunes such as "You're Still a Young Man," "What is Hip?" and "Don't Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)," Tower of Power is experiencing a renaissance, touring most of every year and packing venues around the world with its audience of new and old fans. Over the past few years Tower of Power has added new members and a fresh outlook, but the band has always remained true to itself and to its soul music roots, never failing to please audiences. As a reviewer from the Fort Worth Star Telegram recently wrote, "If you see someone sitting still at a Tower of Power concert, don't bother checking their pulse -- they're already dead!"

Cold Blood's funky hybrid of soul and rock possesses in Lydia Pense a voice reminiscent of Janis Joplin, who personally recommended them to rock impresario Bill Graham, leading to their record deal on Graham's San Francisco label. They released a number of outstanding albums, including their self-titled debut, "Sisyphus" and "First Taste of Sin." They disbanded in the mid-70s but reformed in the late 90s. Sounding better than ever, they have re-established themselves as a top draw in the Bay Area.



Tower of Power at All Media Guide
Cold Blood at All Media Guide
Cold Blood Site

Presented by Live Nation.

Over nearly 30 years, pop-punk luminary and raucous frontwoman Chrissie Hynde's tried and true dedication to music's creation has kept her perennially underappreciated Pretenders alive and able to turn out multi-faceted new wave sonic stylings. After releasing this year's triumphant return to form, Break Up the Concrete, Hynde and her Pretenders are ready to embark on their first headlining tour in six years.

The Pretenders at All Media Guide

Presented by Live Nation.

Brian Wilson is one of popular music's most deeply revered figures, the main creative force behind some of the most cherished recordings in rock history. From his groundbreaking work with the Beach Boys to his critically-acclaimed solo albums, it is no exaggeration to call Brian Wilson one of the most influential composers of the last century.

Brian Wilson at All Media Guide

Presented by Live Nation.

Best known for his groundbreaking tenure fronting the new wave group Talking Heads, David Byrne's solo work was no less adventurous, encroaching upon such diverse media as world music, filmmaking, and performance art. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is the title of the upcoming second album made in collaboration between David Byrne and Brian Eno, scheduled to be released on August 18, 2008 through the official album website. It is the first collaboration between the two since 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and Eno's work producing Talking Heads. The concert will feature David Byrne playing songs from the new album as well as music from their previous collaborations.

David Byrne at All Media Guide

Presented by Live Nation.

John Sebastian and Roger McGuinn, best known for the influential bands they played with in the 1960s, will perform together as part of our Legends of Rock & Roll series. John Sebastian has had a varied career as a singer, songwriter, and musician. As the leader of the folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful, he was responsible for a string of Top Ten hits in 1965-1967 that included the chart-toppers "Daydream" and "Summer in the City," and he returned to number one in 1976 as a solo artist with "Welcome Back." The Lovin' Spoonful was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. As the frontman of the Byrds, Roger McGuinn and his trademark 12-string Rickenbacker guitar pioneered folk-rock and, by extension, country-rock, influencing everyone from contemporaries like the Beatles to acolytes like Tom Petty and R.E.M. in the process. With a career that includes hits like “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Turn, Turn, Turn,” and “Eight Miles High,” it's easy to see why the Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

John Sebastian at All Media Guide
Roger McGuinn at All Media Guide

Presented by The Ark.

An American original; WAR was the first and most successful musical crossover phenomenon that forever fused rock, jazz, Latin, and R&B, while transcending racial and cultural barriers with a multi- ethnic line-up; a musical melting pot and an enduring influence that has sold over 50 million records to date. Hits include "Low Rider," "Spill the Wine," "The Cisco Kid," "Why Can't We Be Friends" and "Slippin' Into Darkness." Today, WAR is a permanent part of America's pop cultural landscape. A touring act that performs 150 shows a year and whose catalog of timeless hits permeate our everyday lives.

WAR at All Media Guide

Presented by Live Nation.

Born in 1945 in Hamtramck, Mitch Ryder has made more than two dozen albums and given upward of 8,000 performances. Some of his earliest gigs were in Greenwich Village clubs, singing with a black trio in the early days of the civil rights movement, jamming with Jimi Hendrix, and attending private parties thrown by the Beatles. Who can forget Mitch’s tear-the-place-down versions of “Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly” and “Jenny Take a Ride” or his immortal cover of Lou Reed’s “Rock & Roll,” that Reed has called the “definitive version?” Powerful vocals and memorable live appearances have been his trademark for 47 years in the music business.

The performance will celebrate Ryder’s long career and the release of a new biography, "It Was All Right: Mitch Ryder’s Life in Music," by Detroit area author and reporter James A. Mitchell, to be published in April by WSU Press. In place of an opening act, Mitch Ryder will be interviewed live on stage by noted rock journalist Gary Graff. Books will be available for sale the night of the show or in advance by calling WSU Press (800-978-7323) or online at wsupress.wayne.edu.

Mitch Ryder at All Media Guide

Presented by Live Nation.

Punk rock's poet laureate, Patti Smith ranks among the most influential female rock & rollers of all time. Ambitious, unconventional, and challenging, Smith's music is hailed as the most exciting fusion of rock and poetry since Bob Dylan's heyday. If that hybrid remained distinctly non-commercial, it isn't a statement against accessibility so much as the simple fact that Smith follows her own muse wherever it takes her - from structured rock songs to free-form experimentalism. She is a powerful concert presence, singing and chanting her lyrics in an untrained but expressive voice, whirling around the stage like an ecstatic shaman delivering incantations.

Smith is an icon to generations of female rockers. She never relied on sex appeal for her success - she is unabashedly intellectual and creatively uncompromising, and her appearance is lean, hard, and androgynous. She also never makes an issue of her gender, calling attention to herself as an artist, not a woman; she simply dresses and performs in the spirit of her aggressive, male rock role models, as if no alternative had ever occurred to her. In the process, she obliterates the expectations of what is possible for women in rock, and stretches the boundaries of how artists of any gender can express themselves. (Description by Steve Huey, All Media Guide)

Patti Smith at All Media Guide

Presented by Live Nation.

Little Richard is a true musical pioneer, whose significance remains nearly unrivaled. When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1986, he was honored as one of the elite charter group of inductees, along with Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

These are the crème de la crème, the very architects of the music.

More than any performer other than Elvis, Little Richard blew the lid off the 50s, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll. He released a stunning succession of records in the late 50s, including such classics as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Good Golly, Miss Molly” “Rip It Up,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Lucille,” “Jenny Jenny,” "Kansas City" and “Keep a Knockin'."

His influence can be clearly witnessed in a wide variety of artists ever since, from the Beatles (Paul McCartney in particular) and the Rolling Stones to James Brown and later, Elton John and Prince. It was James Brown who credited him with first putting the funk in the rock and roll beat.

Little Richard remains an active performer and icon - and an inimitable reminder of the joyful frenzy that galvanized rock and roll into being almost fifty years ago.

Little Richard at All Media Guide

Presented by Live Nation.