Raised between the homes of a Detroit School Teacher and an Upper Peninsula Outdoorsman, Joshua Davis is the product of both city and country. An early interest in songwriting, country blues and finger-style guitarists pave the way for his original material, which is a seamless union of new and old. After six years and three albums as the primary songwriter and vocalist of the Michigan quartet Steppin’In It, Davis tracked his first solo record Fool Rooster in the winter of 2005. The album is a collection of original compositions, many with longtime collaborator and lyricist Aaron Allen. Recorded entirely live and in a few short days, the songs are placed in a modest setting with little attention to detail, leaving listeners convinced they were written about their own lives.

More about Josh from Earthwork Music and myspace.com/foolrooster.

photo by Patrick Power.

An earthy Michigan duo with roots in indie, classical and traditional music, breathe owl breathe has cultivated a musical landscape that is at once playful and reverent, silly and heartfelt, mysterious and familiar.

Micah Middaugh and Andrea Moreno-Beals experiment with an array of stringed instruments (most notably the cello and guitar) and vocal harmonies to texture their original songs. They were raised by rivers and gardens and their instruments tell the tales. They traveled to cities and islands and their voices tell the tales. They are here for you, Breathe owl Breathe.

Music, pics, video at breatheowlbreathe.com and myspace.com/breatheowlbreathe.

Laura Bates and Brandon Foote’s sound is timeless, rootsy and lush, with soaring harmonies, piano, mandolin and guitars harkening back to the olden days with new vision. Bates and Foote look and sound like they could’ve just stepped off the stage of the Grande Old Opry, or perhaps even further back, to the dancehalls of the civil war era. Always digging deeper and moving forward.

Laura and Brandon love music and it shows as it flows through the great deal of goodness they give away at all of their performances.

Visit batesandfoote.com and myspace.com/laurabatesandbrandonfoote.

Chris Dorman, player of guitar, hammered dulcimer, and djembe, loves music. As a youngster, plunking out songs on his piano and blasting out notes through his trumpet, he discovered the beauty of melody, and started to compose. Soon he picked up the guitar, too, and discovered music as a way to express the intense, complex, and raw emotions of a Michigan teenager.

Chris also loves people. Writing and performing, hosting open mics and recording his songs, has helped him connect with “the folks”—other musicians and lovers of music. For Chris, music is a way to communicate—a way tto explore and share our deep and sometimes unnamable feelings. Becoming a father has only intensified this relationship with song, as he is determined to keep making music—doing whaat he loves–to support his family. What comes next for Chris is not always clear to him, but he is sure of one thing: he will never be alone in this journey.

More information and music at chrisdorman.com and myspace.com/chrisdorman.

The Northern Express has a great article titled Foster Kids: Forced to Grow Up Fast by Anne Stanton that explains why we’re having this concert.

May is National Foster Care Month in recognition of the 513,000 kids placed in foster care nationally due to abuse, neglect or sudden crises. Look for blue ribbons this month tied on trees—symbolizing the attempt to end child abuse. This article focuses on kids aging out of the system at the age of 18—about 20,000 kids across the country each year. A program called Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative helps them out…

The MYOI program—based in Traverse City and serving a 10-county area—is so effective that it has turned the dismal statistics upside-right. Of the 44 college-age youth who are involved, more than half are enrolled in a trade school or college.

The program has one downfall—it isn’t helping nearly the number it could. A total of 98 youth are in MYOI, a fraction of the foster kids who are aging out of the program in the 10-county area. Dedenbach is trying various strategies to pull them in, including working with other agencies that serve foster care youth.

MYOI, however, has tightly coordinated its efforts with Child and Family Services, a nonprofit that offers adoption and foster care services. It offers many support services, including an “elements” program for foster kids up to the age of 18.

There’s a whole bunch more that you can read right here and visit our home page at jamforyouth.com for details on our May 29, 2008 benefit concert!