Kristi Kates | Author

FourScore

Dec. 31, 2016

The Wild Feathers — “Live at The Ryman” — Warner Bros.

The Wild Feathers’ first live album was recorded at the famed Ryman Auditorium, the original permanent home of the Grand Ole Opry and a venue that’s soaked in a deep musical h… Read More >>

Blissfest’s off-season more about giving back

Dec. 31, 2016

As part of its mission as a nonprofit to provide cultural enrichment for the community, the Blissfest organization — best known for staging the massive Blissfest Folk and Roots Music Festival in Bliss every summer — continues its work in the off-season to keep adding layers to t… Read More >>

Amical’s cookbook series going strong after 20 years

Dec. 31, 2016

Back in the late ’90s, downtown Traverse City’s Amical had been open for a couple of years when owner/operator Dave Denison decided the restaurant should do something different in the evenings to drum up business during the slower times of the year.

“I’d work… Read More >>

Detroit’s Motown Museum expands

Dec. 17, 2016

The Motown Museum is an icon of Detroit’s music scene and a major tourist attraction, with its “Hitsville U.S.A.” facade and memorabilia from the golden age of the Motor City’s record industry. And now it’s about to get even groovier with a $50… Read More >>

FourScore

Dec. 17, 2016

Pentatonix — “A Pentatonix Christmas” — RCA

Pentatonix's brand of a cappella pop is not just distinctive, but also remarkably successful, having sent the quintet from “The Sing-Off” and YouTube to the big time. The group’s s… Read More >>

5 New Year’s celebrations Up North

Dec. 17, 2016

Indoors or outdoors, rustic or elegant, northern Michigan has plenty of options for your New Year’s Eve celebration. Here are highlights of the five biggest parties happening around the region to welcome in 2017.

1. Aerie New Year’s Eve Dance Party, Acme… Read More >>

5 ice festivals bring chills, thrills

Dec. 17, 2016

Can’t get enough of those glimmering, shimmering, gravity-defying works of art carved from giant blocks of ice? Happiest when you’re either climbing a sheer cliff of the stuff or gliding around it on thin blades attached to your feet? Think chili and soup taste best when consume… Read More >>

Organist shows off his range at Music House

Dec. 17, 2016

Dave Calendine leads a double life.

By day, he works in the operations department of Olympia Entertainment in downtown Detroit. By night (and, well, sometimes during the day too), he’s the resident organist and organ curator for Detroit’s 5,100-seat Fox Theater, the orga… Read More >>

The season’s best holiday TV shows

Dec. 17, 2016

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the season, it’s good to take a break now and then with a cup of hot cocoa and something festive on the TV to restore your holiday spirit. But with every channel airing its own version of "The Big Holiday Special™," how do you dig out those th… Read More >>

Boyne City Tap Room completes trio of brewpubs

Dec. 17, 2016

First the Bridge Street Tap Room arrived in Charlevoix in 2015. Then, a second brewpub, Lake Charlevoix Brewing Company, popped up down the street, near the Beaver Island Ferry. Now, the Boyne City Tap Room is making the scene, the third in a trio of microbrew hangout spots launched by owne… Read More >>

Bottoms Up: Grinch hot cocoa

Dec. 17, 2016

This week’s Bottoms Up is a little different in that it’s one you can actually make yourself, thanks to the direction of the festive folks at Grandpa Shorter’s in Petoskey.

Holiday favorite The Grinch is the Dr. Seuss character who’s opposed to all things Chr… Read More >>

5 mouthwatering holiday sweets

Dec. 17, 2016

Sweets to the sweet, so the saying goes. We aren’t referring to the quote from Hamlet’s mother (thank goodness), but the way sugary goodness fits right into the holiday season, whether as a gift, a special dessert, or a treat for yourself while wrapping up your Christmas shoppin… Read More >>

Detroit to welcome McMahon in March

Dec. 10, 2016

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness has a new album on the way on Feb. 10, “Zombies on Broadway,” which has been prefaced by the set’s first single, “Brooklyn, You’re Killing Me.” McMahon already hit the road earlier this fall in advance pro… Read More >>

FourScore

Dec. 10, 2016

Childish Gambino – “Awaken, My Love!” – Glassnote

Donald Glover (stage name: Childish Gambino) offers a genre of hip-hop that’s evolved into something a shade or two different from anything you’ve heard before in that his infusion… Read More >>

Writer Jerry Dennis hooked on natural wonders

Dec. 10, 2016

Jerry Dennis was born in Flint and moved to Traverse City at the age of 5 when his parents returned to their original hometown. After college, he too gravitated back to the Grand Traverse region, saying he only wanted to write and could think of no better place to do so than northern Michig… Read More >>

Holiday book picks by local authors

Dec. 10, 2016

Books are always a welcome holiday gift. With such a wide range of subject matter available, you can find something for pretty much everyone on your list.

So what do authors buy when choosing gift books? The Express spoke to three talented local scribes to find out what their gift p… Read More >>

Winter plans, programs at Dennos, CTAC

Dec. 10, 2016

The Dennos Museum in Traverse City

The Dennos has been quiet as far as structural changes for the past year or so, resting up in anticipation of its upcoming expansion that will be happening over winter 2017. The expansion will include more space for the Inuit art c… Read More >>

Orchestras prepare sounds of winter

Dec. 10, 2016

The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra

Winter is a busy season for the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra. From its headquarters on Lake Street in Petoskey, the orchestra is kicking off the holiday season with its “Messiah Plus One” program on Dec. 15 and 16 at th… Read More >>

Mackinac Island residents bond over tourist-free Christmas

Dec. 10, 2016

The fudge shops are quiet, the streets are even more so. Instead of tourists in shorts and flip-flops, snow devils whirl across the empty beaches. This is the subdued, and much colder, version of Mackinac Island. It’s a place most tourists never see, and a place where Christmas commun… Read More >>

FourScore

Dec. 1, 2016

Johann Johannsson — “Arrival Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” — DG


“Arrival” isn’t the predictable sci-fi action blockbuster that many expected (it’s something even better), and its score exceeds the typical as wel… Read More >>