The Post Imperial Jazz Band injects the spirit of Detroit into traditional jazz, folk, Western Swing, and the musical ephemera of Americana. Fingerpicking guitar leads clarinet, mandolin, and accordion on top of tuba, drums and vocals. From a trio to the full six-piece ensemble, PIJB is a blast from the past. 

Artists:  

Nick Schillace, guitar 

Ben Teague, mandolin 

Ben Luckett, percussion  

Jennie Knaggs, accordion and vocals 

Nichole Hartrick, clarinet, tenor saxophone, vocals 

Thomas Gilchrist, tuba 

Instagram:  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/postimperialjazzband  

Website: https://postimperialjazzband.com/  

Florella Strings is an emerging Detroit based duo. Violinist, Carla Rivers-Johnson, and cellist, Jasmine James, have come together to create and share a quintessential blended experience; fusing their extensive classical training with naturally embodied energy and soul. 

Artists:  

Jasmine James 

Carla Rivers-Johnson 

Instagram: @florellastrings  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084325290344  

Website: https://florellastrings.com/  

Jeff Karoub has lived a life of words and music. The longtime journalist and singer-songwriter grew up in a musical house: His father played French horn on Motown recordings and in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Jeff’s instruments of choice are the guitar, violin, mandolin and keyboard. His original compositions have been used in videos and podcasts for a global media organization and a major university. He has played stages across Michigan, the Midwest, and as far away as Finland at one of the Nordic region's largest folk festivals. He also performs across the Detroit area with a four-piece band called Garrison Corner. 

Garrison Corner consists of Jeff, George Luckey on guitar and vocals, Chris Doner on bass and Dan Houston on drums. They describe their sound as “Americana with Michigan and Oklahoma accents,” given the bands' roots. They met at Dearborn First United Methodist Church, where they quickly discovered their mutual interest in music. The ensemble has performed there on numerous occasions and are regulars at Christ Episcopal Church Dearborn’s summer concert series. They also have played to full houses at the Trinity House Theatre, one of the Detroit’s area’s finest listening rooms. 

Artists:  

Jeff Karoub, voice, guitar, mandolin, violin, piano/keyboard 

George Luckey, voice, guitar 

Chris Doner, bass 

Dan Houston, drums 

Instagram:  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffkaroubmusic  

Website: https://jeffkaroub.com/ 

Established in 2018, Serafina was initially commissioned for a one-off project, which we enjoyed so much it motivated us to form a permanent, independent early music ensemble. As longtime friends and colleagues, we choose to operate democratically and cooperatively, without formal roles. Each member brings her own musical expertise, including ensemble direction, performance, management, and musicological research.  

Serafina’s mission is to lift up music written by, for, and about women through performance, education, and advocacy, and we strive to present this under-performed repertoire with a balance of historical accuracy and creative interpretation. We challenge our modern audiences to find beauty, commonality, and relevance in the music of our ancient sisters. It's important to us to create inclusive spaces for both performers and listeners under the umbrella of "traditional classical music."  

Serafina was featured on the Society for Historically Informed Performance’s summer concert series in Boston, with a program featuring works by Strozzi, Cozzolani, and Caccini, among others. The ensemble has performed concerts in collaboration with the Detroit chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir, the University of Michigan Organ Conference. 

Artists:  

Catherine Lucander 

Katherine Sucha 

Amy Mizikow 

Stephanie Weil 

Instagram: @serafina_music 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SerafinaEarlyMusic 

Website: https://serafinamusic.com 

The Guild’s 2023-2024 season concludes with a performance by The Bayberry String Quartet. This concert will feature pieces by Mozart, the Beethoven Op. 74 "Harp" Quartet, and Dvorak's beloved "American" Quartet. Come spend an evening letting go with these masterpieces played by extraordinary players.

Three of Detroit's much-loved musicians, violinist Eliot Heaton, cellist Erik Ásgeirsson and pianist Pauline Martin, are delighted to again make music in the company of their Fair Lane Music Guild friends - this time, as a trio!  As always, expect a dynamic evening of chamber music, with time for CSD's customary Just Between Us "talk-back", following the concert.

Rev. Robert Jones, Sr. is a native Detroiter and inspirational storyteller, and musician celebrating the history, humor, and power of American Roots music. His deep love for traditional African American and American traditional music is shared in live performances that interweave timeless stories with original and traditional songs. For over thirty years, Robert has entertained and educated audiences of all ages in schools, colleges, libraries, union halls, prisons, churches, and civil rights organizations. At the heart of his message is the belief that our cultural diversity tells a story that should be celebrated, not just tolerated. 

Rev. Robert Jones makes his home in Detroit while performing throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. An award-winning multi-instrumentalist, he is accomplished at guitar, harmonica, mandolin, banjo fiddle, and ukulele. He has recorded six albums of original and traditional songs. Robert is the former host of the award-winning radio programs “Blues from the Lowlands” and “Deep River,” broadcast on Detroit Public Radio’s WDET-FM Detroit. And he has taught music history courses at Wayne State University in Detroit, and he serves as a member of the affiliate faculty at Boston’s Berklee School of Music. Jones has taught and performed for several folk music organizations, including the Ashokan Center, Summer Acoustic Music Week, Fiddle Hell, and the Houston Folk Society. In recent years Robert wrote, performed, and recorded a one-man show entitled “An Evening with Lead Belly,” and in recent years Robert has been a featured artist at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum (Springfield, IL), Rutherford B. Hayes Library (Fremont, OH,) and Gerald R. Ford Library (Grand Rapids, MI).  Robert is also a frequent performer and presenter for The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (Dearborn, MI). As an ordained minister and a Baptist pastor, he has an unwavering faith the cultural importance of sacred and traditional American roots music. In addition to his solo performances, he often collaborates musically with his wife, Sister Bernice Jones. In 2017 Robert and Matt Watroba co-founded “Common Chords”, 501.c3 educational organization designed to create community, cultural and historical connections through music and the arts.   In 2018 Robert received a Kresge Arts Fellowship for Music Composition and Performance.  He also teaches traditional instrumental music online at www.truefire.com. It was for Truefire that Robert wrote and produced 30 YouTube segments on traditional blues artists, entitled “Blues Chronicles”.  Robert is also currently working on the final stages of his book, “Roots & Branches, The Songs and Stories of Rev. Robert Jones, Sr., A Detroit Blues Singing Preacher”.
 
The late legendary Detroit Free Press columnist Bob Talbert wrote about Robert: “Perhaps the world’s most highly educated blues musician, an ordained minister, a longtime DJ, and a living encyclopedia of blues history, the Reverend Robert Jones is comfortable among juke joint loud talkers, fancy-hatted church ladies, and PhDs alike."