It's been forever since I've chatted with guitarist Olin Clark! He's based in Brooklyn now, but he grew up and studied in Michigan for years before making the leap to the East Coast. We catch up and chat about a variety of things, including his upcoming album (dropping Sept 17th) with his group Pieces.

Hello! No guest this week, things got moved around and rescheduled, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about my background in music, from growing up in a musical family to studying piano all the way through my Masters to playing in a variety of groups in West Michigan over the past decade!

It's always such a pleasure to chat with Grand Rapids singer and wonderful person Sarena Rae! We chat about our shared background in the West Michigan church scene, performing together in BlueWater Kings, our desire to bridge the gap between artistic communities, and she even asks me some great questions about studying and preparing music!

Today's guest is Luke Sass! From working with bands like Four Finger Five to his family's construction business to running the Founder's Brewing Company Entertainment Team, Luke is a supportive companion of the Michigan Music scene and always seeks to build up others with the work he is involved in. We chat for the first time in over a year, so we chat about life, our current passions and focuses, but we also touch on Luke's time at Woodstock 99! This was such a great chat!

Now based in Chicago, I met jazz vocalist Hannah Truckenbrod while we were both studying at Western Michigan University. After graduating, she toured for a few years with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and has even performed recently with Kurt Elling! We catch up and chat about her recent pivot to more video work, her time on the road with this legacy jazz band, and how frustrating it is to work on social media for multiple accounts!

Fresh off his trip out west, Elijah Russ sits down for a discussion today on Mitten Backstage! Folks know him as a solo artist, a bandleader for the Elijah Russ Collective, and a freelancer that teaches, a former touring artist with Harper and The Midwest Kind, and a guest artist with groups like Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys and Melophobix. We talk about his travels (including meeting Van Morrison's guitarist), upcoming music projects, and how his work/life balance has changed for the better as live music returns to Michigan.

I got to catch up with fearless Michigan music warrior and dedicated supporter of the community Hundo! We chat about music, community, and she drops some details on her upcoming singles! There's also a surprise from some special guests who happened to be nearby!

I'm happy to have had some time to catch up with Danielle Cosby, a talented singer, songwriter, music industry hustler, and artist who was born and raised in Michigan! She's regularly performed with groups like Brena, Hip Pocket, and been on the BlueWater Kings roster as a performer and producer! We touch base now that things are opening up and discuss her upcoming July 11th single release, what she's currently focused on now, and her recent move to Nashville!

I'm joined today by Makenzie Mattis! She is a drummer, educator, and freelancer based in Grand Rapids who has played in bands like Okaycool while also working with Fruitport area drum line! We've known each other since our undergrads at GVSU, and it was great touching base!

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I'm joined today by Da'Veonce Washington, Grand Rapids' funkiest drummer and a hard working friend and asset to the Michigan music community. When he's not playing in groups like GrooveGround Music, in church at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, or in sessions with all sorts of studio project around West Michigan, he's also a new father! There's plenty to talk about in this episode, and it was great catching up!

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