Folk band the Appleseed Collective debuted new album Young Love at the 37th Annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival on January 31. The band’s Katie Lee and Brandon Smith also recently made MAGNET a mix tape. Check it out below.
Snarky Puppy Featuring Lalah Hathaway “Something”
Lee: Holy cow. I just went to see Snarky Puppy live in Detroit after only ever hearing this song. I ended up on the stage with them (it was a ridiculously small venue), and my mind was continually more blown with each note. Jazz, funk, R&B … it’s just all too tasty. And Lalah Hathaway does things I can’t even explain. And they just won a Grammy for this performance. Get real. Video
The Punch Brothers “Movement And Location”
Smith: The Punch Brothers are amazing. Virtuosos on acoustic instruments traditionally considered only fit for bluegrass, crushing genre boundaries like Godzilla on a white picket fence. Also fantastic are their covers of Radiohead. This band is pretty much who I wish I was. Video
The Soil & The Sun “Are You?”
Lee: I have never seen musicians feeling their performance as hard as these amazing people do. I cry with them when they play, when they sing, when they give so much of their souls away. It’s all love. It seems strangely appropriate for them to be playing this song in this beautiful, natural setting, because they are so naturally beautiful. Watch this for the benefit of your soul. Video
Ray Charles “Georgia On My Mind”
Smith: This particular recording of Ray Charles singing “Georgia” slays me. I think I listened to it about 100 times in a week one time in my life. A Man And His Soul. Damn right. Video
Vulfpeck “Beastly”
Lee: These are a bunch of friends of mine from college who are killing it all over the map. Joe Dart is about to be the best bass player you don’t know about. Theo Katzman just toured opening for Darren Criss (with these guys in his band) and has more pop sensibility than any musician I know. Jack Stratton is horribly unassuming and is so bursting with creativity that I don’t even know how to handle it. The University of Michigan. Leaders and best. Video
Duke Ellington “On A Turquoise Cloud”
Smith: This song.. I heard on the college radio station one day while driving through one of those crisp blue fall afternoons. It made me cry, and I can’t tell you why. It just sounds so hopeful I guess. I spent about a year trying to find a copy of the album its on (Duke Ellington Rarest Of The Rare Vol. 2, apparently), and then inexplicably it showed up one day on YouTube. God bless the internet! Video
Graham Parsons “When I Go”
Lee: GP is one of my closest friends and one of the most wonderful musicians and humans I know. If I had to pick one thing to accompany me on a deserted island, it would be his voice. So full of truth and pain and beauty, it moves me to tears almost every time. He could sing anything, and I would listen. It’s difficult to find videos of Graham on his own since he’s involved with so many talented folks, so this one is a rarity. Video
The Books “Of The Word God”
Smith: This is a strange choice, I’ll be the first to admit it. But you know that feeling you get at that one part of a certain song where your spine tingles and that little piece of your brain lights up going, “Ya, that’s it!” That is how I feel at the climax of this weird little number. This whole album by the Books is full of these weird little segments, essentially soundscapes. I think it’s total genius. Video
Lake Street Dive “I Want You Back”
Lee: I’m a huge Michael Jackson fan, and one day someone showed me this video. Rachael Price is now one of my favorite vocalists, and she’s got a great band. It’s hard to define them by genre, which is something I like. Jazz, soul, folk, pop … they’re starting to make waves, too! Touring Europe, releasing a new record, all the good things. You’ll be glad you know about them. Video
