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The Journeymen will bring original bluegrass and acoustic swing music with their brother-like crooning to the Dogwood Center on Saturday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m.    
As acoustic musicians go these days, Brian Oberlin (mandolin) and Luke Gitchel (guitar) have a chemistry like no other.  They have been playing together for 15 years, yet each performance is full of new ideas as they spring and lope through songs, bouncing off each others nuances with a lively thrill.  Their vocal harmonies are likened to brothers as they honed their skills together as teenagers playing in several different Michigan bands.  They both grew up in music playing bluegrass on their respective intruments and they write their own songs in the bluegrass and swing genres.
Luke Gitchel, originally from Howard City, began playing guitar at the age of 5.  Since then he has excelled on any stringed instrument he picks up, and seemingly, bluegrass is in his blood.  At the age of 18, he won the WMBMA guitar and mandolin picking contest in Michigan.  His powerful and spot-on rhythm/solo guitar playing adds to his choice lead singing.  He played with the infamous Wendy Smith for several years and he now plays with Moutain Ruckus in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (a bluegrass band in Dollywood). 
As both a musician and songwriter, Luke attempts to bring his own style of music and blend it with the tradition of bluegrass music.  As an avid student of history and nature, Luke incorporates these two genres into some of his songs.  From the ballad Iditarod, to the dangers of the Colorado River in Ghost on the River, Luke takes some history, blends it with folklore, and creates a song.
Brian Oberlin, originally from Rockford, spends much of his time teaching mandolin at his own mandolin camp in Portland, Oregon.  He also performs as a solo act around the Pacific Northwest playing anything from Vivaldi’s mandolin concertos with an orchestra, to performing western swing music at festivals and concerts.  His swing chops on mandolin and crooning voice add a perfect fit to the sound of the Journeymen.  Brian was a finalist at the 2003 Winfield mandolin championship and a member of the award winning band Grasshoppah.
After completing their performance tours of Chicago and West Michigan, the Journeymen will head to the west coast to complete their summer touring schedule.  Check out the sound of the Journeymen at  http://www.journeymen-music.com/.
Tickets: $10.  Black Box.  7:30 p.m.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

Singer-songwriter Tom Cordle returns to the Dogwood Center on Saturday, August 14 at 7:30 p.m. to offer up an evening of original music that is both entertaining and enlightening! 
Cordle’s performance, “Self-Portrait: A Musical Memoir”, confirms John Lennon’s quip that “life is what happens while you’re making other plans”.
Tom is a gifted storyteller, as his cleverly crafted songs and witty stage patter make plain.  But, he also has the rare ability to laugh out loud at his own foibles.
Typical of his self-deprecating humor, he calls himself a pragmatic romantic, and that is certainly reflected in his songs.  They are sometimes bittersweet – but they are never bitter.
Though drawn from his own life, this personal reflection is sure to stir up memories for an audience that answers the question “Are you experienced?” with a resounding “Yes!”.  In short, the evening is sure to be a “Boomer’s delight”!
Musicians accompanying Tom will be Nathan Syfrig on violin and piano, Luke Gitchell on guitar and mandolin, and Dave VanderHooning on bass.
Tickets: $10.  Black Box.  7:30 p.m.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

Kevin Kammeraad, author and illustrator of “The Tomato Collection”, “I Remember…”, “A Curious Glimpse of Michigan” will be performing at the Dogwood Center on Saturday, August 28 at 3:00 p.m.  His performance will be an interactive family event including poetry, puppetry, music, audience participation and more. 
Kammeraad, of Grand Rapids, has great experience presenting to young people having presented to over 700 school groups.  His 45-minute performance will be an enjoyable Saturday afternoon activity for parents and children to attend.
Tickets: $5 adult, $3 children 18 and under, children 3 and younger free.  Black Box.  3:00 p.m.
This program is funded in part by the Michigan Humanities Council.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

The Dogwood Summer Youth Theater will be holding auditions on Wednesday, May 12 and Thursday, May 13 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the Dogwood Center for Performing Arts for their summer production “Pride and Prejudice”.
“Pride and Prejudice” is based on the novel by Jane Austen.  The Dogwood Summer Youth Theater will be directed again this summer by Chelsea Webb.
“Pride and “Prejudice” is a humorous story of love and life among English gentility during the Georgian era.  Mr. Bennet is an English gentleman living in Hartfordshire with his overbearing wife.  The Bennet’s 5 daughters; the beautiful Jane, the clever Elizabeth, the bookish Mary, the immature Kitty and the wild Lydia.  Unfortunately for the Bennets, if Mr. Bennet dies their house will be inherited by a distant cousin whom they have never met, so the family’s future happiness and security is dependent on the daughters making good marriages.  Life is uneventful until the arrival in the neighborhood of the rich gentleman Mr. Bingley, who rents a large house so he can spend the summer in the country.  Mr. Bingley brings with him his sister and the dashing (and richer) but proud Mr. Darcy.  Love is soon in the air for one of the Bennet sisters, while another may have jumped to a hasty pre-judgment.  For the Bennet sisters many trials and tribulations stand between them and their happiness, including class, gossip and scandal.
The auditions will be for 9 male roles, 11 female roles, extras and dancers.
Dogwood Summer Youth Theater is for youth grades 7 through college.
The performance dates for “Pride and Prejudice” are July 16 – July 18.  Dogwood Summer Youth Theater is funded through a FACF Summer Youth Initiative grant.
For more information please contact the Dogwood Center at 231.924.8885.

The Boogie Woogie Babies tour throughout the Midwest and are known for their tight hamonies, beautiful blend and entertaining shows!
The group features three of West Michigan’s finest singers:  Mary Rademacher, Barbara Wisse, and Francesca Amari and includes premiere pianist Mark Kahny.
Their “Cabaret Show” will feature songs from the 1940’s, Broadway hits, and even a few pieces that give tribute to “girl groups” from over the years!  A fun and entertaining show that you will not want to miss!
This performance is funded in part by the Michigan Humanities Council.
Tickets: $10.  Black Box.  7:30 p.m.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

The Ragbirds return to the Dogwood Center!  Ask the Ragbirds how to describe their hard-to-define Folk Rock and World fusion and they will tell you it is “infectious global groove”.  Led by fiery front-woman Erin Zindle, they put on a show that is designed to engage the audience on many levels – to get people thinking, listening and dancing! 
As the bands founder and songwriter, Zindle has an earthy sweet voice that is the center of the storm of energy around her – the whirlwind of guitarist T.J. Zindle and dynamic bassist Dan Hildebrandt spinning over the ethnic grooves of drummer Randall Moore and percussionist Tim Dzieken.  Zindle skillfully switches between violin, mandolin, banjo, accordian, and percussion all while singing lead vocals….and dancing!
The Ragbirds are passionate about their music, but they are also concerned with doing their part for the green movement.  Their newest CD, “Finally Almost Ready”, released this year, is being made from recycled plastic trays.  The biggest impact the band has on the environment is from their travel.  To reduce their carbon footprint by 90 percent, The Ragbirds has a Ford E-350 diesel van converted to run on waste vegetable oil.  To power this van, the band will literally drive up to fast food restaurants and ask for their used oil that otherwise would have been thrown away.  This up and coming band is very conscious of how everything they do affects the earth.
Tickets:  $10.  Black Box.  7:30 p.m.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

Vanessa Trouble brings her New York style jazz to the Dogwood Center!  Vanessa is based in New York City where she lives and works full time as a jazz vocalist, an occupation and lifestyle that has sent her to various locales around the world. 
Expect to hear a mix of jazz standards and obscures, songs from classic American Cinema and Songbook, and selections from her two CD’s, “The Summer Sessions” and “Too Darn Hot”.  Vanessa will be accompanied by the Chris Copeland Quartet.
On a recent adventure Vanessa Trouble was 75 days at sea performing on the mega-ship Celebrity Equinox, traveling to various locales in the Caribbean Islands and South America.  This summer she will be part of the Prelude Series for the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, Minnesota  and doing a steady performance schedule in New York.  She is also looking ahead to February 2011 where she will perform at the Retroback Film Festival in Granada Spain.
Visit her website www.vanessatrouble.com for a taste of her incredible voice!
Tickets: $10.  Black Box.  7:30 p.m.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

Spectrum Brass Quintet presents “Who Could Ask for Anything More?” – an All-Gershwin Revue!
Program featuring Porgy and Bess for Brass Quintet, Rhapsody in Blue with pianist Anthony Patterson, and with soprano Elizabeth Stoner singing your favorite Gershwin songs!
In this all-Gershwin revue, you will hear favorites like It Ain’t Necessarily So, Embraceable You, Summertime, I Got Plenty of Nothing, and The Man I Love.
Committed to creative collaboration, the Spectrum Brass Quintet works with innovative performers to enrich and enliven the chamber music experience.  Their performance at the Dogwood Center will include trumpeters Scott Thornburg and Brian Buerkle, French hornist Eric Reed, trombonist John Rutherford, tubist Jacob Cameron, drummer Alex Trajono and features soprano Elizabeth Stoner and pianist Anthony Patterson.
This performance provides a brass quintet that commands the stage with power and grace, a concert pianist displaying dazzling virtuosity, and a soprano sweetly singing heartfelt songs…..now, Who Could Ask for Anything More!
September 10 is also “Dogwood Center Volunteer Appreciation Night”!
Tickets $15.  Main Stage. 7:30 p.m.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

Bob Milne is a world renowned “Boogie-Woogie” ragtime pianist who has performed in Japan and Ireland.  Bob has been recorded by the Library of Congress, played at Bill Gates’ private club in Palm Springs, and for the past president George Bush.
Bob’s enthusiasm is contagious; he loves to share his knowledge, and is excited about keeping  ragtime music alive.
Bob is regarded as an American Treasure. As a recording artist, he has produced ten collections of solo piano rags, blues, boogies and folk/traditional tunes, and has written a Concerto for Orchestra and Ragtime Piano.  The Library of Congress has collected memorabilia and made a film of a day in his life to be stored for posterity as part of the American Music Project.  Bob lives in La Peer, Michigan.
Tickets $15.  Main Stage.  7:30 p.m.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

Trop Rock in Michigan!  Join Living Soul and Don Middlebrook in the Black Box for an evening of tropical music that will feed your soul!  Known for their feel good, warm weather Caribbean soul sound with a kick, their music parallels to Jimmy Buffet’s style.