Ann Arbor Folk Festival lineup adds Raul Malo and more

Patty Larkin will act as master of ceremonies on both nights. Larkin, who has performed often at The Ark and is known for her terrific stage presence, has been pushing the boundaries of folk-pop music for nearly 25 years with what Guitar World has called “genre-stretching, string-popping alterna-folk.”

"Bound Brook" - Patty Larkin

The Folk Festival is a major fundraiser for The Ark, Ann Arbor’s nonprofit home for folk, roots and ethnic music.

Friday generally offers artists who are known for pushing the boundaries of their art, bringing a progressive sound to the folk music scene. Here’s the complete lineup from The Ark:

• Iron and Wine is singer-songwriter Samuel Beam, who returns to his acoustic-indie-folk roots for his Folk Festival appearance.

• Ben Gibbard is lead singer of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, while Jay Farrar is the force behind alt-country’s Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt.

• The five-man Band of Heathens, formed in Austin, Texas, in 2006, plays an alt-country mix influenced by The Band and Townes Van Zandt, among others.

"You're Gonna Miss Me" - Band of Heathens

• Philadelphia’s Hoots and Hellmouth is the duo of singer-songwriters Sean Hoots and Andrew Gray, whose music has elements of alt-country, classic folk, and jam-band freedom.

• Canada’s Po’ Girl mixes the wail of a gypsy fiddle, the blues, punk street poetry, a Cajun love song, Depression-era jazz and sounds from around the planet, coming up with roots music for the 21st century.

"Home To You" - Po Girl

• Jer Coons is a young singer-songwriter from the Green Mountains of Vermont who has drawn comparisons to John Mayer, Jason Mraz and Damien Rice.

"Legs" - Jer Coons

• The “pleasantly aggressive” Nervous but Excited offers two songwriters (Kate Peterson and Sarah Cleaver), two singers, two guitars, a mandolin, a violin, a few harmonicas, some vaguely choreographed dancing and a lot of laughter.

Saturday night explores the heart of folk and roots traditions, showcasing styles well known to folk and roots audiences. Here’s who’s on the bill:

• Rosanne Cash — with her then-husband, Rodney Crowell — essentially created progressive country music in the early 1980s. Cash is also a children’s book author, an essayist, an editor, a producer and an activist on behalf of children as well as Johnny Cash’s oldest daughter. She’s paid him homage on her latest album, “The List,” in which she selected 12 pieces from a list of 100 country songs that her father gave her when she was 18 and that she’s always saved.

• Singer and guitarist Arthel L. “Doc” Watson, who has played at four previous Folk Festivals, is considered one of the most influential guitarists of the last century. The folk revival of the 1960s would have been hard to imagine without Doc Watson.

• Raul Malo, an Ann Arbor favorite who recently played at The Ark and as the former lead singer of The Mavericks, he's equally at home with rock, country, Cuban music and big-band jazz.

"Moonlight Kiss" - Raul Malo

• The Austin-based Hot Club of Cowtown explores the space where early jazz meets Texas swing. Their new album, “Wishful Thinking,” adds a mix of original songs and unexpected covers to the trio’s repertoire.

"It Stops With Me" - Hot Club Of Cowtown

• The Canadian-Scottish band Enter the Haggis offers a high-speed collision of Celtic music, rock, bluegrass, funk and world music. An Enter the Haggis live show is a musical feast, as the band’s music darts from the traditional strains of, say, the Chieftains and the Pogues, to the frenetic pop of early Elvis Costello — and even to Latin and African sounds. Enter the Haggis recently released its seventh album, “Gutter Anthems.” combining rousing drinking songs with lyrics in English and French, and musical influences from all over.

"DNA" - Enter the Haggis

Tickets for Ark members, patrons and sponsors are now on sale. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, December 1 by phone at 734-763-TKTS or in person at the Michigan Union Ticket Office, Herb David Guitar Studio, The Ark box office, or any TicketMaster outlet, or on line at Ticketmaster. General public tickets are $30 and $45 for a single night; $50 and $80 for series tickets.

For more information, visit The Ark’s website.