Cabin Fever with The Easy Picks, Nathan Towne & the CTAC Garage Band

    Event Details
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    Venue
    CTAC Theater
    Price Range
    $25 Members/$35 Non-Members/$10 Students
    Description

    Beat the winter blues listening to the hot sounds of Northern Michigan musicians The Easy Picks, guitarist Nathan Towne, and the CTAC Garage Band!

    Nathan Towne was born in California where he began taking piano lessons from his mother at age 5. At age 8 his family hosted a foreign exchange student from Japan who traveled with an acoustic guitar, showing Nathan cowboy chords and introducing him to guitar greats like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. By age 13, Nathan was playing electric guitar with his fathers' bands...learning the art of the “gig.” At 16, he studied with a jazz guitarist and began cutting his teeth as a solo guitarist all over the Central Coast of California in wineries, restaurants, clubs and private events.

    As a concert guitarist, Nathan is a three-time performer for the La Guitarra California Festival and opened for the Romeros at La Guitarra California Festival 2015.

    Sought after for his versatility and innovation as a musician, Nathan is as comfortable in a hard rock band as he is in a jazz ensemble or as a soloist.

    Now living in Northern Michigan, Nathan works as a solo guitarist, composer for films, recording musician, and music teacher, while also touring and writing as bassist for Blind Melon.

    At the heart of The Easy Picks are Greg Carpenter (vocals, guitar, drums) and Chris Koury (vocals, guitar), both long-time veterans of the northern Michigan music scene, and friends since middle school. Greg and Chris had a vision of a rollicking honky-tonk band in which every member sang, drawing from the roots/country/Americana tradition of lyrical storytelling and rich vocal harmonies. The boys recruited Jamie Beth Platte (vocals, piano) Jenny Lynn Schaap (vocals, bass), and Mark Blaauw-Hara (vocals, drums, guitar), all with years of experience playing in area bands, to fill out the sound, and The Easy Picks were complete. The group draws from great country songs across the eras, always keeping a focus on rich storytelling and catchy songwriting. The band features songs from country royalty – Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard – all the way to newer artists such as the Drive-By Truckers, Old 97’s and Wilco, and presents a live show that is high-energy.

    Please note: Tickets for this event are non-refundable.