The Communicator • A Student Voice

Julia Nunes, a ukulele wielding 21-year-old from upstate New York, performed at The Ark in Ann Arbor on Monday, June 7th. Nunes, who is popular on YouTube for her inventive covers and quirky original songs, rose to fame on the site in 2007 after a video of her covering Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” went viral. A few years and nearly 162,000 YouTube subscribers later, Nunes’s musical career is still a bit of a shock to her: “I’m still kind of surprised by it. It was not a tangible goal that I [thought I] could possibly achieve,” she said.

On Monday night, she and her band performed several songs — both covers and originals — Nunes has posted on her YouTube channel, as well as a pop medley featuring 3OH!3, Ke$ha and Lady Gaga. They also performed a new song written by Nunes that is not yet titled. “I think it is one of the most therapeutic things to let loose some of the emotions you have been feeling as of late,” she said.

Nunes is currently touring with her band, and will perform at Bonaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee from June 10th to 13th.

For more information about Julia Nunes and her music, visit her website, www.junumusic.com or her YouTube page, www.youtube.com/jaaaaaaa.

A snowy Friday night in Ann Arbor makes going to a concert at The Ark a comfortable, exciting experience for most grownups. At a typical show here, you would expect to see a variety of Ann Arbor’s hip young adults (and when I say young, I mean 20-30 years old) mixed with a plethora of middle-aged, music-loving couples. When The Macpodz played, however, it was different: the relatively small venue was packed with high school students, music teachers young and old, parents, kids, elderly citizens, etc. The crowd displayed a great range of social diversity, with slightly withered ex-rockers, young, ambitious musicians, fun, lively, show-going ‘modern hippies’, a range of excited high school students, and even several elementary and high school teachers, all spread about the venue. Overall, the crowd sufficiently reflected the happy, beautiful, liberal mood of this town—and, with soul-driven, passionate musical fusion, that is exactly what The Macpodz did.

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The Ark's stage was covered in delightful blue and red sequins.

This glimmering addition to the intimate concert venue was the work of Ingrid Michaelson and her band: “Dan and I went on a quest to find shiny things,” Michaelson laughed, referring to her band mate and producer, Dan Romer. He accompanied her on a number of instruments including accordion, euphonium, and synthesizer.

Along with exotic fabric, Michaelson brought another personal effect to Ann Arbor: her humor. The show that sold out last Wednesday night was almost equally comedy and music. There were several moments throughout the performance where Michaelson’s band mates could not play for laughing. Towards the end of the show, all six people on stage—including Michaelson—had burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter. “Never as a group have we collectively lost our cool…” she said between giggles.

Michaelson and her Ukulele

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