Every year in early June, like the swallows of Capistrano, so descends the profound craziness that is Ypsiarboroo. This annual bacchanal is coincident with organizer/gadabout Christopher “Chewy” Anderson’s birthday, and this is a big one. In honor of his thirtieth birthday, this year’s Ypsiarboroo will feature 33 artists, range over three days (June 8, 9 and 10) and occupy six venues. It’ll be a veritable three-for-all, and some of the area’s best bands will be rocking out in some of the area’s weirder venues all in honor of our tow-headed musical messiah, Chewy.
Ypsilanti doesn’t have a wealth of music venues, but what we do have is a wealth of talent. Ypsiarboroo embraces the house parties and basement shows that this sort of disparity necessitates in our little town. The Pontiac Trail House and The Alexander Hamilton House are among the listed venues that you won’t find with a Google search, but the oddest certainly has to be the afternoon of the June 9, which features shows at the Prospect Park Skatepark. While the venues may be a bit off the map, the musical talent has got massive appeal. The Pontiac Trail show will feature Blackjack on Pluto and Trembling Earth among others. Guests at the Alexander Hamilton House will be treated to the musical stylings of a one amorphous hippie hootenanny known as the Vagrant Symphony, featuring the birthday boy himself. And if that isn’t enough, DJ Ayinde Audio on the wheels of steel definitely sweetens the pot for me.
Some of our local tried and true venues will be getting in on the fun as well. Ypsilanti’s Café Ollie and Woodruff’s Bar will both play host to the festivities with the fun spilling into the next city with performances at the Blind Pig from Supercollider and Disinformants, among others. The Ypsi shows will feature local favorites like Walk Your Bike and Little Island Lake, not to mention Capricorn (and Unicorn …adding some rhyme to the bill). A personal favorite of mine, Minus9, will close out the set at Woodruff’s.
All three nights will include various and sundry merriments like a screening of The Big Lebowski on the final night with compulsory White Russians for all in attendance. Extended jams are a certainty and guests stars are to be expected, but you have to be there to see for yourself what transpires. A comprehensive schedule is available on the Ypsiarboroo Facebook page.