The Ann Arbor Folk Festival turns 50 with Mavis Staples, Trampled by Turtles and Richard Thompson at Hill

The Ark's biggest fundraiser fills Hill Auditorium on Jan. 29–30, 2027, with Jeff Daniels hosting both nights of the 50th edition.

Late January in Ann Arbor is grey, cold and short on reasons to leave the house. For half a century, the Folk Festival has been the exception. The 50th Ann Arbor Folk Festival fills Hill Auditorium on Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30, 2027, with shows starting at 7 p.m. both nights and Jeff Daniels serving as emcee for both.

The two nights are distinct, so here's how they break down, per The Ark's own listings.

Friday, Jan. 29: Trampled by Turtles, the Duluth, Minnesota string band, headline. Richard Thompson & Band and The War and Treaty follow them on a bill that also includes the Tray Wellington Band and The Rebel Eves. Of all the weekend's pairings, Thompson and The War and Treaty on the same stage is the one people will talk about longest.

Saturday, Jan. 30: Mavis Staples leads a night with Colin Hay, Tommy Emmanuel, Vienna Teng and DuPont Phillips. Staples, Emmanuel and Hay together make for a remarkable spread of styles, from gospel and soul to virtuoso fingerstyle guitar to wry songwriting, in one evening.

Who to catch early? On a bill like this, the openers deserve the same attention as the headliners. The Tray Wellington Band and The Rebel Eves on Friday and DuPont Phillips on Saturday are the names you'll hear for the first time and remember. Arrive before the first song rather than after the first intermission.

What makes the Folk Festival matter here goes beyond the names. It is the largest annual fundraiser for The Ark, the nonprofit room on Main Street that serves as Ann Arbor's home for folk, roots and acoustic music all year round. Every ticket sold at Hill keeps the lights on at a club where those same kinds of artists play to about 400 people on an ordinary Tuesday. The Ark presents the festival with Bank of Ann Arbor.

Fifty years is a long time for any festival, let alone one built around acoustic music in the middle of a Michigan winter. Hill Auditorium, at 825 N. University Ave., gives it a room that suits the occasion.

Tickets went on public sale Sept. 25, after the member and student presale, and are sold through the University of Michigan's ticket office. The Ark's ticket-info page lists upper-balcony seats at $56.50 and regular seats at $81.50, with Gold Circle and Platinum Circle seats above that, and a Benefactor Circle for those who want to give more.

Pick a night, or both, and bundle up. For two evenings in January, Hill will be the warmest room in town.

Sources: The Ark — Folk Festival 2027 (theark.org); The Ark — 50th Ann Arbor Folk Fest event listing (theark.org); The Ark — Folk Festival Ticket Info (theark.org); The Ark — Folk Festival (theark.org); Michigan Union Ticket Office — Ann Arbor Folk Festival tickets (mutotix.umich.edu); Metro Times — Ann Arbor Folk Festival unveils star-packed lineup for 50th anniversary (metrotimes.com); The Ark (folk venue) - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)