Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Joan Shelley opened for Patty Griffin at The Ark several years ago. She was recently featured on NPR's "Fresh Air" and has been compared to Sandy Denny and Vashti Bunyan. Joan is a songwriter and singer from Louisville. She draws inspiration from traditional and traditionally minded performers from her native Kentucky, as well as those from Ireland, Scotland, and England, but she’s not a folksinger. Her disposition aligns more closely with that of, say, Roger Miller, Dolly Parton, or her fellow Kentuckian Tom T. Hall, who once explained—simply, succinctly, in a song—"I Witness Life." Joan has shared shows with the likes of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Wilco, Chris Smither, Andrew Bird, and Richard Thompson, and Jeff Tweedy produced her 2017 record "Joan Shelley" at The Loft in Chicago. She comes to Michigan with a new release, "Like the River Loves the Seal."