{ "144668-21895669": { "datetime_modified":"20260128T125121", "datetime_start":"20260512T200000", "datetime_end":"", "has_end_time":0, "date_start":"2026-05-12", "date_end":"", "time_start":"20:00:00", "time_end":"", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Davina and the Vagabonds", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Davina and the Vagabonds: Presented by The Ark", "event_subtitle":"Presented by The Ark", "event_type":"Performance", "event_type_id":"15", "description":"\u201cDavina Sowers creates her own Americana mishmash \u2014 a little Amy Winehouse-worthy neo-soul here, a little Great American Songbook-influenced songcraft there.\u201d \u2013Rolling Stone Magazine\u200b\n\n\u201cDavina and the Vagabonds combat heartache with sugar and sass.\" \u2013Downbeat Magazine\u200b\n\nDavina Sowers and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national music scene with their high-energy live shows, level A musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism, and Sowers\u2019 commanding stage presence. With influences ranging from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits, the band is converting audiences one show at a time, from Vancouver to Miami and across Europe. \n\nMuch like the music, the story spurns era, expectation, and classification. The often unbelievable, sometimes harrowing, and wholly inspiring journey of Davina Sowers gave birth to her eponymous band Davina and The Vagabonds in 2004. As the tale goes, she grew up in the economically depressed Allegheny town of Altoona, PA, which she now describes as \u201cawesome in the industrial era, but horrible for high school.\u201d She was adopted by her much older stepfather when he was in his 80s; he passed away when she was just 13. Through him and his Edison phonograph, she first heard The Ink Spots, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and many others. \u201cGreat man. He was my angel and still is,\u201d she says.\n\nOn her own, she vividly recalls hours in front of the record player where she religiously spun Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Simon and Garfunkel records belonging to her folk singer mom.\n\nTo this day, Davina still refers to music as \u201cmy first and eternal love.\u201d Despite early dalliances with classical piano and guitar, she developed a heavy drug habit in high school, which morphed into heroin dependency, left her homeless, sent her in and out of jail, and brought on all manner of trouble. Kicking dope on the streets, she \u201cgot clean, started the band, and worked [her] ass off every day since.\u201d \n\nDavina and the Vagabonds shine every time they play. To date, they\u2019ve performed in forty-five states, twelve European countries, and two Canadian provinces. Not to mention, they\u2019ve earned feverish acclaim from the Chicago Tribune, NPR, and more in addition to performing on BBC\u2019s international favorite late-night program Later\u2026 With Jools Holland and appearing on PBS\u2019s Bluegrass Underground.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"144668-21895669@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/144668", "building_id":"", "building_name":"", "campus_maps_id":"", "room":"", "location_name":"ARK Reserved", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"See Site For Pricing Information", "tags":["Ark","Mutotix"], "website":"https:\/\/mutotix.umich.edu\/6322\/6323", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Michigan Union Ticket Office (MUTO)", "group_id":"1053", "website":"" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144668_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21895669 } , "146151-21898493": { "datetime_modified":"20260303T152543", "datetime_start":"20260512T200000", "datetime_end":"20260512T230000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-05-12", "date_end":"2026-05-12", "time_start":"20:00:00", "time_end":"23:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Echoes of the Past: Greektown as Seen by Sam Karres", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Echoes of the Past: Greektown as Seen by Sam Karres", "event_subtitle":"", "event_type":"Exhibition", "event_type_id":"7", "description":"Explore the personal sketchbooks of Sam Karres, Greek-American painter and artist, as he illustrates the daily life of residents in Greektown, Detroit. This exhibit highlights Detroit\u2019s Greek-American community and urban scenery during the late 20th century. Experience art and life through Sam\u2019s eyes with scenes of music, dance, restaurants, and the faces of the community. Let the vivid watercolor paintings and expressive sketches transport you to a Greektown of the past, and learn more about Sam Karres\u2019 life as an artist.\n\nFeaturing works from the Sam Karres Archive, 1955-2012, held by the University of Michigan Library's Special Collection Research Center. Curated by Annelie Zissis and Arthur Pfeifer-Rubey, Library Engagement Fellows.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"146151-21898493@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/146151", "building_id":"1000181", "building_name":"Hatcher Graduate Library", "campus_maps_id":"65", "room":"Clark Library (2nd floor)", "location_name":"Hatcher Graduate Library", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Free","Library"], "website":"https:\/\/www.lib.umich.edu\/events", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"University Library", "group_id":"1186", "website":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UMichLibrary\/" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/03\/event_146151_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":141, "first_occurrence":21898454 } }