94-697: Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan , that started in 1972 from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which itself began in 1969. Although the festival has had a tumultuous history and suspended operations in 2006, it was restarted in 2017. Although started with the support of the University of Michigan , the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival became a volunteer non-profit 501(c) event. What began as an outdoor concert became
188-455: A Detroit blues review and Bobo Jenkins was one of the headline acts, along with Mr. Bo . Music from this performance was issued in 1995 by Schoolkids Records with two songs by Jenkins. Two tracks by One String Sam , who also performed at the festival, were released in 1998. In 1974, the festival promoters were denied permission to hold the event in Ann Arbor, so the 1974 festival was held at
282-491: A council-manager form of government, with 11 voting members: the mayor and 10 city council members. Each of the city's five wards are represented by two council members, with the mayor elected at-large during midterm years. Half of the council members are elected in midterm years, with the other in general election years. The mayor is the presiding officer of the city council and has the power to appoint all council committee members as well as board and commission members, with
376-443: A high school degree was 97.8% while 77.5% had a bachelor's degree or higher, which is higher than the U.S. national percentage of 89.1% for persons age 25 years or older with at least a high school degree and 34.3% with a bachelor's degree or higher. The median household income in 2022 was $ 78,740 (versus the U.S. national figure of $ 75,149), with family households having a median income of $ 126,292. The per capita income for
470-467: A Roman Catholic law school established by Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan , opened in northeastern Ann Arbor, but the school moved to Ave Maria, Florida in 2009, and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School acquired the former Ave Maria buildings for use as a branch campus. Bob Koester Robert Gregg Koester (October 30, 1932 – May 12, 2021) was an American record producer and businessman who
564-466: A cloud-based access security provider of two-factor authentication, is headquartered in Ann Arbor. It was formerly a unicorn and continues to be headquartered in Ann Arbor after its acquisition by Cisco Systems . In November 2021, semiconductor test equipment company KLA Corporation opened a new North American headquarters in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is the home to Internet2 and the Merit Network ,
658-431: A female householder with no spouse present. 18.4% of the households had individuals under the age of 18 living in them, and 20.1% had individuals over age 65 living in them. The average household size was 2.22 people and the average family size was 2.78 people. The median age was 25.9; 12.2% of the population was under age 18, and 12.3% was age 65 or older. The percentage of city residents age 25 years or older with at least
752-540: A full weekend of blues and jazz events. In addition to the daytime festival, evenings offered a choice of indoor (seated) concerts and live jazz in a club setting. Before it ceased operations in 2006, the festival organization expanded to include activities for children, educational outreach programs, and a Meet the Artist program which gave the audience a chance to meet performers. The festival has included musicians such as Art Ensemble of Chicago , Count Basie , Booker T. &
846-613: A main stage, a tent to shelter attendees, sponsor booths, a kid's tent, food and vendor booths, arts booths, the Meet the Artist tent, and a backstage hospitality area reserved for artists, sponsors, and their guests. The largest evening concert took place in the restored Michigan Theater. Headline jazz and blues artists appeared. The Bird of Paradise Jazz Club, run by jazz musicians in Ann Arbor, attracted jazz aficionados to two Friday night and two Saturday night concerts. The Bird of Paradise closed in 2004. Honoring its origin as an outdoor festival,
940-696: A not-for-profit research and education computer network. Both are located in the South State Commons 2 building on South State Street. The city is also home to a secondary office of Google's AdWords program—the company's primary revenue stream. As of 2022, Ann Arbor is home to more than twenty video game and XR studios of varying sizes. The city plays host to a regional chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) which hosts monthly meetups, presentations, and educational events. The University of Michigan operates
1034-490: A prep school. The city is also home to several charter schools such as Central Academy (Michigan) (PreK–12) of the Global Educational Excellence (GEE) charter school company, Washtenaw Technical Middle College , and Honey Creek Community School. The University of Michigan dominates the city of Ann Arbor, providing the city with its distinctive college-town character. University buildings are located in
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#17330922423411128-654: A preschool center with both free and tuition-based programs for preschoolers in the district. The University High School, a "demonstration school" with teachers drawn from the University of Michigan's education program, was part of the school system from 1924 to 1968. Ann Arbor is home to several private schools, including Emerson School, the Father Gabriel Richard High School , Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor (a PreK–12 Waldorf school ), Clonlara School , Michigan Islamic Academy , and Greenhills School ,
1222-450: A trip to Chicago looking for acts who would play at the festival. This time it included Carey Bell , Buddy Guy , Junior Parker , Sunnyland Slim , Hound Dog Taylor , Johnny Young . They looked outside Chicago to attract Bobby Bland , Juke Boy Bonner , Pee Wee Crayton , Lowell Fulson , John Jackson , Papa George Lightfoot , Mance Lipscomb , Big Joe Turner , Robert Pete Williams , and Eddie Cleanhead Vinson . In 1970, attendance
1316-594: A university park border sections of the Huron River. Fuller Recreation Area, near the University Hospital complex, contains sports fields, pedestrian and bike paths , and swimming pools. The city is also home to the Washtenaw County -owned County Farm Park . The Nichols Arboretum , owned by the University of Michigan , is a 123-acre (50 ha) arboretum that contains hundreds of plant and tree species. It
1410-557: A violent crime rate of 309.5 per 100,000 people, the city's violent crime rate is lower than Michigan's rate of 461 per 100,000 people and the U.S. national rate of 380.7 per 100,000 people. However, Ann Arbor's property crime rate, at 1726.0 per 100,000 people, is higher than Michigan's property crime rate of 1536.8 per 100,000 people and lower than the U.S. national property crime rate of 1954.4 per 100,000 people. The University of Michigan shapes Ann Arbor's economy significantly. It employs about 30,000 workers which includes about 12,000 in
1504-464: A year together, Koester and Fister decided to split their business and Koester founded Delmar Records, on Delmar Boulevard . Delmar first recorded a traditional jazz group in 1953 and then searched out and recorded blues musicians of the 1920s and 1930s ( Speckled Red , Big Joe Williams , J.D. Short , Barrelhouse Buck McFarland , and James Crutchfield among others) who were living in St. Louis. The name of
1598-545: Is also the home office of the Anthroposophical Society in the United States , an organization dedicated to supporting the community of those interested in the inner path of schooling known as anthroposophy , developed by Rudolf Steiner . Following a 1956 vote, the city of East Ann Arbor merged with Ann Arbor to encompass the eastern sections of the city. In the past several decades, Ann Arbor has grappled with
1692-566: Is called an "Ann Arborite", and many long-time residents call themselves "townies". The city itself is often called "A²" ("A-squared") or "A2" ("A two") or "AA", "The Deuce" (mainly by Chicagoans), and "Tree Town". With tongue-in-cheek reference to the city's liberal political leanings, some occasionally refer to Ann Arbor as "The People's Republic of Ann Arbor" or "25 square miles surrounded by reality." In A Prairie Home Companion broadcast from Ann Arbor, Garrison Keillor described Ann Arbor as "a city where people discuss socialism, but only in
1786-621: Is heavily influenced by the University of Michigan , with 22% of downtown and 9.4% of the total land owned by the university. The downtown Central Campus contains some of the oldest extant structures in the city—including the President's House, built in 1840—and separates the South University District from the other three downtown commercial districts. These other three districts, Kerrytown , State Street, and Main Street are contiguous near
1880-422: Is held on the first Saturday of April. Until (at least) the successful passage of Michigan's medical marijuana law, the event had arguably strayed from its initial intent, although for years, a number of attendees have received serious legal responses due to marijuana use on University of Michigan property, which does not fall under the city's progressive and compassionate ticketing program. A person from Ann Arbor
1974-683: Is located in a renovated and expanded historic downtown fire station. The Ann Arbor Art Center is a nonprofit that organizes art activities and exhibitions. Aside from the Ann Arbor District Library , which maintains four branch outlets in addition to its main downtown building, and being the home to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library , Ann Arbor ranks first among U.S. cities in the number of booksellers and books sold per capita. Several annual events—many of them centered on performing and visual arts—draw visitors to Ann Arbor. One such event
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#17330922423412068-430: Is on the city's east side, near the university's Central Campus. Located across the Huron River just beyond the university's North Campus is the university's Matthaei Botanical Gardens , which contains 300 acres of gardens and a large tropical conservatory. Several other green spaces around Ann Arbor are privately owned or owned by government agencies such as Ann Arbor Public Schools . The cityscape of Ann Arbor
2162-541: Is represented in the NPSL by AFC Ann Arbor , a soccer club founded in 2014 who call themselves The Mighty Oak. Opening in the summer of 2014, the city funded Ann Arbor Skatepark , is a 30,000-square-foot skatepark in located within Veterans Memorial Park. At the opening of the skatepark, professional skateboarders skated the park including Tony Hawk , Andy Macdonald , Alex Sorgente , and Tony Magnusson . As
2256-565: Is the Ann Arbor Art Fairs , a set of four concurrent juried fairs held on downtown streets. Scheduled on Thursday through Sunday of the third week of July, the fairs draw upward of half a million visitors. Another is the Ann Arbor Film Festival , held during the third week of March, which receives more than 2,500 submissions annually from more than 40 countries and serves as one of a handful of Academy Award–qualifying festivals in
2350-507: The Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan , a student housing cooperative founded in 1937. There are also three cohousing communities— Sunward , Great Oak, and Touchstone—located immediately to the west of the city limits. Several performing arts groups and facilities are on the University of Michigan's campus, as are museums dedicated to art, archaeology , and natural history and sciences. Founded in 1879,
2444-527: The Toyota Technical Center . The city is also home to National Sanitation Foundation International ( NSF International ), the nonprofit non-governmental organization that develops generally accepted standards for a variety of public health related industries and subject areas. Non-high tech companies in Ann Arbor include Domino's Pizza , headquartered on Domino's Farms , a 271-acre (110 ha) Frank Lloyd Wright -inspired complex just northeast of
2538-537: The Treaty of Detroit of 1807. Ann Arbor was founded in 1824 by land speculators John Allen and Elisha Walker Rumsey . On May 25, 1824, the town plat was registered with Wayne County as the Village of Annarbour, the earliest known use of the town's name. Allen and Rumsey decided to name it for their wives, both named Ann, and for the stands of bur oak in the 640 acres (260 ha) of land they purchased for $ 800 from
2632-466: The U.S. Census Bureau . While it borders only Townships , the built-up nature of the sections of Pittsfield and Ypsilanti townships between Ann Arbor and the city of Ypsilanti make the two effectively a single urban area . The landscape of Ann Arbor consists of hills and valleys, with the terrain becoming steeper near the Huron River . The elevation ranges from about 750 feet (230 m) along
2726-591: The University Musical Society is an independent performing arts organization that presents over 60 events each year, bringing international artists in music, dance, and theater. Since 2001 Shakespeare in the Arb has presented one play by Shakespeare each June, in a large park near downtown. Regional and local performing arts groups not associated with the university include the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre,
2820-710: The county seat of Washtenaw County , the Washtenaw County Trial Court (22nd Circuit Court) is located in Ann Arbor at the Washtenaw County Courthouse on Main Street. Seven judges serve on the court. The 15th Michigan district court , which serves only the city itself, is located within the Ann Arbor Justice Center, immediately next to city hall. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and Court of Appeals for
2914-459: The fifth-most populous city in Michigan. Located on the Huron River , Ann Arbor is the principal city of its metropolitan area , which encompasses all of Washtenaw County and had 372,258 residents in 2020. Ann Arbor was founded in 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey. It was named after the wives of the village's founders, both named Ann, and the stands of bur oak trees they found at the site of
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3008-501: The third-largest stadium of any kind in the world with a capacity of 107,601. The stadium is colloquially known as "The Big House" due to its status as the largest American football stadium. Crisler Center and Yost Ice Arena play host to the school's basketball (both men's and women's ) and ice hockey teams, respectively. Concordia University , a member of the NAIA , also fields sports teams. In semi-professional sports Ann Arbor
3102-449: The "top places to live" lists published by various mainstream media outlets every year. In 2016, the city changed mayoral terms from two years to four. Until 2017, City Council held annual elections in which half of the seats (one from each ward) were elected to 2-year terms. These elections were staggered, with each ward having one of its seats up for election in odd years and its other seat up for election in even years. Beginning in 2018
3196-687: The Ann Arbor Blues Festival 2017 was on a grassy field at Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds, a few miles to the southwest of the 1969 festival. The first North American blues festival, where blues was the main attraction, particularly modern electric blues, was the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969. Musicians at the festival included Clifton Chenier , Son House , J. B. Hutto , B.B. King , Freddie King , Magic Sam , Sam Lay , Jimmy "Fast Fingers" Dawkins , Otis Rush , Charlie Musselwhite , Roosevelt Sykes , Muddy Waters , T-Bone Walker , Big Mama Thornton , Junior Wells , and Howlin' Wolf . An album containing various musicians performances at that Festival
3290-400: The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival. Second, while preserving the blues acts of the times, they wanted to add enough headliners to increase attendance and profitability. They had no financial supporters, but Sinclair found a friend willing to contribute $ 20,000. In 1972 and 1973, the addition of headline acts like Ray Charles and Miles Davis drew more people. The 1973 festival incorporated
3384-610: The Arbor Opera Theater, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra , The Ark , and Performance Network Theatre . State Theatre and the adjacent Michigan Theater are a movie palace and a performing arts center , respectively. Another unique piece of artistic expression in Ann Arbor is the fairy doors . These small portals are examples of installation art and can be found throughout the downtown area. The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum , an interactive science center ,
3478-406: The Huron River to 1,015 feet (309 m) on the city's west side, near the intersection of Maple Road and Pauline Blvd. Ann Arbor Municipal Airport , which is south of the city at 42°13.38′N 83°44.74′W / 42.22300°N 83.74567°W / 42.22300; -83.74567 , has an elevation of 839 feet (256 m). Ann Arbor is nicknamed "Tree Town", both due to its name and to
3572-534: The Jewel Tones, Laith al-Saadi, Danielle Nicole, Vanessa Collier, Harper & Midwest Kind and Altered Five Blues Band . Another hiatus came in 2020 before it resumed in 2021. Various performances have been released as records and CDs over the years. These include: Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in and the seat of government of Washtenaw County, Michigan , United States. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it
3666-462: The MG's , James Brown , Ray Charles , Ornette Coleman , Miles Davis , Dr. John , Al Green , Yusef Lateef , Taj Mahal , Maceo Parker , Sun Ra , Bonnie Raitt , Pharoah Sanders , Archie Shepp , and Cecil Taylor . Early festivals (before 1974) were held on the "Fuller Flats" an open area on the north side of Fuller Road and just west of Huron High School. (It had been a medical waste dump site before
3760-516: The Narcotics (featuring Billy Davis ), the Nick Moss Band, and Benny Turner & Real Blues. Although Melvyn "Deacon" Jones and Brandon "Taz" Niederaurer were scheduled to be Benny Turner's guests, circumstances prevented either from appearing. Deacon Jones died on July 6, 2017, and Niederaurer's travel arrangements were foiled due to inclement weather. Nick Moss replaced Niederaurer on guitar at
3854-790: The North Campus Research Complex, a former Pfizer pharmaceutical research facility on the northeast side of Ann Arbor. The city is the home of other research and engineering centers, including the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory that is operated by NOAA and the Michigan Tech Research Institute . Other research centers sited in the city are the United States Environmental Protection Agency 's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory and
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3948-814: The Old West Side neighborhood have been preserved virtually intact; in 1972, the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and it is further protected by city ordinances and a nonprofit preservation group. Ann Arbor has a typically Midwestern humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ), which is influenced by the Great Lakes . There are four distinct seasons: winters are cold and snowy, with average highs around 34 °F (1 °C). Summers are warm to hot and humid, with average highs around 81 °F (27 °C) and with slightly more precipitation. Spring and autumn are transitional between
4042-666: The Sixth Circuit are also located in downtown Ann Arbor, at the federal building on Liberty Street. In the Michigan Legislature , the city is split between Districts 23 , 33 , 47 , and 48 in the Michigan House of Representatives . In the Michigan Senate , Ann Arbor is covered by Districts 14 and 15 . Ann Arbor is within the 6th congressional district , currently represented by Debbie Dingell . Ann Arbor has
4136-791: The South Industrial area. Other commercial areas include the Arborland/Washtenaw Avenue and Packard Road merchants on the east side, the Plymouth Road area in the northeast, and the Westgate/West Stadium areas on the west side. Downtown contains a mix of 19th- and early-20th-century structures and modern-style buildings, as well as a farmers' market in the Kerrytown district. The city's commercial districts are composed mostly of two- to four-story structures, although downtown and
4230-616: The Three Fires — the Odawa , Ojibwe , and Potawatomi . The Potawatomi founded two villages in the area of what is now Ann Arbor in about 1774. Other tribes that inhabited the area included the Fox , Wyandots , and Sauk . These peoples established several trails that converged on present-day Ann Arbor. The land that included Washtenaw County was ceded to the U.S. by the Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Wyandot in
4324-428: The United States. Ann Arbor has a long history of openness to marijuana, given Ann Arbor's decriminalization of cannabis , the large number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city (one dispensary, called People's Co-op, was directly across the street from Michigan Stadium until zoning forced it to move one mile to the west), the large number of pro-marijuana residents, and the annual Hash Bash : an event that
4418-417: The approval of the city council. The current mayor of Ann Arbor is Christopher Taylor , a Democrat who was elected as mayor in 2014. Day-to-day city operations are managed by a city administrator chosen by the city council. While Democrats , as of 2024, hold the mayorship and all ten council seats, Ann Arbor has two major political factions. A major source of this local divide is differences in views on
4512-548: The area by the university's research and development infrastructure. The city has been a center for progressive politics as well as several social and religious movements. Ann Arbor is included in the Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor combined statistical area and the Great Lakes megalopolis . The lands of present-day Ann Arbor were part of Massachusetts 's western claim after the French and Indian War (1754–1763), bounded by
4606-541: The area near Briarwood Mall contain a small number of high-rise buildings. Ann Arbor's residential neighborhoods contain architectural styles ranging from classic 19th- and early 20th-century designs to ranch-style houses . Among these homes are a number of kit houses built in the early 20th century. Contemporary-style houses are farther from the downtown district. Surrounding the University of Michigan campus are houses and apartment complexes occupied primarily by student renters. The 19th-century buildings and streetscape of
4700-590: The area since the 1930s, when International Radio Corporation introduced the first mass-produced AC/DC radio (the Kadette, in 1931) as well as the first pocket radio (the Kadette Jr., in 1933). Current firms include Arbor Networks (provider of Internet traffic engineering and security systems), Arbortext (provider of XML-based publishing software), JSTOR (the digital scholarly journal archive), Truven Health Analytics , and ProQuest , which includes UMI . Duo Security,
4794-501: The auspices of the University of Michigan in his position as events coordinator. He had business experience and promotional skills. Sinclair was a blues fan who had been manager of the MC5 . Sinclair provided the creative side of the equation and Andrews the business and booking skills. They planned to continue the festival with modifications. First, they expanded the festival to include other genres, such as jazz and rhythm and blues, so it became
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#17330922423414888-487: The blues committee wanted to promote the upcoming festival with a rehearsal concert to introduce students to the blues. The Luther Allison Trio performed at the Michigan Union Ballroom in the spring before the festival was to take place. Fishel felt a sense of urgency to organize the second festival in 1970 due to the deaths and ages of blues musicians. With help from Ken Whipple and Mark Platt, Fishel again took
4982-403: The building's construction. During the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained a reputation as an important center for liberal politics. Ann Arbor also became a locus for left-wing activism and anti-Vietnam War movement , as well as the student movement. The first major meetings of the national left-wing campus group Students for a Democratic Society took place in Ann Arbor in 1960; in 1965, the city
5076-556: The campus of St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario , Canada. Preparations included carpools for taking fans from Michigan to Canada. But the FBI and other law enforcement officials prevented fans from crossing the border. They prevented John Sinclair, co-producer of the festival, from entering Canada. No reasons were given at the border for turning back cars. Cars were searched. Any drugs that were found were detained and their occupants arrested. At
5170-520: The center of the city and the campus is directly adjacent to the State Street and South University downtown areas. Other local colleges and universities include Concordia University Ann Arbor , a Lutheran liberal-arts institution, and Cleary University , a private business school. Washtenaw Community College is located in neighboring Ann Arbor Township . In 2000, the Ave Maria School of Law ,
5264-453: The city council has had staggered elections to 4-year terms in even years. This means that half of the members (one from each ward) are elected in presidential election years, while the other half are elected in mid-term election years. To facilitate this change in scheduling, the 2017 election elected members to terms that lasted 3-years. In 2020, partly as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic ,
5358-512: The city council. After eighty meetings, the council voted unanimously to restart the festival. Changes in 1992 included the introduction of venues in addition to all-day and all-night outdoor concerts. Outdoor night concerts were replaced by indoor events, including sit-down concerts at the Michigan Theater and night shows at the Bird of Paradise. The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival was again under
5452-432: The city government opened several downtown streets to pedestrians, limiting their use by motor vehicles to emergency vehicles during summertime weekends. In addition to providing a large pedestrian mall , these changes allow restaurants to use more of the sidewalks and part of the street for outdoor seating. These changes were popular enough that in 2021 the city council extended the dates from March to November, continuing
5546-403: The city was $ 52,276, which is higher than the U.S. national per capita income of $ 41,261. Males working full-time jobs had median earnings of $ 86,970 compared to $ 61,543 for females. Out of the 109,973 people with a determined poverty status, 23.1% were below the poverty line compared to the U.S. national poverty rate of 11.1%; the age group with the highest percentage below the poverty level
5640-547: The city's growth. Public schools are part of the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) district. AAPS has one of the country's leading music programs. For the 2021–2022 school year, 17,070 students were enrolled in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. Notable schools include Pioneer , Huron , Skyline , Community high schools, Pathways to Success Academic Campus , and Ann Arbor Open School . The district has
5734-469: The city. Another Ann Arbor-based company is Zingerman's Delicatessen , which serves sandwiches and has developed businesses under a variety of brand names. Avfuel, a global supplier of aviation fuels and services, is headquartered in Ann Arbor as is Pinkerton , a detective and private security firm. Many cooperative enterprises were founded in the city; among those that remain are the People's Food Co-op and
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#17330922423415828-535: The council, HRP representatives fought for measures including pioneering antidiscrimination ordinances, measures decriminalizing marijuana possession , and a rent-control ordinance. Two religious-conservative institutions were created in Ann Arbor; the Word of God (established in 1967), a charismatic inter-denominational movement; and the Thomas More Law Center (established in 1999). Since 1998, Ann Arbor
5922-428: The dense forestation of its parks and residential areas. The city contains more than 50,000 trees along its streets and an equal number in parks. Into the early 2000s, the emerald ash borer has destroyed many of the city's approximately 10,500 ash trees . The city contains over 160 municipal parks ranging from small neighborhood green spots to large recreation areas such as Buhr Park . Several large city parks and
6016-510: The direction of Andrews and scheduled to begin as a free festival in the fall of 2007. The festival and the city tried to collaborate to continue the event. But the festival was not held in 2007. Following its hiatus of over a decade, the Ann Arbor Blues Festival was held on August 19, 2017. Encouraged by local blues performer Chris Canas, Ann Arbor resident and founder of the Ann Arbor Blues Society, James Partridge promoted and managed
6110-490: The effects of sharply rising land values, gentrification , and urban sprawl stretching into outlying countryside. On November 4, 2003, voters approved a greenbelt plan under which the city government bought development rights on agricultural parcels of land adjacent to Ann Arbor to preserve them from sprawling development. Since then, a vociferous local debate has hinged on how and whether to accommodate and guide development within city limits. Ann Arbor consistently ranks in
6204-704: The end of April 2016, in the front room of his Delmark Records studio at 4121 N. Rockwell St. Shortly afterwards, he opened a smaller outlet at Irving Park Road called Bob’s Blues & Jazz Mart. He sold Delmark two years later. Koester married his wife, Susan, in 1968. They met at the West Grand Avenue store, located across the street from the American Medical Association where she worked. They remained married for 53 years until his death. Together, they had two children: Bob Jr. and Kate. Koester died on May 12, 2021, while in hospice care. He
6298-652: The event. The single-day festival was at the Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds ( 42°12′41″N 83°47′41″W / 42.21139°N 83.79472°W / 42.21139; -83.79472 ). Performers included Blair Miller, Tino G's Dumpster Machine, Alabama Slim , Hank Mowery & the Hawktones (featuring guitarist Kate Moss), the Norman Jackson Band, the Chris Canas Band, Eliza Neals and
6392-579: The exception of the 2010 census which reported almost no growth from the previous census. As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 123,851 people and 49,337 households residing in the city, with a population density of 4,391.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,695.7/km ). The racial makeup of the city including Hispanics in the racial categories was 67.6% White , 6.8% Black , 0.2% Native American , 15.7% Asian , 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander , 1.8% from other races , and 7.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race made up 5.5% of
6486-441: The fanciest restaurants." Ann Arbor sometimes appears on citation indexes as an author, instead of a location, often with the academic degree MI , a misunderstanding of the abbreviation for Michigan. Ann Arbor is a major center for college sports, most notably at the University of Michigan . Several well-known college sports facilities exist in the city, including Michigan Stadium , the largest American football stadium and
6580-403: The federal government at $ 1.25 per acre. The local Ojibwa named the settlement kaw-goosh-kaw-nick , after the sound of Allen's sawmill . Ann Arbor became the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827 and was incorporated as a village in 1833. The Ann Arbor Land Company, a group of speculators, set aside 40 acres (16 ha) of undeveloped land and offered it to the state of Michigan as the site of
6674-457: The festival. The 2017 Ann Arbor Blues Festival was dedicated to Deacon Jones. The 2019 Ann Arbor 50th Anniversary celebration was on August 16–18 performers include: The Allman Betts Band , Bernard Allison , Thornetta Davis , Alex Johnson, Benny Turner, John Primer, Mindi Abair and the Bone Shakers, Lindsay Beaver, The Sam Lay Band, Eliza Neals and the Narcotics, Kara Grainger, Doug Deming &
6768-528: The gates in Windsor anyone found smoking marijuana or carrying it was arrested and taken to jail. The festival lost over $ 100,000. For several years the festival was inactive. Andrews approached city officials about reinstating the festival. He was sent to the Parks Department, where he was turned down. Andrews was helped by Lee Berry, a music promoter in Ann Arbor who bypassed the parks commission and addressed
6862-526: The heaviest during the summer months, but most frequent during winter. Snowfall, which normally occurs from November to April but occasionally starts in October, averages 58 inches (147 cm) per season. The lowest recorded temperature was −23 °F (−31 °C) on February 11, 1885, and the highest recorded temperature was 105 °F (41 °C) on July 24, 1934. Ann Arbor has seen consistent growth in population between all decennial censuses since 1860 with
6956-547: The label was changed from Delmar to Delmark, partly because of copyright issues. Koester moved to Chicago in 1958. He purchased Seymour's Jazz Mart, in the Roosevelt University Building, from Seymour Schwartz in 1959. Four years later, he relocated the Jazz Record Mart and Delmark Records to 7 West Grand Avenue . He purchased premises at 4243 N. Lincoln Avenue and moved Delmark there in 1971. Koester
7050-584: The latitudes of Massachusetts Bay Colony 's original charter, to which it was entitled by its interpretation of its original sea-to-sea grant from the British Crown . Massachusetts ceded the claim to the federal government as part of the Northwest Territory after April 19, 1785. The region was once inhabited by several Native American tribes , the most prominent being the Anishinaabe people of
7144-451: The medical center. Other employers are drawn to the area by the university's research and development money, and by its graduates. High tech , health services and biotechnology are other major components of the city's economy; numerous medical offices, laboratories, and associated companies are located in the city. Automobile manufacturers , such as General Motors and Visteon , also employ residents. High tech companies have located in
7238-478: The northwestern corner of the university. Major landmarks in downtown Ann Arbor include the Michigan Theater , The Diag , and Tower Plaza , a 26-story condominium building that is the city's tallest building. Downtown is also home to several Fairy Doors and other public art installations. Three commercial areas south of downtown include the areas near I-94 and Ann Arbor-Saline Road, Briarwood Mall , and
7332-534: The outdoor festival was central, the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival became a daytime event. Outdoor evening shows were moved inside to venues such as the Michigan Theater and the club Bird of Paradise. In 2017, the festival returned to its roots as an outdoor event. Saturday and Sunday outdoor concerts took place in Gallup Park , a 69-acre (28 ha) park straddling the Huron River in northeast Ann Arbor. The site can accommodate over 10,000 attendees and includes
7426-422: The population. Ann Arbor has a small population of Arab Americans , including students as well as local Lebanese and Palestinians , and a large community of Japanese nationals. According to the 2022 American Community Survey estimates, out of 49,337 households, 33.8% were married-couple households, 9.8% were cohabiting couple households, 26.1% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 30.4% had
7520-485: The schedule of cordoning off cars from Thursday evening until Monday morning. Ann Arbor is located along the Huron River , which flows southeast through the city on its way to Lake Erie . It is the central core of the Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area , which consists of the whole of Washtenaw County, but is also a part of the Metro Detroit Combined Statistical Area designated by
7614-526: The school was built) In 1972 the area became the Otis Spann Memorial Field when Muddy Waters presented a plaque to Spann's widow that read "The people of Ann Arbor Michigan in recognition of the talent, the genius of the late Otis Spann, sweet giant of the Blues, formally dedicate the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, 1972 in the grounds upon which it stands to the memory of this great artist." Although
7708-683: The south was established in 1878. Throughout the 1840s and the 1850s settlers continued to come to Ann Arbor. While the earlier settlers were primarily of British ancestry, the newer settlers also consisted of Germans, Irish, and Black people. In 1851, Ann Arbor was chartered as a city, though the city showed a drop in population during the Depression of 1873 . It was not until the early 1880s that Ann Arbor again saw robust growth, with new immigrants from Greece, Italy, Russia, and Poland. Ann Arbor saw increased growth in manufacturing, particularly in milling . Ann Arbor's Jewish community also grew after
7802-537: The state capitol, but lost the bid to Lansing . In 1837, the property was accepted instead as the site of the University of Michigan . Since the university's establishment in the city in 1837, the histories of the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor have been closely linked. The town became a regional transportation hub in 1839 with the arrival of the Michigan Central Railroad , and a north–south railway connecting Ann Arbor to Toledo and other markets to
7896-456: The town. The University of Michigan was established in Ann Arbor in 1837, and the city's population grew at a rapid rate in the early to mid-20th century. A college town , Ann Arbor is currently home to the University of Michigan, which significantly shapes the city's economy, employing about 30,000 workers which includes about 12,000 in its medical center . The city's economy is also centered on high technology, with several companies drawn to
7990-474: The turn of the 20th century, and its first and oldest synagogue, Beth Israel Congregation , was established in 1916. In 1960, Ann Arbor voters approved a $ 2.3 million bond issue to build the current city hall, which was designed by architect Alden B. Dow . The City Hall opened in 1963. In 1995, the building was renamed the Guy C. Larcom Jr. Municipal Building in honor of the longtime city administrator who championed
8084-476: The two. The area experiences lake effect weather, primarily in the form of increased cloudiness during late fall and early winter. The monthly daily average temperature in July is 72.6 °F (22.6 °C), while the same figure for January is 24.5 °F (−4.2 °C). Temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on 10 days, and drop to or below 0 °F (−18 °C) on 4.6 nights. Precipitation tends to be
8178-569: The university with help later from the Canterbury House, an Episcopal group which owned a folk club in Ann Arbor. To educate themselves more about the blues, Fishel and other students took a field trip to Chicago. They met Bob Koester , owner of the Jazz Record Mart and Delmark Records , a blues record label in the basement of his record store. Koester directed them to bars and clubs where they could hear blues musicians, in addition to giving them names, addresses, and phone numbers. Back at school,
8272-467: Was down because of a simultaneous rock concert at Goose Lake International Music Festival , resulting in a financial loss for the festival. After the loss in 1970, the university was unwilling to fund an unprofitable event, so the festival was canceled in 1971. The expansion of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1972 was the work of Peter Andrews and John Sinclair . Andrews had managed bands and promoted music in Ann Arbor for several years on his own and under
8366-533: Was home to the first U.S. teach-in against the Vietnam War . During the ensuing 15 years, many countercultural and New Left enterprises sprang up and developed large constituencies within the city. These influences washed into municipal politics during the early and mid-1970s when three members of the Human Rights Party (HRP) won city council seats on the strength of the student vote. During their time on
8460-479: Was in high school. He studied business and cinematography at Saint Louis University starting in 1951. While in university, Koester sold records by mail order from his dormitory room. He subsequently dropped out , and became a founding member of the St. Louis Jazz Club. There, he met Ron Fister, another record collector. The two of them opened a small record store, K & F Sales. On moving to bigger premises they renamed it Blue Note Record Shop. After nearly
8554-506: Was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1996. He became one of only a few non-performers to have been so-honored by the museum. The Jazz Record Mart moved to 27 East Illinois in 2006. The rent at that location ultimately proved too costly, and Koester closed the store after selling off its entire inventory to Wolfgang's Vault . He reopened the store in the Horner Park neighborhood at
8648-536: Was persons between 18 and 34 years at 43.0% while other age groups have percentages between 2.7% and 7.7%. Further, 3.5% of minors and 7.7% of seniors were below the poverty line. According to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program in 2022, Ann Arbor had 371 reported violent crimes (which include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and 2069 reported property crimes (which include arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). With
8742-527: Was released in 2019. It debuted at number 10 in the Billboard Blues Albums Chart in the week of August 17, 2019. The Ann Arbor Blues Festival was created and organized by a group of University of Michigan students led by Cary Gordon, a native of suburban Detroit, and John Fishel, who grew up in Cleveland and had transferred to Michigan from Tulane University. The festival was sponsored first by
8836-587: Was the founder and owner of Delmark Records , a jazz and blues independent record label . He also operated the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago , which he billed as the "World's Largest Jazz and Blues Specialty Store", and later a record store specializing in blues and jazz in Irving Park , Chicago. Koester was born in Wichita, Kansas , on October 30, 1932. He began collecting and trading classic 78 rpm records when he
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