A beautiful Michigan summer afternoon became sublime with a captivating performance by Kate Peterson at Top of the Park in Ann Arbor, MI.
Kate Peterson – Top of the Park
Top of the Park is what most of us locals affectionately call the Ann Arbor Summer festival. This year the festival celebrates 34 years of providing a diverse mixture of entertainment over the four weeks of June. One of the best parts about the festival is its embrace of local artists. When we saw that our friend Kate Peterson would be playing on the O & W Acoustic Stage and we were in town for the weekend, we made a date to go see her.
For those that may not know; Kate Peterson was part of the dynamic and feisty folk duo know as Nervous But Excited. While her partner in crime Sarah Clever has moved away, Kate keeps the music alive while cultivating her own rich sonic catalog. We were very happy to hear her play “Said and Done” which is one of our favorites.
Jamming with family and friends
While Kate is more than capable of playing solo, it is fun to play with friends and family. Her wife, Leah joined her with vocal harmonies on a few songs, including a sweet original song called “Lucky” . Kate also mentioned her work with Leah in the storytelling event “As We Go On” which captures the challenges of the LGBT community with poignant stories.
Adding rich resonance with the cello and delicate highlights with the mandolin was Kate’s friend, Chris Foster.
As a challenge to expand her musical spectrum, Kate moved over to her keyboard. She played a heart-wrenching version of “Can’t Make Me Love You” by Bonnie Raitt. You could see Kate get lost in the music and we all went along for the ride.
Ukulele Sunset
Kate pulled the large crowd that had gathered together for a final sing-along cover of Journey’s “Faithfully”. As Kate led us on the ukulele, the crowd sang the “woah oh woah oh” bridge. I could almost hear Neil Schon tearing into his guitar solo.
Hearty cheers marked the end of a fantastic performance. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, we are blessed with a phenomenal wealth of talent in our state. Kate Peterson is an amazing Michigan artist who can touch your soul with the beauty of her music.
Be sure to drop into the gallery for more pictures of Kate Peterson at Top of the Park.
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