2022 Season Presenters
Singer-songwriter Penny Shute Menze kicks off the 2022 Season of Real People Media's Voice Box Sessions. The Voice Box Sessions is a singer-songwriter concert series that provides community enrichment and mentorship via young and emerging artists via an open-mic following the featured professional performer.
Bring your guitar, banjo, ukulele, etc. and join our open mic following the featured performer. The Voice Box Sessions provides a supportive family friendly venue for all artists. Artists of all ages and abilities are welcome!
Bring your guitar, banjo, ukulele, etc. and join our open mic following the featured performer. The Voice Box Sessions provides a supportive family friendly venue for all artists. Artists of all ages and abilities are welcome!
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Penny Menze - August 3, 2022-7:30pmCountry Roots Artist, Penny Menze, originally from the upper Peninsula of Michigan, was raised in Arizona and ended up following her musical dream to Nashville, Tennessee, and finally fully circle, back to Michigan. “I made a living playing downtown Nashville. Meeting fellow artists and tourists from around the world, dreamers and doers”. Teaming up with Grammy bluegrass musicians, Penny recorded “Planes, Trains, Trucks, Lovin’ and Leavin’ album in 2009. Now Penny is following her roots and is currently working on a concept album. A story album that takes place in the Copper Country of Michigan. A story of Croatian emigrants, Copper Mines, WWI, labor unrest and of course a love story…
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Past Presenters
John Davey
Instrument(s) (guitar)
Genre Indie-Folk, Pop, Rock
From Indiana’s Wabash River Valley to Music City, Nashville, Tennessee to the wilds of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, John Davey's creates words and melodies of Middle-America which follow this singer-songwriter everywhere.
“... John Davey's fragile performance showcased his unique, and very welcomed attention to, the fine art of phrasing.” Speakers In Code
Genre Indie-Folk, Pop, Rock
From Indiana’s Wabash River Valley to Music City, Nashville, Tennessee to the wilds of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, John Davey's creates words and melodies of Middle-America which follow this singer-songwriter everywhere.
“... John Davey's fragile performance showcased his unique, and very welcomed attention to, the fine art of phrasing.” Speakers In Code
Nellie McKay
Instrument(s) (piano, ukulele)
Genres Jazz, Pop, Folk, comedy
Nellie McKay is one of the most dynamic performers of our times. She roared onto the music scene in 2004 with her debut double album, “ Get Away From Me,” which was met with widespread praise from critics, and charted on the Billboard 200. She's appeared on countless radio and television shows including, “Conan O'Brien,” “The Late Late Show,” “A Prairie Home Companion,” “Mountain Stage” and many more. Her quick wit and disarming grin combined with superb vocals and mastery of the piano all make for an extraordinary performance.
“McKay comes on as a Harlem Holly Golightly, a social activist with a disarming mastery of pop vernacular.” – Los Angeles Times
“…a sly, articulate musician who sounds comfortable in any era” – The New York Times
Genres Jazz, Pop, Folk, comedy
Nellie McKay is one of the most dynamic performers of our times. She roared onto the music scene in 2004 with her debut double album, “ Get Away From Me,” which was met with widespread praise from critics, and charted on the Billboard 200. She's appeared on countless radio and television shows including, “Conan O'Brien,” “The Late Late Show,” “A Prairie Home Companion,” “Mountain Stage” and many more. Her quick wit and disarming grin combined with superb vocals and mastery of the piano all make for an extraordinary performance.
“McKay comes on as a Harlem Holly Golightly, a social activist with a disarming mastery of pop vernacular.” – Los Angeles Times
“…a sly, articulate musician who sounds comfortable in any era” – The New York Times
Ani & Kora
Instruments (violin, guitar, ukulele)
Ani & Kora are a singer song-writer, multi-instrumentalist, folk punk duo from Houghton, Michigan. Old on soul and sharp as a tack, their music is inspired by their home in the Keweenaw Peninsula, by the roots and Americana music they were raised on, and all served up with a pinch of hot club swing. They’ve performed live on stage with the likes of May Erlewine, Joshua Davis, The Accidentals. This spring they’ll graduate from high school.
Ani & Kora are a singer song-writer, multi-instrumentalist, folk punk duo from Houghton, Michigan. Old on soul and sharp as a tack, their music is inspired by their home in the Keweenaw Peninsula, by the roots and Americana music they were raised on, and all served up with a pinch of hot club swing. They’ve performed live on stage with the likes of May Erlewine, Joshua Davis, The Accidentals. This spring they’ll graduate from high school.
Jana Nyberg with Mike Irish (VBS Mentors)
Instruments: (guitar, flute, piano)
genres (Jazz, Pop,Blues)
Jana Nyberg is a vocalist, flautist and band director from Minneapolis, MN. She appeared on Season 10 of American Idol, and has released four full-length albums to date.
Known for her expressive and soulful approach, she effortlessly shifts between genres. A sought-after performer and recording artist, Nyberg has collaborated with Gigamesh, The Adam Meckler Orchestra, Jason Peterson DeLaire (Michael Bolton), Unus, Rass Kwame and others. On stage, she brings a vibrancy and passion that is infectious and ignites her audiences.
genres (Jazz, Pop,Blues)
Jana Nyberg is a vocalist, flautist and band director from Minneapolis, MN. She appeared on Season 10 of American Idol, and has released four full-length albums to date.
Known for her expressive and soulful approach, she effortlessly shifts between genres. A sought-after performer and recording artist, Nyberg has collaborated with Gigamesh, The Adam Meckler Orchestra, Jason Peterson DeLaire (Michael Bolton), Unus, Rass Kwame and others. On stage, she brings a vibrancy and passion that is infectious and ignites her audiences.
Michael Irish, former Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan Tech University, has a broad background in Jazz Studies as both an educator and performer. He holds a B.M.E. from Northern Michigan University and an M.M.E. from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point with a thesis in Jazz Studies. Prior to his appointment at Michigan Tech, Mr. Irish taught in the Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools and for eight years was the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.
As a jazz guitarist, Mr. Irish has performed with Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, Dizzy Gillespie, Rob McConnell, Don Ellis, Steve Houghton, and Frank Mantooth, among others. In the area of popular music, he has worked with Bob Hope, Robert Goulet, Rich Little, Carol Lawrence, and Rodney Dangerfield.
As a jazz guitarist, Mr. Irish has performed with Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, Dizzy Gillespie, Rob McConnell, Don Ellis, Steve Houghton, and Frank Mantooth, among others. In the area of popular music, he has worked with Bob Hope, Robert Goulet, Rich Little, Carol Lawrence, and Rodney Dangerfield.
Bob Hiltunen
Instruments: guitar
Genres Blues, Rock, Jazz
Keweenaw native, Bob Hiltunen has mastered a variety of musical genres including jazz, rock and blues. He is an accomplished guitarist who has performed with a number of bands including the Garden City Hot Club, Bob Hiltunen All-Stars and Uncle Pete's Barbecue Blues Band. Bob's guitar licks and quick wit make for a rocking good time!
Genres Blues, Rock, Jazz
Keweenaw native, Bob Hiltunen has mastered a variety of musical genres including jazz, rock and blues. He is an accomplished guitarist who has performed with a number of bands including the Garden City Hot Club, Bob Hiltunen All-Stars and Uncle Pete's Barbecue Blues Band. Bob's guitar licks and quick wit make for a rocking good time!
Ellis Delaney
Instruments: guitar
Genres, Indie-Folk
Spreading joy is what singer/songwriter Ellis Delaney does best, and it permeates throughout her new album Ordinary Love. Celebrating the beauty in everyday living, the album couldn’t come at a better time. Even amidst COVID19, loss, climate change and gun violence, Ellis finds joy and meaning from family, community connection and ordinary life.
“If ever there was a feel-good folk musician, this is the woman who really does send you off feeling better about the world." — John Davy, No Depression
Genres, Indie-Folk
Spreading joy is what singer/songwriter Ellis Delaney does best, and it permeates throughout her new album Ordinary Love. Celebrating the beauty in everyday living, the album couldn’t come at a better time. Even amidst COVID19, loss, climate change and gun violence, Ellis finds joy and meaning from family, community connection and ordinary life.
“If ever there was a feel-good folk musician, this is the woman who really does send you off feeling better about the world." — John Davy, No Depression
