Gleaners Fundraiser - Belmont - 1 - 16

I've just come in from shoveling gobs of brown slush... and, instantly, without playing it even having to play it on my stereo, Scarlet Oak's country rock ballad, "Snow in Michigan..." gets in my head... in which it makes reference to all this heavy, wet, bastardly brown muck -

Ah well... Here we are in the heart of winter - and while we can always sneak inside for a bowl of hot porridge or a nip o' the ol' whiskey flask, we should be thinking of those less fortunate -

Throwing concerts for good causes is, for as heartening and prosperous as Sounds & Spirits / Mittenfests were, are under-utilized – so it’s vital we jump at the chance to support local organizations and nonprofits dedicated to helping those in need. We’ll get that opportunity again, this coming Saturday (1/16) at the Belmont in Hamtramck, as a handful of interesting acts perform to support Gleaners Community Food Bank – a local organization that saves more than 25 million pounds of surplus food from being wasted and provides it to hungry people in SE Michigan.

The line up includes the vigorous and varied punk styling of Noman, along with the soulful, piano-pound, twang-touched and harmony-heavy rock of Old Empire. Also joining the cause is the urban-tinged-country-rock elegance of Scarlet Oaks (pictured). D’Allie, The Ready and Adieu round out a bill that will also feature a collaboration of Kelly Jean Caldwell’s murky Americana folk and Aaron Ruth’s dark atmospherics under the moniker, Wiccans. More info: Gleaners – gfcb.org; thebelmontbar.com