All Episodes

first aired 3/4/10
Best of BackStage Pass - Special #110p
Mixing intimate performance with personal interviews and behind the scenes footage, BackStage Pass is your front-row center seat for diverse music from Michigan’s most talented artists. Whether the style is rock, jazz, folk, country, classical or R&B, BackStage Pass delivers outstanding entertainment.

first aired 10/6/09
Orquesta Ritmo on BackStage Pass #109
Orquesta Ritmo plays a fusion of Afro/Cuban rhythms, Spanish melodies and jazz horns that make this salsa orchestra from Michigan a dance favorite. Featuring singer and band leader Mike Eyia and spicy hot horn and percussion sections, this eleven piece orchestra can fill a dance floor in no time. Says band leader Mike Eyia, Sr., "This kind of music is what we feel. It's our lives."

first aired 2/11/10
Steppin' In It & Shout Sister Shout on BackStage Pass #108
Steppin' In It delivers old-time country swing and blues and originals from singer/songwriter Josh Davis. When singer Rachael Davis steps on stage, the ensemble becomes Shout Sister Shout, offering '30s/'40s jazz in a string-band style that anyone can enjoy. Known for a bluesy ballads, torchy swing, American jazz and folk repertoire, and featuring Davis' gilded voice on vocals, Shout Sister Shout brings the charm of swing-era classics to a new generation. Featuring selections from Steppin' In It's latest CD, Simple Tunes for Troubled Times and much more.

first aired 2/4/10
Huckleberry Groove on BackStage Pass #107
This horn-heavy pop/funk/soul band delivers with original music, tight vocal harmonies, high energy and a feel-good vibe. This six-piece ensemble from Michigan was the 2005 winner of the World Series of Rock and Roll.

first aired 1/28/10
Jen Sygit and Spare Change on BackStage Pass #106
Bluesy folk with an edge, from Lansing-based singer/songwriter Jen Sygit and backed by the fine musicians of Spare Change. Jen Sygit performs tunes from her recordings So Long Polyanna, Leaving Marshall St. and more. Leaving Marshall St. was nominated for a 2007 Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Acoustic/Folk Recording.

first aired 1/21/10
String Doctors on BackStage Pass #105
This group features Michigan mainstays Joel Mabus and Ray Kamalay, plus the superb hot fiddle of Peter Knupfer and the silky upright bass of Dave Rosin. Clever originals from Mabus (one of the finest songwriters in the United States), hot-pickin' and great tunes from the American tradition make for a lively hour.

first aired 1/14/10
organissimo on BackStage Pass #104
International jazz favorite organissimo invigorates the organ trio tradition, playing soul jazz infused with gospel, blues, and rock, and centered on the Hammond organ played by Jim Alfredson. Called "eclectic, classic, and inventive," organissimo creates a rare musical chemistry that extends the tradition of the organ-based trio. Featuring selections from the recent CD, Groovadelphia.

first aired 1/7/10
Big Willy on BackStage Pass #103
Rock and roll, R and B, a driving guitar, one brassy sax and the songwriting of C.W. Rideoutt. This up-and-coming band from Lansing, Michigan plays selections from their debut CD, King Without a Crown.

first aired 3/4/09
Root Doctor on BackStage Pass #102
Root Doctor plays a diverse mix of classic soul and R & B, alongside traditional blues and inspired original material. The Studio A performance features tunes from Root Doctor albums Been a Long Time Coming, Change Our Ways, and more.

first aired 1/21/09
MSU Professors of Jazz on BackStage Pass #101
Hard bop from jazz bassist Rodney Whitaker and colleagues from the College of Music at Michigan State University. Featuring Sunny Wilkinson, Diego Rivera, Randy Gelispie, Joe Gloss, Rick Roe and T.S. Galloway. Selections featured include Hop on Pop, Summer, A Heart Enflamed and a Soul Enchanted, Little Giant, You and I, Anthropology.

first aired 12/17/09
A BackStage Pass Christmas #112
Celebrate the season with holiday selections from organissimo, Rachael Davis, Big Willy, The String Doctors, Huckleberry Groove, Jen Sygit and Spare Change with Freddie Cunningham, and Orquesta Ritmo.

first aired 2/25/09
H2 Quartet on BackStage Pass #111
Chamber music from the award-winning H2 Saxophone Quartet, made of graduate students in the saxophone performance program at MSU.