BackStage Pass

Fridays at 11 & 11:30pm on WKAR HD. Season 7 Starts April 22!

 

ADD YOUR SUPPORT HERE! Let WKAR and Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs know you value BackStage Pass

A showcase of music made in Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Mixing intimate performance with personal interviews and behind the scenes footage, BackStage Pass is your front-row center seat for diverse music from Michigan and the Midwest's most talented artists. Whether the style is rock, jazz, folk, country, classical or R&B, BackStage Pass delivers outstanding entertainment.

Produced in association with Michigan Institute for Contemporary Art and MessageMakers.

BackStage Pass is supported in part by
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union
Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs
National Endowment for the Arts

Ways to Connect

Jim Alfredson's Dirty Fingers on BackStage Pass

By Editor • Jul 23, 2015
WKAR

Bluesy hardbop & free-jazz exploration from keyboardist Jim Alfredson and Dirty Fingers.

Hank Mowrey and the Hawktones on BackStage Pass

By Editor • Jul 23, 2015
WKAR

Blues with old-school sensibility and modern-day energy from Hank Mowrey and Mike Morgan.

Harper and Midwest Kind on BackStage Pass

By Editor • Mar 17, 2015
STACY HOXSEY / WKAR

Join award-winning Australian singer/songwriter Peter Harper as he creates a heady mix of original world, blues & roots music, featuring soulful vocals, wailing harmonica and the haunting drone of the didgeridoo.

Having a Ball on BackStage Pass

By • May 14, 2014
performers on stage
w.r. richards / WKAR-MSU

Fri. May 16 - 9pm - WKAR HD | Highlights from season 5 of the television series featuring music made in Michigan and the Great Lakes region.

Funktion on BackStage Pass

By • May 4, 2014
performers on stage
Stacy Hoxsey / WKAR-MSU

Funk powerhouse from Kalamazoo. Recorded live at Albert White Auditorium in East Lansing. WATCH NOW

Kevin Nichols and Blue Tuesday on BackStage Pass

By • Apr 28, 2014
Performer on stage
w.r. richards / WKAR-MSU

Hard-driving blues from Jackson, Michigan. Recorded live at BluesFest 2013 in Lansing's Oldtown district.

Lowdown Brass Band on BackStage Pass

By • Apr 17, 2014
performers on stage
Stacy Hoxsey / WKAR-MSU

Second line New Orleans sound meets hip-hop, reggae and funk.

Big LLou and the Bluesville Revue on BackStage Pass

By • Apr 14, 2014
ANTHONY CEPAK / WKAR-MSU

South Chicago blues hosted by the voice of BB King's Bluesville. 

WATCH NOW: Phil Denny on BackStage Pass

By • Apr 6, 2014
Performer on stage
w.r. richards / WKAR-MSU

Contemporary urban jazz led by blazing sax from Lansing native Phil Denny.

WATCH NOW: Simien the Whale on BackStage Pass

By Jason Thomson • Apr 4, 2014
Performer on stage
Stacy Hoxsey / WKAR-MSU

Fri. April 4 at 9pm on WKAR-HD | Break-beat rock and indie-pop.

WATCH NOW: Maurice Davis Quartet

By Jason Thomson • Mar 31, 2014
Maurice Davis playing guitar
w.r. richards / WKAR-MSU

Party blues from Flint, Michigan. Recorded live at BluesFest 2013 in Lansing's Oldtown district. 

Simien the Whale on BackStage Pass

By • Mar 30, 2014
Performer on stage
Stacy Hoxsey / WKAR-MSU

Fri. April 4 at 9pm on WKAR-HD | Break-beat rock and indie-pop.

Maurice Davis Quartet on BackStage Pass

By • Mar 28, 2014
Maurice Davis playing guitar
w.r. richards / WKAR-MSU

Fri. March 28, 9 pm on WKAR-TV | Party blues from Flint, Michigan. Recorded live at BluesFest 2013 in Lansing's Oldtown district. AVAILABLE ONLINE SOON.

WATCH NOW: The Hard Lessons on BackStage Pass

By • Mar 21, 2014
Band peforming on stage

High-energy indie-rock from Detroit. WATCH NOW

WATCH NOW: Rodney Whitaker Quartet on BackStage Pass

By • Feb 28, 2014
Whitaker rplaying bass
w.r. richards / WKAR-MSU

Jazz from a true master of the double bass, with some of the best players in the land and featured guests Rockelle Fortin and Terrell Stafford. WATCH NOW

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