Entertainment Schedule

The Jackson Coffee Co. promotes local and regional music by providing live entertainment every Friday on our second floor. Musician perform a variety of coffee house style music Fridays from 7 to 10 p.m. There is never a cover charge, as all music is FREE to attend.

Musicians: interested in performing? Click here for more information.

Friday
May 31

Matt Moore

“Matt Moore’s music has the ability to meet people where they are at and connect with their very heart and soul. His passion and creative ability to touch the core of a person with his music is what sets him apart from other artists.” Shannon Marden, Youth Director – Coleman Wesleyan Church (Coleman, MI)

It’s difficult for a young male singer/songwriter to set himself apart from the crowd in a genre that is already packed full of talent, but that is exactly what Clare, Michigan based modern rock artist Matt Moore has been doing.  With his powerful original music and engaging live performances, Matt has carved out a reputation as the “Must See” artist in his area.  Performing an acoustic set for a few dozen at a local coffee house or fronting a full rock band in front of a festival crowd, Matt has a captivating talent for intimately connecting with people no matter the setting.

His songs are the story of his life, often touching on love, relationships, personal struggles and faith.  Matt has a unique ability to combine honest and vulnerable lyrics with passionate guitar playing to create an emotional and memorable experience.

Matt Moore’s musical style is often compared to such male rock artists as Chris Daughtry and David Cook, as well as modern rock acts like Fuel and OneRepublic.  In 2009 Matt released his debut album “No Place Left to Hide”.  The album’s blend of driving modern rock energy and engaging songwriting has only further served to establish Matt as an exciting up-and-coming artist worth keeping an eye on.

Notable Achievements:
• Released debut EP “No Place Left to Hide” in May of 2009
• #1 Single on Indie-Music.com  for Sep & Nov 2009  (Change In Me)
• Indie-Music.com “Editor’s Pick” for Aug 2009 & “Choice Cut” selection Sep 2009
• “Top 25” award nominee on Indie-Music.com for 2010
• #1 & #4 Singles on Inferno Radio for August 2009 (Standing In the Flames, Change In Me)
• Has shared the stage with nationally touring acts such as Caedmon’s Call, Lenae Hale, Newworldson, Ag Silver, Jayson Simonson, Mike Hirst, etc…
• Has performed at over 250 independently booked shows throughout the Midwest since starting in 2007
• Performed at “Born to Play”, largest ever simultaneous acoustic music event hosted by GAP August 2009
• Featured artist on several music related websites, blogs and podcasts (IndiesTop10.com, 95one.com, DigiVegas, Inferno Radio, Indie-Music.com, etc…)
• Several tracks from the debut EP have been added and played on radio stations across the country.
• Currently representing World Vision as an “Artist Associate”

“No Place Left to Hide” available online at iTunes, Noisetrade, CD Baby, Amazon, Napster, iLike, DigStation, Rhapsody, and many more.

Friday
Jun 7

Kevin Nichols

After Kev Nichols spent a full year bugging and begging his parents for a guitar, they finally broke down and put one in his hands at the early age of 12; he hasn’t let go of it since! Equally at home with his full electric band Blue Tuesday or in more intimate singer-songwriter settings, he brings joy and passion to every song he plays and sings. His love for a wide range of musical styles seep into every minute of his performances. From tender ballads to roof raising rockers, he’ll have you tapping your feet, humming or singing along, and wanting the music to go on and on and on! Kev has lived his life believing that music is a wondrous gift and a common thread that runs through us all and he can’t wait to share his songs with you!

Friday
Jun 14

Sam Pepper

From the age of 5 Sam had an interest in the performing arts.  At the age of 11 she started playing guitar.  By age 13 her love for music developed into playing piano and singing as well as writing her own music.  Since then she has progressively picked up more instruments developing her natural talent.  She has found a great love in playing and performing for others and now with the dawn of her first single “Listen,” she is taking her music on the road playing at many local venues.  Don’t miss the opportunity to come out and see this amazingly talented young lady. Check her out on facebook at: www.facebook.com/sampeppermusic

Friday
Jun 21

The Blue Pontiac

The heart of Blue Pontiac is the wife & husband team, Rosalind Hartigan and Graham Cassano.  The pair has been playing music, together and apart, for more than 20 years. They began as political punks, and after a brief detour through jazz, ended up back where they started – with 3 chords and a cloud of dust. The damage caused by too many years in too many loud rock and roll bars made them turn down. So punk became hillbilly, but the rage remains. The couple moved from the east coast of the US to the Midwest just as the Great Recession hit Michigan like a tsunami. They watched their new neighbors and friends pulled under by the tide. Inspired by early country music and artists like Rose Maddox, Loretta Lynn and Woody Guthrie, Blue Pontiac set out to document the dust as it settled in their first CD, Welcome to the Great Recession. They continue this minimalist neo-billy documentary with their latest EP, The Devil at the Bottom of the Sea. Through audio clips taken from a constantly moving phantasmal camera–from the Delta blues lament for the Gulf (“Blacktide Blues”) to the ruins in Haiti (“Kayla Kraze”)–Blue Pontiac tells the story of another year passed and lost in our Great Recession.

Since forming in 2009, Blue Pontiac has taken its particular brand of neo-billy minimalism to coffee shops and clubs in Michigan and throughout the United States. In addition to Hartigan and Cassano, band members include

Graham Cassano – dulcimer and dobro

Ros Hartigan – bass, fiddle, vocals

Dan Kennedy – guitar, vocals

Mike Kenyon – cello

For more information and for booking information contact ros@bluepontiacmusic.com, or visit our myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/bluepontiac.

Friday
Jul 5

Rob Vischer and Sydney

Hi! I’m Rob Vischer. My schedule gets interrupted by the neon shades of nostalgic sunsets, by love stories hidden in the wrinkly smiles of elderly couples, and by light bulb ideas for soaring melodies and intimate lyrics.

Whether I’m on stage or at the dinner table, my life equals adventure. “On my bike trip across America” is the phrase that introduces way too many of my stories, and stories, in movie or book form, are the only things that keep me up past 4 a.m.

My mom once told me, “Things aren’t boring. People are.” My goal is to never be one of those people. I don’t play video games, but I’m always up for a drive-in movie. I don’t own a tv, but if you catch me daydreaming, I’m probably scribbling down mental notes of song ideas.

On August 29 at 7:30pm, some of those mental notes will echo off the walls of the Michigan Theatre in Jackson, MI during the CD Release concert for my new album, Meant to Love. It will be the last concert of my Meant to Love CD Release tour. I’m grateful to say that the new album already has one award-winning song with radioplay, “Love for a Lifetime.”

One of my college professors said that his life goal was “to advise students to take big risks.” I was the student who listened. In the last five years, I quit a well paying job to bicycle across America, release an album, sell cd’s door to door, and tour. As a result, I’ve experienced scenery that most people only view on a postcard or through their windshield. I’ve sold 2,000 cd’s. And I met and fell in love with the most beautiful woman on the planet.

Right now, I’m in Nashville finishing a book about my bike trip across America, getting ready to release more music, and constantly growing in my capacity to love God and others.

When people ask me why I don’t watch many movies, I always answer, “Because I’d rather live the movie.” With God whispering his direction and close friends offering their ideas and support, there’s no movie I’d rather be apart of.

As you get to know me, my music, and my mission, I hope your daydream movies become the motion pictures you live in.

Rob Vischer