Dateline – DETROIT
St. Andrew’s Hall
15 April 2023
Wow! What a night. Michigander brought their current headlining tour to Detroit and the music was joyful. Frontman Jason Singer and most of the band are proudly born & raised in Michigan. Now the band works out of Nashville, so this was a bit of a homecoming dance. The Gander crew were in top form and the crowd loved every minute of their high-energy set. Jason couldn’t tell us enough how much he loved us, and we bear-hugged the big lug right back.
I was introduced to Michigander and their good-natured brand of powerpop at SXSW in Austin in March (read our SXSW interview with Jason Singer). The band have been picking up steam ever since. They just released a new EP, It Will Never Be the Same, featuring their latest single “Cannonball.” That single and a couple other Gander tracks have been showing up on satellite radio. And they’ve been making friends across the country on this tour, selling out smaller clubs. This was their biggest venue, with over 1,000 of us bouncing around and digging their grooves and their vibe.
They opened with “Stay Out of It,” a great set opener that rocks and got the crowd pumped from says-go. One of those, if you’re in the bathroom it’s like, “Shit, I gotta get out there,” type deals.
Jason Singer grew up in Midland, Michigan and worked out of Detroit for a while. He talked about how he used to go to tons of shows at St. Andrew’s, a mainstay in Detroit for club shows. He had family in attendance and he almost said the f-word at one point, but caught himself, wisely reminding us “you don’t swear in front of family.” Mid-set they slowed it down and Jason performed “Nineties,” apparently the first Michigander song, alone on acoustic guitar. He was like, “I don’t know how you get a thousand people to be quiet.” But we obliged, and he rewarded us with an intimate, heartfelt rendition. “That was special,” he acknowledged.
A highlight for me was “Cannonball.” It’s a really fun tune about being in love (or having a great friend). Jason was like a choir director, leading the the crowd as we sang, “Cuz I got you-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo.” If this was a first date, he had me at, “You guys are way better than Chicago.”
There were great opening sets from Yueku and Abby Holliday to start the night. And by the end there were hugs all around, as the guys basked in the glow of this warm & fuzzy return to The Mitten. And for all of us Michiganders on this warm early-spring evening, it will never be the same.
Read our SXSW Artist Spotlight interview with Jason Singer here
Keep up with Michigander and get tickets for their show in your town at michiganderband.com
