THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
Get ready for a Friday night where Detroit sound, Northern Michigan talent, and a shared love of live music come together.
Tariq Gardner’s Evening Star and SkyeLea bring together original compositions drawing from soul, R&B, jazz and hip-hop for a performance filled with groove, movement and audience participation.
Winners of WDET’s 2025 Sounds Like Detroit listener vote, Evening Star brings the energy of Detroit’s contemporary music scene to Traverse City. Joining them is Northern Michigan singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and dancer SkyeLea, who brings her own original music and creative energy to the collaboration as she works toward a new studio album.
Presented in collaboration with Traverse City East Middle School’s award-winning student journalism program, the event gives students a real-world role in promoting, documenting and covering the night alongside the artists and The Alluvion. For EMS alum SkyeLea, the collaboration comes full circle — from student feature to featured artist. All ticket proceeds benefit the EMS journalism program.
Doors Open At 6:30 - Event at 7:00
Seated Listening Room Style Show
All Ages - General Admission - $30 tickets in advance - $35 at the door
TARIQ GARDNER’S EVENING STAR
Evening Star is an afro-futuristic jazz and neo-soul ensemble led by Detroit drummer Tariq Gardner, emerging from the city’s long tradition of innovation, groove, and musical adaptability. Rooted in Detroit’s jazz lineage yet unconstrained by genre, Evening Star moves fluidly through the musical galaxies of the African Diaspora — blending jazz improvisation, neo-soul warmth, Afro-Cuban rhythm, hip-hop sensibility, and contemporary Black American music. The result is a sound that feels both expansive and grounded: cosmic in atmosphere, ancestral in spirit.
In 2025, Evening Star was named a winner of NPR Detroit’s (WDET) “Sounds Like Detroit” contest and featured in the station’s official music showcase. The band has released two projects — Gateway Drug (2023) and Vice Tape (2024), the latter featuring Detroit poet Joel “Fluent” Greene — and continues to build a national presence through touring and festival appearances.
Evening Star has performed at major festivals including the Detroit International Jazz Festival, Farm Block Festival, and Great Lakes Jazz Festival (Toledo), as well as special cultural events such as Story Fest Detroit and the Detroit Institute of Arts FJC Gala. The group has appeared at respected listening rooms including Cliff Bell’s, Blue Llama Jazz Club, and The Alluvion, among others.
The band performs primarily as a tight 4-piece touring ensemble, with the flexibility to expand up to a 7-piece configuration for festivals and special engagements.
SKYELEA
SkyeLea is a singer-songwriter, dancer, and multi-disciplinary performer working at the intersection of music, movement, and storytelling. Performing both as a solo artist and collaborator, she shares raw originals with a soul-pop sound and jazz influence to stages nationwide.
Her group projects include the Detroit-based SkyeLea Trio, indie-pop band Trillium Groove, and old-time trio The Wildflowers. As a dancer and choreographer, she guest teaches at Interlochen Arts Academy and is a member of the NYC-based hip hop freestyle crew The Denizens.
SkyeLea has released two EPs, several singles, and is currently preparing the release of her debut full-length album, recorded between Michigan and Boston.
TC EAST MIDDLE SCHOOL JOURNALISM PROGRAM
East Middle School’s award-winning student journalism program gives young people real-world experience in video journalism, broadcasting, photography and reporting. Led by adviser Jody Mackey, Trojan TV earned the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association’s highest honor for scholastic journalism, the Spartan Award, in both 2024 and 2025.Community collaboration is central to the program, with projects including Predator and Prey, a student-produced documentary examining Northern Michigan’s opioid crisis; a public-awareness campaign with the Traverse City Fire Department focused on CPR, AEDs and lifesaving skills; and this year’s work with Building Bridges with Music.
That spirit of real-world collaboration continues at The Alluvion, where students are helping promote, document and cover the event. EMS Journalism Program.