MANTON — Hannah Woodruff of northern Michigan’s Silver Creek Revival calls the band “song-oriented.”
For this indie-folk and Americana outfit, that means serving each piece of music with the varied instrumentation that it demands.
“We are all musicians that can play multiple instruments, so we like to switch it up during our live performances,” said Woodruff, who herself plays saxophone, flute, acoustic guitar and bass, as well as singing lead and backing vocals.
“We don’t keep the same instrumentation throughout a set, because like I said, we like to serve the song. Maybe a song would sound really great with a saxophone solo, so we accommodate that, or maybe it’s a mandolin solo instead. So when you see us live, you’ll see us maybe passing an acoustic guitar around the stage and we try to utilize all of those different skills.”
The band — Woodruff, Sam Hess (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals), Ashley Christopher (banjo, lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and kazoo), Henry Hess (mandolin, piano, lead vocals, backing vocals and bass), Jack Jensen (drums) — formed in 2021.
Based in Manton, where rehearsals take place, members actually come from communities throughout the region, Traverse City to Kalkaska.
Silver Creek Revival released its self-produced, self-titled full-length album in 2022, followed by a live EP recorded at Dogtown Studio in Grand Rapids later that same year.
A follow-up studio album is slated for release this summer, recorded this time around with producer and recording engineer Shane Cody of the band Houndmouth.
“It’s been an interesting journey,” Woodruff said, noting that production of the band’s first album was actually the final project for her audio recording class.
“Shane (Cody) brought kind of a new, different element and really inspired us to maybe try different chord progressions under a melodic line … or maybe moving verses and choruses around and things like that.”
She described the new material as more guitar-driven as well. “It’s going to be a really interesting, fun listening experience,” predicted Woodruff, who attended Interlochen Arts Academy.
The album builds on the extensive catalog of songs the band has created.
“Ashley and Sam are the main songwriters of the band. Not only are they great lyricists, they are also prolific,” said Woodruff, noting that she and Hess also contribute “to the pool of original material.”
“The band never runs out of new songs. The songs are well-crafted from the start, so they rarely need much thought and effort to be ready to play live.”
As for those live shows, Silver Creek Revival has a busy summer schedule. After playing several shows in Indiana and Illinois to close out May and kick off June, the band heads to the Upper Peninsula for several performances before returning to play Lake Ann Brewing in Lake Ann on July 3 and The Dam Shop in Elk Rapids on July 6.
Their summer schedule also includes shows as part of the Coyote Crossing summer concert series in Cadillac, Dunesville Music Festival in Interlochen, Hoxeyville Music Festival in Wellston, Wheatland Music Festival in Remus and the Harrietta Blueberry Festival.
“The band only plays a few choice covers during performances, even the longer ones, and fans really respond to, and connect with the original songs,” Woodruff said.
“We are all so grateful and feel lucky to have such a platform for creativity, with support from listeners.”