Please read the entire interview at pulp.aadl.org. A condensed version is below.

Musical brothers Billy Harrington and Michael Harrington relish performing and recording with different artists.

As sidemen and session players, the Ann Arbor-based musicians—known as The Brothers Harrington—have shared the stage and studio with several local acts, including Chris DuPont, Kylee Phillips, Adam Plomaritas, Kelsey Detering, Bobby Streng, and Mark Jewett.

They spend a lot of time backing those artists at The Ark and Trinity House Theatre and laying down tracks with them at Big Sky Recording and Solid Sound Recording Company.

“It’s cool watching from the sidelines and seeing where the artists go, where they play, and what their next album looks like,” said Billy Harrington, a drummer, percussionist, vocalist, and producer.

“It’s fun to observe, but it’s like having all these family connections, and you get to enjoy that—the fruits of your labor. You get to do a session, and it comes back with 10 to 15 gigs, so it’s nice for a freelancer.”

It’s also not uncommon to see guitarist/pedal steel guitar player Michael Harrington performing or recording alongside his older brother at some of those shows and sessions.

“We try and play as much as we can together—but sometimes with the [pedal] steel—it takes me to a whole different group of people that may already have a drummer, or maybe I’ve never met them, and we do it remotely,” he said.

To learn more, I spoke with The Brothers Harrington ahead of a January 18 FutureStars show at Pioneer High School, which will feature Ann Arbor high school students performing popular songs.

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Q: Billy, you’re performing at FutureStars on January 18 at Pioneer High School. How has the Ann Arbor high school vocal competition grown over the years? What plans do you have for this year’s show?
BH: FutureStars began in the early 2000s when I was in high school [at Pioneer]. I walked into rehearsals and then played the show that year. I played the rest of the shows as a student from then on until I graduated. Over those three years, it became a huge show. I eventually came back to Pioneer one year to see the show, and I had a few ideas and concepts I thought I could bring to the show to make it better. Susan Hurwitz graciously took a chance on me … and I became the music director and drummer for the show from 2012-2021.

It was an incredible experience. I brought in a band of professionals playing about 85 charts over two weeks that backed the students. It was a ton of work, definitely a labor of love, but I learned so much, and we had so many memorable performances over the years. FutureStars is one of the shows that if you know, you know. It is an underground staple of the town for music, and I think it is one of the highest-quality shows around. The students bring in an incredible amount of talent and hard work. Offering them an experience to perform in a show of such high caliber is rare for [them]. It also brings the town together. We eventually opened the show up to all Ann Arbor Public Schools students.

I cannot wait to come back and just play the drums! It’s going to be weird not being in charge or responsible for all the music director duties, but the show is in good hands. The band members for FutureStars 2025 include Adam Plomaritas (guitarist and music director), Ken Pesick (bassist and assistant music director), Mike Harrington (guitar), Mike Harrison (keyboards), and Grace Mauk (keyboards). All dear friends I get to gig with!

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Q: Michael, you’re also performing at FutureStars. What other projects do you have planned along with that?
MH: FutureStars at Pioneer High School is revving back up, and I will be one of the guitarists playing in the house band. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a decade of doing that gig. I think it’s either year 12 or 13 for me.

I had a handful of sessions on both pedal steel and six-string guitar [last] year that should be available [this year]. [The] artists [include]: Jackamo, Maddy Ringo, Mark Jewett, Kelsey Detering, and a few others. There is a fun country band from Chelsea that I work with named Bovine, which is eager to get into the studio and cut an EP for the winter/spring of 2025.

I’ve also been a special guest featured for the bluegrass nights at [North Star Lounge] in Kerrytown for the last couple of years and will be there on Valentine’s Day [with The Pontiac Trail Blazers]. I’m in the process of setting up a special project led by myself at this venue, so keep your eyes posted on their calendar in early spring/summer. It will be the first time I’ve been a bandleader since my early jazz trio/quartet stuff I was doing pre-COVID, so that’s exciting.

Billy Harrington and Michael Harrington perform January 18 for FutureStars at Pioneer High School, 601 West Stadium Boulevard, Ann Arbor.

Michael Harrington performs February 14 with The Pontiac Trail Blazers at North Star Lounge, 301 North Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor. For tickets, visit North Star Lounge’s website. Billy Harrington performs March 21 with The Simon & Garfunkel Story at Andiamo Showroom, 7096 East 14 Mile Road, Warren. For tickets, visit The Simon & Garfunkel Story’s website.

by Lori Stratton