MI Local: Ananda Murari, plus Michelle Held and Sounds Like Detroit

This week, I was joined in studio by two local indie-folk singer-songwriters who both treated WDET listeners to a live performance during the show.

For Detroit-based artist Michelle Held, it was a return to MI Local, (she was here last fall and recorded a song, live), and hopefully she’s becoming more and more familiar to WDET listeners, since she was among the four Michigan-based NPR Tiny Desk Submissions to be selected to perform at our annual Sounds Like Detroit Showcase, happening on Aug. 13 at Batch Brewing! Find more info AND get your tickets, here!

Our second guest was the Ypsilanti-based folk singer Ananda Murari, who blends his soulful voice with profoundly ruminative lyrics over his dynamic finger-style guitar playing.

Murari talked about moving to Michigan five years ago, which corresponded with the start of his significant creative output, with a flurry of singles and his debut album, “Ripen Off The Vine.”

Murari is performing at the Ark in Ann Arbor on Aug. 9, with a jazz-folk ensemble known as the North Ingalls Band, led by Corazon Szell (who, notably, performed at last year’s Sounds Like Detroit Showcase). Murari played a new song about his newfound love for his current hometown, Ypsilanti.

Held, meanwhile, performed a song called “I Like Words,” inspired by Ann Arbor poet Dick Siegel. We also listened back to the beautiful recording of Held’s performance at WDET back in the fall of 2025, where she performed the song “Unresolved.” The video that Held submitted to the Tiny Desk Contest, that WDET listeners voted on, also featured her performing “Unresolved.”

Also on the show, we spun new tracks from local artists like Stef Chura, Kelsey, Bluhm, and Ohly. Chura has a new album out in October, while Kelsey has an album release party coming up on August 21 at the Arboretum Music Venue in Saline. Ohly, otherwise known as Christian Ohly, has a new album that’s album coming out closer to the fall, and we were able to give listeners a sneak preview of his single, “On The Map,” which is officially out this Friday.

Thanks for listening! And hope to see you at Sounds Like Detroit on Aug. 13!