Rusty Vining & His Friends will be doing a playthrough of their very first album "The Family Name". They're joined by a duo opening performance from Caitlin Cusack.
Free event!
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The acoustic quartet emulates calm and serene energy while Vining’s soulful voice (delivers) earnest lyrics that capture the crowd’s attention.
Holly Holtzclaw - LocalSpins Magazine
As musical story-tellers, The Stray's Battle of The Bands 2025 winners Rusty Vining & His Friends weave Vining's narrative lyricism, and the groups musical dynamics to explore emotional, and often layered subjects in a way that emphasizes shared human experiences, in an attempt to peel away the perceived layers of separation most of us carry with us.
Rusty Vining & His Friends is a power house collective of creatives who also carry the strong bond of friendship. For them music is more than just a past time, a commodity, or something to set the vibe, rather it is deeply cathartic, and a powerful means of connection; although they do have a ton of fun as well. Vining puts it this way, "I made myself a promise a long time ago that I'd never venture into the creative process again with anyone I didn't consider a friend," and so far he has kept his promise.
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On her 26th birthday, Michigan musician Caitlin Cusack suffered a traumatic brain injury that changed her life. Exactly one year later on her 27th birthday, her mother passed away unexpectedly from cancer. This was just shy of the third anniversary of her father’s passing due to Multiple System Atrophy.
During a challenging recovery journey, Caitlin found solace and joy in returning to music and began songwriting to process and heal. She has since dedicated herself to sharing her songs to inspire, uplift, and encourage others to find their own light amidst the darkness. Drawing from her training in musical theatre, classical, and liturgical music, Caitlin crafts piano-driven pop songs that blend memorable melodies with poignant lyrics exploring themes of love, loss, grief, and growth. Her music weaves together stories of personal transformation and emotional resilience to create a bridge between her own journey and the struggles of her listeners.
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In addition to our craft beer, coffee and wine selection, our kitchen will be open serving our full dinner menu until 9pm! Get here early to snag your favorite seat and grab a bite to eat before the show begins. This show is free to attend, but you can support artists through tips.
The Stray is a listening room style venue and cafe, where performers are front and center, not background entertainment. We frequently ask attendees to silence their phones and keep conversations low out of respect to performers and other audience members.
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