Jeremy Facknitz and Audra Kubat – April 24, 2026

Jeremy Facknitz’s music is a throwback to when singer-songwriters weren’t afraid to turn it up, look you in the eye and play more than the same tired four chords. He embodies the soul of an old-time troubadour, but bitten by a radioactive rockstar and smitten with jazz and musical theatre. John Apice of American Highways says “This is all far above the ordinary… A good time is guaranteed for all” while John Barlass at At the Barrier writes “Jeremy Facknitz is, indeed, a major talent – and, I can guarantee, like nothing you’ll have ever heard before.”

Jeremy continues to tour solo – performing at house concerts and listening rooms in Canada, the United States and Europe. His 6th solo album “Smilin’ At The Future” was released March 31st, 2023 to worldwide critical acclaim.

Facknitz has been entertaining audiences with his lovingly crafted music and high-energy performances for nearly 30 years. He was named a top 24 finalist in the 2020, 2022 and 2025 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competitions at Kerrville Folk Festival and his song “Smilin’ At The Future” made him an Empower (Posi) Music Award Winner in 2023. A few of his career highlights include: member of alt-rock band “The Ottomans” in Detroit, Michigan in 1997 (group’s main contributor of original music), “The Ottomans” won a Detroit Music Award for Best New Alternative Band in 2001, performing solo in 2003 at bars, pubs, corporate events and weddings, toured extensively in 2018, performing primarily house concerts, 3-time finalist in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Songwriting Competition in Kerrville, Texas (Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith and Steve Earle are all 2-time finalists), 2023 Empower (Posi) Award Winner, opening act for Tim Reynolds (Dave Matthews Band), The Samples, Edie Carey, Craig Cardiff, etc.

Audra Kubat is a Detroit born singer-songwriter. Self-taught, Kubat began composing music on the piano at the age of eight. In her teens she started putting words to the music. Teaching herself to play the guitar, she began performing in local coffeehouses. In 1999 she created the band, “Stunning Amazon”, and in November of that year released a self-titled album. The band became locally successful and the CD paved the way towards bigger shows and media appearances.

In 2000 Kubat was nominated for five Detroit Music Awards, winning one for Best Folk Artist and another win in 2015 for Best Americana Instrumentalist. Since then, she has received nominations every year since. Kubat continued to perform solo and wrote new material, releasing her first solo effort, “Elixir”. This record proved to be a pivotal force in Kubat’s career, and was followed by ‘Untitled for Now’ in 2003 on my own label, Remedy Records.

This led to signing a record deal with Times Beach Records, with whom she recorded two national records – ‘Million Year Old Sand” in 2004, and “Since I Fell in Love with the Music” in 2006. Both records earned positive reviews, appearing in Time-Out NY, NME, Harp Magazine, Hour Detroit, Metro-Times, Real Detroit Weekly, The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press.

As a dedicated and involved member of her community, Kubat has been a member of the local Non-profit group, United Peace Relief, where she helped feed the homeless living in the city by distributing food and clothing. She also teaching music to children from the area, donating lessons and time to help create inspiration within young people. In addition, she taught at the nationally recognized School of Rock. There she helped young musicians develop their skills in writing, performing, and technical proficiency. Further, Kubat taught music to 5 and 6 year olds at Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit.

Currently, Kubat is teaching songwriting as a part of InsideOut Literary Arts Project, a local arts organization that helps place artists in classrooms to share, teach, and help inspire. She also works with Living Arts Detroit where she teaches Science through Music and Movement and works with pre-k students in collaboration with the national organization – Wolf Trap. In addition, Kubat is a songwriting tutor at DIME, Detroit Institute for Music Education, a music college where she instructs young songwriters to hone their craft and develop storytelling strategies.