The “Going to Jackson” episode of CMT’s “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt” will air at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, May 12.

The “Going to Jackson” episode of “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt” will debut at 8 p.m. ET on CMT on Sunday, May 12.CMT

JACKSON, MI – “An urgent call from Agent J motivates Dog and Beth to travel to Jackson, Michigan to help bondsman Leo Urban track down and apprehend a $500,000 fugitive bond. It’s a game of cat and mouse as the Chapmans work with Leo and his crew to track down this elusive and dangerous fugitive.”

That’s how CMT is describing the upcoming episode, titled “Going to Jackson,” of “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt,” which will detail the Chapmans search for Ricky Wheeldon in October 2012.

The episode will air at 8 p.m. ET, Sunday, May 12 on CMT (Dish ch. 166, DirecTV 327 and Comcast Jackson 58).

Ricky Wheeldon

The Chapmans, at the request of Urban, who owns Leo’s Bail Bonds in Mason, spent several weeks in the Jackson area trying to track down Wheeldon, who fled during a trial and was on the lam for five months. Wheeldon was eventually apprehended by Michigan State Police on Oct. 24, but Dog and Beth say they provided important information to aid authorities in locating him.

Dog, Beth and Leland Chapman returned to Jackson in late November to attend Wheeldon’s sentencing. While in town, they made an appearance at the Michigan Theatre, where they mingled with fans and answered questions.

(With video: Hundreds turn out to meet Dog at the Michigan Theatre.)

I’ll be leading a live chat in the comments section of this story during the one-hour episode on Sunday evening. Readers are encouraged to share their observations, thoughts and opinions on the show.

Who knows? Maybe even Dog or Beth will pop in to say hello.

If you were unable to attend this past weekend’s Broccoli City Festival in D.C. or perhaps just want to relive the moment and have 35 minutes to spare, you can view Big K.R.I.T.’s entire performance below. The set included many popular songs from K.R.I.T.’s past mixtapes along with some material from the recently released King [...]

DETROIT, MI – MLive wants to hear from you about Kid Rock’s bold plan to offer $20 tickets for all shows on his summer tour, Bob Seger’s two shows this week at The Palace of Auburn Hills and a variety of other entertainment-related topics.
Join us in our live chat below starting at noon Thursday. Reporters will answer your questions, share their thoughts about the year in entertainment options throughout the state and engage in lively discussion about a variety of subjects.

DETROIT, MI – MLive wants to hear from you about Kid Rock’s bold plan to offer $20 tickets for all shows on his summer tour, Bob Seger’s two shows this week at The Palace of Auburn Hills and a variety of other entertainment-related topics.

Join us in our live chat below starting at noon Thursday. Reporters will answer your questions, share their thoughts about the year in entertainment options throughout the state and engage in lively discussion about a variety of subjects.

The chat will start about eight or so hours before Seger’s “Rock and Roll Never Forgets” tour makes its first of two stops at The Palace. Seger will also perform at the venue Saturday.

Saturday is also a big day for Kid Rock fans as $20 tickets (in all sections) go on sale for shows Aug. 9-11 at DTE Energy Music Theatre In Clarkson. The pricing for the shows is part of a bold, industry-defying idea Rock believes is important for his fans.

The $20 tickets idea has received a lot of support and could end up being a money maker because he’s offering $4 beers at his shows. Tickets for for those shows go on sale 10 a.m. Thursday at all Ticketmaster outlets.

Seger’s shows at The Palace should be memorable one. He recently resurrected his popular song “Like a Rock,” featured for a nearly a decade in Chevy truck commercials, and has performed some new songs at his shows.

Could Seger retire soon? He addressed that topic Wednesday in what a appeared to be a taped interview on a Detroit radio station and gave a rather interesting answer. Seger turns 68 in May and recently recorded a remake of “Who’ll Stop the Rain” with John Fogerty.

This year marks a huge one for concerts in Metro Detroit and throughout the state.

For a complete look at the 2013 lineup, check out some previous posts that detail all events – from big to small.

Feel free to post questions in advance of the live chat below, and check back at noon for plenty of interaction with MLive reporters.

Join MLive and the Muskegon Chronicle for a live chat with Community Development Director Bob Lukens, who oversees the Muskegon County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Michigan Irish Music Festival President Chris Zahrt, are chatting with readers at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday.

MUSKEGON, MI – Join MLive and the Muskegon Chronicle for a live chat with Community Development Director Bob Lukens, who oversees the Muskegon
County
Convention and Visitors Bureau and Michigan Irish Music Festival
President Chris Zahrt, are chatting with readers at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday.

The chat is part of MLive and the Chronicle’s series on
local festivals this week.

They will answer questions about festivals, including what
makes Muskegon County a good place to hold large-scale events, what elements are needed to ensure a successful event and what goes on behind the scenes.

Lukens and Zahrt will also take on any questions readers may
have, so feel free to follow and join in the discussion below.

– Email Lisha Arino
at larino@mlive.com, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter (@lishaarino).

Purple Rose Theatre Artistic Director Guy Sanville and Michelle Mountain, who is an actress and heads the apprentice program, will join MLive for a live chat at noon Tuesday.

Purple Rose Theatre Artistic Director Guy Sanville (left) and Michelle Mountain, who is an actress and heads the apprentice program, will join MLive for a live chat at noon Tuesday, March 26.
Courtesy photos

 

JACKSON, MI – The start of the third production of the Purple Rose Theatre Company’s 2012-13 season, “33 Variations,” is just days away.

Two of the key people in that production – director Guy Sanville and actress Michelle Mountain – will participate in a live chat on MLive at noon Tuesday, March 26.

Sanville and Mountain will answer questions and speak about various topics, including the upcoming “33 Variations” – which debuted on Broadway in 2009 – their favorite past productions, what it takes to become a professional actor, what it’s like to work with Jeff Daniels and just about anything else to do with the Purple Rose.

SANVILLE: ‘The Newsroom’ best work Jeff Daniels has done

Sanville has been with the Purple Rose since 1996. As the artistic director, Sanville is the most prominent person in the 22-year-old theater’s creative process. He has directed more than 40 Purple Rose productions and is an award-winning actor in his own right.

Mountain, a Grass Lake resident, serves at the Purple Rose’s apprentice chief and literary manager. She’s appeared in nearly two dozen Purple Rose productions.

A holder of a master’s degree in fine arts in acting from the University of Wisconsin, Mountain has taught at the Seattle Children’s Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and the University of Michigan.

If you can’t join us for the live chat, feel free to post your question in the comments section and Guy and Michelle will do their best to answer it.

The live chat will take place in the comments section of this story.

The book, “Kalamazoo Gals: A Story of Extraordinary Women & Gibson’s ‘Banner’ Guitars of WWII,” includes interviews with a dozen women who worked at the Parsons Street facility from 1942 through 1945.

Author John Thomas will participate in a live chat starting at noon on Thursday, March 21.
 Courtesy photo

 

KALAMAZOO, MI –  Author John Thomas will be in Kalamazoo this weekend to discuss and sign copies of his new book that examines the women who made Gibson Guitars during World War II.

The book, “Kalamazoo Gals: A Story of Extraordinary Women & Gibson’s ‘Banner’ Guitars of WWII,” includes interviews with a dozen women who worked at the Parsons Street facility from 1942 through 1945.

Thomas said the fact the women made about 9,000 of the guitars, instruments with the golden banner reading “Only a Gibson is Good Enough,” was concealed by the company during the ’40s.

Thomas will appear at the independent bookstore Bookbug, 3019 Oakland Drive, at 6 p.m. Friday.

He will also participate in the annual Fretboard Festival, an annual celebration of Kalamazoo’s stringed-instrument legacy, this weekend. He will hold a lecture from 3-4 p.m. Saturday at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s Anna Whitten Hall, 230 N. Rose St.

Prior to those events, Thomas, a Connecticut-based law professor, freelance writer and guitarist will participate in a live chat at noon today on MLive.com to discuss his book and some of the discoveries he made about the women and Gibson, which was located in Kalamazoo until 1984 when it moved to Nashville, Tenn.

Please join in our conversation and bring questions to ask Thomas.

You will need an MLive.com profile, which you can create for free online here.

If you are viewing this story on the mobile app and would like to comment, go here.

You can read our interview with Thomas here.

John Liberty can be reached at 269-370-7372 or jlibert1@mlive.com. Follow me on Twitter @JohnTLiberty

“Remember where you heard it first!” That was Young Guru’s war cry before unveiling the jewel of a record he must have been waiting all night to spin.  The Jiggaman’s engineer treated his crowd at SXSW to a revamped version of Kendrick Lamar’s hit “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” now featuring a sharp verse from [...]

On Wednesday, March 13, Allen joins MLive in an “American Idol” watch party and live blog from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. during the show.

Watch video

Yfat Yossifor | Mlive.com
Saginaw’s Charles Allen recently put on a performance, with a booming voice he used on “American Idol,” for MLive.

SAGINAW, MI — Saginaw’s Charles Allen said he has dreamed of
being on “American Idol” since he was 12, when he saw Kelly Clarkson sing “A
Moment Like This.”

“I thought this was the most incredible thing,” Allen said
of the show. “The vision never left my mind that one day I will stand on that
stage.”

This year, Allen had the chance to live part of that dream. Although he was eliminated from “American Idol” last month, he did get his moment in the show’s spotlight.

On Wednesday, March 13, Allen joins MLive in an “American
Idol” watch party and live blog from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. during the show. Allen
will comment and respond to questions while “Idol’s” top 10 contestants
perform.

In a recent poll, readers chose a song for Allen to sing. The video here is him performing “Try A Little Tenderness,” by Otis Redding. 

“The thing about Keith is that he hears. Mariah can too,” Allen
said about his experience with the judges.

“Let me not lie. I really enjoyed the experience of being
there with the judges. Nicki Minaj, actually, now that I’m not on the show, I
love her as a judge. She gives great critiques, but she kind of downplayed me a
little bit on the show.”

Allen predicted that the “American Idol” winner will be
Angie Miller. His other top contestants include Candice Glover, Paul Jolley and
Janelle Arthur.

Allen answered some quick and spontaneous questions for
MLive reporter Jessica Fleischman, video included. 

Allen knows several of the contestants and has insight to
tonight’s show.

What are your questions for him? Use the comment section
below and return after 8 p.m. to read his responses.

Readers who want to join the watch party can visit The Saginaw News’ MLive hub at 8 p.m. The office is at 100 S. Michigan, Suite 3, in Saginaw’s Ippel Building.