Brain Candy is a monthly live showcase celebrating prose, music, poetry, and visual art—an evening built to spotlight creative voices and give the work the attention it deserves.
Co-produced by the Dan E. Wickett Legacy Committee, the Brain Candy Network, and Green Brain Comics, the series continues a shared mission of supporting and elevating artists in our community.
Scheduled guests include:
Music: Jackamo:
Jackamo is a Detroit-based indie-alternative band led by sisters Alison and Tessa Wiercioch (vocals) and Jimmy Showers (guitar). The full-band is rounded out with collaborators Steve Lehane and Steve Stetson (bass and drums; previously, of Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas). Jackamo is known for their blood harmonies and lyric-driven storytelling, and for capturing audiences with their live performance (such as supporting Lord Huron, Tom Odell, and Kingfishr). Jackamo recorded their debut full-length album at Rustbelt Studios in Royal Oak, MI to be released November 2026.
Poetry: Robert Laidler:
Robert Laidler is an assistant professor at Wayne State and the author of a poetic libretto, The Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers, which premiered at Chamber Music Detroit in 2022. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writing Program.
Prose: Kathy Pfeiffer:
Kathleen Pfeiffer is Professor of English and Creative Writing at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where she teaches courses in American Literature and Creative Writing. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in The Sun Magazine, Narrative Northeast, Bateau, and The Bear River Review. She received the Kresge Artist Fellowship in 2012, and she won the Michigan Writers Chapbook Contest in 2018 for her memoir Ink. Kathy also runs Oak Tree Book Arts, a bookmaking studio and letterpress shop.
Visual Art: O. Draus:
O. Draus is a Detroit-based Interdisciplinary artist, specializing in painting and print/digital communication design. She has completed her Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design from Henry Ford College in Dearborn, and is currently studying for a Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Art + Design at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Her visual work involves themes and representations of community, often experimenting with both color and perspective. Draus’ design work loosely ties itself to art deco and art nouveau movements, and is more heavily influenced by '90s print work akin to Ed Fella or Ray Gun Magazine. Her visual work is influenced by dramatic realism, impressionism, and most recently surrealism, such as Salvador Dali.
Host: Jason Storms:
Jason Storms is a poet, musician, and critic from Interlochen living in Metro Detroit. His work has previously appeared in The Rumpus, Fugue, The Dunes Review, The Leon Literary Review, The Museum of Americana and is forthcoming in The Great Lakes Review. He holds an MFA from the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers.
