Shake off the wintertime blues and join Common Fence Music for a highly anticipated performance by Americana duo MIKE + RUTHY on Sunday, March 3, 2019, 7 pm at Fenner Hall in Newport.
Mike + Ruthy are Hudson Valley-based songwriters who continue to make waves in the Americana world and beyond. A true genre-bending act, the internationally-acclaimed duo is comprised of wife and husband pair Ruth Ungar (a second generation fiddler/singer and daughter of GRAMMY-winning composer, Jay Ungar) and Mike Merenda (a multi-instrumental wordsmith regarded as “one of the best songwriters of his generation” –LA Weekly). Also known as the leaders of folk supergroup The Mammals, Mike + Ruthy bring an energy and excitement which will have the audience moving and the rafters shaking. The Boston Globe describes their music as making you “actually feel like you’re on your feet dancing at a porch party.”
Showing no loyalty to boundaries, Mike + Ruthy highlight Common Fence Music’s fondness for musicians who show off the diversity of the folk genre. Transitioning seamlessly between up-tempo folk-rock, cajun rhythms and traditional bluegrass ballads, the duo are guaranteed to please everyone from longtime folkies to stylistic newcomers. With a strong belief in the transformative power of a great live performance, Mike + Ruthy are bonafide flag bearers of the folk music tradition, touring and playing upwards of 100 shows a year. Their songs and stage banter are 100% down to earth, they tour as a family (with their two kids in tow), and are the creative force behind The Hoot – a much-loved bi-annual folk festival they host near their home in Woodstock, NY. Embracing the activism of the 60’s folk movement, Mike + Ruthy have also used their music to bring awareness to important social issues. In December 2018, they announced plans to donate all of the revenue from five of their singles to support causes broached in their lyrics, from combating the opiate crisis to environmental awareness to indigenous support.
Having graced the stage with such seminal acts as The Avett Brothers and Nickel Creek, Mike + Ruthy have appeared at some of the world’s most revered folk festivals, including Telluride Bluegrass, Vancouver Folk Fest, Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival, Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival & FreshGrass. They have performed at such renowned venues as Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, New York’s Carnegie Hall as the special guest of folk legend Arlo Guthrie, and at the 2002 Winter Olympics with Pete Seeger.
The show will take place at the Vasco da Gama Society, Fenner Hall, 15 Fenner Avenue, Newport, RI. The hall is fully accessible; the main hall is accessible by lift.
Tickets to this performance are $22 in advance, $25 at the door, $20 for CFM members. Doors open at 6:00pm for members, 6:15pm for non-members.
All shows at this venue are BYO food. Soups, baked goods and beverages will be available for purchase. A full cash bar will also be available.
For memberships, tickets and information, visit www.CommonFenceMusic.org.