A Valentine’s Day spectacular with 2 great acts-

THE PINES  with opening act  Mike and Ruthy

Founded by Iowa natives David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey, indie-roots band The Pines surprisingly actually met in Arizona, where they both lived in a Mexican barrio and first began playing together. Forming The Pines, they returned to the Midwest, moving to Minneapolis.

The Pines weave together many musical styles to create their own unique sound that is hip and haunting. The son of Greg Brown’s producer and sideman Bo Ramsey, Benson was reared on folk and blues music and those influences continue to shine through, even on louder electric songs. David shares Benson’s deep love for traditional music, and together the two craft songs that evoke the ancient, while incorporating newer rock and pop grooves. Both strong writers, singers and instrumentalists, David and Benson have distinct voices that complement each other, causing audiences and critics alike to tout them as a powerful young force in American roots music.

“simply and eloquently stated sonic poetry…the real deal.”  Acoustic Guitar
“richly resonant indie-folk in the vein of Bon Iver, Calexico and Mason Jennings”  The Onion A.V. Club
“a hushed mix of acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards creates a kind of haunted landscape…an affecting portrait capturing an American journey”  All Music
“a soundtrack of American gothic intensity…a stunner of an album.”  Vintage Guitar
“a dusty and often ghostly take on Americana”  CBS Minnesota
“quietly gripping” Rolling Stone

Mike and Ruthy  He grew up listening to ska-punk and alternative rock radio, dreaming of becoming a songwriter on the political edge. She was raised at the intersection of folk and swing, daughter of fiddle master Jay Ungar and country songwriter Lyn Hardy. They met in NYC, just out of college, and went on to found “subversive acoustic stringband” The Mammals, one of the most popular folk rock bands of their generation. When The Mammals entered a prolonged “hibernation”, and they married, they spent their honeymoon in the studio, recording a debut duo album aptly called The Honeymoon Agenda.

Now, after two more full-length albums and over a decade of performance together, indie folk roots pair Mike + Ruthy, aka Michael Merenda and Ruth Ungar, have established a reputation for breathtaking delivery and intimate performance, with exquisite songs and songcraft that combine catchy folk-pop choruses with honest, organic tradfolk and roots elements, played out on guitars, fiddle, banjo, ukulele, and a single microphone.

FUN FACTS

•  Mike has been playing in bands and writing songs since age 12.  
•  Ruthy was raised at the intersection of folk and swing, daughter of fiddle master Jay Ungar and country songwriter Lyn Hardy.
• In 1998 Mike + Ruthy met in NYC, just out of college, and went on to found “subversive acoustic stringband” The Mammals, one of the most popular folk rock bands of their generation.  “The Mammals are the finest young bluegrass/old-timey band in the country, the country-branch house band for the new weird America.” – LA Weekly  
• Mike & Ruthy are proud to perform around 100 concerts per year traveling with their five-year-old son, Willy, and one-year-old daughter, Opal. 
• Mike & Ruthy’s haunting posthumous Woody Guthrie collaboration “My New York City” has been hailed as one of the most gorgeous pieces ever to have come out of the archive.  Watch the video!
• In 2013 Mike & Ruthy organized a bi-annual folk and roots festival called The Hoot at the Ashokan Center near their home in upstate NY.  The first Winter Hoot brought together Amy Helm, Spirit Family Reunion, Elizabeth Mitchell, Jeffrey Lewis, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, and other Americana favorites. The Summer Hoot featured 28 bands including Pete Seeger, Natalie Merchant, Dan Bern, Dirt Farmer Band, AC Newman, Happy Traum, and The Wiyos plus screening of the Levon Helm film, “Ain’t In It For My Health.”  The 2014 Winter and Summer Hoots are planned for Feb 7-9 and Aug 22-24 respectively.  
• Mike + Ruthy are part of a Woodstock music collective including Amy Helm and a host of others which performs sporadically on Friday nights at Levon’s barn, Home of the Ramble.

“Warm, rich, vintage Americana.” — Time Out NY

“Some of the best songwriting of their generation.” – LA Weekly

“Infectious new folk rock” — Boston Globe

“This summer’s must hear acoustic album.” – Performer Magazine
“Easily a new favorite.” – Daytrotter
“Mike & Ruthy are a national treasure.” – Anais Mitchell
“Mike & Ruthy are carrying the torch for simple, heartfelt acoustic music with a direct line back to the Carter Family via Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and even the Byrds .”  — Maverick Magazine, UK
“There’s perhaps no better way to summarize the lasting impact of Woody Guthrie’s music than to note the quality of the very newest music being made with his words.  Husband-wife Mike + Ruthy Merenda got the lyrics to “My New York City” from the Guthrie archives and set it to one of the most gorgeous melodies ever to accompany one of Woody’s songs.  It came out in April 2012: Brand new right now, it’s destined to become a classic.” -eMusic’s 20 Best Woody Guthrie Songs (Sung By Other People)>“starkly poetic, buzzed-about Americana” Minneapolis Star Tribune