When it comes to chemistry, Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar have plenty to spare. Merenda is a prolific songwriter whose crowd-pleasing piece “Sunshiner” was nominated for an International Folk Music Award for Song of the Year. It is an ode to renewable energy that simultaneously honors the past and looks to the future with the sing-along lyric, “Yes, my Daddy was a miner, but I’m going to be a sunshiner.” Ungar’s unique vocal style ranges from a capella balladry to earthy soul and country. She was raised in a folk music family and learned the fiddle at a young age. Her father is fiddler/composter, Jay Ungar, best known for his compositions “Ashokan Farewell,” which she also enjoys performing.

Mike and Ruthy have recorded and performed their exquisite, original Americana music together for two decades, as the duo Mike and Ruthy and with their quintet, The Mammals. They make their home in the Hudson Valley in New York where they and friends host their own thriving community folk festival, The Hoot. A recent tour of the UK prompted this concert review from Celtic Music Radio: “Hailed by many as Americana trailblazers, Ruth Ungar and Mike Merenda, happily married and exuding togetherness on stage, are also gently-mannered activists with well-crafted songs that successfully ask potent questions of politicians and raise issues to probe how we can improve the planet. They deliver their material persuasively and in an eloquent manner with enjoyment of their music underpinning the approach overall. The music is the motivator throughout.”

Mike and Ruthy concerts blend artistry and authenticity with fiery fiddle and banjo, emotionally potent harmonies, and dynamic stories that deepen the experience. Tap your toes and sing along as Mike and Ruthy “roam effortlessly through the whole span that is Americana from alt-country to folk to bluegrass.” (The Bluegrass Situation)

The Mike and Ruthy virtual show presented by the Me&Thee takes place on Friday, December 11 at 8:00 pm. The suggested donation is $20 and payment can be made securely via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to donate.

Photo by Eric Gerardinsta

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• Nonet marshals the defiant spirit needed to heal a damaged world . . . With so much uncertainly in the air right now, The Mammals’ clear-eyed optimism is especially valuable. If Nonet won’t solve the world’s ills, it surely makes it easier to face them. No Depression
• [The Mammals] believe we can do something to change the world for the better. Their blend of resilience, kindness and optimism is very persuasive . . . nothing short of Sublime. AmericanaUK (9/10 rating)
• What was likely written as an album about where hope resides in a strange political season, reads now as an album about all the reasons to put our selves aside and protect our neighbors. After all, we humans are capable of all of this when we get together—the hope but also the layers of sound, the ability to turn darkness and fear into something you can crank up with the windows down. Something that can feel a little like freedom, even when you’re not leaving the house. Kim Ruehl, Folk Alley
• [Nonet] the new and sensational album from the Americana band, The Mammals . . . It is highly polished, it is beautifully constructed and arranged, and you’ll be hearing a lot more of it. Iain Anderson, BBC Scotland
• The Mammals are solid-gold-hearted and their music is too. Check this one out. Anais Mitchell
• Transcendent new album from a brilliant group. Do yourself a favor and listen please. Joy-generator right here. Rhett Miller.
• A terrific world class album. Folk Radio UK
• A collection of songs that drip with raw humanity Folk Alley
• The songwriting of The Mammals is firmly rooted in the hand-me-down folk music of politics, community and rural splendor. American Songwriter

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