Mike and Ruthy at the Minstrel

Mike Merenda & Ruthy Ungar are the front couple for the great contemporary string band, "The Mammals". Mike plays guitar and banjo, and Ruthy plays guitar and fiddle. They play mostly original music, but maintain their traditional roots with some spirited fiddle tunes of all genres. Opening act Asaran Earth Trio is comprised of Anne Boccato from Brazil, Artemisz Polonyi from Hungary and Chiara Izzi from Italy. They combine folk elements with improvisation. With only voice and percussion, they are known to cause groups of strangers to break out in song, dance, laugh, and cry.