Events

[FOLK] Ann Arbor roots music melting pot Ragbirds released its latest studio offering The Threshold and The Hearth in early spring, returning confident and strong after a hiatus from new music that lasted nearly seven years. A story-concept record about the trials and tribulations of surviving a long-term relationship, the disc follows Bill and Betty as they weather the storm from college to middle age and beyond. The characters morph and shift, however, which keeps the album from falling back on a predictable, linear storyline—and the writing is plenty clever (check out the subtle funk of “Cosmos,” which revolves around, “a cosmologist and a cosmetologist drinking cosmos at the club”). From the righteous, near-anthemic feel of the opener, “Lemon Grove” to the melancholy piano ballad “Strange Weather,” front woman Erin Zindle shows off admirable versatility as a writer, fiddler, and vocalist. Brother/guitarist T.J. Zindle peppers in bits of jazzy know-how while Dan Jones and Jon Brown support the whole operation with a sturdy rhythm section and husband Randall Moore ducks above and below with punctuating percussion. The Threshold and The Hearth is the sound of a band on top of its game, feeling refreshed and inspired—and they’re bringing that spirit to Buffalo Iron Works for a gig on Wednesday night, June 1 with special guests Folkfaces.