Search - The Ragbirds :: The Threshold & The Hearth

Hook-laden pop with a kaleidoscopic array of worldly influences, The Ragbirds exhibit a gleeful disregard for contemporary folk-rock convention, this up-and-coming Michigan band has been traveling the country with their ?infectious global groove? gathering a passionate grassroots fan base of all ages.The five-piece project is clearly built around the multi-talented Erin Zindle, who is proficient in a variety of stringed instruments. She is the songwriter and front woman of the band, skillfully switching between violin, mandolin, accordion, banjo and percussion, all while dancing. Zindle wears an infectious smile and a positive message, always spun through a poetic loom. Surrounding Zindle?s earthy-sweet voice is the whirlwind of a guitarist T.J. Zindle, dynamic bassist Dan Jones, drummer Jon Brown, and standout percussionist Randall Moore. ?It?s folk-rock music at the heart of it?, says Zindle, who started the band with her husband, percussionist Randall Moore, ?but I?m influenced and moved by sounds from all over the world?. This interest in world music came first from her own roots. With two Irish grandmothers, the young violinist struck ancestral gold when she discovered Celtic fiddling as a teenager. Zindle and Moore began their relationship busking on the streets of Ann Arbor with Celtic and gypsy fiddling over tricky beats of tambourine, Middle-Eastern doumbek and tabla. The Ragbirds albums have received local and national praise, hailed ?Highly impressive!? by USA Today and touted as ?Astounding international eclecticism? by Reveal Arts. The band has performed in over forty states to a tune of 150+ shows a year. Crisscrossing the nation in their converted diesel bus that runs on recycled waste vegetable oil, promoting environmental sustainability, The Ragbirds have become festival favorites. They have won over crowds at Rothbury, 10,000 Lakes, CMJ Music Marathon, Summer Camp, Electric Forest, Wheatland, Blissfest, Wookiefoot?s Harvest Fest, Ann Arbor Folk Festival, Hookahville, and many more, and have shared stages with Brandi Carlile, Rusted Root, Matisyahu, Railroad Earth, John Butler Trio, Toubab Krewe, Cornmeal, Greensky Bluegrass, Hot Buttered Rum, Jeff Daniels, The Everyone Orchestra, The Duhks, and many others.