Red Tail Ring

Friends,

We want to thank all of you so much for your support during the pandemic, whether continuing to listen to us on Spotify, Apple Music, or another streaming site, supporting Laurel on her Patreon, watching one of our livestreams on the Red Tail Ring YouTube Page (or on Laurel’s Page), purchasing our albums from the RTR Shop, or simply following us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Thank you! Your ongoing support means the world to us.

Exactly one year ago today we were in the van on our way to play the Devil’s Mountain Coffeehouse in Walnut Creek, CA with John McCutcheon. If memory serves, we got to drive in a Tesla to the show – John was pretty excited about that. (For the record the above photo is from Wheatland in 2018)

Though the latter three quarters of 2020 were pretty quiet for us, with few posts on social media, and no releases, we have been working on writing and recording new solo musics. Laurel, continuing the sonic space created by her 2019 release of The Iron Trios, recorded a new album of solo electric guitar that features expansive and richly toned versions of old-time fiddle tunes, sacred harp songs, and a few originals. She’ll release it in 2021. Check out Laurel’s website, Instagram and Facebook for more information. Laurel also offered a bunch of online Zoom lessons in 2020, and she’s doing it again in 2021. Get in touch with her to sharpen your chops!

Michael also used 2020 to write and record some new solo music. The lyrically-based collection of original folk songs still needs some finishing touches, but he hopes to have an album out later this year. You can keep up to date with him by checking Michael’s website and Instagram. He’ll also have a Patreon soon to support his ongoing creative work.

Here’s hoping 2021 includes a return of shows, potlucks, coffee dates, dinners out, sporting events, safe travel, and on and on and on. Keep your spirits up in the meantime and stay safe.

Posted 1/18/21

 

Given the cancellation of the Baltimore Old-Time Festival, we’re going to make some lemonade, as it were, and present a live stream concert this coming Friday, March 13th at 7:00pm EST.

The concert will be hosted on Laurel’s Youtube Channel and will be a free, donation-based happening.

Posted 3/12/20

We’re excited to announce concert dates in California and the Pacific Northwest in January 2020! Red Tail Ring will be opening up for John McCutcheon on his California tour. We’re looking forward to time on the road with John and to backing him up on a bit of his own material too. John released his 40th album this year, and his poetic songwriting has been a impactful force for generations of folk music participants. After this tour, Red Tail Ring will be continuing up the West Coast for some performances in the Pacific Northwest Jan 23-26th in Portland, Eugene, Olympia, & Bellingham.

CALIFORNIA TOUR, OPENING FOR JOHN McCUTCHEON
timing and ticket details found at: https://www.folkmusic.com/shows.html

RED TAIL RING NORTH WEST TOUR
timing and ticket details found on the Shows Page

Posted 12/16/19

On October 11, 2019, Laurel released a brand new instrumental album called ‘The Iron Trios.’ These sounds are something that have been brewing for a few years for her, and the project does a deep dive into both traditional and new fiddle music, musically revealing a bloom of underlying harmonic drones, minimalist repetition, and rich polyrhythms. Responding to her fiddling on the record are electric and acoustic guitars and an extreme second fiddle – double bass. Laurel really  leans in to the archaic fiddle melodies and in-between intonations that connect folk sounds to the mystic and unknown on this new release, and it’s a neat view into her unique musical mind.

Posted 10/11/19

We’re looking forward to some select summer festivals in the Midwest this year, including many of our favorites from years past (Buttermilk Jamboree, Hiawatha, and Fox Valley). One notable exception below is the Earthwork Harvest Gathering (September 20-22, 2019), where we’ll each be presenting solo sets of music (hence the omission, but we’ll be there!). Our ‘summer’ closes with a Red Tail Ring-ish appearance at Beethoven & Banjos, the collaborative cross-genre festival presented by Laurel’s brother (and world-class classical bassist), Evan Premo. B&B this year will feature both of us alongside members of the Carnegie Hall’s affiliate ensemble DeCoda. Hope to see you all in flip flops and tank tops this summer!

Posted 4/29/19

We’re excited to announce our March 2019 Australian tour, where we’ll be playing a ton of festivals and shows in Victoria, Australia. We want to thank Amy Laidlaw of I Hear Django for her foresight and hard work in making this happen.

Check below and the Shows page for complete tour dates. You can also keep in touch by following us on Facebook and Twitter, or by joining our e-mail list.

 

Posted 11/8/18

 

 

 

 

We’re ecstatic to share that we’ll be traveling to Australia in early 2019 to play the Port Fairy Folk Festival March 8th-11th. This announcement is only the tip of the iceberg – more Australian tour dates will follow, with other festivals and plenty of intimate concerts in the mix. You can learn more about the Port Fairy by visiting www.portfairyfolkfestival.com.

Posted 9/5/18