Erin Zindle & The Ragbirds migrate to Maumee for a long-awaited live show. The Ann Arbor global folk-rock quartet lands at The Village Idiot January 31 for a soaring two-set performance, their first appearance at the venue in nearly a decade. The show will also double as Zindle’s birthday celebration.
A special place
“The Village Idiot has a special place in our hearts because for many years we played there on a regular basis. It’s a venue that has a lot of energy and dancing, and it was always a place that we would expect to see a lot of friends,” said Zindle, the band’s frontwoman, violinist and multi-instrumentalist.
“A lot has changed since then in our presentation, not just in our sound, but in the way that we do our shows. We are quite a different band, but still with the same heart and energy. We do four-part harmonies, we have new material, and we pay much more attention to our stage performance.”
Last fall, Zindle and her bandmates, including brother TJ (guitar, vocals), Shannon Wade (bass, vocals) and Loren Kranz (drums, vocals), updated the band’s name, Erin Zindle & The Ragbirds (previously they were known as The Ragbirds) and released new music.
Throughout the band’s 15-year history, Erin Zindle & The Ragbirds have maintained a passionate grassroots fan base by continually reinventing themselves with an evolving sound while remaining rooted in the high-energy sphere of world-based folk-rock. They’ve shifted their sound to include more melodic components along with uplifting vocals, edgy guitars and groovy rhythms.
New tunes
The group’s latest single, “Curious,” features those infectious melodic components, and will be included on a new EP later this year. An aspirational track, “Curious” weaves wah-wah guitars, piano chords and upbeat vocals to overcome the stigma of aging with newfound wisdom. It’s the band’s first new material since releasing a full-length album, The Threshold & The Hearth in 2016.
“We’re geared up to record and release at least an EP, if not an album. Last year was a year of output for me just personally getting the songs out,” Erin said. “I was writing one to three songs a week last year. It was a year of collecting and starting to regroup and figuring out our new sound.”
The band’s January 31 performance will feature new tracks as well as past favorites from their extensive catalog along with a special backdrop, lighting and sound elements for an enchanting live show. “We’ve already been doing so many new songs. Some of our fans lately have been asking for some of the older songs, so we’re going to try them out,” Zindle said.
The band has plans to tour regionally and nationally this spring and summer. The 15-year touring veterans have stops booked in Michigan, across the Midwest and in some western states to see longtime fans.
“As we’ve grown, we’re the kind of band that always pays attention, takes notes and strives to improve. That’s the reason why we’ve kept doing it over the years, while we kept improving, and I think those are things you don’t see in a lot of bands,” Zindle said.
Erin Zindle & The Ragbirds
10pm | Friday, January 31
The Village Idiot, 309 Conant St., Maumee
Ages 21 and up
Tickets: $10 at Eventbrite
