Classic, feel-good style folk music infused with a modern kick will soon hit the stage during the Ohio Theatre’s upcoming Folk Festival, scheduled for Saturday, November 14.
Headlined by national touring act Birds of Chicago, the festival will also feature performances by Ypsilanti-natives the Ragbirds and Toledo-based musicians, The Antivillains and Jeff Stewart.
Coming home
"I feel like, at its core, Toledo has a really, really strong roots music connection,” said JT Nero, who along with his wife, Allison Russell, comprise the core of the Birds of Chicago, the group which formed in 2012. “Old blues, jazz— it's really rooted in Toledo. And even though the scene kind of ebbs-and-flows, Toledo at its core is very musical— there's an incredible tradition in the area."
The Folk Festival will also function as a homecoming for Nero. "Both my parents taught at the University of Toledo for 30 years," Nero said. "They retired in 2010 and 2011. I grew up going to Old Orchard Elementary, Deveaux Junior High and then St. Francis. That's where I got my musical start, and my start in general.”
"[While] I really identify as a Chicagoan, because I've lived there for 20 years, and my extended family is there… Toledo is a part of my heart, and a big part of my history,” Nero added,.
Sharing hope
Erin Zindle — lead singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of Ypsi songsters the Ragbirds, who have toured in over forty states around the country — is also looking forward to taking the Ohio Theatre’s stage to share her group’s eclectic variety of folk.
"Our music is really high-energy folk rock, and it has a lot of world music influence," Zindle said. "I just am inspired by many of the sounds that I've heard from other cultures and kind of incorporated those into my songwriting. At the heart of it, I'm a folk songwriter. I love sharing music that makes people dance, and connects with people on an emotional level, as well."
For Zindle, who started the Ragbirds with her husband Randall Moore in 2005, part of the emotional connection is sharing a message of hope with her audience.
"I've been through alot, and I've dealt with a lot of things. I think that the hopeful message that I come around to is sort of a hard-earned hope, that I feel compelled to share,” Zindle said. “And I also feel compelled to keep repeating it, over and over again, for my own sake, and my own health and happiness."
7:30pm Saturday, November 14
$15/GA, $25/reserved
Ohio Theatre and Event Center, 3112 Lagrange St.
419-255-8406 | ohiotheatretoledo.org
