Futuretime String Band sets a course for ArtRat

Sunday, January 11, ArtRat Gallery and the The Stableford Agency are proud to present Americana Sundays: An Afternoon With Futuretime String Band, the first 2026 installment of their popular roots music series. The show runs 3-5pm at 46 Division Ave. S in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. (Admission $25; tickets available from Eventbrite.)

An up-and-coming musical duo from Michigan, Futuretime String Band features traditional folk music with a twist from the future, adding diverse sounds and musical elements from other cultures and genres. 

Futuretime String Band approaches styles like bluegrass, old-time and Irish music through a futuristic lens. They create a sonic paradox: aiming to create a new sound from beyond our time and space while they propel traditional folk music into the future. 

The band features Keala Venema (fiddle, vocals) and Lino Venema (guitar, flute, vocals, and occasionally traditional Japanese instrument Shamisen). The duo won first place for a duo in the Midwest Fleadh Irish music festival, then went on to compete in the international All-Ireland Fleadh held in Ireland in August 2025.

Futuretime String Band sings songs of the future and past, what’s to come and what’s been. Both members draw from many inspirations, including but not limited to John Coltrane, Foghorn String Band, Billy Strings, and more.

Ahead of Sunday's show, Keala talked about the Venemas’ latest interstellar mission of musical exploration. 

Keala has performed at ArtRat a couple of times before, with Whorled. This is Lino’s first appearance here, but the two of you have played together on stage with Whorled. These acts are family affairs; does music play a central role in your family?

Whorled is a trio with my mom (Mariko Venema) and our friend Thom Jayne, and occasionally we need a little extra spark to our higher energy sets. Surprisingly, instead of adding bass or percussion, we've found that adding Lino on flute adds a lot of extra Celtic energy. 

Maybe it's because we're family and we've played music together for years, or maybe she really is just that good at Irish flute! Lino is also in an all-celtic group called Trillium with Thom. 

Music absolutely plays a central role in our family. Our life hasn't always revolved around it, but at some point we really came together to play super casually and started attending traditional Irish sessions…from there it’s really blossomed into many different forms and become a primary driving force in our daily lives. 

How did you hit on the concept of Futuretime String Band?

Mostly from goofing off and experimenting. Lino and I got into playing old-time music (Appalachian music) … And the opposite of Old-time is, well, Future-time. We dreamed on what traditional music can be in the future, and we settled on a concept revolving around time travel and bringing the past and the future to you, in the present. 

What was your experience representing the Midwest at the All-Ireland Fleadh? Was there a different vibe among musicians and fans from the Midwest Fleadh you won to get there? 

It was amazing, and we were so honored to take the journey! Definitely a different cultural experience from the competition we won in the States, too. It’s interesting to see how American culture melds with Irish immigrants who moved here, vs a fully immersive Irish experience.  Just within the music, there is starting to form this ‘competition style’ that differs from the jams you’d find in pubs in rural Ireland. It’s interesting! 

We were able to see into how this competition builds culture and in affect causing many young people to play the music of their people. Truly inspiring. 

What can new fans expect from your Americana Sundays set? 

Our music consists of influences from Oldtime, Bluegrass, Celtic, Jazz, and maybe even arrangement choices dictated by listening to something like Black Country New Road (Indie). We also have this cool instrument we were able to bring back from Japan called a Shamisen and we’d like to play one Oldtime song with it. We’re excited to sing you some songs and pick some fiddle tunes for you! 

What do you like best about playing in Grand Rapids?

The friendly attitude and depth of some of the musicians make this town a pretty great scene, in my totally unbiased opinion. People are into trying new things in Grand Rapids. That means, “The audience and the musicians,” I think! I have really enjoyed connecting with all the musicians and really felt welcomed in!