Micah & Molly's harmonic convergence

Sunday, March 16, ArtRat Gallery hosts the latest in its roots music series curated by The Stableford Agency. Americana Sundays: An Afternoon with Micah Ling & Molly McBride runs 3-5pm at 46 Division Ave. S. (Admission $25; tickets available on Eventbrite.)

Micah Ling and Molly McBride join voices on cello, fiddle, banjo and guitar to share their love of traditional music. Old-time fiddle tunes and close harmony singing form the gold-tinged touchstone of this duo of friends and collaborators who have played and sung together for over a decade. They use their experiences studying and living in the Midwest, Newfoundland, Appalachia and the Pacific Northwest to inform their approach to the repertoire they love. 

Before Sunday’s event, the duo teamed up to fill ArtRat in on their musical journey.

What’s your origin story? How did each of you come to music, and how did you come together as a duo?

Molly and Micah met in about 2010 while we were both undergraduate students at Michigan State University. Micah was already playing old-time, having grown up in the traditional music scene in Michigan attending the Wheatland Music Festival and playing in her father’s band, Hawks and Owls Old-Time String Band. 

Molly already played the violin but learned more about folk and traditional music styles while attending MSU through local community organizations like the Ten Pound Fiddle (concerts, contra and square dances) and Pretty Shaky String Band (weekly open community jam session).

We began performing together first through connecting at jams in the early 2010s, and have joined in music on and off for many years as both contra/square dance musicians and concert performances. We have both moved out of Michigan for various periods to pursue graduate degrees, but have landed permanently in Lansing and happily have continued our musical partnership.

How do you choose and arrange songs for your repertoire?

We each bring material to the table, songs we enjoy playing on our own or can hear suiting the other person’s voice or playing style. We listen to a lot of string band music, early country and bluegrass, and traditional music from all over. Most of our repertoire comes from old traditional tunes and songs that we learn from friends or archival recordings and work up together to build our own interpretations.

You’re also educators who once worked together at the Michigan Traditional Arts Program. What role do these sorts of programs play in keeping American music traditions vibrant?

Micah and Molly both worked for the Michigan Traditional Arts Program (MTAP) from 2012-2019. Molly conducted fieldwork to document Michigan’s cultural heritage through ethnographic interviews and digitized reels and tapes archived at the MSU Museum. Micah is currently the public programs coordinator for the Michigan Traditional Arts Program. She coordinates the Michigan Heritage Awards and the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, which awards stipends to mentor artist and apprentice pairs. Programs like MTAP (and its sibling programs in other states) builds awareness for folk and traditional arts and their role in sustaining community life and building empathy.

Though they no longer work together, they are both passionate about supporting and sharing the musical traditions they love. These are participatory musical traditions that allow for people to grow together, connect to the history of their place, and build relationships in a noncompetitive art environment.

How would you describe the Michigan Americana scene? What makes it special?

Michigan’s folk music scene is extremely vibrant. There are square and contra dances active around the state.

Molly plays regularly for dances in Lansing with multiple bands like the Banjo Tramps. There are wonderful music venues working hard to make inclusive spaces for folk and traditional music while also equitably supporting the artists who play there, like The Robin Theatre, the Ark, the Clover Room, the Alluvion, The Ten Pound Fiddle, and ArtRat. Having venues matters! Michigan’s rich tradition of festivals also showcases the incredible talent we have here, and the public interest and investment in supporting those artists.

What do you like best about playing in Grand Rapids?

For Micah, this is a hometown show. She grew up attending all ages shows at the DAAC and Skelletones as soon as she was old enough to drive. She has played many times in GR with other bands, such as Chris Bathgate, Strawberry Heritage and on various tours with the Earthwork Music Collective. Being able to perform and share her growth as a performer is a wonderful opportunity. This is Molly’s Grand Rapids debut, so you’ll have to come to the show and ask them at the merch table!