Ruth Ungar

Ruth Ungar was raised in a folk musical family and learned fiddle at an early age. Her father is fiddler and composer Jay Ungar (Ashoken Farewell) and her mom is Lyn Hardy, a singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

Along with her husband Michael Merenda, she has recorded and performed original American music for over two decades, both with the band The Mammals and as the duo Mike & Ruthy. Ruth has also performed and recorded in the band Sometymes Why, an American Folk Noir band that includes Kristin Andreassen and Aoife O’Donovan.

Ruth and Mike, and their two children, make their home in the Hudson River Valley where they and friends host their own thriving community folk festival, The Hoot. The Hoot is held bi-annually at The Ashokan Center, an outdoor education, conference and retreat center in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York, where Ruth is the Director of Arts and Education.

In her interview, Ungar talks about playing and performing, heading down a musical career path, musical partners, gender parity and diversity, the business of music, experiences as a woman in music, and paradigm shifts.