2021 Featured Instructors
Bridget Kearney
Bridget Kearney is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. A founding member of the band Lake Street Dive, she has performed at Radio City Music Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks Amphitheater, and The White House South Lawn, as well as appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, Ellen, and Conan. Her solo debut, "Won't Let You Down," came out in 2017 on Signature Sounds and in 2020 she released a collaborative album written and recorded in Accra, Ghana, called "Still Flying" on Verve Forecast. Kearney has a BM from the New England Conservatory in Jazz Studies (bass) and BA from Tufts University in English. www.lakestreetdive.com
Mike Merenda
Mike Merenda is a songwriting force and clawhammer banjo explorer raised in NH and now dwelling in NY's Hudson Valley. Youthful musical forays into rock and punk later led to the more traditional folk realms and a productive creative partnership with his wife Ruth Ungar spanning 2 decades (so far.) They have toured extensively as both the duo Mike + Ruthy and the full band The Mammals. Mike curates the lineup of their community music festivals, the Winter Hoot and Summer Hoot at Ashokan. He is most fond of hoisting his antenna into the ether and seeing what emerges thru singing with a guitar or banjo in hand. In addition to his own original compositions he has recorded posthumous "co-writes" with Woody Guthrie & Allen Ginsberg. The Mammals' recent title track Sunshiner, which came to Mike in a dream, was nominated for Folk Alliance International's 2018 Song of the Year award. He attended Miles of Music's very first camp and is honored to be back.
Naiika Sings
After quitting her job in real estate five years ago, Naiika Sings bought a microphone and amplifier and took to performing on subway platforms and trains along the A, D and E lines. Her unplanned performances were based, she says, on the energy subway commuters were giving her that day.
Two years ago, a video of her posted by a rider on social media went viral as millions watched a packed train of commuters lose their inhibitions in a spontaneous sing-along. In other videos people danced in the aisles. When Naiika sings, said one post, magic happens.
In her forthcoming debut album, the Haitian-American singer-songwriter demonstrates to the world why her sultry mix of soul and style has already attracted the attention of millions, including 50 Cent, Ledisi, and many more.
Kyshona Armstrong
A music therapist gone rogue, Kyshona Armstrong wrote her first songs with her patients as an exercise in self reflection. She is known as a strong voice for the underdog. NPR Music is quoted as saying “Wherever she plants her feet she does so with righteous conviction and a strong sense of her own voice.”.
When she’s home, Kyshona devotes her time to helping others write their story through song; working with those experiencing incarceration, homelessness and struggling with mental health. Of her latest project, “Listen”, No Depression says,“This is protest music for a new generation, a musical treatment for social ills, a unique prescription that only works if you listen.”
Ruth Ungar
Ruth Ungar is a multi-dimensional collaborator, touring and recording artist, and event organizer based in the Hudson Valley of NY. In 2019 she and her husband Mike Merenda toured the US and UK with their band The Mammals, toured festivals for a month in Australia as Mike + Ruthy (duo) with their two kids, recorded a new full length studio album ‘Nonet' and organized their two annual community music festivals, the Winter Hoot & Summer Hoot at Ashokan. For 40 years Ruth's family has hosted summer traditional music and dance camps at Ashokan, the place that inspired her father, Jay Ungar, to compose his evocative fiddle melody Ashokan Farewell. Ruth is similarly known for eliciting an emotional response from an audience of any size. Her background in theater has also fueled a lifelong fascination with stagecraft, vulnerability, and the beauty of taking risks.
Ruby John
Ruby John is a Traditional Fiddler and a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa Chippewa Indians from Northern Michigan. Ruby learned to fiddle the traditional way by ear, listening to and learning from experienced fiddlers while attending OFMA Jamborees (Old-Time Michigan Fiddlers Association), TC Celtic Sessions, Algomatrad Traditional Music and Dance camp (St. Joseph Island ON), Elder Youth Legacy Métis Collective and Bluegrass Festivals. Ruby has performed her traditional fiddling throughout the US and Canada and looks forward to sharing this music she loves with others.
Watch her play on Quarantine Happy Hour.