The Ragbirds w/ Laura Bates and Brandon Foote


PLEASE NOTE: RESERVATIONS are at capacity for this show.  We are currently taking a waiting list.  If you would like to be added to the wait list please call 734-464-6302.

The Ragbirds began in 2005 with songwriter and vocalist Erin Zindle and percussionist Randall Moore in their search to create fresh original songs sprouting out of their love for world music and their desire to weave these distant sounds into more familiar genres. With the addition of guitarist/vocalist Matthew Melody, bassist Dan Hildebrandt, and percussionist Tim Dziekan, who share the vision of creating honest, creative music combining these global and local elements, The Ragbirds fully realized their sound. Zindle leads the stage with a bright, energetic presence and four to five instruments interchanging skillfully in her hands, while she sings her charms.

In April 2005, The Ragbirds released their debut CD, Yes Nearby, an independent, full-length album consisting of 12 well-crafted songs. The CD continues to garner critical acclaim and the band itself is drawing an ever increasing number of people to its shows. Since their debut, The Ragbirds have released two more albums and a single, including the new studio offering Wanderlove (June 2007) and can be seen performing all over the mid-west music scene, spreading in ever widening circles throughout Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, New York and well beyond, stirring up a buzz everywhere they go. They can be heard on many local and college radio stations in the mid-west and read about in local papers and online reviews. Their unique fusion of roots folk, world groove, and pop sensibility gets audiences of all ages and sizes up and dancing.

The Ragbirds use many traditional folk instruments including violin, acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, accordion, acoustic guitar, piano and harmonica, with their folky root sounds firmly embedded in the soil of rhythm, ancient and new, incorporating African poly-rhythms and Afro-Cuban tumbaos, mixed with rock, hip-hop or reggae style drum-kit.
Melodic lines are often built of ethnic scales and techniques, sometimes Celtic in style, sometimes Gypsy, or Latin, or African, and there is an improvisational element to the songs that keeps them fresh. In live performances, the band frequently incorporates traditional African drum pieces, each member trading their instrument for a nearby hand drum. They have a strong belief in the beauty of poetry and positive music, and the power of danceable rhythm.

Laura Bates and Brandon Foote's sound is timeless, rootsy and lush, with soaring harmonies, piano, mandolin and guitars harkening back to the olden days with new vision. Bates and Foote look and sound like they could've just stepped off the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, or perhaps even further back, to the dance halls of the civil war era-Always digging deeper and moving forward. With their unique blend of old-time, folk, bluegrass and country, Laura and Brandon have graced coffee shops, bookstores, pubs, and festivals with traditional favorites and original songs. 

Booking their act as “Guitar, Mandolin, and Two Voices”, their sound is refreshingly simple and strives for authenticity, with nods to the Carter Family, the Monroe Brothers, and Tim and Mollie O'Brien. In addition to completing his Bachelors degree at Central Michigan University, Brandon studied mandolin at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, under bluegrass legends, Alan Munde and Joe Carr. Laura studied voice at Great Lakes Christian College and received her Bachelors of Religious Education with a major in Music.