The popular Mountain Music and Folk Art Series continues at the Wild Bean on Saturday, May 11th featuring Red Tail Ring. The Michigan-based duo shares a raw blend of original compositions and interpretations of old ballads and dance tunes from Appalachia. Hosted by Lewisburg’s own Hell for Certain String Band, the series aims to feature acts which combine their music with a strong visual component. In this installment, Red Tail Ring’s Laurel Premo, also a printmaker, will be showing off many of her original screen-printed works.

“Catch this act before T-Bone Burnett discovers them” – The Ann Arbor Observer

Premo and Michael Beauchamp are celebrating the release of their third full-length album on Earthwork Music. The Heart’s Swift Foot presents 10 original songs with two acoustic standards that stretch the confines of what two people can create sonically with guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin and dobro. The duo’s signature style of layered, intricate instrumental lines over close vocal harmonies shines on this new collection. “We crafted the recording to be as close to our live performance as possible,” Beauchamp says. “We feel we’re at our best when we’re playing together, listening and reacting as we go along.”

Since the release of their 2011 double-album, Premo and Beauchamp have remained busy, with tours to both U.S. coasts and performances in Denmark, “exporting some Midwest sounds,” as Premo puts it. Although they consider Kalamazoo, Michigan to be their home, the duo’s attention to the fiddle and banjo tunes of Appalachia, paired with Premo’s original artwork, make Red Tail Ring a perfect fit for the folk series.

The Mountain Music and Folk Arts Series has been growing in popularity since November, when Anna Roberts Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle’s ‘Crankies’ show. In March, Brett Ratliff and John Haywood brought traditional songs and mountain-inspired paintings to America’s Coolest Small Town.

Premo is responsible for the original screen printed artwork that accompanies many Red Tail Ring projects. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, and has been practicing printmaking since high school. The event will feature Premo’s printmaking on posters, album covers, and postcards.

“Man, they can play! They lift us into their sound.”- Seth Bernard, Earthwork Music

The Mountain Music and Folk Arts Show begins at 8 p.m., opening with the sounds of the Hell for Certain String Band. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 day of show.

For Red Tail Ring info, music, and upcoming shows visit redtailring.com For images of Laurel Premo’s artwork, visit: laurelpremo.com Photos for this article courtesy: redtailring.com