What's New

April Appearances 2024 

Here's where you can see us live and in person this month: 

Sunday April 7, 10:00 AM: C3 Spiritual Community in Grand Haven, Michigan. (Just a few songs between the elements of their gathering.)  
 
Sunday April 14, 6:00 PM: Salt Of The Earth in Fennville, Michigan. We share the night with another duo, Annagail. (The Farm to Table cuisine at Salt Of The Earth is excellent.) 

March 2024 

Here it is the end of March 2024, and you haven't heard from us in a while. 

In February (after a wild and crazy January full of medical procedures for both of us) after a fun and successful show at The Playhouse At Whitelake we took off and spent three wonderful weeks visiting musician friends in Chapala, Mexico. Yes, we had a warm and wonderful time.  

NOW: On Sunday April 14 we are excited to play a shared bill with another duo, Annagail, at one of our favorite spots, a restaurant in Fennville, MI called Salt of the Earth. (Here's a link to the details: https://www.reverbnation.com/show/25999909) The farm-to-table cuisine at Salt of the Earth is outstanding, and we look forward to hearing a full set from Annagail, too. (Here's a link to Annagail's website: https://annagail.net)  Get your tickets early as seating is limited. This one's going to be fun. 

Watch for our May news. We have some fun things happening then, too.  

Thanks for reading. Thanks for being a fan. We couldn't do this without folks like you. 

Ruth and Max

White Lake Playhouse February 2, 2024 

This is our only show in February and it's going to be fun. We love The Playhouse At Whitelake and you will, too. Please join us on February 2, 2024 at 6:60. 

You can learn about the Playhouse and all of their events (including ours) here: http://theplayhouseatwhitelake.org/spring24.php 

Details about this show are here:https://ruthbloomquist.com/schedule 

AND you can hear the replay of our in-studio mini-concert and interview on WBLV FM Public Radio promoting this concert here: https://bluelake.ncats.net/ondemand/Studio%20Performances-Ruth%20and%20Max%20Bloomquist-0-20240127.mp3 

We hope you can join us. 

Ruth and Max

January News 

We wish you a Happy New Year! Thanks for being patient. We are even later than usual with our monthly update and we apologize, but it has been a bit of a rough transition into 2024 for us. On the day after Christmas we spent half of the day in the ER after Ruth experienced what we learned was a gallbladder attack. We thank the staff at Trinity Health Muskegon (aka Mercy) Hospital for their excellent care. After two weeks of carefully watching her diet (and a very low key New Year's celebration) the offending organ and its troublesome gall stones have been removed, and Ruth is recovering. 

Barring any unexpected complications, we still plan on playing our upcoming dates, so let's make a plan.

Tuesday, January 16 we play a benefit for The Momentum Center <https://www.momentumcentergh.org> of Grand Haven. It takes place at The Unicorn Tavern starting at 6:00. Here's a link to the details: https://fb.me/e/1sqXGLKJaSaturday, January 20 6:00 

We are excited to return for a concert for the Grand River Folk Arts Society. This will be at the Wealthy Theater Annex, 1130 Wealthy St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI. We are ecstatic to be included in the restart of their concert series, and we hope you can join us. Here's a Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/6GeMClOVuFriday, 

February 2 (How can we be so lucky?) It's the First Friday Concert Series at the Playhouse At White Lake. Start time: 6:30. 304 S Mears Ave. Whitehall.MI. We have a pretty long history playing this beautiful venue going back to when it was still called the Howmet Playhouse long before its renovation into the modern facility that it is today. If you're anywhere near don't miss this one.  Here's the FacebookEvent: https://fb.me/e/3782r9a5L. 

Once again we wish you the best and hope to see you in 2024.

Ruth and Max

December 2023 

DECEMBER! We hope that this month of celebration is a joyous one for you. 

While our personal calendar is looking busy, there is only one concert on the docket. If you are anywhere near please consider our show on December 28 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, Michigan. Start time is 6:00. The show will feature Holiday and seasonal music plus whatever feels right in the moment. We hope you can join us. Details here <https://www.facebook.com/events/1017227279364458> and on our website <https://ruthbloomquist.com/schedule>
All the best,
Ruth and Max

November 2023 

November is here. Halloween was cancelled where we live because of the 8 or more inches of snow that fell that afternoon and evening. Now the wild turkeys are gathering in our back yard apparently unaware that Thanksgiving Day is coming soon. 

It's short notice but we want you to be aware of what we are doing on Saturday November 4. The event is called Just Desserts a fundraiser which will benefit Michigan Refugee Hope. It will be held at First Lutheran Church in North Muskegon. We will be joined by a roster of talent including The Burnished Brass Quintet, Joel Dulyea, Dana Olsen, Bill Uetricht, and Eva Backus. Delicious desserts will be provided by Occidental Eats. A free-will offering will be taken. You won't want to miss this!
 
We will spend the rest of the month trying to be social, attending events, playing a private party, and even going to a concert as audience members.
AND don't forget to check out our NEW SINGLE October's Lullaby available now on all your favorite streaming and download platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, etc.
Happy Thanksgiving! We are Thankful for you and all of our friends, fans, and listeners.
Ruth and Max

August 2023 


 
 
 Ruth and Max Bloomquist  
 
 

 

Hi!

We wanted to get this out a bit early as August feels like it starts early for us.
 
On Saturday July 29 we are excited to play a 12 noon set at the Tamarack Music Festival in Morley Michigan. A new experience for us, this smallish festival looks like a lot of fun.
 
Then the FIRST WEEKEND OF AUGUST starts with an outdoor concert at the Log Cabin Stage in Kaleva, MI (7:00). Then on Saturday Aug. 5 we play a private party that we have played before that is always a good time. Then on Sunday August 6 we play a concert at the beautiful Muskegon Victorian Garden/Phoenix Continuum (2:00). (This one is always fun. Don't forget your chairs.)
 
On Wednesday August 9 (after two days off) we travel up to Traverse City to play an outdoor concert (7:00) at the Peninsula Community Library out on the Old Mission Peninsula. Bring chairs and maybe a picnic. In case of rain we move indoors.
 
On Tuesday August 15 at 8:00 eastern we will join two other acts in a Zoom concert for Music My Mother Would Not Like. These promoter/broadcasters do a great job of showcasing music you might not but perhaps should hear every day.
 
On Saturday August 19 we provide music for the semi-private Smith Bayou Chili Cookout. (If you know, you know.)
 
We finish up the month on August 25 with a 7:00 concert at the White River Light Station in Whitehall,MI. This is a beautiful location at the lighthouse on the channel between White Lake and Lake Michigan and a great way for us to finish the last full month of summer.
 
Where did the time go?
 
All the details can be found at our website: <https://ruthbloomquist.com/schedule>
 
Thanks! We hope you can find time to come out and hang out with us.
Ruth and Max
 
 
 

In Like a Lion? 

What can we say about early March in Western Michigan? Some days are sunny while others are far from it, and we never know what form the precipitation might take. We have just returned from a lovely getaway visiting good friends and sharing music in a warmer climate, but we are happy to be home.

We look forward to presenting our music this month in three locations. One is a Sunday morning gathering local to us. One is in the Chicago area, and one is near to Detroit. We look forward to them all, and hope that you might join us at one if you are so inclined. Here they are. Details are in the links below.
Sun Mar 12 2023  10:00a C3 Spiritual Community  Grand Haven, MI
 
Tue Mar 21 2023  7:00p Oak Park Public Library  Oak Park, IL
 
Fri Mar 24 2023  8:00p Trinity House Theatre  Livonia, MI
 
 
Also, we have some very nice events scheduled for the coming summer and hoping for more. Our complete schedule is published on our website< https://ruthbloomquist.com/schedule> AND our music is available for physical sale or download at <https://ruthbloomquist.com/listen-and-purchase-music> 
 
 
Meanwhile, if we have no other pressing commitments on a Saturday night you will likely find us live-streaming from home via our Facebook page @RuthandMaxBloomquistMusic. Please do follow us there for updates.
 
Your support means the world to us. 
 
Thanks.
Ruth and Max

 

February 2023 news from Ruth & Max 

It's February 3, so more than 10% of the month is behind us already. The biggest news is that we have started the recording process for a collection of new songs. There is no release date as yet, as there's still a lot of work to do, but we promise to keep you posted as progress is made.

It really is exciting and satisfying to have this project underway. We have one live in-person show this month: We are truly excited to be appearing at the Ark in Ann Arbor with Annie and Rod Capps and Robin and Jenny Bienemann for the annual "My Folky Valentine" show on Valentine's Day February 14. Please see our schedule for the details. https://ruthbloomquist.com/schedule. While you're there you can see what else we have on tap and start making plans to see us in the future.

Meanwhile, we have continued with our Saturday night live-streaming concerts on Facebook on any Saturday that we are not otherwise engaged. At this point, we plan on Feb. 4, 11, and 18.  Stay tuned for what might be up in March.

All the best,

Ruth and Max

Photo by Bruce Robey