Ruth and Max Bloomquist

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Ruth and Max Bloomquist Muskegon, MI Folk / Acoustic Americana Play Songs »   Share Songs »   Visit Profile » It's been kind of a quiet Spring for us, but we haven't been totally silent and we've been having fun, too.   You last heard from us just before our March 9 Show at Zellie's Opry House. We always have a great time there, and we celebrated the success of the Michigan Girl video posted to YouTube by Zellie's boss Terri Pippin-Grannis with a big cake. We also traveled up to Traverse City for the 33rd Annual Danny Boy Singing Competition. Ruth rode the St. Patty's Day Parade float with the finalists. In case you were wondering, Ruth won the adult division of the competition.   Meanwhile, Ruth finished a new song called Heart And Hand about the hard work and passion of French wine growers. Here's a link to a preview video.   In April we traveled to beautiful St. Augustine, FL to sing for the wedding of the son of some dear friends. Of course Ruth wrote a special song in honor of the occasion. On the way to Florida we stopped in Winston-Salem, NC to play a show kicking off the Sidewalk Serenade Series sponored by our friends at Blue Ridge Ice Creams. They've been hand making ice cream in Winston-Salem for 20 years, and their product ROCKS. Click here for a little video of our performance made by our hosts.   This brings us to the present and the near future. On Mother's Day May 12 we take part in a fundraiser for our friends Bruce and Becca Ling at the Intersection in Grand Rapids, MI. They are stalwarts in the Western Michigan roots music community and need some help after their hiome was first flooded by the Grand River and then vandalized. There will be lots of music and an auction. It's short notice, but come out if you get this message in time.     On May 22 we open for Garrison Keillor's one man show at the Frauenthal Center for the Arts in Muskegon, MI. We play for 30 minutes starting at 7:00. This one's gonna be fun.   We are really happy to be looking at a very busy June and July this summer. You'll be hearing from us as we swing into the season. Meanwhile you can check the schedule to see when we'll be playing near you.   Hoping to see you soon,   Ruth and Max         PRESS "What a show--great musicianship, great songs, and Ruth's voice just melts over the crowd like butter on a biscuit...delicious! Let's do it again! "  Terry Grannis, Zellie's Opry House "Turn Back A Page - Real songs with real emotions, great instrumental work, superb harmonies and one of the best female vocalists in the business (Ruth, of course!). This CD is pure listening pleasure.""  Al Kniola, Host, The Back Porch, 88.1 WVPE Public Radio "This band has a growing devoted following here in the Midwest, but the music I heard and the performance I saw are of a caliber that deserves to be seen on the best national stages!”"  Phil Doolittle, Paint Creek Comfy Concerts UPCOMING SHOWS The Intersection Grand Rapids, MI Sun May 12 13 01:00 PM   Music By the Pond Edmore, MI Sun May 26 13 06:30 PM   White River Lighthouse Whitehall, MI Sun Jun 02 13 11:00 AM   > See More / Details LINKS  ReverbNation       Artist Website       Facebook       Myspace      WIDGETS HTML5 Player     HTML5 Video Player     HTML5 Show Schedule     HTML5 Press     HTML5 Fan Collector     Music Player (Pro)     Video Player Widget (Pro)     Show Schedule Widget (Pro)     Press Widget (Pro)     Fan Collector (Pro)     Exclusive Downloads (Pro)     TuneWidget

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Ruth and Max Bloomquist Muskegon, MI Folk / Acoustic Americana Play Songs »   Share Songs »   Visit Profile » Dear ,   The snow pack is melting and the sun is shining a bit more, so can Spring be far away? We've had some really fun shows this winter and we're so thankful for fans like you who have been there to support us.   Before the actual first day of Spring arrives we have one more concert that might be fairly close to your neighborhood.On Saturday, March 9, we're returning to Zellie's Opry House in Howard City, MI. If you've been there before you know what a cool venue it is and how much fun we have playing there. If you haven't been there, this is a good time to try it out.   Concerts take place in a made over old church with a great (not too loud) sound system and a nice big stage.The raked audience seating area and near amphitheater layout make it large enough for a good sized crowd and intimate enough to let you feel up close and personal with the music.       We hope you'll come out and see us at Zellie's. John King and Dan Seabolt will be joining us to lend that "full band" sound. Doors open at 6:00. The House Band willl open the evening, and we'll start around 7:00. Tickets are a bargain and available at the door.   Thanks, Ruth and Max (Our apologies for the double intrusion.) PRESS "What a show--great musicianship, great songs, and Ruth's voice just melts over the crowd like butter on a biscuit...delicious! Let's do it again! "  Terry Grannis, Zellie's Opry House "Turn Back A Page - Real songs with real emotions, great instrumental work, superb harmonies and one of the best female vocalists in the business (Ruth, of course!). This CD is pure listening pleasure.""  Al Kniola, Host, The Back Porch, 88.1 WVPE Public Radio "This band has a growing devoted following here in the Midwest, but the music I heard and the performance I saw are of a caliber that deserves to be seen on the best national stages!”"  Phil Doolittle, Paint Creek Comfy Concerts UPCOMING SHOWS Zellie's Opry House Howard City, MI Sat Mar 09 13 07:00 PM Tickets > See More / Details LINKS  ReverbNation       Artist Website       Facebook       Myspace

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Ruth and Max Bloomquist Muskegon, MI Folk / Acoustic Americana Play Songs »   Share Songs »   Visit Profile »     In the last 48 hours our back yard has been transformed from a 12 inch deep snow field to a rain flooded mud puddle and the temperature was near 60F today. The cross-country ski tracks heading toward the woods have disappeared for the time being. That's OK, because all the snow was lake effect and might as well be washed back into the water table. The levels of the local lakes and streams are down, so a couple inches of Gulf moisture rain will not harm us.   Our first show in February is on Friday the first, so we thought we'd better let you know about the cool places we get to play in the next few weeks before January comes completely to an end.   On Friday the first we head for Ann Arbor and the Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room. If you're nearby and enjoy the small coffee house atmosphere, then this is the show for you. Casual and intimate with couches and tables and fun food and snacks to go with some of their fine tea or coffee drinks.     February 9 will find us at one of the finest listening rooms in the country. The Pin Drop Concert series at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake, MI is a wonderful place for music. They've been showcasing wonderful talent from all over the country, and we feel so lucky to get to play there again. The folks at Seven Steps Up foster a true listening atmosphere and feature a full bar, too. If you're coming in from out of town call the Spring Lake Holiday Inn (616) 846-1000 and ask about the concert package. Advance tickets recommended.             On Saturday the 16th we hit Mama's Coffee House in Birmingham, MI. In Folk Music, Mama's, held at the Birmingham Unitarian Church, is one of those venues that everyone really wants to play, and we are no exception. We're looking forward to sharing the night with John Latini and Jamie-Sue Seal. Come on in for a real good time.   Even though there is still plenty of winter left, we're starting to book the summer months. If your community has a summer concert series that you'd like to see us play, call up the powers that be and request that they contact us. We'd love to play in your town this year.   Check the schedule below for more shows and more details. Drive safe, stay warm, and love your neighbor.   Ruth & Max PRESS "What a show--great musicianship, great songs, and Ruth's voice just melts over the crowd like butter on a biscuit...delicious! Let's do it again! "  Terry Grannis, Zellie's Opry House "Turn Back A Page - Real songs with real emotions, great instrumental work, superb harmonies and one of the best female vocalists in the business (Ruth, of course!). This CD is pure listening pleasure.""  Al Kniola, Host, The Back Porch, 88.1 WVPE Public Radio "This band has a growing devoted following here in the Midwest, but the music I heard and the performance I saw are of a caliber that deserves to be seen on the best national stages!”"  Phil Doolittle, Paint Creek Comfy Concerts UPCOMING SHOWS Crazy Wisdom Bookstore Ann Arbor, MI Fri Feb 01 13 08:00 PM   Seven Steps Up Event & Banquet Center Spring Lake, MI Sat Feb 09 13 08:00 PM Tickets MAMAs Coffeehouse Bloomfield Hills, MI Sat Feb 16 13 08:00 PM   > See More / Details LINKS  Facebook       ReverbNation       Artist Website       Facebook       Myspace      WIDGETS HTML5 Player     HTML5 Video Player     HTML5 Show Schedule     HTML5 Press     HTML5 Fan Collector     Music Player (Pro)     Video Player Widget (Pro)     Show Schedule Widget (Pro)     Press Widget (Pro)     Fan Collector (Pro)     Exclusive Downloads (Pro)     TuneWidget

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Thanksgiving is over and the rest of the Holiday rush is upon us. We hope yours will be peaceful and happy.

We have one special concert that we want you to know about this month. We've been invited to return to the beautiful Howmet Playhouse in Whitehall. MI for a Holiday themed show. A portion of the ticket sales will go to local White Lake Giving Tree, an outreach program in the Whitehall and Montague area that provides food, gifts, and other assistance to families and residents in need.

We'll be doing our Holiday favorites -original, traditional, and popular- with the assistance of our dear friend and band mate, Daniel Seabolt who will surely have some surprises for us, too.

Joining us for the event will be Celtic Trio SKIRL. SKIRL bandleader, J. Oscar Bittenger, was the organizer of the songwriter event "A Winter's Tune" so we know that he''ll be bringing some of his original songs to their set as may his talented partners Karisa Wilson and Susan Picking. They're all fine musicians and singers, so whatever they bring to the stage we're sure you'll enjoy them.

After the New Year has come and things begin to slow down, be sure to come out to Winter Wheat, a fun fundraiser for the Wheatland Music Organization. It takes place at the Intersection in Grand Rapids, MI on January 12. There will be lots of bands and lots of people, a great way to start out the New Year.

Merry Christmas everyone. May the New Year bring you wonderful surprises as well as what you hope for.

Ruth & Max

We returned from a wonderful tour in UK and France on October 2nd. Highlights were too many to list, but suffice to say playing a concert in a 16th century church and being the only American band on stage at an international festival were both right up near the top.
 
You may know that we have a new live album called Without the Smoke & Flash. We had some with us at the Wheatland Festival (yes, that was a REALLY good time!) and brought a few with us to France, but the Official CD Release Concert is Saturday October 20 at The Book Nook & Java Shop's new expanded digs in Montague, MI. Check the Book Nook website for details and ticketing. Seating is limited to 108, so better get your tickets soon.
 
Meanwhile, we're headed to St. Louis for the Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) music conference where we will play an official showcase, play some "guerrilla" showcases, volunteer for the organization, network with music industry professionals, reunite with old friends, and make as may new friends as we can.
 
Another upcoming event that we really look forward to is our show at the Two Way Street Coffee House in Downers Grove, IL on November 2nd. This legendary venue has been a haven for folk music for many years and we're honored to be returning there. You can check details at their website.
 
Be sure to check our website at ruthbloomquist.com for additional dates, links to videos, FaceBook, CDs, and don't forget your MI GIRL hat available there now.
 
More next month. Hoping to see you soon.
 
Ruth & Max

We're happy to say that the Summer is about to get busier for us.
 
If you take a look at our schedule page we have some very nice events to play between now and September.
 
Then, YES!, we play the WHEATLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL. Wheatland's Centennial Stage will host some fine performers all weekend and we are ecstatic to be counted among them. If you're a regular Wheatlander we'll see you there. If you've never been or haven't attended in a few years you might want to consider it. It's as fine a festival of roots music as you will find anywhere. We play Friday evening at 6:30 on the Centennial Stage.
 
In the meantime, especially take note of three opportunities in the month of July. Thursday July 26 (trio with Dan Seabolt) at the Charlevoix Venetian Festival, Saturday July 28 (full quartet with Dan Seabolt and John King) at Zellie's Opry House in Howard City, MI, and our duo show at the Felt Mansion near Saugatuck, MI on July 29. We would sure love to see you at any or all of these.
 
Speaking of Zellie's Opry House, if you haven't seen the Michigan Girl Video that was posted to Youtube by Zellie's own Terri-Pippin Grannis, now would be a great time to go take a look. It has been viewed more than 245,000 times by people all over the world since Terri posted it in January. She did a beautiful job of capturing the spirit of our recording of Ruth's song, and the video in turn has captured the spirits and hearts of Michigan Girls everywhere. Go ahead, click the link and see it, then share it with all your Michigan Girl friends. Wouldn't it be nice to hit a quarter-million views by the time we play Zellie's?
 
Remember that live album we recorded last August? Well, it's almost  ready for public consumption. The tracks are chosen and ready to go and we're just waiting for the packaging details before going to the presses. We think you're going to like it. It features three of our favorite original songs by Ruth and nine of our favorite cover songs.  All recorded live just as you heard them at the concert if we were lucky enough to have you there. If you weren't there, you'll soon be able to listen and pretend you were right there with us and John and Dan. Here are 2 photos from the show.

Also, we're settling the details of this year's European tour. The quartet will be traveling to the UK and France this Fall to play for our many new friends there. Some dates are booked and a number of others are still up in the air. We'll put them on the calendar as they firm up and let you know more next month.
 
We hope that's not too much news for you. We sure hope to see you soon. And above all, we hope that you're having a great summer.
 
All the best,
Ruth and Max

We hope your Spring is going well as we move towards the solstice and the start of Summer for real. If you're a vegetable gardener like we are, you probably have seeds planted and sprouting, and transplanted seedlings in the ground that will soon turn into food for the table. Or maybe you're a flower person. We do some of that, too. We're particularly fond of the purple blossoms of iris, sage, chives, and climatis that populate our yard this time of year. The hops are climbing their twine on the way to their full 16 feet of height.

   
 
We are very excited about the next concert we have on the schedule. It's June 15 at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake, MI. Gary and Michelle at Seven Steps Up are promoting a listening room atmoshpere with a couple of concert series that are proving very successful. Just last month they had two sold-out shows with famed singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards. It's a very nice sounding room with comfortable seating. We're truly honored to be playing as part of their First & Third Friday Series of regional artists, and it's hardly more than a hop, skip, and a jump from home. Tickets are available at Run Amok Promotions. Here's the nice poster they designed:

Meanwhile, Max has been invited to attend the Mid-West Banjo Camp at Olivet College June 7-9 as a Guest Musician. He'll be the designated bass player for a number of fun and instructional jam sessions and try to help out wherever he can. It's a great opportunity and an honor to be asked. Our friend and favorite fiddler Dan Seabolt will be guesting at the camp, too. The staff is a who's who of bluegrass and old-time musicians including Bill Keith, Greg Cahill, Ken Perlman, Mike Sumner, Dave Para, Russ Barenberg, and a host of others. No doubt a good time will be had by all.
 
We're really looking forward to seeing you this summer, so check the schedule and come on out when you can.
 
All the best,
Ruth & Max
 
 

 
Spring seems to be here for real this time. The song birds and the squirrels are acting crazy, and we have a hen turkey wandering around the backyard looking for food. The tulips are grown and blown, the grass is greening up, and the maple seeds are all over the deck.
 
We have a couple of shows coming up that we want everyone to know about. On Friday April 27 we will be at Brown Town Hall near Manistee, MI for a concert put on by the Spirit of the Woods Music Association. Then on Saturday April 28 it's just a hop skip and a jump up to the Insideout Gallery in Traverse City. There we'll be joined by our good friends M23 Strings. You'll like 'em. Click the links or see the details of these and other upcoming shows on our Schedule Page. We hope you might come if you're near the area. We especially invite our many friends in the Northwest of the Mitten to come out and join us.
 
You might remember that late last summer we mentioned recording a concert with the intention of releasing a live CD. We did record that concert and you might even have been there, and now you're wondering whatever happened to the live CD. Well, it took us this long just to get used to the sound of our own performance, but we think we might be ready to do the final mix. We've even started working on the packaging. So watch for an announcement some time this summer.
 
You might have seen the Michigan Girl video that was posted to YouTube in January by our friend Terri Pippen-Grannis of Zellie's Opry House. We blogged about it on our website blog. Somehow we can't stop talking about it, because it just makes us smile. It has been shared and shared with folks all over the country and has been very good for us. It is quickly appoaching 220,000 views, and a quarter million is just around the corner. If you haven't seen it, please go take a look and share it with your friends. And thanks, by the way, to all who have done so already. The extra interest that has been generated has put Turn Back A Page into the Top Folk Albums on CD Baby, and Michigan Girl into their Top Ten Songs (Folk). As we're fond of saying, "It's not Lady Gaga, but it sure is fun!"

News Flash: We have just booked a show for June 15 at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake, MI. It's a great listening room that you're really going to like.

That's it for now. We'll be in touch as usual. We sure hope to see you sometime soon.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

We just wanted to share an experience that kind of astounded us, an experience that shows the importance of our fans and illustrates the kind of difference just one real fan can make.

At the very end of January a fan contacted us to ask permission to use one of our songs under a video that she wished to make and post on YouTube. We said yes. The song is Michigan Girl and the video (also called Michigan Girl) is a lovely slideshow of photos taken all over Michigan, mostly scenic, some personal. She also included just a few shots of us and our band, both on and off stage. It’s very nice. One photo happened to be a shot of Ruth wearing a MI GIRL baseball cap, an item that appears on our merch table. Also included are full songwriter credits for Ruth Bloomquist, musician credits, and our website URL at the end of the video. It’s kind of a long song, so the video is well over 5 minutes.

The fan posted the video on YouTube and shared it on FaceBook. We shared it on FaceBook, too. Some other friends and fans did the same. The response has been overwhelming. As of this writing, the video has had over 200,000 views. (OK. That’s not a Lady Gaga number, but looking around in folk music, it stacks up pretty well.)

Since the video was posted we have had to restock CDBaby with that CD multiple times, and our other CDs have had a sales bump with restocks, too. Song and whole CD downloads are way up as well. Remember the MI GIRL hat Ruth was wearing in one picture? We had to open a Paypal account and put a special page on our website called Hat Shop with a “BuyNow” button for that hat. We’ve been mailing them all over the country.

Are we bragging? Well, a little. Of course we feel great and grateful about all this. But the lesson we learned and that we want to share is that you never know when one of your fans will make a real difference in your life. Be kind to all of them.  That fan is Terri Pippin-Granis of Zellie's Opry House in Howard City, Michigan, a true supporter of Roots Music. Terri and all of the fans and friends and friends of friends who share the word about our music are the reason we are able to do what we love to do the most.

Thanks for letting us share.