The composer behind one of the most recognizable melodies in American film history is bringing his fiddle to Cumberland for the very first time. The Jay Ungar & Molly Mason Family Band with Mike + Ruthie performs a matinee of American roots music at Blackstone River Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 3 p.m., marking the duo’s debut at the 549 Broad St. venue.
According to The Valley Breeze, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason are being presented as music and storytelling performers, with organizers behind the show noting it will be the family band’s first time ever playing the Cumberland theater. The concert listing itself, posted by Blackstone River Theatre, confirms the same Oct. 18 date and 3 p.m. start time, and the venue says tickets for all of its concerts through December are currently on sale.
The pairing is a reunion decades in the making. Ungar and Mason have been playing music together since 1978, per pbs.org, a partnership that predates the tune most people associate with Ungar’s name by several years.
The Melody Behind Ken Burns' Civil War
That tune is “Ashokan Farewell,” which Ungar wrote at the conclusion of a summer workshop, according to the same PBS account of the music behind Ken Burns’ documentary. The composition went on to become the musical hallmark of Burns’ The Civil War on PBS, per the Valley Breeze’s reporting, and The Atlantic describes it as the de facto theme song for that miniseries, composed to commemorate the conclusion of the 1982 session of the Ashokan camp.
The tune has since taken on a life well beyond the documentary. It’s considered an American folk classic played by fiddlers and classical musicians worldwide, the Valley Breeze reports, and Caffè Lena’s own event notes describe it as having become a folk standard performed around the world by musicians across genres.
From Ashokan Camps to a Family Stage
Jay Ungar started the Ashokan Music & Dance Camps in the early 1980s, and Molly Mason later became a full partner in designing and running those programs, according to the Valley Breeze. The camps remain a world-renowned destination for enthusiasts of American music and dance traditions and are still active today, the paper reports.
Joining the married duo on stage will be Ruth Ungar and Mike Merenda, known separately for their work as Mike + Ruthy and as leaders of the indie-folk band The Mammals. Ruth Ungar grew up in a musical family and learned traditional music from an early age, per the Valley Breeze, while Mike Merenda favored rock and ska before finding his way into acoustic music. Together they bring multi-instrumental skills and compelling vocal performances to the family band’s sound.
What to Expect at the Matinee
The repertoire spans romantic fiddle tunes, film scores, Stephen Foster songs, and dance music drawing on Appalachian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Klezmer, swing and blues traditions, according to Caffè Lena. It's a wide-ranging mix that reflects decades of performing and teaching together across genres and generations.
Admission costs $28 in advance or $32 on the day of the show, per the Valley Breeze. Tickets are available at brtri.org or by calling 401-725-9272.
