The Mammals

The Mammals are a Hudson Valley folk band led by Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar, two singers and multi-instrumentalists who came up in the old-time and string band world and never fully left it. Ungar is the daughter of fiddler Jay Ungar, and the band's early lineup included Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, which tells you most of what you need to know about the lineage. Their recent records lean into protest songwriting and full band arrangements while keeping fiddle and banjo at the center.