Touch Grass Vol. 1 & 2 out now.
Click image to order from www.themammals.bandcamp.com
Review by RBR Music: Reviving the Rebel Soul of Americana.
"The Mammals make music for the moment—and the movement. Anchored in the fertile folk traditions of the Hudson Valley, this fiercely independent band blends string-band swagger with indie-folk heart and a radical spirit that feels both deeply rooted and urgently current. Co-founded by Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar (daughter of fiddle legend Jay Ungar), The Mammals emerged in the early 2000s with a mission: revive the rebel soul of Americana, and give it something real to say. And say something, they do. Their songs straddle the personal and political, moving from love ballads and front porch reflections to rally cries for environmental justice, labor rights, and community healing. It’s protest music with hooks—think Pete Seeger meets Wilco at a modern hootenanny. Their harmonies ache, their fiddles fly, and their lyrics don’t flinch. The Mammals aren’t here for nostalgia—they’re here to make folk music matter again. At a time when roots music can feel either too polished or too precious, The Mammals cut through with grit, grace, and a palpable sense of purpose. Whether they’re headlining a folk festival, recording in their own homegrown Humble Abode Studio, or showing up for a cause in their backyard, The Mammals carry on a living tradition: one where music doesn’t just entertain—it empowers”
- RBR Music, June 13, 2025
“Some of the best songwriting of their generation.” — LA Times
“A party band with a conscience.” — Boston Globe
“A national treasure.” — Anaïs Mitchell
Listen to “Lightning in a Bottle”," our full set from the 2021 Summer Hoot.
Our most recent interview. Sept 3, 2025
The Mammals on tradition, links in the chain and localism.
NHPR, May 12 2025
Click below to hear our most recent interview with NHPR’s Kate McNally. We talk Touch Grass and perform “Families,” “Free State of Mind,” “If You Could Hear Me Now,” The Doldrums” and “Unpopular Ideas.”
"Some of the best folk-rock music you will ever hear.” - TapeOp
“Nonet marshals the defiant spirit needed to heal a damaged world”
- No Depression
“The Mammals aren’t the first band to mix an indie-rock sensibility with bluegrass sounds, but they’re gradually becoming one of the best.” - No Depression
“Woody was in it for the revolution, the quiet churning of good deeds and good thoughts—and good times—with which we sew a hand-me-down quilt of goodwill, one generation at a time. That’s what I’m in it for, too.”
Read Mike’s rumination of Woody Guthrie via folk alley.com
For two decades, the Mammals have built a reputation for writing honest songs that not only connect with their listeners on an emotional level, but also explore the idea that people are capable of building a better world. Now, as people in the U.S. are emerging from quarantine and there is much talk about how to go “back” to something better than “normal,” I was curious how the Mammals’ Mike Merenda and Ruthy Ungar were thinking about these things. In our recent conversation for the podcast, we got into those topics, as well as the relationship between music and food, the relationship between passion and productivity, and what lessons they’re carrying with them as they return to the stage with their songs. -Kim Ruehl
“This evening’s show will be remembered as an ‘I was there moment’ by the packed audience that had turned out to witness one of New York State’s Finest treasures.” Read the Graeme Tait review of our April 7, 2023 Kirtin-in-Lindsey performance.
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