Traditional Folk Music from Britain, Ireland and America
In October of 2007, four musicians with a passion for traditional folk got together in a living room in Minneapolis. The chemistry was astonishing. We played several songs that day and it felt like we'd been playing together for years.
Four months later we opened the Annual Tribute to the Last Waltz Concert at The Cabooze. Since then we've played The Ginkgo, The Acadia, The Beat, The Coffee Grounds and other Twin Cities venues to very enthusiastic response.
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Meet the Milltown Band…
Tony Balzarini-Leonhart – guitar and vocals
Tony grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa listening to his mother's record albums: The Beatles, Joan Baez, Cat Stevens, and Simon and Garfunkel. When Tony was 14 he bought a cheap electric guitar and started playing in a punk rock band. In high school and college he played guitar and sang in two pop rock bands.
Tony began playing acoustic guitar in high school, and since moving to Minneapolis in 1995, has performed solo in various local coffee houses. He feels that becoming a member of the Milltown Band has been a highlight of his music career and is enjoying learning more about traditional music.
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Michael Kac – banjo, guitar and vocals
Michael grew up in Ithaca, New York and spent his early years playing classical piano. In college he taught himself guitar and banjo, and began playing professionally on the coffeehouse circuit. Then, under the influence of the British Invasion, he played with a succession of rock groups before retiring from full-time performing to pursue an academic career.
In 2006 Michael began performing folk music again. His influences as a folk performer include Pete Seeger, the Weavers, Erik Darling and Judy Collins. What Michael particularly likes about the Milltown Band is the cooperative spirit and helping create something that's more than the sum of its parts.
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Annie Woehrle – vocals
Annie was born in LA but grew up in Hopkins, MN. She has loved to sing since she was three, when she stunned her parents by belting out Disney tunes with perfect pitch and phrasing. Her passion for singing has found her participating in High School and college choirs as well as student variety shows and acoustic showcases along the way.
In 2007, Annie helped her mom hang flyers advertising the formation of The Milltown Band. Now, as one of the band’s four voices, she is enjoying the opportunity to sing every week and learn the intricate harmonies and heartwarming melodies of traditional folk music from around the world.
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Beth Woehrle – guitar and vocals
Beth grew up in the US and Europe. She studied classical violin in primary school, but traded it in for the guitar when she was 15. Joan Baez Vols 1 & 2 taught her how to play fingerpick guitar and later, Joni Mitchell taught her how to extend her vocal range. Beth sang in choirs and talent shows throughout high school and college and had her first paid gig at a coffee shop in Ridgefield, CT in 1970.
From then on she sang wherever she could in concerts, bars and coffee houses – ending up with two gigs on Prairie Home Companion in 1981. Then, Beth sang to her kids until 2007, when she and her daughters papered the Twin Cities with flyers and ended up with what is now The Milltown Band. It’s the culmination of a longtime dream and she is having the time of her life.
