Mustard’s Retreat will perform at Tikvat Israel on April 14, at 7:30 pm.
Mustard’s Retreat formed in May 1975 in Ann Arbor, MI. Libby Glover was a bartender in the rathskeller of the old Heidelberg Restaurant. One evening a young singer came in and auditioned. The boss said to Libby “What do you think??” She said “He is raw, but hire him!” His name was David Tamulevich.
Libby had sung with bands before, and she knew and loved many of the songs David sang. The gig was 4 hours per night, 5 nights a week…so she got to hear David sing a lot. Pretty soon she was up doing harmonies, and as the weeks went on, she sang on more and more songs.
David Tamulevich discovered a passion for folk music and playing guitar his senior year in high school in Branford, CT. After 2 years at American University in DC he transferred to the University of Michigan, did his junior year, dropped out and was supporting himself as a cook. That audition was his first, having only done a few open mics.
David had been doing some singing with fellow musician and cook at the same restaurant, Michael Hough. By the beginning of 1975 Michael was busy playing bass for another singer. David has the gig at the Heidelberg for 2 months. The singer Michael was playing with had an accident and could not continue performing, so David suggested to Michael that he audition at the Old Heidelberg. Michael did, and got the job. Over the next 2 months David would come and sit in with Michael, and then Libby would come up to sing…and their popularity grew. By the middle of May 1975, they were playing together all the time, and decided to formalize things…and Mustard’s Retreat was born.
They played together for a couple of years before Libby moved out of state. Michael and David kept going as Mustard’s Retreat, and had decades of success. Libby would pop in every once in a while, when she got back to MI and sing with them.
Moving forward to 2016, and Libby had moved back to MI. They started singing together as a trio again, and it was like they had never been apart. “It was exciting to have everything fall into place: Libby has always been that good…. and we have such a history…it is a lot of fun as well!” exclaimed David.
Michael is dealing with a family medical issue and is unavailable for shows that are not close to home. They all agreed that David & Libby should do the upcoming concerts (except the local gigs which they will do as a trio) until Michael gets things sorted out. As sorry they are that Michael cannot perform some of the shows with them, David & Libby are very excited about singing as a duo again. “We really have not done this since early 1975,” David says. “We are totally enjoying the singing and putting shows together: some old songs, some new ones…it is all a joy!”
Get a taste of Mustard’s Retreat at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ4aW4rjWiM
The FOCUS event will be staged at Tikvat Israel; light refreshments will be available for purchase during intermission. Advance tickets are available through FOCUS’s website. FOCUS member pricing for tickets purchased at the door will be extended to Tikvat Israel members.
FOCUS is a non-profit organization whose mission “is to bring folk and acoustic music to a growing audience through performance, education and participation in the musical folk art.” Tikvat Israel and FOCUS have agreed to a partnership to bring folk music concerts to Tikvat Israel and the Montgomery County community.
