Valley Folk Muisc presents Mustard's Retreat April 18, 2009

With material suitable for all ages, singing their own gentle love songs and vivid ballads, telling tall tales or offering treasures from America's vast traditional song bag, a Mustard's Retreat show always feels like it's designed for the people who have come to see them that day. They can turn concerts into acts of community. In a singer/songwriter world so peopled by somber, confessional songwriters, Mustard's Retreat are wonderfully unafraid to get silly with their audience, spinning out smartly goofy parodies, too-tall tales of wily rabbits and stupid frogs, hard-traveling cadavers and marauding techno-nerds.

In their serious songwriting, that desire to connect with listeners is as evident as it is in their robust sing-along and witty ditties. The moments upon which they hang their songs are moments all of us have felt: hands held in the kitchen during a quiet moment of rekindled love, the careless remark that reveals too much about a relationship withering from inattention, the hectic symphony of a busy city street, the timeless pleasure of gathering in shared song.