The 2022 Muncie Three Trails Music Series Artists 

The 2022 lineup of performing artists for the Muncie Three Trails Music Series has been announced! We are honored, pleased and humbled to be presenting these fine artists and groups for your enjoyment. Please feel free to explore their music and we look forward to seeing you at five great concerts this year!

Saturday, July 30th, 2022  7:00 pm at Canan Commons

with special guest opener Michael Martin & the Beautiful Mess

​

​

More than 30 years after his debut release, the critically acclaimed Too Long in the Wasteland co-produced by John Mellencamp, James McMurtry has become what’s known as a songwriter’s songwriter, someone whose facility with words and influence on other artists far outstrips his mainstream notoriety and album sales. Much like his late father, Larry McMurtry, James is a fiction writer rather than a confessionalist. He just so happens to choose heartland rock as the vehicle for his tales of Americans at their lowest, searching for a fast buck, a little salvation, or maybe just a quiet moment to get their hearts in order. He crams his songs full of vivid details, the kind that many other writers might not even think up but that create a sense of a larger world outside the song.

​

Saturday August 13th, 2022  7:00 PM at Canan Commons

with special guest opener Paul Marhoefer

Presented by Defur Voran

​

Folk/roots powerhouse duo The Small Glories are Cara Luft (one of the founding members of folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys) & JD Edwards, a musical tour-de-force partnership from the Canadian Prairies.  Thrown together purely by accident for an anniversary show at Winnipeg’s venerable West End Cultural Centre, they could almost make you believe in fate. Luft & Edwards have an innate chemistry labeled the “Lennon-McCartney syndrome” by Americana UK, writing, “Some things just work together… to witness a performance by The Small Glories is a rare opportunity to experience that indefinable quality that creates perfection.” Their anticipated sophomore album, Assiniboine and The Red, was released in 2019 and led to them being named “Artist of the Year” by the International Folk Music Awards as well as winning “Album of the Year,” “Ensemble of the Year,” and “Vocal Group of the Year” at the 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Saturday, August 27th, 2022  7:00 PM at Canan Commons

with special guest opener Pavel & Direct Contact

Presented by Ball State University

​

Grammy-winning ensemble Flor De Toloache, which translates as “deadly flower” and also refers to a main ingredient in traditional love potions, was founded in 2008 and is lead by singers Mireya Ramos & Shae Fiol. The group weaves a variety of influences (e.g., salsa, bactata, cumbia, gypsy, Latin jazz, pop, hip-hop, soul) into their unique sound, giving them an edgy, versatile and fresh take on traditional Mexican music. They perform original songs, new arrangements of classic Mariachi tunes, as well as an eclectic selection of covers that can include songs by artists such as Adele, AC/DC, and Erykah Badu. Their mélange of the traditional and the modern pushes the boundaries of the genre and brings Mariachi music to new audiences.

Saturday, September 10th, 2022  7:00 pm at Canan Commons

with special guest opener Ball State University Jazz Ensemble

Presented by the Community Foundation of Muncie & Delaware County

​

Pokey LaFarge’s appearances at the 2016 and 2017 Muncie Three Trails Music Series attracted some of the biggest crowds in our history, so we were anxious to have him back. However, we have had to wait, as he first had some personal travails to deal with, self-described as “a fall from grace,” that was then swiftly followed by the Covid pandemic. Lafarge states, “Before the pandemic, I was in a dark place but the pandemic actually created the much needed space for me to reflect. ... I found peace in the stillness. I was able to recalibrate what it is I do and why I’m doing it. Who I’m to do it with and most importantly, who I’m doing it for.” The result is 2021’s In the Blossom of Their Shade, showcasing the positivity of coming out of the darkness and into the light, capturing the vibe of a perfect summer afternoon soundtrack.

Saturday, September 24th, 2022  7pm at Cornerstone Center for the Arts

with special guest opener Lonesome With Company

​

​

Gwenifer Raymond, originally from Wales but now based in London, plays like a vengeful bluegrass musician conjuring up roiling fury, then dropping into languorous eddies, switching between paces with pin-sharp precision. She combines grace, depth, and emotion with awe-inducing clawhammer technique: the right hand, with thumb and fingers curled in like a claw, providing a rhythmic counterpoint to the singing, melodic storytelling work of the left. The sound she makes is so cavernous, evocative and frenetic it sounds as though at least two more guitarists are hiding somewhere in the wings. But there aren’t.

The 2021 Music Series Artists