FIVE FIRSTS: Michelle Younger of Harpeth Rising

NAME: Michelle Younger
BAND AFFILIATION: Harpeth Rising
INSTRUMENT: Banjo, Guitar, Vocals

1. THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS … Classic Queen. I heard “Bohemian Rhapsody” on the radio when I was 11 years old and wanted to listen to it over and over.

2. THE FIRST CONCERT THAT I EVER SAW WAS … I saw countless classical guitar concerts growing up, but one of the most memorable was Bill Kannengeiser in Charlottesville, Virginia when I was a kid.

3. THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I EVER OWNED OR PLAYED WAS … I started music lessons on the piano when I was five years old. The first instrument that I loved
was classical guitar, which I started playing when I was nine.

4. THE FIRST SONG THAT I EVER PERFORMED IN PUBLIC WAS … A little song I wrote on the piano when I was six or seven years old. It was called “Snowflakes,” and it was my crowning achievement. I played it for my whole piano class. I got my first Snickers bar as a reward!

5. THE FIRST BAND I WAS EVER IN WAS … Windsor Folk Family. We were a group of classical music students at Eastman School of Music who wanted to play folk music. We played mostly our own arrangements of traditional old-time Appalachian tunes.

Michelle Younger and her bandmates in the chamber-folk trio Harpeth Rising – violinist Jordana Greenberg and cellist Maria Di Meglio – return to Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs to celebrate the release of their sophomore album, “All Tides Rising.” Co-sponsored by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the concert takes place at 7pm on Thursday (May 4). Tickets are $22 in advance; $24 at the door.