Cottonwood Jam String Band

Cottonwood Jam String Band of, from left, Spencer Cunningham, Renata Burgett, Tahree Lane, and Marti Clayton.

Lineup: Spencer Cunningham strums and picks banjos, guitar, and mandolin; Renata Burgett churns out barn burners and sweet waltzes on her fiddle, Tahree Lane pizzicatos her beat-up bass, and Marti Clayton handles rhythm guitar. All pitch in on vocals, harmonies, and banjo jokes.

Year formed: 2008.

Style of music: Bluegrass, old-time, Irish, folk, country and cowboy, 19th century, a dash of blues, a pinch of Cajun, and even a Dean Martin song. We're a democracy so we play whatever one of us brings to practice or learns at a festival.

Influences: The American song book. Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Freight Hoppers, Alison Krauss, Natalie MacMaster, Woody Guthrie, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

Favorite local venues: Outdoor summer concerts, private parties/weddings, contra dances, Toledo Farmers' Market.

Upcoming gigs: Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m., Military Ball at the Civil War Encampment at the Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont. And 7 p.m. Oct 12, contra dance at Rossford United Methodist Church.

Web site: cottonwood.jam.string.band.googlepages.com; e-mail: cottonwood.jam.string.band@gmail.com