About Mustard’s Retreat
Mustard’s Retreat has always sung the songs they enjoyed and cared about, regardless of the trends of the music industry and pop culture. They are committed to simply being themselves, not chasing fame or brass rings, while delighting in and connecting with their audiences as if they were family. The honesty of what they present onstage and the extensive body of outstanding original songs and recordings all contribute to a fiercely loyal audience that continues to grow. “Music to cure what ails you” was how one reviewer in the 1970s described them, and that is as true now as it was then.
They’ve traveled more than a million miles and performed more than 6,000 shows, from pig roasts and pool parties to Lincoln Center Out of Doors, The Barns at Wolftrap and the Kennedy’s Center’s Millennium Stage.
Their performances are always joyful and uplifting, as well as intelligent, thought provoking and insightful. They’ve recently begun referring to their career and touring as “Defiantly Hopeful.” In part due to their long career, but more as a statement about what the music has meant to them. “Folk music is, at its heart, defiantly hopeful!” Tamulevich says. “We came of age in the 60s, at the confluence of Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan and the singer/songwriter revolution. We care much more about what we do and stand for and finding that common ground with our audiences, than fame or money: this is our community of choice, and we consider ourselves so fortunate to be here.”
For more info visit Mustard’s Retreat https://www.mustardsretreat.com/legacy
From there to here
– the New Mustard’s Retreat
It all began in 1975 ...
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
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
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.
the birth of a Trio
David had been doing some singing with Michael Hough, a fellow musician and cook at the same restaurant, but Michael was busy playing bass for another singer. David had the gig at the Heidelberg for 2 months when Michaels other gig came to an end, so David suggested that Michael audition at the Old Heidelberg which he 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.
David & Michael
The trio played together for a couple of years before Libby moved out of state. Michael and David took Mustard’s Retreat on the road to an endless list of folk clubs, coffehouses, festivals and theatres, a dozen acclaimed recordings and had decades of success. You can read more and catch up on their legacy as a duo here: http://www.mustardsretreat.com/legacy/
The Trio returns...
Fast forward to 2016 when Libby had moved back to MI. The trio started singing together 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.
Back to a duo - David & Libby
In the summer of 2019, Michael took a hiatus from the band to be with his partner who is battling cancer and has relocated to Arizona. They all agreed that David & Libby should continue to perform as Mustard’s Retreat. As sorry they are that Michael cannot perform 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!”