Ruth Ungar

{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}

{{multiple issues|

{{notability|Music|date=May 2014}}

{{BLP sources|date=May 2014}}

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{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Ruth Ungar Merenda

| image = Ruth_Ungar.jpg

| caption = Ruth Ungar, Newport Folk Festival 2005

| image_size =

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name =

| alias =

| birth_date = 1976

| birth_place = Mt. Kisco, NY, United States

| origin =

| instrument = fiddle, Guitar, banjo, ukulele, vocals, songwriter

| genre = folk, folk rock, old time music

| occupation =

| years_active =

| label =

| current_member_of = Mike + Ruthy, The Mammals, Sometymes Why

| associated_acts = Michael J. Merenda, Jr., Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, Jay Ungar,

| website = http://mikeandruthy.com

}}

Ruth Ungar Merenda was born February 19, 1976, in Mount Kisco, New York. She is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays fiddle, ukulele and guitar. She is the daughter of fiddler/composer Jay Ungar and singer Lyn Hardy{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6nH0DQAAQBAJ|title=So You Want to Sing Folk Music: A Guide for Performers|last=Mindel|first=Valerie|date=February 2, 2017|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781442265622|language=en}} and a graduate of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

Her song Four Blue Walls, inspired by the play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley was recorded by Canadian band The Duhks, on their eponymous 2005 album produced by Béla Fleck and Gary Paczosa. Her song Simple and Sober was recorded by Lindsay Lou on her 2018 album Southland.^[1]

Ungar resides in the Hudson Valley of New York State with her husband Michael J. Merenda, Jr and their two children, Willy and Opal Merenda. The couple produce a bi-annual music festival at the Ashokan Center called The Hoot{{Cite web|url=https://cometowoodstock.com/2018/08/20/summer-hoot-returns/|title=Summer Hoot Returns|last=Woodstock|first=Come to|date=August 2, 2018|website=Come to Woodstock Mobile Guide|language=en-US|access-date=January 15, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/entertainment/2019/01/29/winter-hoot-mammals-use-music-catalyst-change/2512411002/|title=Winter Hoot: The Mammals use music as catalyst for change|website=The Poughkeepsie Journal|language=en|access-date=March 29, 2019}} which they launched in 2013.