RED THREAD AND PONYFOLK SING JINGLE BELLS

The Cedar present

Friday, December 12, 2025/ Doors: 7:00 PM / Show: 8:00 PM

All Ages

Seated

This is a seated show with general admission, first-come-first-served seating. The Cedar is happy to reserve seats for patrons who require special seating accommodations. To request access accommodations, please go to our

For Cedar presented shows, online ticket sales typically end one hour before the door time, and then, based on availability, tickets will be available at the door. Tickets purchased at the door will include a $1 Eventbrite fee.

Red Thread and Ponyfolk are two Minnesota-based ensembles devoted to building community around Midwestern European roots music. The two bands team up to present an “alternative” holiday celebration, sharing new and old songs of winter, luck, and family from Scandinavian, Yiddish/Klezmer, Slavic, English, and Irish roots. 

“Ingrained with generational storytelling, Red Thread fuses the past into the present with gorgeous harmonies and folk sensibilities. Their music harkens to the importance of ancestry, culture, and traditions still present in our lives.” – Music in Minnesota.com

Red Thread is a woman-fronted ensemble playing folk music exploring and exploding Yiddish, Balkan, Irish, and Scandinavian vocal traditions. With the tight harmonies of a family band and lush, innovative instrumentation, the ensemble shares traditional and new music with warmth and humor. Frontwoman Sarah Larsson is known as a member of The Nightingale Trio and a co-founder of Klezmer on Ice; The Nightingale Trio performed on the Cedar stage and on “A Prairie Home Companion'' and has been called “a revelation” by Minnesota Public Radio's Steve Staruch. Ensemble members in winter 2026 include Twin Cities luminaries: Kat Parent, Rada Kolarova, Pat O’Keefe (clarinet), Jacqueline Ultan (cello), and Toby Ramaswamy (drums). 

Red Thread's teachers include Ethel Raim (NEA National Heritage Fellow 2018), Michael Alpert (NEA National Heritage Fellow 2015), and musicians working in the lineage of Flory Jagoda (NEA National Heritage Fellow 2002). Red Thread has performed with & opened for: The Klezmatics, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Maryna Krut, Humbird, Roe Family Singers, and Spencer LaJoye. Red Thread, with Sarah Larsson, was a Cedar Commissions artist in 2024.

“[Red Thread] displays an effortless beauty through their ethereal harmonies and masterful instrumentation, and pierces the hearts and souls of those listening”– Music Mecca

To learn more about Red Thread:

• Visit her Instagram here

Ponyfolk is the collaborative project of multi-instrumentalists Clifton Nesseth and Paul Sauey. Weaving together interests in folk, rock, jazz and orchestral music, the band is known for intricate arrangements, vocal harmonies and layers of strings and keyboards. Initially formed as a duo in 2014, the group consists of a revolving cast of bandmates, including Aaron Hays on drums, Mikey Marget on cello, Lewis Franti on percussion, and Alex Nelson on keyboards. Ponyfolk performs in a variety of configurations, deftly transitioning between a traditional Nordic group and a folk-rock band depending on the occasion. This year, Ponyfolk released their debut traditional album "the woods have shown us", which held the #2 spot on the Folk DJ-L chart in July. In early 2026, they will be releasing their sophomore record.

To learn more about Ponyfolk:

• Visit their Instagram page here

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Host or Publisher The Cedar Cultural Center