Traditional folk trio the Folk Collection bring their folkie standards back to Boulevard Music this week, which always means a good time. The band told the CCN what we can expect…
When did you start playing and performing? When did the band form?
The Folk Collection consists of Tony Unger (a Baptist pastor in Bishop, CA), Mike Sirota (a cantorial soloist at several L.A.-area synagogues), and Ed Labowitz (a Century City entertainment lawyer). Tony and Ed first started singing together in 1964 in the folk song club at Hollywood High School, when folk music and hootenannies were the rage. We went our separate ways for several decades, reunited, and then started jamming folk tunes at his house or mine with our wives and friends – including Alex Hassilev of the Limeliters and the late Joe Frazier of The Chad Mitchell Trio. Ed met Mike in 2001, when Mike was singing for children, including Ed’s 12 year old son, at a local synagogue. Ed invited Mike and Tony (who lived in LA County then) to my house because heI thought our three voices would work well together, and we all sang the same great folk tunes of the 1960’s. By the end of 2001, we were a trio, performing around L.A. and over the years we have played hundreds of concerts, including at performing arts centers and community concerts throughout the West and large-scale retirement communities in Arizona.
Describe your sound/style?
We call ourselves The Folk Collection because our songs and shows are a tribute to the great folk music, songwriters, groups, and solo performers of the 1960’s and early ‘70s “folk era.” We encourage our audiences to sing along with us. And, our shows are full of good clean humor and jokes (what would you expect from a pastor, a cantor, and a lawyer?), and a great deal of smiling in the audience and from the stage, where we are having a grand time.
What have you been up to since we last spoke?
Our last concert at Boulevard Music in Culver City in March 2025 was supposed to be our last. Tony in our group was about to move from Bishop CA (where he had just retired as pastor at the Baptist Church) to Boise, Idaho, so he and his wife could spend more time with their daughter and her family. So, performing in Southern California no longer seemed feasible. Gary Mandel, who owns Boulevard and runs the concerts there, told us after our 2025 show, “You guys can’t retire. I guarantee you will be back.” Gary was right. He told us in January 2026 that he kept getting requests from his concert customers to bring us back. So, here we are again – doing our “final concert” for the second time. I hope there will be more of them!
What do you remember about your last show at Boulevard Music?
Since we and the audience thought it was our last show, everyone on and off stage insisted on having a great time. We surely did. We added several songs at the end of the second set that we had not intended to do because the audience wouldn’t let us leave and, in truth, we didn’t want to leave either.
What can we expect from the set this time?
Our show is a tribute to the great songs, songwriters, and groups of the ‘60s folkera – Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Kingston Trio, The Limeliters, Ian & Sylvia, The Brothers Four, John Denver, and more. Audiences, young and old, are familiar with most of the songs we sing, and we expect them to be singing along with us – though we have the microphones!
What else do you have coming up?
If Boise and retirement get boring for Tony, then I expect we will, as Willie Nelson sings, be “back on the road again.”
The Folk Collection performs at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 at Boulevard Music. Go to boulevardmusic.com for more information about the show and thefolkcollection.com for more information about the band.
Elsewhere this week
The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys, and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.
There’s a full program of music at the Cinema Bar this week, as usual. The Hot Club of Los Angeles plays every Monday, and Wednesdays are singer/songwriter and open mic night. Other artists performing this week include the Rip Gibson Band, Dinosaur Tooth, Dennis Tall Guy, Tom Gramlich, Jourdon Bleu, and more. Go to thecinemabar.com for more info.