Aliver Hall and Blue Moon Soup join forces for a free show this Friday night at Casa Cantina.

Folk band Blue Moon Soup hails from Yellow Springs, Ohio. The group plays roots-y Americana music heavily influenced by people the band has met and events that have shaped band members’ lives.

The recipe for “Blue Moon Soup” blends a mixture of interesting ingredients according to the band’s website:

"1/2 cup unadulterated grain alcohol

Two cups Yellow Springs water

Generous helping of Jerry Garcia brand hippie-nouveaux blended stew

One pinch of the freshest folk rock revivalism

Five wild mushrooms (Any variety)

One bowl of herbs

Four Yellow Springs natives"

The recipe continues with cooking instructions:

“Mix ingredients together, then fry with mandolin until golden brown, chop with guitar until thoroughly whipped, then boil with bass until mix solidifies. Add fiddle to taste and garnish with lush vocal harmonies. Serves six.”

The four members who make up Blue Moon Soup are: Ben Clonch on guitar, Robbie Marion on fiddle, Jon Baumann on upright bass and Brendan Moore on mandolin. The members all contribute vocals, blending harmonies to add to the richness and authenticity of the traditional folk music.

Clonch, Marion, Baumann and Moore all grew up in the Yellow Springs area and started playing together about a year ago. They gained a sizeable following in Yellow Springs and Dayton, attributing their success to the bustling music scene in the small cities.

Aliver Hall, a progressive rock jam band from Akron, will join Blue Moon Soup on stage.

Alex Hall handles lead guitar and vocal duties for the group. Jim Tauscher also plays guitar and sings. Matt “Bones” Johnson sits behind the drums and Jim Garibaldi plays the bass.

The band relies heavily on improvisation and loose structure at their shows, sometimes extending songs well over 10 minutes. The band recently released a studio album titled Welcome to Aliver Hall, which can be downloaded for free on their website.

To catch the folk band Blue Moon Soup and progressive-rock band Aliver Hall, stop out to Casa Cantina this Thursday night. These two up-and-coming bands won’t be playing free shows for long.