There will be plenty of outstanding music at this year’s Humanity in Harmony Music Festival, but one performance promises to make the evening especially memorable for longtime Flint-area music fans.
Mustard’s Retreat is reuniting in Flint.
Michael Hough, David Tamulevich and Flint native Libby Glover — the three musicians who came together more than 50 years ago to form Mustard’s Retreat — will share the stage again as part of the 14th Humanity in Harmony Music Festival – Daniel Pearl World Music Days, Saturday, October 17 at Mott Community College.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. in the Mott Memorial Building Auditorium, 1401 E. Court Street in Flint. Admission is $10.
A reunion more than 50 years in the making
Mustard’s Retreat traces its beginnings to Ann Arbor in 1975, when Glover, Hough and Tamulevich began performing together at the Old Heidelberg Restaurant. The group developed a devoted following with its harmonies, storytelling, humor and folk music built around community and connection.
Glover eventually left the group, while Hough and Tamulevich continued Mustard’s Retreat as a duo for decades. Glover later returned, and in more recent years she and Tamulevich have carried on the Mustard’s Retreat tradition.
This October, all three will be back together in Flint.
Their history here runs deep. Mustard’s Retreat performed at Flint venues and events including Paddy McGee’s, Hat’s Pub, the Flint Folk Music Festival, The Huckleberry Radio Hour and The Sippin Lizard. Over the decades, the musicians have traveled more than a million miles and performed thousands of shows, ranging from neighborhood gatherings to stages including Lincoln Center, The Barns at Wolf Trap and the Kennedy Center.
For Humanity in Harmony producer and host Michael J. Thorp, bringing the three musicians together is one of the highlights of this year’s festival.
“Bringing Michael, David and Libby back together in Flint is something really special,” Thorp said. “Mustard’s Retreat has been part of the musical history of this community for decades. I’m excited to work with them this season, and I can’t think of a better setting for this reunion than Humanity in Harmony.”
That quote is drafted from your direction about Michael’s excitement rather than taken verbatim from the press release, so I’d have Michael approve that wording before publication.
Four very different musical voices, one evening
The Mustard’s Retreat reunion is part of a diverse four-act program.
The Dort Honors String Quartet, featuring young musicians from the Flint School of the Performing Arts, will continue its tradition of opening Humanity in Harmony. The quartet has opened each of the festival’s concerts.
New York-based Sheldon Low also returns. Low has participated in every Humanity in Harmony festival since the event began in 2013 and once again will help lead the concert’s traditional “Salaam” finale.
The program also features AdaMA Quartet featuring Meg Okura, an unusual chamber ensemble combining violin, cello, clarinet and bass clarinet. Okura, a Grammy-nominated jazz artist, is returning for her second Humanity in Harmony performance.
Music with a larger purpose
Humanity in Harmony is held in connection with Daniel Pearl World Music Days, created in memory of Wall Street Journal reporter and accomplished violinist Daniel Pearl. The international initiative uses music to encourage friendship and understanding across cultures. Humanity in Harmony is the only Daniel Pearl World Music Days event in Michigan.
The festival’s message is especially fitting for a Mustard’s Retreat reunion. Across five decades, the group has built its music around storytelling, community, humor, hope and the connections people find through song.
The festival also includes a free Music Around Town concert Thursday, October 15, featuring AdaMA Quartet with Meg Okura.
Humanity in Harmony Concert
Saturday, October 17, 2026
7:00 p.m.
Mott Memorial Building Auditorium
Mott Community College
1401 E. Court Street, Flint
Tickets: $10
For registration or additional information, contact the Flint Jewish Federation at 810-767-5922 or ashleymusser@flintfed.org.
The Humanity in Harmony Music Festival is supported by the Nartel Family Foundation, Mott Community College and the Flint Jewish Federation.
