3rd Sunday String Band

3rd Sunday String Band is the product of a serendipitous meeting of a few musicians taking an ensemble class in old timey music at Chicago’s famed Old Town School of Folk Music fourteen years ago. We were having so much fun that some of us decided to meet every third Sunday of the month for informal jam sessions- hence the name. One of our members got us the opportunity to play at an event for the hospital where he worked, and from that seed our band developed. We have been performing ever since.


We are a rather large string band with fiddles, banjos, mandolins, flutes, percussion, guitar and bass. Some people have left the band; very talented others have taken their places. We have had the same lineup now for the past five years. We practice hard, and we have increased our repertoire from old timey to include folk, pop and country tunes.


We play out quite often in venues such as bars and clubs, libraries, cultural centers, schools, farmers markets, private parties and weddings. We have even played at the United Center prior to the Bull’s home opener in 2012. We are excited to have recently released our second CD, recorded by Chicago legend John Abbey.


Our lineup is Janet Lettrich on the fiddle, Sandy Bykowski on the flute, pipes and percussion, Tom Payne on keyboards, banjo and guitar, Rich Kurowski on the banjo, Andy Norton on the mandolin, Mike Collins on the bass and Stu Hertzberg on guitar. We all share responsibilities as vocalists.