Finvarra's Wren play The Ark Friday.

Finvarra's Wren, a popular, Detroit-area Celtic-music group, performs at The Ark on Friday.

The "mostly-family band" features Jim Perkins on guitar and vocals; his wife Cheryl Burns on Appalachian dulcimer, bodhran and vocals; daughter Alison Perkins on fiddle and whistles; son Asher Perkins on concertina and button accordion; and Terence McKinney on uilleann pipes.

The group mixes traditional Irish and Scottish styles, including lively jigs, reels, and hornpipes, with Celtic-American folk music. Listen to Finvarra's Wren "Luck Of The Irish" (MP3).

Alison and Asher have both won multiple Irish traditional music competitions at the Midwest Fleadh Cheoil (Irish Music Competitions). Alison has competed against over two dozen of the top fiddlers in the US and Canada, taking first place many years running, and qualified to compete at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Music Championships) in Ireland. Asher, meanwhile, has also won both accordian and concertina competitions several years in a row ('04-'09). The group's latest release is "Haven't Yet Lost My Ears."

Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.

Finvarra's Wren: Friday, July 30 at The Ark, 316 South Main. $15. 8 p.m. 734-761-1451.

Finvarra's Wren performing live last year at Radio Free Bacon: