Local musician Zan Strumfeld has learned to play well with others

For nearly a decade, Zan Strumfeld was primarily a solo artist, writing, recording and performing with little accompaniment.

That changed in summer 2017 when she was asked to open at a show at the now-closed Jupiter Hall inside Crossgates Mall.

"I didn't want to play by myself, so I asked (guitarist and friend) Will (Brown) if he wanted to learn my songs," Strumfeld recalled.

Her next phone call was to another friend, banjo player Michael Gregg. The trio added an upright bassist for the show and Zan and the Winter Folk was born. For Strumfeld, playing with others was transformative.

"I didn't end up being consistent as a solo performer because I didn't really like playing by myself," she said. "But once I played with a band, it was like playing the sounds I had always heard in my head.

"We had quite a bit of original material to work with (at first), but it's making me a different songwriter now, one I appreciate more," Strumfeld added. "I don't think I'm writing as a solo performer; I'm writing for a band. I get to give these ideas to all these talented musicians to make them better."

While working in a band setting has changed Strumfeld's approach to writing and playing, it's afforded the members of the Winter Folk new opportunities to hone their own skills too.

"I had very limited performing and musical experience before this. I had only been playing the banjo for not quite six months and I'm actually good now," Gregg said drolly. "For me, it's really been a process of being in a band, learning new songs, learning to play the five-string banjo. It's a really rewarding process."

"Zan brings in these sketches of new ideas, and I start thinking of everyone's parts and how I fill can out this sound," Brown said. "You try to find your role in the song. Especially in...