When Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale first began performing together, they needed a name.
“The name came from a song we wrote early on called Milk Carton Kid,” Ryan said. “When we started playing together, we needed something to call ourselves, and that phrase stuck. It ended up reflecting our music in a way, a little bit nostalgic, a little melancholy, maybe even dark if you read into it, but also oddly comforting.”
Starting in the early 1980s, milk cartons bore photographs of missing children to engage the public in child recovery efforts. This method gained cultural traction and came to symbolize a collective national concern around child safety.
What’s in a name?
Through the late 1980s into the 1990s, it was a common sight on American breakfast tables and a widely recognized symbol of the missing-child epidemic, though the practice tapered off as more effective systems like the AMBER Alert emerged in 1996.
The band, The Milk Carton Kids, is performing at The Ark on Monday, September 8 at 8pm. That blend of nostalgia and intimacy has become their signature, especially in their harmonies.
“The vocal chemistry sort of revealed itself when we first sang together,” Ryan said. “From the beginning we’ve enjoyed how our voices blended into something new, almost like a third voice. Since then, we’ve just obsessed over it, refining the harmonies until they lock in. We’re both perfectionists, so we’ll fight over a single note until it feels inevitable.”
A songwriting dance
The duo’s writing process is as fluid as their harmonies.
“It changes song by song. Sometimes a lyric will spark it, sometimes a guitar figure, sometimes just a phrase that feels like it belongs in a song. I tend to obsess over words, Kenneth tends to follow melody, but it’s never as divided as that sounds. The goal is to keep circling it until the song tells us what it wants to be.”
Looking back, Ryan sees growth in their sound.
“When we started, it was just the two guitars and two voices — and we thought of that as a limitation. But over time we realized it was actually a whole universe. On newer records, we’ve allowed more instrumentation, more dynamics, even other musicians, but at the center it’s still the two of us trying to make something feel intimate and alive.”
RELATED: How the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase Thrives After 40 Years
Stage banter and connection
Their concerts are known not only for music but also for humor.
“That’s the part of the show we don’t rehearse,” Ryan said. “If we planned it, it would die instantly. The banter is just us entertaining ourselves between songs or trying to make the other one laugh. Sometimes it works, sometimes it bombs, but either way it keeps the show alive and unpredictable.”
For the Milk Carton Kids, intimacy matters most.
“The smaller the room, the more honest the performance has to be. In a place like The Ark, it feels like the audience is part of the show, because you can see every face, hear every laugh and feel every silence. That changes how you play. It makes you braver and more vulnerable at the same time.”
That sense of connection was also present when they played the Ann Arbor Folk Festival.
“The highlight for me is the feeling of being part of a community that really cares about the music. You look out and see a thousand people who are truly listening — not just attending. That’s rare. And singing Wagon Wheel with Ketch wasn’t bad either,” Ryan said.
Musical roots and road lessons
Their influences are as eclectic as their sound.
“The obvious ones are Simon & Garfunkel, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings and the Everly Brothers. But also, Randy Newman, Radiohead, Tom Waits. Lately old time banjo songs have crept in too,” Ryan said.
Touring, however, has been its own education.
“One thing I wish I’d known early on is that touring is defined mostly by the time between shows. You spend 22 hours a day getting yourselves from one place to another, and maybe two hours actually playing music. The trick is learning to enjoy all of it, not just the show,” Ryan said.
Michigan ties and what’s next
Michigan has become a familiar stop.
“We’ve been through Michigan many times, and the audiences are always engaged and generous,” Ryan said. “People think we are from there. Ann Arbor in particular has a great tradition of folk and acoustic music, so playing here feels like plugging into a lineage that’s bigger than us. I’m mostly looking forward to the food and the people. We always seem to find good soup in town.”
And for fans waiting on new music, Ryan offered a glimpse of what’s ahead: “We’re almost done with a new album so there will be a lot of info about that pretty soon.”
Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
