The Blue Ribbon Trio
Friday, May 23, 2025 6:30 pm
John Streeter Garden Amphitheater, 2122 Williams Road, Wooster, OH 44691  

Ohio Regional Music Arts and Cultural Outreach (ORMACO) and the Friends of the Secrest Arboretum kick off their summer Music at the Arboretum concert series on Friday, May 23, 2025 with bluegrass group The Blue Ribbon Trio, comprised of NE Ohio musicians Ron Bonkowski, Paul Kovac, and Bill Lestock.

In the event of rain, the concert will be held at Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691. For more information call 419-853-6016.

About the Muicians 

Bill Lestock plays original instrumental mandolin music, a compelling blend of bluegrass, old time, baroque and blues, perhaps best defined as “Modern Acoustic” music. It’s a deeply profound sound inspired from both the outside world and inside focus, woven from several walks of life. A firefighter in the city of Cleveland Ohio for 33 years, Bill incorporates melodies and imagery from a life and culture of firefighting.

  Ron Bonkowski has been a familiar face and presence on the Bluegrass music scene for the last three decades. His distinctive dynamic rhythm guitar playing and versatile vocal abilities have been appreciated by many local and regional acts for years. He served as the veteran guitarist and vocalist for Buzz Matheson and Family Pride for 20 years, and has performed with Midnight Drive from Hermitage, PA, and Paul Kovac’s Big Grass Band from Kirtland, OH. Ron makes his home in Mantua, OH.

 Paul Kovac, bandleader/singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, is an expert in Bluegrass and Americana Roots music.  Kovac has toured on three continents, has recorded 14 albums of his own, and has contributed to countless others.  He has performed with Hall of Famers Chet Atkins & Bill Monroe, and produced & performs in an instructional guitar DVD with Hee Haw’s Roy Clark.