By ANDREW SPIESS
BG Independent News
The Black Swamp Pluckers, a local musical ensemble, delivered a well-managed, polished performance for the BGSU Music School’s Orchard Guitar Festival on Oct. 10.
Organized by Ariel Kasler, who holds a Master of Music in Jazz Performance at BGSU, the 2026 Orchard Guitar Festival featured a concert of several guitar ensemble performances at Bryan Recital Hall in Moore Musical Arts Center.
The Black Swamp Pluckers—consisting of 15 members of varying ages performing, although the ensemble generally includes more—presented themselves in all-black attire, appearing sharply organized and disciplined. Led by the charismatic Thomas Wheeler, the group was coordinated to enter and exit the performance space in the common and expected manner in which a professional musical ensemble does at a traditional recital.
“This is probably going to be the most strict, most tight sort of performance we’ve ever done,” Wheeler said. “It’s the first time I’ve made a demand that we’re all in concert black and probably also the first time that we’ve rehearsed walking on and off the stage and bowing and the choreography of the things surrounding the music.”
Wheeler and the Black Swamp Pluckers were invited by Kasler to perform, as the two musicians maintain a professional relationship.
They were given 15 minutes to play four songs: “Plenty George Brabazon,” “Brenda Stubberts,” “Yesterday,” and “Libertango (The Dance of Freedom).”
“It’s a great range of stuff, and it shows that we can play in all styles. We can play classic Irish tunes, Irish folk music. We can play – Pop Rock. Timeless pop rock songs, and we can play serious classical repertoire. So it’s the full mixture,” Wheeler said.
Sections of the ensemble strummed rhythm parts, while others picked single-note melodies.
Eyes focused on sheet music, the members of the Pluckers meticulously rehearsed for three weekly sessions before the festival, making precise efforts to perfect their performance.
Established in 2025 by Wheeler, the Black Swamp Pluckers are an independently organized ensemble comprised of non-collegiate members of the community playing acoustic guitars, bass guitars, and other instruments in the guitar family, including mandolins and ukuleles.
Born in Houston, Texas, Wheeler began playing the guitar at age 15. He received a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Oklahoma City University, moving on to achieve a Master of Music in Performance Pedagogy from Arizona State University.
“When I was in a high school guitar ensemble, my teacher let me take a turn conducting the group,” said Wheeler. “When I got to undergrad, I had an ensemble called the New Star Guitar Orchestra, which was a community orchestra just like the Black Swamp Pluckers, but only for guitars. When I was a teaching assistant at Arizona State, I taught the Arizona State Guitar Ensemble and conducted them.”
A career-driven music teacher, Wheeler currently provides private guitar lessons for 20 students. Speaking about the ensemble, he discussed its origins and the necessity for musicians to play together.
“I started wanting my students to have more group playing opportunities,” said Wheeler. “So probably around 2024, I started flirting with the idea of having a quartet or having some sort of ensemble, and we would meet at my house, and we would have maybe half a dozen people, but obviously you can only fit so many people, especially with horizontal instruments.”
Wheeler spoke about how people can join the Black Swamp Pluckers whenever they want without signing up for a membership, and about the value of having a free professional group experience for musicians with the local community.
“There’s no place in Bowling Green where somebody who plays music can get this kind of professional group experience for free,” Wheeler continued. “And many of the people who participate in the group are tangentially my students because they know how valuable it is for them to get that group experience in addition to the private lesson experience.”
Furthermore, Wheeler discussed his intent to provide growth for local practicing musicians. With pride, he mentioned his appreciation for their bravery and trust in him to ensure their growth and success, while he simultaneously grows as a musician and teacher.
The Black Swamp Pluckers meet weekly at First Presbyterian Church on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. More information can be found on Wheeler’s Facebook business page as The Music Thief: https://www.facebook.com/TheMusicThief.
