The Appleseed Collective is attempting to redefine the Americana sound by blending Dixie, Ragtime, bluegrass, gypsy, folk and swing.

The Appleseed Collective plays at 5:30 p.m. May 23, TD Community Stage, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, as part of ArtsQuest's RiverJazz series.

"This is the first time that this group is touring consistently together," says guitarist Andrew Brown in a phone interview from his home in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The band's tour began in Georgia, heads to Florida and then to the Midwest.

The band, formed in 2010, has had a few additional players, but the three founding members, Brown; Brandon Smith, strings, and Vince Russo, percussion, who all hail from the Ann Arbor area, solidified as a four-piece with the addition of Eric Dawe, upright bass.

"We've received incredible reviews from the venues we've been playing about our energy and interaction between the players," says Brown. "We feel like we've found our fourth Beatle."

Brown describes the group's music as pre-World War II fusion with a modern songwriting tilt. In addition to the Beatles, Brown cites his inspirations as Django Reinhardt, Tom Waits and Michael Jackson.

"We are doing three- and four-part vocal harmonies. There is a lot of songwriting and collaboration happening.

"We wanted to create something new and contemporary. We're mixing folk, country, swing and gypsy jazz with modern influences and tinges of rock 'n' roll, funk and soul."

The band has two studio albums, "Baby Beast" (2012) and "Young Love" (2014).

When asked if merging the various styles is hard to achieve, Brown says, "It would be difficult if we were trying. We let things happen. It has evolved organically."

The tour will wrap up in October. Then the band hopes to hit the studio. "We have almost three albums worth of material that we're ready to record."

The band's label, Earthwork Music, is a collective of Michigan-based musicians who promote community, self-awareness and environmental activism.

"The most famous of the collective right now is Joshua Davis, who is in the top eight of [the hit television series] 'The Voice,'" says Brown at the time of the interview.

"We are rallying around him to push Michigan roots music into the national spotlight."