The Banjo Hour w/ Captain Gravitone & the String Theory Orchestra is a two hour music variety show featuring the music of Captain Gravitone & the String Theory Orchestra, the comedy of Michael Callahan, and a special music guest. On November 19 the original Rio Nido with Prudence Johnson, Tim Sparks and Tom Lieberman will be featured. On December 3 the Northern Minnesota roots duo, Pushing Chain will be in. One of the finest guitarist in the Twin Cities music scene, the award winning Dean Magraw, will be part of our January 21 show. The virtuoso duo, Lehto and Wright will perform on our February 4 show. The celebrated folk duo, The Lowest Pair, will bring their banjos to our March 4 finale. All shows will be at the Treaty Site History Center in Saint Peter, except for the March 4 show, which will be held at the Loose Moose Convention Center in downtown Mankato. All show times are 7:00-9:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
Rio Nido is a vocal jazz trio that explores and redefines the vocal jazz form with a distinctive blend of musicality, intellect & humor. The Minneapolis-based group’s debut LP, “I Like to Riff,” is considered by many to be a classic of the vocal jazz genre, featuring reinterpretations of the acrobatic vocal arrangements of such fabled musicians as The Boswell Sisters, The Cats and the Fiddle, and Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.
The group began in the late 1970s, when chanteuse Prudence Johnson joined forces with ace guitarists and singers Tim Sparks and Tom Lieberman. Each is an established artist in his or her own right, and together, their chemistry creates something entirely unique, idiosyncratic and beautiful.
For more information about this show, and to purchase tickets click here.
Composer, arranger, producer, guitarist Dean Magraw has fine-tuned his “Heavy Meadow” approach to music from years of performing and recording with some of the finest musicians in the United States, Europe, and Japan. His first recording, Broken Silence, came out in 1994 and won the NAIRD award for Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year.
Dean has since produced myriad passionate albums, including his latest release, Fire on the Nile (Red House Records), a duo collaboration with renowned percussionist, Eric Kamau Gravatt.
Lehto & Wright have a sound that is a unique blend of traditional and modern styles. By taking cues from the Irish, English and American folk traditions and interpreting them with contemporary guitar-based arrangements, Lehto & Wright have taken a fresh approach to the world of folk and folk rock.
As a duo, John Wright and Steve Lehto perform their material in an acoustic, “unplugged” setting. From American spirituals to Irish tune sets, their accomplished twin guitar/mandolin approach has all the intensity and power as the trio with half the volume.
The popular Northwoods duo, Pushing Chain, is Boyd Blomberg on guitar and vocals, and Gustavus College alum, Adam Moe on fiddle and vocals. They have been playing together since 1997, and recorded their first album in 1998. They have been told many times that they are exponentially stronger musically together than they are apart, and after about 17 years of playing together, they are starting to believe it.
For more information about this show, and to purchase tickets click here.
Kendl Winter, born in Arkansas, moved to Olympia, Washington after high school, drawn to the evergreen forests and the lively and thriving music scene. She put three solo records out on Olympia’s indie label, K Records, and performed in nationally-touring northwest string bands before beginning The Lowest Pair in 2013 with Palmer T. Lee. Palmer built his first banjo when he was 19 from pieces he serendipitously inherited. Shortly after deciding songwriting would be the most effective and enjoyable medium for his musings, he began cutting his teeth fronting Minneapolis string bands and touring the midwest festival circuit, which is where he and Kendl first met, on the banks of the Mississippi.
Funded in part through the Minnesota State Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
