America’s longest-running multicultural song and dance company, the Duquesne University Tamburitzans is a unique ensemble of talented young folk artists dedicated to the performance and preservation of the music, songs, and dances of Eastern Europe and neighboring folk cultures. Crossings brings the Tamburitzans to the State Theatre.

The Tamburitzans’ goal is to enrich lives by entertaining and educating their audiences. Each year the Tamburitzans present a new two-hour program that represents the joy of life and beauty of the cultures that it represents. The work is based on the countries and ethnographic regions of Armenia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Romania, and Russia. The troupe combines colorful traditional costumes, authentic instruments, and beautiful voices to create a spectacular evening’s entertainment.

When the Tamburitzans perform, their stage becomes a kaleidoscope of sight and sound. Songs are sung in many languages and dialects. Footwork is articulated in hundreds of styles. Along with the more conventional accordion, clarinet, violin and guitar, folk instruments such as the bandura, tambura, gadulka, and cimbalom are plucked, picked, bowed and hammered.

Costuming alone is a great reason to see a Tamburitzans show. During the course of a single performance, more than 400 original and authentically reproduced costumes are worn by the performers. Each costume design is meticulously researched for authenticity, then created for the stage. The result is a carousel of style and color from the first note to the final stomp.

Crossings web site for more info & tickets

Fans of that early Nashville sound won’t want to miss “The Music and Magic of Patsy Cline,” back by popular demand at the State Theatre. The show features Cassie and the Bobs performing Cline’s music with impressive authenticity.

Cassie Wiesner’s powerful portrayal of Patsy Cline takes audiences on a trip down memory lane as she sings “Crazy,” “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “I Fall To Pieces,” and many more of the songs that made Cline famous and admired. No one comes closer to sounding like Cline than Wiesner, and the Bobs are a full group of accomplished musicians, dedicated to sounding as true-to-the-spirit of the original recordings as possible.

Cline was a pioneer of the 1960s Nashville sound and as a female headline performer. She had attained great success by age 30, when she died in a private plane crash. She remains a major influence for many singers and is one of the most acclaimed female vocalists of the 20th Century. She was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame – the first female soloist to receive that honor.

In addition to Wiesner, the Bobs feature many talented musicians, including current or former members of bands like Silverado, Oh Aces, The Salty Dogs, Skilly and Duff, Patty and the Pinetones, The Waybacks and Little Henry.

Cassie and the Bobs have been touring Minnesota and eastern South Dakota for seven years and have gathered rave reviews wherever they play. The group continues to draw hundreds of people to their performances, a testimony to the quality of their show and the enduring popularity of Patsy Cline more than 50 years after her death.

Crossings link for tickets and more information

Songs of Hope, the concert tour resulting from a six-week camp for children from around the world performing the music of their countries, stops in Zumbrota for the sixth year in a row. The free concert is at the State Theatre. Crossings and the Zumbrota Area Arts Council are sponsoring the performance.

The event showcases music from countries large and small mixed with U.S. songs chosen because they offer perfect entertainment for a warm summer’s night: folk, jazz, blues, rock ’n roll, and much more. Music originating from participating children’s homelands will be part of the show. In the past, children have come from Vietnam, China, India, Serbia, Albania, Italy, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, and many other countries.

The annual Songs of Hope concert tour has a well-deserved reputation for lively, upbeat shows for all ages, and this year’s show promises to be better than ever. Children from many countries, ages 9 to young adults, participate in Songs of Hope, a six-week performing arts summer camp in St. Paul.
More than just a performing arts camp, the nonprofit Songs of Hope™ offers participants a unique opportunity to live in community with kids from other cultures while learning and performing music from many countries. Campers learn to look past prejudices, misconceptions and newspaper headlines as they live, sing and dance together. They practice six hours a day, six days a week for six weeks. Then, they take these songs of peace, love, and respect into neighboring communities in a joyous celebration of cultural unity, delighting their audiences along the way.
The whole company performs on every song, which means the performers from more than a dozen countries will be singing in several languages that may be entirely new to them. An additional pleasure is the chance to see rich and beautiful traditional costumes of many cultures.

These activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Crossings web site for more info

Johnny Rogers will transport his audience back in time when you could go to your favorite malt shops with your favorite girl and dance to your favorite bands. “Buddy & Beyond: The History of Rock ’n Roll” is a tribute to the music of the legends of rock ’n roll.

His show will start with Rogers’ uncanny portrayal of Buddy Holly and go on with tributes to legends Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ricky Nelson and Chuck Berry. The show climaxes with his portrayal of the King himself, Elvis Presley.

Performing on stage with some of the biggest names in the business and entertaining for four U.S. presidents, among his many fans Rogers is already considered by many to be one of the best entertainers on today’s music scene.

His stage presence echoes the king of rock ’n roll and his guitar licks blend the skills of Chet Atkins and Jimi Hendrix. Rogers was nominated for best show in Branson, Mo. in 2009 and 2010, and Branson critic Gary Wackerly says he’s the best entertainer he’s seen in his 25 years.

Rogers has performed at the London Paladium and the Cavern Club, as well as the Surf Ballroom (site of Holly’s final show), the Clovis Music Festival, and the Music City Theater in Branson, Mo.

“I have been asked who put on the best show doing Buddy Holly. The guy I enjoyed hearing the most was Johnny Rogers. I’m also impressed with the way he does other artists and would like to hear him again. His performance, look, and mannerisms remind me of my brother.”
– Larry Holly (Buddy’s brother)

Crossings web site for info & tickets