With breath-taking guitar work and intelligent lyrics to match, Peter Mayer delivers richly layered songs about interconnectedness and the human journey.

Mayer’s songs have been compared to Shaker furniture – clean and light, yet hardly simple. His guitar skills make playing his music seem deceptively easy.

“Peter Mayer is a magician…(his) universe is full of metaphor and meaning, story and symbol — everything contains more than meets the eye.”
–Bill Reed, music editor, Colorado Springs Gazette
Overall, Mayer’s songs explore the beauty and mystery of the world. But there’s plenty of humor, too, in songs like, “Dr. Seuss,” and “Hot Pickles,” off his 2014 album, “Third Street.”

Mayer, who once studied at seminary before pursuing a career in music, has toured full-time since 1995. Since then, he has gathered a dedicated following, selling out shows from Minnesota to Texas, New England to Colorado.

Mayer is an artist of relevance and insight whose music is not to be missed.

Crossings link for tickets and more information

Crossings invites the public to a free concert at the State Theatre featuring pianist David Shaffer-Gottschalk performing “Sonatas and Interludes” for prepared piano by John Cage

Shaffer-Gottschalk holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Colorado and was Professor of Music at Virginia State University from 1992-2013. He now lives in Rochester, where he teaches, coaches piano to students and teacher-colleagues, and performs.

For his appearance in Zumbrota, Shaffer-Gottschalk will offer a different look at the classical repertoire by performing John Cage’s complete “Sonatas and Interludes” for prepared piano. Prepared piano is a piano altered by placing objects between the strings. The performer plays the piano normally, but the preparations transform it into an instrument resembling an Asian percussion ensemble. The result is both pleasant and powerful.

Cage first developed the prepared piano around 1940. “Sonatas and Interludes,” written between 1946 and 1948, is his largest solo work for the prepared piano and regarded as one of Cage’s finest works. The composer was influenced by Indian philosophy and wrote the cycle as an expression of emotions of the rasa Indian tradition. Shaffer-Gottschalk first performed the work in 1992.

The public is invited to observe the preparation of the piano prior to the concert. Preparation will begin at 4 p.m. at the State Theatre on May 7. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions after the concert.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Crossings for tickets and more information

Bob Dylan Tribute – Back by popular demand, this award-winning band will make the Dylan fans swoon! They hail from Duluth, Minnesota and have won many awards for their Bob Dylan tribute in Dylan events across the North Country. For tickets/info call Jeff at 507- 993-4878

Ticket link

In their latest show, the talent-packed Fabulous Armadillos pay tribute to some of the biggest musicians never known. “The Wrecking Crew” celebrates a group of musicians who performed for studio recordings of some of the biggest names in ’60s and ’70s music.

The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by famous drummer, Hal Blaine, for a select group of musicians who played anonymously on hundreds of huge hits by artists including the Beach Boys, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas, The Monkees, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, The Righteous Brothers, Jan and Dean, Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond and hundreds more.

They played the instruments on some of the most successful groups’ and artists’ recordings in all of popular music history. These musicians, some of whom would become huge artists in their own right like Glen Campbell, Leon Russell and Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), were studio musicians whose job it was to show up and play songs and record every day, punching the clock so to speak.

Most people did not know this same group of musicians played on a majority of these groups hit songs until a film about their musical journey called “The Wrecking Crew,” was produced and released in early 2015. The Fabulous Armadillos will be showcasing some of the Wrecking Crew’s best known songs in this fun look back at a much simpler time.

As always, the Fabulous Armadillos will bring along a wealth of special guests, so they can perform spot-on recreations of the songs.

Past Fabulous Armadillos shows include “Lucky Sevens,” “Stadium Rock,” Motown hits and, combined with Collective Unconscious, tributes to the Eagles and the Doobie Brothers.

The core band includes keyboardist Greg “Gary D.” Armstrong, who toured worldwide with Bobby Vee and GB Leighton for 15 years; guitarist Paul “Stretch” Diethelm, who toured worldwide with Jonny Lang and opened for The Stones, Aerosmith, Sting and many others; bassist Mike Zeleny; Billy Scherer, the amazing singer Eagles tribute audiences heard sing “Desperado” and “New Kid In Town;” and Jay O’Donnell on drums.

Crossings site: Info & Tickets

A high-energy quintet whose lead vocalist has been likened to Adele, Bessie Smith, Etta James and Amy Winehouse, Davina & the Vagabonds bring their fresh-but-retro sound to the State Theatre stage.

Davina Sowers and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national blues scene with their high-energy live shows, sharp-dressed professionalism, and Sowers’ commanding stage presence. With influences ranging from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits, the band is converting audiences one show at a time, from Vancouver to Miami and across Europe. The band’s “Black Cloud,” was named one of the 10 best releases of the year by the Minneapolis Star & Tribune for 2011. In 2012 the band performed in 21 states and six countries in Europe.
So much more than just a blues act, DATV’s shows are filled with New Orleans charm, Memphis soul swagger, dark theatrical moments that evoke Kurt Weill, and tender gospel passages. Davina has been compared to Etta James, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday and Betty Boop, but comparisons don’t suffice: Sowers is a true original.

Something unique to this “blues” project is the instrumentation. This rollicking quintet is held together by Sowers’ keyboard playing, with acoustic bass, drums, and a spicy trumpet and trombone horn section. The group’s focused, clean sound and emphasis on acoustic instruments is novel to both blues and jazz worlds, and sets the show closer to New Orleans than to Chicago. This has set the Vagabonds apart at blues festivals in Thunder Bay, Ontario; Sighisoara, Romania; Sierre, Switzerland; Kemi, Finland; and 2012’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Crossing site: Info & Tickets

RECEPTION – meet the poets and artists
6:30pm Crossings

POETRY READINGS
7:30pm State Theatre

POETS

Angela Hunt
Art Kenyon
Chet Corey
Dan Dietrich
Deborah A Goschy
Ellen Lager
Evelyn Bassett
Franklin Knoll
Henry Panowitsch
Jana Bouma
Jane A. Callahan
Janette Dragvold
Jennifer Hernandez
Jennifer Jesseph
Justin Watkins
Ken McCullough
Lee Kisling
Micki Blenkush
Mim Kagol
Nancy Hengeveld
Nicole Ferrara
Patrick Cabello Hansel
Pete Beurskens
Ruth Schmidt-Baeumler
Susan Stevens Chambers
Tammy Torres

ARTISTS

Jennifer Chilstrom
Sharon Columbus
Aimee B Radman
Amy Adamson
Art Kenyon
Becky Jokela
Carley McHenry
Carole Kinion Copeland
Connie Ludwig
Dan Wiemer
Dawn Zero Erickson
Heather Hessenius
Ingvild Herfindahl
Jeanne Licari
Jill Woodward
Kat Corrigan
Kim Gordon
Lana Sjoberg
Michele Coppin
Patricia Swanson
Ron Germundson
Sarah Hill
Sarah Nygaard
Toni Stevens
Ivete Martinez
Sandy Bot-Miller

Link to Crossings for more information

Fund and fashion with comedian Sue Flemke. Flaunt your fashion and join the fun at this fundraiser for the state Theatre sponsored by Luya Shoes, Phenomenal Woman and Wild Ginger.

Purchase Tickets

Peter Ostroushko, one of the finest mandolin and fiddle players in acoustic music, returns to the State Theatre on Fri., April 15, at 7:30 p.m. He’s bringing special guest Dan Chouinard to perform with him.

Ostroushko’s tours have taken him to clubs, performing arts centers, music festivals and theatres across North America and Europe, and he has earned an international reputation as a versatile and dazzling musician and composer. He is at his most passionate playing a rich ethnic mix of music, at the heart of which is his Ukrainian heritage. His term for his mixture of musical styles is “sluz duz,” a phrase roughly meaning “over the edge” or “off his rocker.”

His album, “The Mando Chronicles” was three years in the making. It is a 3 CD set Ostroushko calls, “a labor of love that I’m very proud of. It’s kind of a history of the mandolin as it relates to my own journey of playing the instrument. It has Classical, American Old Time, Brazilian, Irish, Ragtime, my own Ukrainian Roots music and much, much more.”

For more than 25 years Ostroushko was a frequent performer on A Prairie Home Companion, and for a few seasons, he did a stint as Music Director for the popular radio show. He’s appeared on Austin City Limits, Late Night with David Letterman, even Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

He has recorded with artists such as Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Greg Brown, and Taj Mahal. His first recording session was contributing the mandolin parts for Bob Dylan’s epochal Blood on the Tracks. As a composer, Ostroushko has written works that have been performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Sinfonia, the Rochester (Minnesota) Symphony Orchestra, and more.

Chouinard is an accomplished pianist and accordionist, as well as a talented storyteller. A Minneapolis native, he plays, tours and records regularly with an ever-expanding roster of local and national performers. He is the creator and host of live shows for Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Historical Society and many others. When not performing he can be found bicycling interesting places with tent and accordion.

Crossings link for tickets and more information

Lorna Landvik is the only novelist in America performing an
all-improvised, one-woman comedy show. In PARTY IN THE REC ROOM, she takes suggestions from the audience to bring to life a cast of characters and their funny, illuminating and occasionally poignant stories. It’s a laugh-filled show you won’t want to miss!

Lorna Landvik is the author of ten novels, including the best-selling
PATTY JANE’S HOUSE OF CURL, ANGRY HOUSEWIVES EATING BON BONS and OH MY STARS. In her latest novel, BEST TO LAUGH, Landvik explores her own autobiography in telling the story of a young comedienne living in Hollywood.
As an actor/comic/playwright, Landvik has performed on stages around the country. She was a member of Dudley Riggs Brave New Workshop and has appeared in such plays as BAD SEED, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, and LUNATIC CELLMATES. Some of the plays she has written and performed in include AND THE WINNER IS, THE SMELT PRINCESS and ON THE LAM WITH DOE AND RAE.

Tickets

“Divas Through the Decades” is a musical tribute to some of the most influential female vocalists in American pop music, featuring songs from the ’40s through today’s current hits. Crossings brings the show to the State Theatre on Sat., April 2, at 7:30 p.m.

Belladiva’s stage show is filled with electrifying vocals, cutting-edge choreography, great costume changes, and a high energy performance that is second to none. Their musicianship offers unequalled authenticity as well as tons of fun. Audiences will experience iconic music and incredible singing and dancing.

The women of Belladiva don’t stop at singing and dancing – there’s comedy and sentiment throughout the show as the performers get the audience involved and participating in the show. The show features music made famous by various divas including Tina Turner, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan, Beyonce, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and many more.

It is experience that counts and Belladiva has it. Some of the group’s credits include opening for Melissa Ethridge, Loverboy, Kansas, and Def Leopard. The girls have performed live with Cathy Rigby, on NBC’s America’s Got Talent in Hollywood and in Minneapolis, and most recently opened for Joan Rivers for a weekend in Las Vegas. Some of their band members have toured with national recording artists such as Prince, Bette Midler, Donnie Osmond, and Johnny Lang.

Crossings link for tickets:
http://www.crossingsatcarnegie.com/concertpages/divasthroughthedecades.html