Tag Archives: crossings

13th Annual Poet Artist Reception — May 10

Crossings' 13th Annual Poet Artist Reception, Reading and Slideshow

Saturday, May 10

6:30 pm Reception at Crossings

7:30 pm Reading and Slideshow at the State Theatre

From the 2013 Collaboration: Li Bai at the South Fork, Pastel by Mike Schad

Crossings’ 13th Annual Poet-Artist Collaboration exhibit is on display now through May 15, celebrating a pairing of the two art forms that allows poetry to inspire visual art of all kinds. Fifty poets and visual artists took part in this years’ exhibit, which can be seen free of charge during regular business hours.

Some 110 poets and artists participated in this year’s event by entering up to three poems each, or submitting artistic work samples. Jurors winnowed nearly 210 poems down to just 26. Other jurors selected 26 artists from those who entered. For this exhibit, each selected artist chooses one selected poem from which to create an artwork. Poems and the work they inspired are displayed together.

The 50 participating poets and artists come from around Minnesota, including three from Zumbrota and others from Rochester, Minneapolis, Faribault, Wabasha and elsewhere; two are from Iowa and one each from North Dakota and Wisconsin.

The exhibit can be viewed during regular open hours, at no charge. Crossings is open MTWF 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Participants by city (all in Minnesota except as noted): Zumbrota: Nick Sinclair, Sarah K Nygaard, Wendy Westlake. Rochester: C. Anthony Huber, Greg Wimmer, Gwen Lomberk, Ivete Castro Martinez, Jeanne Licari, Jeff Bell, Jody Brown, Justin Watkins, Kit Rohrbach, Raul Urrutia, Steven Vogel, Toni Stevens, Tony Pucci. Red Wing: Dan Wiemer, Marta Biittner. Minneapolis: Alison Morse, Holly Grimsrud, Kim Gordon, Linda Back McKay. Austin: Rich Campbell. Avon: Larry Schug. Bloomington: Chet Corey. Dodge Center: Gary Eddy. Faribault: Audrey Kletscher Helbling, Larry Gavin. Goodhue: Connie Ludwig. Hampton: Aimee Radman. Kasson: Ingvild Herfindahl. Lake City: Kate Halverson. Mazeppa: Coleen Johnston. New Brighton: James C. Henderson. Oronoco: Maggie Sutton, Susan Waughtal. Pine Island: Greg Finnegan. Plymouth: Franklin Knoll. Sauk Rapids: Char Hopela. Shorewood: Becky Liestman. St. Cloud: Sandy Bot-Miller, Micki Blenkush. St. Paul: Cary Waterman, Karen Trudeau. St. Charles: Lisa Becker. Wabasha: Nicole Borg. Also: Cedar Falls, Iowa : Joanna Thompson Yezek. Osage, Iowa: Lori Biwer-Stewart. West Fargo, North Dakota: Travis Moore. Hagar City, Wisconsin: Cathy P. White.

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota.

Lorie Line — May 9

Crossings brings Lorie Line and Her Fab Five to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Friday, May 9 at 7:30 pm.

The 2014 Intimate Evening Series

All tickets are $39. Groups of ten or more are $34 each. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

This 20-city series marks Line’s 25th year of touring. This spring she’s bringing her young, hip and cool “Fab Five” with her to share music celebrating her quarter-century as a touring musician. Besides sharing all her favorites from the past 25 years, Line will perform solo piano arrangements from her brand new book, “The Early Years.”

Line’s band includes Robbie Nordstrom on violin; Drew Moore on bass; Marcus Farrow on drums; Mike Linden on guitar and Derek Bromme on trombone and euphonium.

Line noted, “Surrounding myself with the best players possible makes making music so much more fun, and after touring all these years, I know how important that is . . . I'm now doing it these days to have fun.”

Known mainly for her holiday extravaganza, she has been branching out these past eight years and developing her intimate series.

Line’s CDs have sold more than 6 million copies. She’s the owner of one of the largest independent record labels, Lorie Line Music. She’s published over 30 books of music so others can play her arrangements of popular pieces as well as her original works.

Line and her husband/tour manager, Tim Line, live in Orono, Minnesota. but tour year-round, playing to 100,000 people on more than 85 stages annually. Lorie Line puts her personal stamp on everything, from color themes and graphic design to the one-of-a-kind breathtaking gowns and costumes she wears and set design.

Lorie Line

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.

Peter Mayer — May 3

Crossings brings Peter Mayer to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $22 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

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

Mayer’s songs are about interconnectedness and the human journey; about the beauty and the mystery of the world. But there’s plenty of humor, too, in songs like, “Snuffleupagus,” and “Fake Plant.”

Mayer, who once studied at seminary before pursuing a career in music, has toured full-time since 1995. He has gathered a dedicated following, selling out shows from Minnesota to Texas, New England to Colorado. He has nine CDs to his credit, and has sold over 50,000 of them independently.

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

Peter Mayer

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.

Rumours & Dreams — April 26

SOLD OUT

Crossings brings "Rumours & Dreams: The Music of Fleetwood Mac" to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Saturday, April 26, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $28 in advance, $30 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

This popular concert celebrating the iconic ’70s and ’80s band has sold out our vintage theatre two years running. Singer/songwriter Pamela McNeill has assembled an all-star band to bring the music of Fleetwood Mac to life. Joining her will be Minnesota Music Hall of Famer Mary Jane Alm along with Jeff Engholm, heard by State Theatre audiences at Collective Unconscious concerts. Also in the band are Tom Bard, Jay Graf, and Dugan McNeill.

Concert-goers will revel in the group’s hits, including, “The Chain,” “Landslide,” “Rhiannon,” and “Don’t Stop (Thinking about Tomorrow).” Some deeper cuts will gratify the most dedicated fans of this British-American rock band.

McNeill’s distinctive “voice of a fiery angel,” lends itself to the music, while the impeccable musicianship of the band and Engholm’s vocals top it off like whipped cream on a sundae.

Fleetwood Mac formed in 1967 in London. Their second album after the incorporation of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, 1977's “Rumours,” produced four U.S. Top 10 singles (including Nicks’ song “Dreams,” which was the band's first and only U.S. number one). The album remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks. To date the album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the ninth highest selling album of all time.

Pamela McNeill

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.

Peter Yarrow — April 24

Crossings brings Peter Yarrow to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Thursday, April 24, at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $35 in advance, $38 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Answering the requests of enthusiastic audience members, Crossings brings Peter Yarrow of legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary back to Zumbrota's State Theatre. Yarrow is a singer and songwriter whose social commentary has always been part of his music and his life.

Yarrow co-wrote one of Peter, Paul and Mary’s most famous songs, “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” and his songwriting also worked its magic with “Day is Done,” “Light One Candle,” and “The Great Mandala.” The trio earned a 1996 Emmy nomination for the Great Performances special “LifeLines Live,” a highly acclaimed celebration of folk music. The trio enjoyed a career that spanned nearly 50 years, and early on became an icon of folk music of the 1960s.

Music was part of Yarrow’s upbringing; he graduated from what was then called the High School of Music and Art in New York City. He graduated from Cornell University in 1959 and met Noel “Paul” Stookey and Mary Travers in New York City's Greenwich Village at a time when American folk music was experiencing a revival.

The trio’s first album, “Peter, Paul & Mary,” was released in 1962 and remained in the Top Ten for 10 months and in the Top Twenty for two years. More than two million copies sold.

Also a political activist, Yarrow has voiced his opposition to the Vietnam War, sought to instill character training in public education, and founded Operation Respect with a mission to “assure each child and youth a respectful, safe and compassionate climate of learning where their academic, social and emotional development can take place free of bullying, ridicule and violence.”

Yarrow has also turned his attention to encouraging folk music and musicians through a key role in founding the New Folks Concert series at both the Newport Folk Festival and the Kerrville Folk Festival.

Peter Yarrow

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.

Monroe Crossing — April 11

Crossings brings Monroe Crossing to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Friday, April 11, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Monroe Crossing dazzles audiences with an electrifying blend of classic bluegrass, bluegrass gospel, and heartfelt originals. Audiences will delight in their airtight harmonies, razor sharp arrangements, and on-stage rapport.

The Minnesota-based band plays an average of 125 shows a year at major venues and festivals, and in 2013 played at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The band, named in honor of Bill Monroe, “the Father of Bluegrass,” sounds fresh as a new day but true to the authentic bluegrass of Bill Monroe’s day.

Monroe Crossing is made up of five very distinct personalities with differing musical backgrounds and tastes, combining for a very unique ensemble sound. They are Derek Johnson: guitar, lead & harmony vocals; Lisa Fuglie: fiddle, mandolin, lead and harmony vocals; Matt Thompson: mandolin, fiddle, baritone vocals; Mark Anderson: bass and bass vocals; and David Robinson: banjo. Their paths crossed through the music of Bill Monroe so they like to say they had a “Monroe Crossing.”

Among many honors, Monroe Crossing showcased at the International Bluegrass Music Association Convention and was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. The only bluegrass band ever nominated as “Artist of the Year” by the Minnesota Music Academy (MMA), Monroe Crossing has won an MMA “Bluegrass Album of the Year” award.

This activity is 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.

Monroe Crossing

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.

The Beatles, Part 2: A Rockumentary — April 5

Crossings brings Justin Ploof and the Throwbacks to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Saturday, April 5 at 7:30 pm for "The Beatles, Part 2: A Rockumentary." Tickets are $22 in advance, $25 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Hear the music of The Beatles while enjoying news and film clips about the groups’ “Sgt. Pepper’s” years at “The Beatles: Part 2,” a concert and “rockumentary” by Justin Ploof and the Throwbacks.

Crossings is bringing the band back for this second installment of a Beatles tribute concert. Most importantly, the Throwbacks authentically reproduce the music of The Beatles, this time covering the time span when the band stopped touring and devoted themselves entirely to the studio. They released the legendary masterpiece “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and ushered in a new form of record making.

Beyond the music, the audience will “Witness the End of an Era,” through stories, anecdotes and fascinating facts chronicled on vintage footage and other media.

The Beatles would continue in their dominance of the Billboard Charts through this era, posting another 10 number one hits, as well as continue to change pop’s musical landscape with five chart-topping albums. In the end, they would leave a music catalogue that started a revolution and that still influences pop and rock music today.

The Throwbacks performed “The Beatles: Part 1” in Zumbrota the first of March. The core group is comprised of Justin Ploof, Jason Ploof, and Dan Ploof. They have a multitude of professional music experience and have shared the stage with the likes of Soul Asylum, Bobby Vee, Joan Jett, and Jessie Lang. Their incredible attention to detail and quality of musicianship will wow audiences from the first chord. They work to emulate the songs the way the artists meant for them to be performed.

Justin Ploof & the Throwbacks

Peter Ostroushko & Dean Magraw — March 22

Crossings brings Peter Ostroushko and Dean Magraw to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Saturday, March 22, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Peter Ostroushko, one of the finest mandolin and fiddle players in acoustic music, and guitarist, composer, arranger and producer Dean Magraw reunite once again. The two legendary musicians played as a duo for 15 years. Both known for bringing together many musical styles, their concerts will leave audiences astounded and with a new appreciation for the similarities among musical traditions.

Because their musical interests roam so widely, each man has teamed up with other musicians for performances and recordings in every style from punk-folk to jazz, Celtic to country.

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.”

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.

Magraw’s 30-year career in music has seen him teamed up with the well-known Irish group Altan, Japanese shamisen prodigy Nitta Masahiro, classical violinist Nigel Kennedy, singers Claudia Schmidt and Ruth MacKenzie, and Boiled in Lead. He leads his own jazz trio and quintet, and has recorded with Celtic, Indian and Hungarian musicians as well.

Peter Ostroushko

Dean Magraw

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.

Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole — March 8

Crossings brings Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Saturday, March 8, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $18 in advance, $21 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole resurrect the ancient sounds of the French and Spanish contra dance and bourré alongside the spiritual rhythms of the Congo tribes of West Africa, and are counted among the brightest talents emerging in Cajun, Creole and Zydeco music.

Watson plays fiddle and accordion, writes songs and sings. While he once performed French music, he has turned to traditional roots and incorporated Native American and African Congo ceremonial rhythms and sounds. His own diverse ancestry (African, Native American, French and Spanish) seems to drive his interest in the music of ancient cultures in far-flung places.

The four-time Grammy nominated artist and his band put on an incredible performance every time, rich in rhythm and poetry. With an apparently bottomless repertoire of songs at his fingertips, Cedric plays everything from forgotten Creole melodies and obscure Dennis McGee reels to more modern Cajun and Zydeco songs, even occasionally throwing in a bluegrass fiddle tune or an old string band number.

Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.

The Music and Magic of Patsy Cline — January 11

Crossings brings Cassie & the Bobs to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Saturday, January 11, at 7:30 pm. Fans of that early Nashville sound won’t want to miss “The Music and Magic of Patsy Cline,” back by popular demand. You won't just hear Patsy's music–you'll swear she's there in person!

Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

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 the Dakotas for more than five 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, 50 years after her death.

Cassie and The Bobs

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.