Tickets go on sale July 20 to David Byrne with St. Vincent at the State Theatre on Sept. 15. Their CD, “Love This Giant,” will be released Sept. 11. Download the lead track here. St. Vincent was scheduled for a “Wits” at the Fitz performance in June that was canceled because of travel complications. Anything Byrne does is worth checking out IMHO. The band will include eight brass players, a keyboardist and a drummer. FMI and tickets.
Founded in 1979, the nonprofit Artspace specializes in developing affordable live/work spaces for artists. Because it’s based here, we think of Artspace as the local company behind projects including the Northern Warehouse Artists’ Cooperative, Frogtown Family Lofts, and Tilsner Artists’ Cooperative, all in St. Paul, and Jackson Flats in Minneapolis. But its reach extends far beyond the Twin Cities. Over the next five years, Artspace expects to double the number of projects it owns and manages, according to an article in Saturday’s Strib. Jim Buchta reports that work is under way in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and more than a dozen cities across the country.
Also in Saturday’s Strib, we learned the shocking news that alcohol attracts. Sharyn Jackson writes about the Minnesota Historical Society’s history happy hours and historic pub crawls, all designed “to cast a wider net and pull in younger people, groups and couples, as well as history lovers.” When MHS did a survey asking people what would bring them through the door, adult beverages scored high. In the words of one 30-something attendee, “I like history, and I like to drink.” All pub crawls for the rest of the summer (through Aug. 29) are sold out – but, guess what, you can book a private history pub crawl for your group. And you don’t even have to pedal. If you want to attend a History Happy Hour at the Ramsey House, you might want to get your tickets now. Two remain: Thursday, July 26 (theme: Irvine Park and West 7th, featuring MinnPost’s own Andy Sturdevant) and Thursday, Aug. 30 (theme: the history of bicycling in St. Paul, with members of the Wheelmen, a heritage cycling group). FMI and tickets.
After viewing the exhibit “1934: A New Deal for Artists,” now on display at the Minnesota History Center, Susannah Schouweiler concludes, “There’s an unsettling nostalgia to seeing this show at this time. The urge to conflate the zeitgeist and desperate circumstances of the 1930s with the hardships of our contemporary economic climate is nearly irresistible, but wrong-headed and facile all the same. … Simply put: There will be no WPA redux for the 21st century.” Through Sept. 30.
We now know the full Minnesota State Fair Grandstand lineup, as well as free music at the Fair. Scattered throughout the fairgrounds are stages that feature free music, and this year’s schedule is looking good. Here are some highlights. At the Leinie Lodge Bandshell: The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Bettye LaVette. On the Bazaar stage: Davina and the Vagabonds, Hookers and Blow, Café Accordion Orchestra. In Heritage Square: Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps, Monroe Crossing, the New Standards, Molly Maher and Erik Koskinen. Complete schedules here.
Arts Midwest has selected 15 community-based arts organizations in the Twin Cities area, southern Minnesota and North Dakota to participate in ArtsLab, its intensive two-year peer learning community. Starting this fall, they will participate in retreats and shared learning opportunities designed to build leadership, increase financial and operational resiliency, and cultivate relationships. Past ArtsLab grantees include TU Dance, One Voice Mixed Chorus, Mizna (publishers of the only journal of Arab American literature in the U.S.), Bedlam Theatre, and Springboard for the Arts. Among the 2012-14 grantees are Ananya Dance Theatre, Mu Performing Arts, Pangea World Theater, and The Singers, a group of Minnesota choral artists directed by Matthew Culloton. View the complete list here.
Three enticing options for tonight (Tuesday, July 10):
• At the Amsterdam, it’s another installment of the popular Beaker & Brush series of science-meets-art discussions co-sponsored by the Science Museum and the St. Paul Art Crawl. This month’s topic: human impact on the Earth’s ecosystems. (As individuals, we’re irrelevant; as a global population of 7 billion, we’re a natural process.) With John Schade, an associate professor of ecology at St. Olaf College who’s currently studying stream systems in California and arctic ecosystems in Siberia, and sculptor Aaron Dysart, who explores the juxtaposition of the natural and artificial. 6:30 p.m.
• The Summer Music at Plymouth Church series starts with pianist/accordionist/storyteller Dan Chouinard and “A Prairie Home Companion” pianist and music director Rich Dworsky. Two consummate entertainers = a pretty safe bet. The series continues on Tuesdays through July. On July 17: an evening of operetta with Maria Jette, Lisa Drew, Vern Sutton, Jim Bohn and Sonja Thompson celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. July 24: a night in the tropics with jazz from Minnesota Orchestra trumpeter Charles Lazarus and his quartet. On July 31: frequent APHC guest and passionate soul singer Jearlyn Steele, accompanied by her brother Billy Steele on piano. All concerts are at 7 p.m. Free.
• At the Cedar, you can dance (you will dance) to Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. Hailing from Benin, a tiny nation on Africa’s west coast (between Togo and Nigeria), Orchestre Poly-Rythmo formed in the late 1960s, issued hundreds of recordings, took a 20-plus-year break, and returned with “Cotonou Club,” named a New York Times Best Album of 2011. Here’s a taste of the album. Afrobeat, funk, soukous, brass, drums, vocals: this will be good with a capital G-O. Standing show. FMI and tickets.
The Cedar has announced its 416 Club grant recipients for 2012-13. Funded through the Jerome Foundation, the Club awarded $2,500 each to seven Minnesota musicians for new music to be performed at the Cedar in January and February 2013. Winners include Ted Moore, Nathan Hanson, Maria Isa Perez, David Gerald Sutton, Miriam Gerberg, Pooja Goswami Pavan, and Nicholas Gaudette. FMI.
Registration is now open for the SPCO’s Target Free Family Music concerts and continues through Friday, July 20. Entering early does not improve your chances but does mean you won’t forget. Free tickets will be distributed through a random drawing later this year. If you want guaranteed seats, a limited number of $5 (children) and $10 (adult) tickets will be available starting Nov. 7. FMI and registration here.
Starting tomorrow (Wednesday, July 11), if you’re lucky enough to live in or near Kenyon or Little Falls, Taylors Falls, Worthington, or Blue Earth, you can see a site-specific production of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” in a historic home. Performers include Sarah Agnew, Stephen Cartmell, Darcey Engen, Elise Langer, Luverne Seifert, and Dario Tangelson, professionals known for their work at the Guthrie, Ten Thousand Things, Jungle, and Jeune Lune, plus local actors and musicians. The first performances take place at the M.T. Gunderson House in Kenyon and continue through Sunday. Several shows are already sold out. FMI and tickets.
Four tempting possibilities for Thursday:
• The great bluesman and rocker Edgar Winter comes to Famous Dave’s in Calhoun Square. The younger brother of Johnny, founder of the bands White Trash and Roadwork, Edgar had just two commercial radio hits, “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride,” both in the ’70s, but has enjoyed a lifetime of recording and touring. Doors at 6 p.m, special guests at 7, Winter at 8:30. FMI and tickets.
• Some of us already live in small or small-ish spaces. Some of us want to size down. Get decorating tips from Janet Lee, former resident of the Twin Cities (where she had a small apartment in Linden Hills), now living in New York (presumably in an even smaller apartment), blogger at Living in a Nutshell and author of a new book by the same name from Harper Collins. Lee will be in Minneapolis this week for a cocktail hour and craft demonstration. Thursday, 5 – 7 p.m., Corazon Books, 4646 East Lake St., Minneapolis. (Seems Corazon is a bookstore without a website.)
• At Studio Z in Lowertown, “For the Birds” unites the musicians of Zeitgeist, the new music ensemble, with words from humorist, writer, and narrator Kevin Kling and music by composer Victor Zupanc of the Children’s Theater Company, all under the direction of Nautilus Music Theater’s Ben Krywosz. “For the Birds” debuted in 2010 and has delighted audiences across Minnesota. FMI and tickets. Continues through July 15.
• Hot days and nights call for spicy music. When Pavel Jany and Ticket to Brasil (a 10-piece band) share a bill with Salsa del Soul (a 9-piece band), expect big sounds and the hip-shaking rhythms of bossa nova, samba, son, plena, cha-cha-cha, timba, and salsa. Food is available for purchase; no word on its ethnicity. Thursday, 7 p.m., Normandale Lake Bandshell in Bloomington, free.
Twin Cities photographer Ann Marsden died Sunday at age 55 from cervical cancer. Beloved by the arts community – she photographed theater companies, the Minnesota Orchestra, numerous other cultural institutions, actors, musicians, singers, and dancers – she was known for her true and sensitive portraits. MPR’s Marianne Combs remembers her here. We’ll remember Marsden with a photograph she took of someone else we lost not long ago and miss very much, the singer Christine Rosholt.
Photo by Ann MarsdenChristine Rosholt
Correction: A previous version of this story carried the wrong date for first availability of David Byrne & St. Vincent tickets.
