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Festival Entertainment
Friday
5:30 p.m. – Patty
and the Buttons
www.patrickharison.com
www.myspace.com/pattyandthebuttons
New Orleans style
jazz 4-piece band - consisting of accordion/vocals,
clarinet, guitar and tuba.
7 p.m. –
Ukrainian Village
www.ukrainianvillageband.com
Ukrainian, Russian
and some Latvian folk music played on acoustic instruments
with a blend of traditional and our own modern folk style.
Minnesota’s newest Ukrainian Polka Band!
8:45 p.m. – A
Night In The Box
www.myspace.com/nightinthebox
"A Night In
The Box plays a blend of American genres—rock, blues, folk,
bluegrass, country—with ferocious energy. The band perfected
the balance on its most recent record, Write A Letter, which
brought violinist Kailyn Spencer into the mix to emphasize
the old-school aspect of the group's White Stripes-esque
blues-rock attack. But it's the live show where A Night In
The Box really swings, with guitarist Clayton Hagen and
multi-instrumentalist Travis Hetman, who share lead vocals,
working the crowd up like carnival barkers."
- David Brusie
for The Onion
Saturday
11:30 a.m. – Finn
Hall
www.finnhall.com
Finn Hall is an
award-winning group of musicians dedicated to preserving
the feel and sounds of historic Finnish-American dance halls
of the last century.
Based in Minneapolis, we
recreate this experience for local dancers, offering waltz,
polka, schottische, mazurka, tango, humppa and other dances.
We perform in concert settings as well, adding listening
selections. We also tour internationally whenever possible.
1 p.m. – Dolina
www.dolina.org
Dolina Polish Folk Dancers is a
non profit performing group dedicated to promoting Polish
culture through song and dance. Established in 1949, Dolina
has been thrilling audiences locally, nationally and
internationally. Poland is blessed with a rich folk culture
dating back several centuries. Customs and traditions vary
significantly from region to region. Each with its own
unique style in dance and costume. Dolina Polish Folk
Dancers extensive repertoire includes dances and songs from
diverse regions performed in a colorful array of authentic
costumes, music and choreography.
2:30 p.m. - St.
Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra
www.stmarysoca.org/balalaika.html
The current St. Mary’s
Balalaika Orchestra was founded by the Very Rev.
Vladimir Lecko in 1984, when he was an Associate Pastor
there. Over the past 26 years, the group has performed
throughout the Twin Cities and Minnesota, cities across the
Midwest, in Northeast United States and in Canada.
In the spring of 2009, St. Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra
celebrated its 25 year anniversary with a special concert
including members of the University Of Wisconsin Russian
Folk Orchestra. Most recently, the orchestra hosted
the 32nd Annual Balalaika & Domra Association of
America (BDAA) convention in Minneapolis for the first time
ever with a weeklong schedule of workshops, evening theme
events and finishing with a wonderful festival concert of
100 musicians from around the United States, Canada and
abroad. Four of the original group members still
remain from the 1984 humble beginnings.
The balalaika, probably the
most famous Russian instrument, was made even more
recognizable in scenes from the movie “Dr. Zhivago.”
The balalaika comes in a variety of sizes from prima to
contrabass. The sister instrument of the balalaika is
the domra, which is often compared to the mandolin.
While the balalaika is the workhorse of the orchestra,
playing constantly throughout every piece, the domra is
often the showpiece of the music, playing the melody and
elaborate rich tunes. St. Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra
also includes accordions which complement the sounds of the
balalaika and domra.
4 p.m. - Mosaica
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mosaica-Folk-Ensemble/343336242538
Mosaica
was formed in a coffee house in Maplewood, Minnesota when a
core group of musicians accepted the challenge of putting
together a playlist that covered all genres of music from
Eastern European to Old Time to popular standards and
ballads of the 20th century. In May 2008 Mosaica debuted at
the Festival of Nations in St.
Paul
Minnesota. Mosaica provided the dance music for the Chabry
Teen Polish Folk Dance Group and the Dolina Polish Folk
Dancers. In June 2008 Mosaica performed at Catholic Elder
Care providing music for a Sunday social. It was at this
performance Mosaica was able to show off its creativity and
versatility in the selection of songs and musical
arrangements Mosaica performed. Mosaica continues to perform
at Catholic Elder Care as well as other venues and music
festivals and concerts. In 2009 and 2010 Mosaica performed
at the Twin Cities Polish Festival. Mosaica prides itself in
its unique blend of musical styles and arrangements.
5:30 p.m. – Brass
Barn Polka Band
www.brassbarnpolka.com
We are a polka band
comprised of all U of M music students, both undergrad and
graduate. We bring a fun college experience to
traditional polka music, offering improvisation and
rock/popular styles to our playing. We are loud and
entertaining to listen to!
7 p.m. – The
Upshot
www.reverbnation.com/theupshot
Katie
Kramarczuk’s band!
The Upshot were formed in December of 2009
when KTK (V), LUC (G), and MVM (B) saw the end of their
previous band, The No-No's.
8:45 p.m. -
Romantica
http://romanticamusic.com/
Romantica plays lush, richly
orchestrated pop-folk made rural by twangy pedal steel. Led
by an Irishman, the music contains references to Ireland but
is placed firmly in the rich musical traditions of American
country and folk music. Their latest release, Control Alt
Country Delete, was written and recorded in one day in
Austin, TX on March 23, 2009. The result is like a poignant
and revealing peephole into the writing and recording
process as we listen to songs recorded as they are
still being written, the band discussing arrangements as
they go and even a fleeting moment of internal tension.
Romantica’s 2007 sophomore album, America, has
won numerous accolades, including two awards from the
International Songwriting Competition. PASTE Magazine
gave the album 4 Stars and ranked it #58 on their list of
the "TOP 100 ALBUMS of 2007". The Onion,
Minneapolis Star Tribune, and City Pages have all
called America one of the "Best Local Albums of 2007"
and it has been popping up on blog “Best of the Decade”
lists as well. Romantica has performed with Ryan Adams and
Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek), toured with Carrie
Rodriguez, showcased at SxSW and The Americana Music
Conference and their music has been added to the in-flight
music on Sun Country Airlines flights as part of their MN
Music Campaign. Romantica will release their third studio
album in July 2010 and were invited to showcase at SxSW and
perform at the Calgary Folk Festival this year.
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