Minnesota State Mankato Announces Spring 2025 Music Performance Series Season
Minnesota State University, Mankato Department of Performing Arts News Release
Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State University, Mankato Department of Performing Arts announces its spring Performance Series schedule of visiting artist concert events. In addition to the professional artist series, the Department of Performing Arts will offer a number of student ensemble concerts over the course of the spring semester.
Events are made possible in part by a grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund, as appropriated by the Minnesota State legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008. Additional funding is provided by Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, the Nadine B. Andreas Endowment and KMSU The Maverick.
Spring semester Performance Series concert and artist highlights include:
Sunday, Jan. 26: GREG PARTAIN is a concert pianist and composer who has appeared as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist onstage for 24 years in several countries around the world including the U.S., Germany, Poland, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Russia and Greece. BBC Music Magazine, American Record Guide, and Gramophone have all praised his “intelligent” and “sympathetic” musicianship.
Saturday, Feb. 1: TRIBUTE TO ELTON JOHN. The “One Night Only Live” Elton John Tribute is a premiere Elton John Tribute show that features a full band, sound, light, and Elton production. The show takes the best of Elton’s greatest hits and brings them to life by mixing the Elton John “One Night Only Live” concert with the “Spirit of Live” 1989 Verona Italy Tour.
Tuesday, Feb. 4: ANDREA LYN is an award winning, roots-rock singer-songwriter creating a fusion of country, rock, and folk in her music. She instantly connects with listeners and offers a warm sense of relatability from the stage. Lyn captivates with her nostalgic melodies and poignant lyrics, and delivers an irresistible concert experience. Her third album, “The Wolves,” can be found on every music platform and aired in 2024 on FM 106.1, 105.5, 105.7, The Current 89.3 and Minnesota Public Radio.
Tuesday, Feb. 18: DEBBIE ANTHONY recently completed “More To Be Said,” featuring a wide, stylistic musical range. Recorded at MOXE, an airy, light-bathed studio and creative retreat on 20 wooded acres in Nashville, “More To Be Said” features some of Music City’s most accomplished and compassionate musicians, with fast-rising studio ace Gena Johnson (Grammy award - Engineer 2022; Academy of Country Music Award nominated - Engineer 2021 and 2022) helming the production.
Thursday, Feb. 20: TAB BENOIT, a four-time Grammy-nominated artist, returns to Mankato with his “I Hear Thunder” tour. Renowned for his distinctive guitar tone and Otis Redding-esque voice, Benoit has been a captivating figure in the roots music world for over thirty years. Benoit’s personal growth and advancement as a songwriter and musician have culminated in a benchmark recording. His new self-produced album, “I Hear Thunder,” for his imprint, Whiskey Bayou Records, is a testament to his fiery exuberance that first marked his career in 1992. The record not only showcases his artistic brilliance but also his profound commitment to environmental advocacy, a legacy that extends beyond the stage into the heart of the land that inspires his bluesy soul.
Tuesday, Feb. 25: MARY JANE ALM is an effervescent singer/songwriter who has been delighting audiences for a number of years. From smokey bars to glorious concert halls in every small town in the Midwest to exciting places all over the country and beyond, Alm has been entertaining audiences with her pristine vocals and charming stage presence. She has been inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, twice inducted into the Midwest Music Hall of Fame and has won many Minnesota Music Awards. Alm returns to her alma mater and is excited to celebrate the evening with the very talented Brian C. Peters, guitar and pedal steel, and former bandmate Dale Haefner, piano.
Tuesday, March 4: KRIS DELMHORST is an American songwriter, singer, instrumentalist and producer currently residing in Massachusetts. With over 25 years as an independent artist to her credit, she has built a body of work characterized by a wide-ranging, genre-agnostic curiosity and constant collaboration. In addition to nine critically acclaimed studio albums, she has performed thousands of shows across the U.S. and Europe. The ERIK KOSKINEN BAND will open the show.
Thursday, March 6: TRAMPLED BY TURTLES are from Duluth, Minnesota, where frontman Dave Simonett initially formed the group as a side project in 2003. Trampled by Turtles released their first record, “Songs from a Ghost Town,” in 2004. In a genre steeped in tradition, the album stood out for its contemporary sound, essentially bridging the gap between the bandmates’ background in rock music and their new acoustic leanings. Their crossover appeal landed them at major bluegrass and folk festivals, including Coachella, ACL Fest, and Lollapalooza. The official concert album, “Live at First Avenue,” was recorded at Minnesota’s most famous venue. Countless tours with bands like the Avett Brothers, Lord Huron and Wilco, to name a few, have followed.
Tuesday, April 1: MADELINE ROGER is a singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Canada. While skillfully accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, it is her artistry as a songwriter that can silence a room, uniting her lyrical prowess with breathtaking melodies that linger long after they are sung. She has toured extensively across Canada, Europe, the United States, and the UK sharing her music live at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Shetland Island Folk Festival, Vancouver Island Music Festival and Stan Rogers Folk Festival, among many others.
Wednesday, April 2: JON CLEARY is a New Orleans piano legend and a contemporary of Dr. John, Henry Butler and Allan Toussaint. Cleary is famous for his Crescent City keyboard style, from Jelly Roll Morton to Fats Domino to Art Neville, James Booker and beyond. Cleary uses that century’s worth of pianistic brilliance as a point of departure to forge his own unique and eclectic style. At an early age, Cleary worked juke joints and road gigs with Earl King and Snooks Eaglin. Cleary was a sideman for BB King and Taj Mahal, and later with Bonnie Raitt’s band for 10 years.
In addition to Performance Series events, the Department of Performing Arts will offer a number of student ensemble concerts including the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, Elisabeth Cherland, conductor; University Gospel Choir, Courtland Pickens, conductor; Concert Wind Ensemble, Amy Roisum Foley, conductor; the Jazz Mavericks Big Band, Sarah Costello, director; and Contemporary Vocal Ensembles, Stephanie Thorpe, Nick Wayne and Christina Smith, co-directors.
Online ticketing is available at hss.mnsu.edu/music-events or call the Performance Series office, 507-389-5549.
