Music in the Café

Music in the Café welcomes musicians to the Musser Cortile for four Thursday lunch hour performances. The concerts are a great opportunity to hear talented local musicians. Past Music in the Café musicians have gone on to be featured at the Dakota Jazz Club and on NBC’s The Voice! They are free and open to the public. Guests are invited to bring their lunch or purchase one from Anita’s Café. Music in the Café is sponsored in part by KFAI Radio with additional support from the Minnesota Music Coalition.

All concerts are 12-1 pm.

2019 Line up:

June 13: Pushing Chain

Pushing Chain was formed in 2012 by Boyd Blomberg and Adam Moe. The duo, which has been performing together in various manifestations since 1997, plays Folky-Tonk music featuring Blomberg on guitar and vocals and Moe on the fiddle and vocals. Strong songwriting, tight harmonies, and a gonzo approach have been winning fans for Pushing Chain across the Midwest and beyond.

June 27: The Crow’s Delight

Brian and Sheralyn Barnes are The Crow’s Delight. They love to travel, in music as well as in real life. For music, they mash up Irish traditional, folk, swing, gypsy, pop/British New Wave and world music into shiny gems of song.

July 11: Peter Kogan Trio, featuring Abebi Stafford, piano and Ted Olson, bass

Peter Kogan, percussionist and composer, has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Lyra/Baroque Orchestra. The Peter Kogan Quartet and Septet (The Monsterful Wonderband) perform regularly at clubs around the Twin Cities. Kogan’s newest album “The Green Album” was released in November 2018.

Abebi Stafford, from Atlanta, Georgia, has been playing Jazz and Classical piano since he was 9 years old. He’s headlined in the Atlanta and Minneapolis/St. Paul Jazz festivals in 2002. In 2013 and 2014 he released his 3rd album “Are Changing” which is his first album containing all original works.

Ted Olsen is a bassist and composer from Minneapolis. As a bandleader his groups have been featured at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, The Artists’ Quarter, and Icehouse. He has also performed at Nocturne Jazz Club in Denver, CO and Festival No Improviso in Curitiba, Brazil. In composition he won the 2012 Eric Stokes Song Contest held by the American Composers’ Forum.

July 25: SisterTree with special guest and Celtic harpist, Quentin Vestur

SisterTree is a Celtic/Americana folk duo featuring radiant harmonies for strings and voices from Minneapolis. Kerri Joy and Dee Brust breathe new life into songs both modern and ancient, stir up dancers with rousing tune sets, and fill hearts to the brim with timeless melodies. With a five year history of playing together these vibrant women offer solace through soulful performance.