German band to play at outdoor Coon Rapids concert
by Peter Bodley
Managing Editor
German music will be featured at Coon Rapids Arts Commission’s seventh concert of its 2011 summer outdoor series at the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park.
Elk River German Band
The Elk River German Band will play in the park’s performance pavilion at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 21.
The Elk River German Band was formed about 25 years ago when several musicians assembled to play for a community function, according to the band’s website.
Since then the band has grown to its present size of 10 musicians including nine instrumentalists and a female vocalist.
The majority of band members live in the south-central region of Minnesota. Present membership includes both amateur and professional musicians.
The band has played at festivals in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin, including the Oktoberfest and Heritagefest in New Ulm, the Minnesota State Fair, Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest and Germanfests in Milwaukee, Wis., and Sioux Falls, S.D.
In 1994 the band made a two-week performance tour of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
According to the band’s website, the Elk River German Band features the Bavarian style of German music and has produced several recordings, available on cassette tape and compact disc.
There are two concerts remaining in the summer concert series’ 2011 schedule.
• July 28, The Hillbilly Mafia, top 40 country.
• Aug. 4, Kevin Anthony and the Twin City Playboys, cajun.
Boy Scout Troop 524 from Epiphany Church is handling popcorn/beverage/candy concessions, while the North Star Lions Club provides food concessions at the concerts.
The Coon Rapids Arts Commission, which is an advisory commission of the Coon Rapids City Council, also sponsors a four-concert dessert and coffee series at the Coon Rapids Civic Center over the winter months.
Peter Bodley is at peter.bodley@ecm-inc.com
