Monroe Crossing to perform in Staples

Minnesota Music Hall of Fame bluegrass artist Monroe Crossing will perform at Centennial Auditorium in Staples on Saturday, February 23, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert is a part of the Staples Motley Area Arts Council’s season and is underwritten by Arvig Communications.

Known as “the Midwest’s Premier Bluegrass & Gospel Quintet,” Monroe Crossing routinely performs to sellout audiences at theatres, operas houses and Performing Arts centers across the US, Canada and Europe. They are known both for their dynamic stage show and for the warmth they share on and off stage, interacting with the audience and always honoring requests after the intermission.

They are touring in support of their brand new CD, “The Road Has No End.” This, their lucky 13th CD, features the songwriting talents of band members Derek Johnson, Mark Anderson and Lisa Fuglie.

Named in honor of Bill Monroe, “the Father of Bluegrass,” Monroe Crossing also recently released a tribute CD, “Monroe Crossing Plays the Songs of Bill Monroe,” which features 15 classic bluegrass songs made famous by the “Big Mon” himself, and their third all-gospel recording, “Joy, Joy, Joy.”

Founded in 2000, Monroe Crossing plays well over 125 shows a year, including The Big Top Chautauqua in Bayfield WI, Branson’s Silver Dollar City, the legendary Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View AR, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and in February 2013, they will debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City. They are a 2007 inductee into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, and were invited by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) to showcase at the 2007 IBMA World of Bluegrass convention in Nashville.

“I dare ANYONE to watch Monroe Crossing and not get happy!” wrote D.A. Callaway, of Silver Dollar City in Branson.

Still to come on this year’s Arts Council season is Collman & Miller, a piano duo featuring Richard Collman, the former pastor of the United Methodist Church of Motley, in an intimate evening of chamber music. For more information, check out the Arts Council’s website at http://staplesmotleyarts.org/

Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students in advance, $15 and $1 at the door. Tickets are available on line, at the Arts Council’s website, and also at the Staples Motley Public Schools Community Education Office at 218.894.2497. Anyone purchasing five or more Advance sale tickets to any event, or series of events, at the Community Education Office will receive a special season price of only $10 per ticket. The five ticket discount is not available on line

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