Faron Wahl, Manager.

We’re gearing up for round two of our three-part summer concert series, and I’m personally thrilled we could land this one. I aim to creatively invest in solid talent, as I believe the dividends are worth pursuing for the Village and this community. In support of this concert budget juggle going on in my office, East River Electric and Sioux Valley Energy together kicked in a sponsorship to help keep this project boosted as we establish it firmly for the long term. My hat is off to them.

The pursuit of each year’s entertainment begins easily a year in advance. After working a good bit on the possibility of this upcoming performance last fall, it was a really great day when their agent and I agreed verbally on a pending contract for them: The Redhead Express.

This dynamic and gifted group, mostly members of the same family, left their home in Alaska in late 2007 to begin officially touring soon thereafter. More than ten years and 3,000-plus shows later, they’ll be taking our Opera House stage Saturday, July 6 at 7:00 pm. We can’t wait.

What do they play, exactly? Well, they feature guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, and percussion, stacked with a seamless vocal blend that’ll make you really glad you have a seat at the show. They bring a heavy American folk background, easily extending into jazz, blues, rock, pop, and both early and modern country music. They will tell you themselves that their style defies a single label.

And due to growing young families within their group, the Express recently announced they will soon be disbanding and re-organizing differently, with some of the same members remaining but others moving on to only appear occasionally in future guest roles. So, their current trip around the country that began June 14th in Carthage, IL is being billed as the Farewell Tour for the Redhead Express, the last schedule of stops for this group assembled as it was from the beginning.

Screen printed apparel currently being sold by these performers testifies to those of us serendipitously included in this last pass of performances. There we are – Madison, SD – printed on their final tour schedule t-shirts, smack in between Independence, MO and Smyrna, TN. The list also includes distant locations such as Brunswick, MD and Ellensberg, WA, but we’re the only mention in the upper Dakotas region of the United States. Darn fortunate for us.

I’m deeply committed to a specific recipe for our concert series: chisel out ways to bring excellent sound and talent just above the edge of what people imagine we could have here, which in turn keeps chipping away at previously open seats at these events. As the word is spreading, more folks are jumping in, discovering how good the talent truly is and that they don’t have to drive to Sioux Falls – or make their wallet go up in smoke – to score a couple of tickets to splendid musical entertainment.

There’s only one way you won’t be left wishing later you’d have heard the Redhead Express: get your tickets now. They are available for purchase seven days a week, either by calling us at 256-3644 or by stopping by our gift shop from 10-5 daily (11-5 Sundays). And yes, any leftover tickets will be up for sale at the door, but as stated previously, we’re closing in on our goal to sell out the house to these events.

We’d love to have you be part of the fun in helping us achieve that goal, rather than getting turned away late because you learn someone else helped us do it by purchasing the last seats. We sure hope to see you there!