The Grand Marais Ole Opry on February 15 will feature classic country on the Arrowhead Center for the Arts stage performed by local favorites Russ Viton, Amanda Hand, Barb LaVigne and Yvonne Mills, as well as some wonderful visiting musicians, the DitchLilies and Sarah York and Clancy Ward.
The North Shore Music Association will present The Grand Marais Ole Opry, a classic country showcase featuring local and regional musicians playing tunes made famous by artists such as Hank Williams Sr., Patsy Cline, and Roy Acuff.
The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. Emceed by WTIP Classic Country host Carl Solander, the evening’s lineup includes longtime Prairie Home Companion dobro and steel guitar master Cal Hand and his daughter, local singer/songwriter Amanda Hand.
Also featured are The DitchLilies of Maiden Rock, Wis., Sarah York & Clancy Ward of Port Wing, Wis., and Grand Marais’ own Yvonne Mills, Barb LaVigne and Russ Viton.
Cal Hand is a dobro and steel guitar master who was part of the 1960s and ‘70s band the Sorry Muthas, as well as a frequent Biscuit Band collaborator and long-time member of the A Praire Home Companion band. Over the years, he has backed up artists such as Leo Kottke and Peter Lang, and he still plays with Bill and Judy and various Twin Cities bands.
Cal Hand is a dobro and steel guitar master who has been a longtime member of the A Prairie Home Companion band. The audience at the February 15 will be treated to a performance by Cal and his daughter Amanda.
One of his favorite gigs is making music with his daughter Amanda, who has a lifelong passion for music that grows out of all the fabulous music and merry-making that filled her house growing up. She is an intermittent songwriter and performer, loves world percussion and sharing music making with families through her early childhood music program.
Wisconsin’s American and International Roots duo, The DitchLilies, have been in musical cahoots since 1998. Kari Larson and Lisa Schultz are stringed multi-instrumentalists/ vocalists with a soft spot and keen enthusiasm for early swing, old-time mountain music, world roots and juke joint songs from the golden era. Together, they turn back in time to dust off the rare and forgotten tunes or to hone the familiar tried and true melodies with the aim of carrying them forward to share with audiences of today
Clancy Ward & Sarah York, an old-time country duo from the south shore of Lake Superior, are devoted to keeping rural musical traditions alive. With Clancy on fiddle and Sarah on banjo and guitar, they bust out dance tunes and sing together with family style harmony. For the last 14 years they have played various festivals, concerts, house parties and barn dances in the Midwest and beyond.
Yvonne Mills, Barb LaVigne, and Russ Viton can be heard jamming at Grand Marais’ monthly music circle and performing tunes gorgeously, in various band configurations, at gigs around the Cook County.
Call the Music Association at (218) 387-1272 for more information or advance tickets.
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