Art Hounds: Three concerts in old and new spaces

A musician plays a guitar on stage
Andrew Wilkowske of Guns N' Rosenkavalier, performing at the Mill City museum in 2014. The band will perform at the Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing, Minn., Saturday.
Courtesy image

St Paul vocalist Jennifer Eckes is heading to the historic Sheldon Theatre of Performing Arts in Red Wing, Minn., on Saturday for a concert by Guns N’ Rosenkavalier. The group is led by Twin Cities opera singer Andrew Wilkowske on electric guitar, performing a lineup that is part classic art song recital, part rock concert.

Eckes appreciates Wilkowske’s musicianship as well as his sense of humor as he mashes genres together. “It's really fun and fascinating to hear a German art song with an electric guitar.”

“It's just as exciting to hear a Bruce Springsteen tune sung by a full voice baritone. A good song is a good song, whether it was written by Strauss or Van Halen,” Eckes said. “No matter where you come from on the spectrum of your musical knowledge, I think anyone can enjoy this concert because you probably will recognize something.”

The show starts at 7:30. Masks are required.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.


Adam Tervola-Hultberg is a music teacher in Pillager, in north-central Minnesota, looking forward to a performance by a cappella group Tonic Sol Fa on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The show, along with a performance by Minnesota musician Kat Perkins on Thursday, marks the grand opening of Pillager Public School’s new CTC Center for the Performing Arts.

The four-man a cappella group based in Minnesota performs arrangements of pop music fit for young and old. Tonic Sol Fa’s tour of Minnesota in October and November includes Brainerd, Bemidji, Alexandria and Rochester.


Brandon Henry, lead singer of the Twin Cities Americana band Art Vandalay, is thrilled that the Landmark Live concert series has returned after last year’s hiatus. The series brings top-notch musicians from across Minnesota and the country to perform on the third Friday of each month, now through December.

Friday’s show features indie singer-songwriter Mary Bue, who was named best songwriter in the Twin Cities for 2020 by City Pages. Henry loves the intimate feel of the F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium in the historic Landmark Center in St. Paul, where he says “you can hear every pluck of the strings.”

Tickets include a cocktail hour at 7 p.m., where Henry appreciates the chance to hang out with other music fans and occasionally meet the performing artists. Music starts at 8. Masks are required inside the building.

This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.