View from the Stage with Joseph DeMasi
The Bridges Arts Council along with the Valley City Parks and Rec Dept are happy and proud to announce our summer Concert Series in both City Park and Pioneer Park.
Sunday afternoons in Pioneer Park Amphitheater Concert Series will be held the second and fourth Sunday’s in June -12 and 26 July-10 and 24, August-14 and 28th at 530 pm.
Wednesday Concert in the Park kicks off on Wed June 1st and runs every Wed through Aug 17 at 7 pm.
The Pioneer Park June 12th Concert opens that series and features a new and exciting bluegrass group called “the Bluestems”.
They are a family of ranch kids from Elgin, ND who exploded onto the upper mid west bluegrass music scene when they took 1st place at the MBOTMA Festival in Minnesota just a few short years ago. The amazing thing about this family of ranch kids, the Bluestems, (aka the Meyer family) is not their musicianship, which is excellent, or their talent, which is outstanding or even their vocal ability, which is superb, but the fact that they are literally kids! Mya on fiddle, mandolin and lead vocals is 16, Sadie on guitar and vocals is 14, Malachi on banjo is 13 and Micah on bass is only 10! They play a mixture of bluegrass, country and gospel music and you’ll be sure to hear a little Flatt and Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Ian Munsick and even Dolly Parton at one of their shows! Seasoned musicians from all across the Midwest have been so impressed with “the Bluestems” that they were invited by the ND Bluegrass Association to open the very first Blizzard Bluegrass Festival back in 2019 and the recommendations have not stopped since. They keep a very busy touring schedule in between school and helping out on the ranch with chores.
Their favorite thing about sharing their love of music is the people that they meet. And if you are lucky, you may get to see little sisters Molly, who plays dobro and Maggie join in on stage for a tune or two as well! This is a show you do NOT want to miss
Other shows lined up for Sundays in Pioneer Park include the return of the DeMasi Brothers, a wonderful folk music duo, Comedy Revue featuring Spenser Thomas and two other great comedians, the Valley Voices, a Spoken Word event and more.
Music in the park kicks off on Wed June 1st with a great fiddle player Dan Brekke and his band playing a tribute to country music legends. Other shows include Kathy Brekke and the 42nd St Jazz Band, Evie Andrus, Kroshus and Krew, the Golden Notes, Micalea’s Dance Studio, Myron Sommerfeld, Greg Hager, the Imperials, Tucker’d Out, Sue Ann Berson and the Maajo Sisters.
So as you can see, we have a fantastic line up of entertainment planned for this summer here in Valley City. But remember, it is not a show without an audience so we are counting on you all to come out again as you have done so often in the past and support these great artists and this great entertainment. Remember all shows are absolutely FREE and open to everyone of all ages. In case of inclement weather, the Concert hall at VCSU is our backup so the shows will go on regardless of the weather.
Please remember to bring a lawn chair for the City Park Wed Music in the Park Concert Series. You may want to bring a cushion to our Sunday’s in Pioneer Park Concert Series.
Thanks again for you support and we’ll see you all on Wed. June 1st at 715 pm in City Park and Sunday June 12th at 530pm in Pioneer Park to kick off our summer concert series.
Until next time, I’ll see you from the stage.