Great Northern Radio Show: The Company

GNRSlogoKBXE.jpgThis week I’m busy preparing the Great Northern Radio Show, which makes its Season 3 debut this Saturday, Oct. 19 at Crosby-Ironton High School in Crosby, Minnesota. Please, consider joining us for the live show in Crosby (seating before 4:30 p.m., free!) or tuning in on the radio or live online feed (5-7 p.m.).

Throughout the week I’ll tell you a little about the talent we have lined up for this show, continuing today with … well, the kitchen sink. I’m going to talk about everybody except Aallotar and Faith Boblett, who I already talked about.

dave_petersonFirst up, Dave Peterson. Dave is from the Crosby area and is well known in local music circles. He’s a bluegrass man, but plays across many genres including gospel and rock. He plays weddings, community suppers and festivals all year long, but he’s one of those local musicians who often get overlooked as “the guy who plays all the events.” He’s a truly talented player who also writes his own material, which he’ll be sharing on the Great Northern Radio Show. One of his songs in particular will hit a strong emotional chord in this show.

We have some local young people in the show, too. John Stokman, a senior at CI-HS and a singer/songwriter, will have a song. And the young violin phenoms Annie and Teresa Goodwin are slated to appear as well.

I’m excited to say that one of my mentors, certainly on the topic of Iron Range history, Pam Brunfelt will be on the program. Pam teaches at Vermilion Community College in Ely, but spent many years as the director of the Crow Wing County Historical Society. She’s one of the best-published authors on the topic of the Cuyuna Iron Range and has done vast amounts of research on the history of Crosby area. She’ll be delving into two fascinating, sometimes heartbreaking stories about the area.

We’ll have interviews with Aaron Hautala of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Association (and all-around Cuyuna booster), along with a student from the high school to tell us about things going on there.

Our cast for this show is stacked. C.J. Anderson, star of the Brainerd and Eveleth shows, will be back, along with Nancy Waller and Jon Bjorkquist from that same Brainerd show. Britt Aamodt, a KFAI radio producer, writer and Twin Cities theater director/performer in her own right, will be rounding out the cast in her Great Northern debut, a very fortuitous last-minute add.

Our Great Northern regulars — piano man and day laborer Nickolai Koivunen and the esteemed Scott Hanson on sound effects — are back, along with director Shelly Hanson and our sound team led by Dan Houg and Chris Julson from Northern Community Radio. Our associate producer Kelly Gustavsson, who designed many of our set pieces and has played a key backstage role, has moved on to California, but in her place we’ll have past GNRS rookie phenom Erika Kooda.

These shows always stress me out for months ahead of time, until this time a few days before the show when I realize the show is coming together and we just have to get to the town and execute the plan. I have high hopes for this one and have advised my own family that they should be in attendance (and if you knew my family, you’d know why that is a good sign).

Stay tuned this week for more news about the Great Northern Radio Show, broadcasting 5-7 p.m. on Northern Community Radio on Saturday, Oct. 19 from Crosby-Ironton High School.

Comments

  1. The Crow Wing County Historical Society is exceptional. I’ve donated pictures and such in the past and take my boys in there every so often. Sounds like a great show…

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