CROSBY, Minnesota – The Great Northern Radio Show will broadcast its live traveling radio program from the stage of the Mayberry Auditorium at Crosby-Ironton High School in Crosby, Minnesota from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19. The show, a production of Northern Community Radio (kaxe.org), combines music, comedy and storytelling to showcase the unique culture of northern Minnesota.
This broadcast will include several musical guests, including AALLOTAR, a Finnish folk duo featuring northern Minnesota native Sara Pajunen on violin and Finnish accordionist Teija Niku. The duo explores their deep roots in Finnish folk music, merging the unique sounds of Finland and the Iron Range with instruments and vocal performance.
Sara Pajunen and Teija Niku re-imagine Finnish folk music with Transatlantic perspective in AALLOTAR.
Emerging Minneapolis singer/songwriter Faith Boblett, who grew up near Crosby, will play new songs in her versatile country folk style. Crosby area bluegrass artist David Peterson will also perform, along with young musicians from the Cuyuna Iron Range.
Faith Boblett is an up-and-coming Minneapolis singer/songwriter with roots in the Crosby area.
The Great Northern Radio Players troupe for this show includes C.J. Anderson of Pequot Lakes and Nancy Waller of Breezy Point, along with students from Crosby-Ironton and other surprise performers. Guests in this program include noted Cuyuna Range historian Pam Brunfelt, mountain biking enthusiast and Cuyuna Range booster Aaron Hautala and students from Crosby-Ironton HS.
Aaron Brown is the producer, writer and host of the Great Northern Radio Show.
The Great Northern Radio Show debuted two years ago, founded by northern Minnesota author and radio producer Aaron Brown. Brown produces, writes and hosts the program, each one tailored for the area where the show broadcasts. Past sites have included Hibbing, Bemidji, Brainerd, Eveleth, Bigfork, Bagley and Grand Rapids.
Dave Peterson
“Our mission is to honor the people of small towns and back woods with a show that most any fan of music and comedy will enjoy.” said Brown. “I’m particularly excited to come to Crosby because my great-grandfather and grandfather both worked the iron mines here in the 1950s. It’s a chance to creatively explore the past while producing a living work of art for people here now.
The show airs from 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 19 on Northern Community Radio, including 91.7 KAXE (Grand Rapids/Iron Range), 90.5 KBXE (Bagley/Bemidji), 89.9 FM (Brainerd) and 103.9 FM (Ely), and live streaming at KAXE.org. People are encouraged to attend the live broadcast. Admission is free and first-come, first-served. Past audiences have ranged from 200 too 600. The audience is asked to be seated by 4:30 p.m. in order to be ready for the live broadcast at 5.
“The real advantage of attending the show live is to see how we texture the sound that radio listeners hear,” said Brown. “It’s our gift to the people of the host community. You become part of the show. People who have seen our show once usually try to get to future broadcasts, because it’s a value you just can’t find anywhere else.”
After Crosby, the show will resume its tour of seasonal programs, with a Dec. 14 holiday show in Fosston and stops in Virginia and Ely in 2014.
Brown is the author of “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range,” which won the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award. A columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune for more than a decade, Brown teaches communication at Hibbing Community College and has been a contributing producer for Northern Community Radio since 2003.
The Great Northern Radio Show is made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and support from the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota. For more information about the Great Northern Radio Show, contact Northern Community Radio at 218-326-1234.
To hear past podcasts of the Great Northern Radio Show, check out the program site at KAXE.org.
Happy to hear GNRS is coming to Crosby. We will definitely try to make it.