
You might recall that the Great Northern Radio Show broadcast from the Reif Center last month. I write, host and produce the show for Northern Community Radio. We just released the podcast episodes this week.
The first episode is titled “Nostalgia.” We put together a collection of music, comedy and stories exploring that fuzzy feeling about a past that might not have been as magical as we remember it.
The second episode is “Summer Nights.” This program takes you inside a hot summer night in Northern Minnesota, from the bugs to the bonfires and everything in between.
Our musical guests for this program included the Holy Hootenanners, the Don’t Tell Darlings and our house band led by Katie Houg. This time we dubbed the band Katie and the Nostalgics.
The Great Northern Radio Players included C.J. Anderson, Rachel Brandt, Jason Scorich, Louisa Scorich, Lauren Nickisch on foley effects and young actors Lydia Mariano and Douglas Brown. I joined in some of the sketches, along with my usual mix of monologues and storytelling.
The production team for the show included Northern Community Radio director of operations Sarah Bignall, along with Heidi Holtan, Tammy Bobrowsky, and Jennifer Poenix. Our sound engineer is Dan Houg, with help from Chad Haatvedt and John Miller at the Reif Center. Penny Holcomb is the bookkeeper. Grant Frashier takes pictures of the rehearsals and live show.
I’m not sure MinnesotaBrown readers are hungry to read all these names, but I just want to convey that it takes a heck of a lot of people to make these shows. I’m amazed at the talent they bring to the program. Plenty more folks at the station contribute as well, along with all the folks who send me ideas and help me develop concepts for the show.
Our next broadcast will be Nov. 17, 2018 at the Hibbing High School auditorium. That’s a huge hall. We’ve got jazz singer Connie Evingson, a Hibbing native, along with an all star band led by Sam Miltich. The Hibbing boogie woogie trio Company B will also reunite for the show.
We’re working on some cool stuff for 2019. I’ll let you know when we’ve got it fully cooked.






