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Red Rock art center looks ahead to new season

FAIRMONT — The Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont just announced its upcoming concert series. The 2019-20 concert series kicks off in September with family-friendly evening performances by a variety of artists.

“We’ve always done musical performances but the series started in 2012,” said Red Rock director, Sonja Fortune.

Fortune said she does a lot of research and talks to other venues in order to find the performers.

“They’re really high quality musicians and we’re really pleased with the quality that they bring to our center. This year we have three that are pretty local and the other three are coming from farther away,” Fortune said.

The Lowest Pair, a double banjo pair with Minnesota roots is the first performance on Friday, Sept. 13.

Paul and Kristin Johnson, a classical opera duo from Blue Earth, preform on Saturday, Oct. 12. The pair are both classically trained. A special VIP dinner will be held prior to the concert so advance tickets are required.

“I’m super excited about that one. They performed here once before and it sounded just beautiful in here,” Fortune said.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, Wild Ponies will perform. The Nashville duo grew up in Virginia an is inspired by old-time American music. Their show will include folk, rock and roll and country.

Every December, Red Rock is known for their holiday concert with pianist and entertainer Glen Henricksen. He will perform on Friday, Dec. 13. Henricksen comes from Armstrong. Advance tickets are required for the performance.

Twin Kennedy will perform on Friday, Feb. 21. The sisters and their string instruments will come from across the Canadian border with songs from an album they will be releasing this winter.

On Friday, May 8, Galaxy Band will perform. The local group will perform favorites from the 50’s, 60’s and more.

All of the musicians are paid for their performances, but Fortune said they never break even without the help of grant funding.

“Ticket sales cover about 40 percent of the cost of the performers. We get grant funds that help us break even with our concert series,” she explained.

The funding comes from the Minnesota Arts and Culture Heritage Grant.

Last year, the Red Rock Center introduced beer and wine during the series so people can enjoy a cocktail or two while listening to the performances. Fortune said they had received quite a few requests for it so they got the proper licensing for it.

Season passes are now on sale at HyVee in Fairmont and at the online box office at www.redrockcenter.org. Season passes are $50, which gets you in to all six shows.

“It actually comes out to be about $8 per concert if you buy the pass,” Fortune said.

Individual tickets can be purchased in advance for $12 or at the door for $15.

“We have a unique venue and there’s an ever-changing art show that people can enjoy, too. There’s the visual and the performing all in one location.”

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