The Roadhouse

Kerri Westenberg is the travel editor for the Star Tribune. She speaks with host CJ Heitoff on the Roadhouse about her collaboration with Brian Peterson's book "Minnesota State of Wonders".

Can Do Canines is a Twin Cities based non-profit that partners people with disabilities with specially-trained dogs. Volunteer coordinator Laurie Carlson speaks with host Dave Tersteeg on the Roadhouse. 

Local bluesman and fingerstyle guitarist Gordon Thorne returns to the Roadhouse ahead of the annual Fingerstyle Masters Weekend, April 21 and 22, in Tofte.

For this year’s event, Gordon welcomes Nashville fingerstyle guitarist Richard Smith and Twin Cities fiddler Tom Schaefer. The weekend features performances both Friday and Saturday night, as well as guitar and fiddle workshops during the day Saturday.
 
The event kicks off with a free concert at 8 pm, Friday, April 21, at the Bluefin Grille, featuring Gordon and friends playing blues, swing and early Americana.  For those looking to fine tune their own musical skills, workshops will be offered starting at 10 am Saturday, April 22, and are open to musicians of all ages and skill levels. There will be a fingerstyle workshop with Richard Smith and Gordon Thorne and a fiddle workshop with Tom Schaefer – both are $60 and include lunch.  Pre-registration for the workshops is requested by contacting Gordon at 218-353-7308 or [email protected].
 
The event caps off with a concert featuring Richard Smith at 7:30 pm Saturday, April 22 in the upper room of the Bluefin Grille. Tickets for the Saturday evening concert are $20 per person and will be available at the door, or in advance by contacting Gordon at 218-353-7308 or [email protected].  Everyone is welcome to attend any or all of the events as part of the Fingerstyle Masters Weekend.  Funding for this event is supported in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Eric Dregni is an author and associate professor of English, Italian, and Journalism at Concordia University. He speaks with Dave Tersteeg about his new book You're Sending Me Where?: Dispatches from Summer Camp and running the university's Italian language camp.

Donn Branstrator is a professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Duluth and a researcher at the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center. He talks with host CJ Heitoff about spiny water flea.

Evergreen Grass Band returns with high-energy bluegrass to the Roadhouse. They are joined by Cook County's own Bill Hansen on dobro ahead of a gig at the Gunflint Tavern.

A research team at the U of MN has developed a sponge that can absorb mercury from a polluted water source in seconds. Dave talked with the team's leader, Prof. Abdennour Abbas, of the department of bioproducts and biosystems engineering at the U. You can learn more about his lab here.

Local singer/songwriter Joe Paulik stopped by Studio A to chat with Dave and CJ, and to play a few songs, both covers and original compositions. Listen for some wonderful whistling, too. Joe's new double album, "Zaspalo Je Siroce," can be found at Birch Bark Books and at Joe's performances around the region.

The award-winning Minnesota SkyVault Theater, from Rochester,  was in town for Shakespeare week to perform at Voyageur Brewing. Troupe members Aidan Driscoll and Rebekah Novinger, along with director Daved Driscoll and coordinator Charis O'Neill, stopped by The Roadhouse to preview their delightful original music and chat about their work.

Sparta, Minn.-based Rich Mattson and the Northstars joined us in Studio A during membership drive for great original music.