John Gorka live at 411 Concert Series
Northfield Arts Guild Theater
304 Division Street, Northfield, MN

November 16, 2012

John Gorka, Jon Manners kick off 411 Concert Series

Friday, November 9, 2012
By ASHLEY KLEMER

The 411 Concert Series was created with one goal in mind: to bring well-known folk musicians from across the country to Northfield audiences. John Gorka fits the bill and will be performing in the inaugural concert of the series with Jon Manners at the Northfield Arts Guild.

When Ray Coudret and Dan Rustad set out to start up the 411 Concert Series, they weren’t new to the process of planning these types of events. The two have coordinated another series, called the Red Barn Concert series, with four other friends in Montgomery and felt that Northfield was a great place to bring a new series because of its already vibrant music scene.

“Ray and I thought ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be great if we did something similar in Northfield that was open to the public,” said Rustad.

“We wanted to bring this level of live music to Northfield because we’re trying to add to the great things happening in the music scene here,” said Coudret.

John is a contemporary American folk musician. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine called him “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement.” He has performed on Austin City Limits and appeared on CNN and CMT. Gorka has also toured with Nanci Griffith and Mary Chapin Carpenter, among others.

“I’ve been a John Gorka fan for about 15 years. He’s very well-known singer songwriter and it is great that he’s willing to come down for this,” said Rustad.

Jon Manners will perform the opening act at the concert. He describes himself as “an artist who has fallen through the cracks.” He has been involved in music since his childhood and has played with bands for most of his life until going solo about 12 years ago. He says his music has been described as “acoustic or electric blues-edged Roots-Rock in a modernist vein, both elegant and funky.”

When it came to choosing a venue for the series, Rustad says there was one in particular that came to mind. “We have always enjoyed the Northfield Arts Guild as a great, warm, small theater so we had that in mind,” said Rustad.

Coudret, Rustad and Jon Manners say that the warm, intimate environment the Northfield Arts Guild provides will be one of the best parts of the concert.

“What is going to be great is to have an artist of John Gorka’s caliber play in such a small, intimate venue,” said Rustad.“It’s such a great opportunity for somebody who likes contemporary folk music to see somebody who is a legend in that genre.”

“It’s a great thing, having performers of Gorka’s stature coming to our small town,” said Manners. “The Northfield Arts Guild theater is small, it’s intimate, it’s a fantastic showcase. I mean, how lucky are we?”

© Copyright 2012, Northfield News, Northfield, MN