Prairie Clamor and Red Thread at The Landing Strip (08-03-2024)

03 August 2024 Produce Raffle 3 feat. Prairie Clamor and Red Thread at The Landing Strip Red Thread Tour Dates 2024 Tour Dates  Aug 04-06 Yiddish Folksong Series, Minneapolis Aug 11 Lakewood Chapel, Minneapolis Aug 16 Music Under the Bridge, Wabasha Aug 17 Music in the Trees, Afton Sep 05 American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis Sep 19 Eastside Jewish Commons, Portland Sep 21 Congregation Beth Israel, Bellingham Sep 22 The Royal Room, Seattle Sep 23 The Rhapsody Project, Seattle Oct 13 Greenhouse Concerts, Saint Paul Read More Prairie Clamor Prairie Clamor writes: "Hello? Operator? Get the social medias on the line, STAT!" Two things: First thing: our next gig is just one week away!!! At the Eagles in south …

If only the storm would hold off a little longer, at least until the raffle winners were announced.

It was our first time seeing a concert in a community garden with a bonus produce raffle. The venue was The Landing Strip. The players were Prairie Clamor and Red Thread. The Raffle was for Southside Harm Reduction. And the produce were vegetables grown in community gardens throughout south Minneapolis. Vegetables like chard, okra, squash, purple carrots, and hot peppers, which an audience member who went by Clyde was excited to win.

Up first was Red Thread, a creation of Sarah Larsson, which looks to highlight the commonalities of Jewish, Balkan, Irish and American folk music. Larsson said the name of the band is a reference to the weaving tapestries of folk music and how they can blend and bring people together.

Larsson was joined by Sophie Javna on vocals and Daniel on fiddle. Larsson did pick up the banjo at times but mostly the music was acapella, as she and Javna weaved a harmonious blend of songs in Romanian, Serbian and Yiddish and yes, some songs in English like “Sailor’s Lullaby” and an old Irish Folk song that I recognized as “Muldoon, Solid Man” but the lyrics were quite different.

Larsson told a funny story about singing non-English songs at a memory center for dementia patients and how after her concert, one of the ladies said, “I didn’t understand any of it.”

Prairie Clamor next took the earthen stage and lead singer, Will Bjorndal, apologized to the crowd for they were about to take things in a different direction.

Prairie Clamor at Eagles #34 (24 June 2023)

Prairie Clamor is a creation of Bjorndal, and we caught his band at Eagles 34 in June of last year, where he amped up his guitar and rocked hard. But since he was in a community garden in the middle of the Longfellow neighborhood, he mostly stuck to a mandolin.

Bjorndal was joined by fellow members of his Clamorchestra, Otto Kowalski on banjo, acoustic guitar and harmonica and his brother, Peter, who played an array of percussive instruments, mainly sticking to a traveling xylophone.

Whereas Red Thread hemmed close to different folk traditions and the immigration experience, Prairie Clamor focused on the humor of everyday life, whether camping Up North, eating a wholesome bowl of oatmeal (awesome harmonica and shaker solos) or an ode to the now defunct Kmart Parking Lot on Lake Street.

It seemed too quick of a set with the sun setting and the rumble of an approaching storm. So they finished with “Squirrels Run the World”, a song from Bjorndahl’s foray into children’s music. No problem if there were no kids. Adults can dance too:

Who needs houses when you've got trees?
Who needs smartphones when you've got seeds?
Who needs blenders, trucks, or spinach in cans?
Just put a little acorn in my tiny tiny hands!

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Prairie Clamor at the Landing Strip (03 August 2024)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com