Papa John Kolstad
Papa John Kolstad has been performing more than 40 years, blazing a musical trail across these United States. He performed regularly on The Prairie Home Companion radio show with Garrison Keillor, has been a featured performer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Papa John was featured in a chapter of the " The West Bank Boogie", covering the music and musicians of the 60’s and 70’ Minneapolis West Bank Music Scene. Papa John with Clint Hoover won the Road to Memphis, a juried musical event, and represented the Twin Cities at International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2007.
Papa John is one of the legends in Minnesota and across the country from his many years performing through North America. He is an accomplished musician, a fine blues singer and songwriter and a stellar picker on both 6 and 12 string guitar. He employs a variety of styles in his performances; folk, swing, jazz, ragtime and what John calls, “happy blues”. His shows are great fun, fine music and always entertaining yet there is a serious side. Respectfully presenting the creators and history of American roots music, he puts the music in a context making it more accessible to a general audience
He is the founder of the band The Sorry Muthas who played across the country in the 1960's and 1970's.
In 2022, he received the Legend Award and was formally inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame.
As the legend goes, Papa John Kolstad was raised by wolves, and rescued by a band of jazz musicians. He learned to play guitar and later attended Berklee College of Music. In south Minneapolis during a full moon, you can hear his lonesome blues wafting through the night air!
Amy Houle
Amy is a powerful vocal presence and brings massive quantities of character in every word she sings.
A vocalist with a captivating voice, her style is one of a kind. She is a very compassionate and you'll find yourself relating to her delicate tones. She is a modest musician with so much talent!
Using her voice as her brush, she paints her words onto life's canvas.
Mabel Houle
Mabel was born into in a large musical family. The sixth child out of seven, she began singing acapella harmonies at an early age.
She traveled in a gospel band in the 1970's and 1980's.
Since the 1990's she has been collaborating with local musicians through the Minnesota Bluegrass community.
Mabel and her daughter, Amy, sing sweet vocal duets.
Michael Valentiner
Michael has some of the best guitar chops in town, and has studied with great guitar players of our time.
His sense of timing and rhythm are unparalleled. He keeps the band on track and reminds us all to practice with the metronome.
