Multe

Northfield's ArtOrg sponsors an evening of traditional old-time Scandinavian dance music on Friday, February 15 at the downtown J. Grundy's Reub 'N' Stein Upstairs at 503 Division Street, Northfield MN 55057. Two bands will split the bill — Multe and Foot-Notes from Decorah, Iowa — providing plenty of waltzes, polkas and even tangos for your listening and dancing pleasure.

There will be an introductory dance lesson at 7 p.m. Dance music will be the highlight of the evening from 8-11 p.m. There is a $5 per person donation for the evening and this goes to support the music. The evening's musicians have also been invited to play an informal set after 11 p.m. at The Contented Cow at 302B Division Street.

You can find information about our band here.

We're particularly delighted to be sharing the bill with our friends from Decorah, Foot-Notes.

The group includes Beth Hoven Rotto (fiddle), Jim Skurdall (mandolin, lead vocal), Jon Rotto (guitar, vocals) and Bill Musser (bass, vocals). The group formed in 1991 to carry on a tradition of monthly old time dances in a rustic two-room schoolhouse in Highlandville, Iowa, where area residents have been gathering for years. The old time music they play reflects their ties to Norwegian-American communities in the area. Most of their repertoire consists of dance tunes that were popular at house parties, barn dances, and "bowery" dances in northeast Iowa around the turn of the century and into the first few decades of the 1900s. They also incorporate a number of danceable tunes from European traditions including Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. Foot-Notes have represented Iowa at the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife on the National Mall in Washington, DC and have been featured on Norwegian National Radio (NRK). They have released two CDs, Decorah Waltz and My Father Was A Fiddler.

It's going to be a great night of music and dance. We hope you'll join us!

Tags: artorg, contented cow, dance, decorah, fiddle, finnish, foot-notes, gig, guitar, mandolin, minnesota, music, northfield, norwegian, rueb, swedish, vocals