Accordion-O-Rama Photos

Ready to go

Four accordions on one stage in a former Carnegie library in Zumbrota. I had heard about Accordion-O-Rama for years but we finally made it down ("down" meaning about 65 miles south of the Twin Cities) on Saturday night, Oct. 23. I was thoroughly charmed by the whole experience. Here are some photos from the evening. And here's my review.

The crowd gathers

L2R: Dan Newton, Patrick Harison, Simone Perrin, Denny Malmberg

Patrick Harison

Dan Newton

Denny Malmberg

Simone Perrin

L2R: Dan Newton, Patrick Harison, Simone Perrin, Denny Malmberg

 All performance photos by John Whiting.

Concert review: Accordion-O-Rama: Magic on a moonlit night in Minnesota

Originally published at MinnPost.com, Monday, Oct. 25, 2010 

Live music is about the music, of course, and the musicians, but it’s also about the setting. We all have our favorite place to hear music, whether it’s a booth at the Dakota or a bar stool at the Artists’ Quarter, the main floor at First Ave. or a corner table at a coffee shop.

Last Saturday night, the setting for Accordion-O-Rama was a Carnegie library in Zumbrota turned art gallery/concert hall, where nearly 100 people gathered to hear four accordionists from the Twin Cities.

Accordion-O-Rama, an annual event with a tongue-in-cheek name, was conceived in 2004 by Dan Newton, a.k.a. Daddy Squeeze, and Marie Marvin, who runs Crossings at Carnegie. The idea was to hold a miniature accordion festival, showcasing different musicians and musical styles, in a town where people were likely to show up, a stronghold of Polish and German heritage and polka.