Ruth and Max Bloomquist Kick Off Frauenthal 80th Anniversary Series

Muskegon's Frauenthal Center For the Performing Arts is having it's 80th anniversary this year, and it was our honor to help kick off the celebratory series of events. Our March 20th concert there, billed as "Folk Night at the Frauenthal," was doubly auspicious for us because it came less than three weeks after the release of our new CD, Turn Back A Page.

There's a lot of history in the old place and we tailored our show to reflect that a bit by rediscovering a few popular gems from the 1960's Folk Revival including Blowin' In The Wind, Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound, Today, and others. We have some history with the Frauenthal, too, having once held our own concert and then opening for the Kingston Trio on her stage in the late 1980's with our Amaryllis band. More recently, we opened a show for Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor there and have participated in all three of the Concert With Friends events produced by Bob Skolnik's Mona Lake Productions.

Opening act for this concert was singer/songwriter Mike Snell. Mike sounded great, and the combination of his original songs, well chosen covers, and finger picking style on both six and twelve string guitar were reminiscent of the late John Denver.

In addition to the 1960's covers, we played a number of songs from Turn Back A Page plus some of our favorite older originals and a couple of favorite covers. Ruth opened our second set with her solo medley of I Dream of Jeanie/Danny Boy.While the audience couldn't hope to fill the near 1800 seat capacity of the Frauenthal Theater, they were warm and generous with their applause and support. With the house lights down and the stage lights up it had the energy and intimacy of a full house in a smaller venue. What a wonderful stage to play!

There will be more events in the Frauenthal Center's 80th Anniversary Series. Watch for them and go. It's a win/win situation. You'll get a great show and support this beautifully and faithfully renovated old gem of a theater. It's up to you to help keep live entertainment and wonderful venues like the Frauenthal alive.

(Pictures by our good friend Tom Willi)

Two New Dates in March

First, we offer our heartfelt thanks to all who attended our CD Release Concert at the Howmet Playhouse. (picture above by Tom Willi) We were humbled by your kindness and generousity. AND, thanks, of course, to John King and Dan Seabolt for your invaluable musical contributions and collaborations. We couldn't ask for two more inspiring stage partners. For our Street Team, Dawn, Tom, David, and Kate, Soundman Steve Albert, and Cindy Beth with the entire crew of the Howmet Playhouse we have nothing but gratitude and admiration. The entire evening was a wonderful success.

We are excited about two upcoming dates that you may not know about. We hope you won't miss the chance to join us in two very different and wonderful venues.
On Saturday March 20 we will be performing at Muskegon's choicest venue, the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts, as part of the celebration of the 80th Anniversary of this beautiful facility. We have played the Frauenthal several times (picture above by Tom Willi) in the last few years, and we can't get enough of the place. We'll be doing two full sets, and West Michigan's own Mike Snell will be opening the show. Come on out and help us enjoy and celebrate the history and the splendor of the Frauenthal. Show starts at 7:30. Reserved Seating. Frauenthal Box Office M-F 11 AM - 6 PM 231-727-8001 or Star Tickets 1-800-585-3737 www.frauenthal.org

If you would enjoy a more intimate atmosphere, join us on Friday March 26 at Fennville's Salt Of The Earth. We always enjoy playing this excellent restaurant and music venue. Executive Chef Matthew Pietsch creates marvelous offerings from mostly locally grown and produced ingredients. No fillers, no additives, just wonderfully good food. Trust us. You won't be sorry. A full bar is offered that includes Michigan wines and beers. We start at 8:30. There's no cover charge, so come on out and enjoy dinner or one of their famous wood-fired pizzas. 269-561-7258 www.saltoftheearthfennville.com

Remember that our new CD, Turn Back A Page, is always available wherever we are performing and at the following outlets and websites.

In Muskegon: Sun Wind and Rain, Glass Reflections, and the Muskegon County Museum Gift Shop.
In Grand Rapids: Schuler Books and Music on 28th Street and on Alpine Ave.
In Lansing: Elderly Instruments
On Line: www.cdbaby.com, iTunes, www.digstation.com, www.amazon.com

Thanks for taking the time to read this month's newsletter. We are truly grateful for your support and we hope to see you soon.

Please join our official Fan Email List at
http://www.reverbnation.com/ruthandmaxb
And join us on FaceBook at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ruth-and-Max-Bloomquist/101518542307

Sincerely,

Ruth and Max Bloomquist
www.ruthbloomquist.com

Turn Back A Page Release Concert A Success

Our March 5 CD release concert was a big success as far as we're concerned. Cindy Beth Davis and her staff at the Howmet Playhouse in Whitehall treated us and our fans right. A cash bar was available before the show and during the intermission.

We were joined on stage by John King (guitar) and Dan Seabolt (fiddle) and they added wonderful depth and dimension to the show as always. We are so very lucky to be associated with such talented musicians and fine individuals.

The set list included all the songs from Turn Back A Page, our newest CD release, plus one or two from each of the previous three and a few of our favorite covers. We even had two father-daughter dance couples dancing in the orchestra pit during Ruth's song, Daddy Dance.

After our encore, our friend Joe Wolff presented Ruth with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and each of the guys in the band with a bottle of something nice.

Video and audio were recorded separately, and we hope to post a song or two on YouTube when they are synced and edited. Many thanks to Dave and Kate with the cameras and Steve for both mixing live and recording audio.

The large crowd of fans was very generous at the CD table, which was managed with aplomb by Street Teamers Tom and Dawn Willi. During the second set we presented a door prize consisting of a new CD along with a Michigan Girl mug and a Michigan Girl pin to the winner of a drawing from names and email addresses of participating audience members who wished to be added to our ReverbNation email fan list.
Opening act was guitarist Justin Wierenga who told us he was treated very well by our audience. His freeform jazzy new age style seemed a good foil for our more rootsy sound.

Turn Back A Page is available from us at all of our gigs of course, and also at several brick and morter establishments and many online sources including: CDBaby.com, iTunes, Elderly Instruments, Digstation, etc.