by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
St. Joseph will again be rocking Monday, July 3 with Joetown Rocks performers kicking off activities, after an opening prayer, for the free two-day St. Joseph July Fourth Festival.
The 12th annual concert will feature a variety of musical entertainment. This year’s performers will begin at 6 p.m. and include the following:
All Saints Academy Students (6 p.m.) Students who previously created a compact disc of worship music at Rockhouse Productions will sing three of their pieces, with the Killer Vees playing backup.
The Graduates (6:15 p.m.) Known as one of central Minnesota’s hottest young bands, this teen group includes drummer Bennett Velline, guitar virtuoso Adam Astrup, bassist Travis Brattensborg, vocalist Ellie Theisen and Brandon Voigt on keyboards. Velline is the grandson of the late pop great Bobby Vee. This group’s talents allow it to perform far beyond a typical teenager’s range.
Collective Unconscious (7:15 p.m.) Known as one of Minnesota’s premier groups, this group originally formed to perform local multi-instrumentalist Jeff Engholm’s solo album, Summit Climb in 2000. It includes singer/songwriters Nathan “Nature” Nesje and Muggsy Lauer, composer/keyboardist George Maurer and percussionist Andy Deckard. This group performs its own music as well as album shows such as the Beatles Abbey Road and tributes to the Eagles, Doobie Brothers and more.
Remembering Bobby Vee (8:50 p.m.) The Killer Vees, a musical group featuring the late Bobby Vee’s sons, Jeff and Tommy Vee, and his nephew, Matt Vee, team up with others to celebrate Vee’s memory. They will be joined by Matt’s wife, Julie Velline, Ar J. Stevens, George Maurer, the Vees’ touring string section, Tyler Michaels and the cast from Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story, a production about Vee’s music that was performed last year in Minneapolis.
Vee, who died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease last October, and his wife, Karen, who died before Vee did, helped start Joetown Rocks in 2006. His last Joetown Rocks performance was in 2011.
Vee’s music career began Feb. 3, 1959 in Moorhead, when he was 15. His group, The Shadows, offered to fill in after Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash. His international career lasted 52 years.
Brat Pack Radio (10:30 p.m.) This group livens up shows with knife-juggling, spinning keyboards, stylish choreography, an impressive LED light show and more. Performances often include dance-pop favorites and rhythm-and-blues hits.
Food and refreshments are available on the parish grounds. A fireworks display is planned for 10:15 p.m.
Tuesday, July 4 begins with the 10 a.m. annual parade sponsored by the St. Joseph Lions Club. Activities on the parish grounds include bingo, cake walk, candy stand, face-painting and tattoos, merry-go-round, ring-toss stand, train ride, youth games, refreshments and more.
A quilt auction featuring 38 quilts, including a queen-sized Minnesota Wild hockey quilt, men’s necktie quilt and more, will be held at 1:30 p.m., and a raffle drawing with more than 50 prizes at 3:30 p.m.
The Smok’N Guns Band will perform from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. This band features performers Paul Pfannenstein, Tommy Moore, Dean Wall and Mike DeLong playing a variety of country and other tunes.
For more information about the July 3 and 4 events, visit the website joetownrocks.org.
