Husband-wife folk singers to stage show in Staples
STAPLES -- Neal and Leandra, a folk singing husband-wife duo from the Twin Cities, will open Centennial Auditorium's performing arts season this weekend in Staples.
"This group is back by popular demand after having two previous and very successful concerts at Staples' Centennial Auditorium," an auditorium spokeswoman said in a news release.
The duo will take the Centennial stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the first in a six-performance series of performances in Staples through April. Season tickets are $35, but tickets for each performance also can be purchased.
A ticket for the Neal and Leandra event is $7 in advance, available by calling 800-213-6877 or (218) 894-5416.
Neal Hagberg and Leandra Peak were married in 1989, just before they began touring full time, according to the Centennial release.
The duo records on the Twin Cities label Red House Records, releasing five CDs over the past decade, including "Old Love," "Hearts and Hammers" and "Listen to the Angels."
"The simplicity and directness of their songs is both disarming and elegant," the auditorium release said. "The songs are layered with textures of everyday life and love, and this, combined with their remarkable blend, their funny stories and the way they connect with people's own experiences are what have made them so popular."
A Washington Post reviewer wrote that "as songwriters, Neal and Leandra have clearly mastered the art of saying more with less."
Similar acclaim has been noted by the Star Tribune, which said, "Listening to Leandra's distinctively husky and lustrous voice might be as heavenly as listening to angels."
The centennial's season -- its 10th -- will resume Nov. 17 with the Jazz Arts Big Band of Fargo-Moorhead, followed by Steve Cloutier on Jan. 6, Company B singers Feb. 10, the Concord Singers on March 2 and the Kantorei choir April 13.