Minneapolis folk duo and Gustavus alumni Neal and Leandra return for a special Homecoming Weekend concert at the place where they met 25 years ago, Gustavus Adolphus College. With six successful cds on the market and concert tours taking them from coast to coast, the Red House Recording artists will appear in concert on Saturday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the College’s Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall. Tickets for the performance are available at the Gustavus Ticket Center (507-933-7590) or at the door.
The amazing success of singers/song writers Neal Hagberg and Leandra Peak happened almost by accident. Following graduation from Gustavus, Hagberg was on his way to medical school and Peak was on her way to a career in international business. For fun, Neal continued writing songs and received some critical encouragement to continue full time. He quit med school, headed out on the road and somehow, along the way, convinced Leandra to join him.
Following their marriage in 1989, Neal and Leandra started touring as a duo full time. They signed with agents Columbia Artists Management and began recording with one of the country’s preeminent singer/songwriter labels, Red House Records. Since that time, the duo has earned the respect and reputation as one of the country’s finest folk duos, produced six cds, and toured in nearly every state in the Union. Critics around the country have praised their work and noted that several of their original works are destined to become folk classics.
One of their first successes, Old Love, has already earned “classic” status and is well-known to Minnesota Public and National Public Radio listeners. It is listed as the most requested song on MPR’s Morning Show. The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote that “listening to Leandra Peak’s distinctively husky and lustrous voice might be as heavenly as listening to angels” and “Neal Hagberg writes inspired originals.” Country Music International, in a rare comment regarding folk music, wrote that Neal’s “poetic imagery is brilliant.”
Success has clearly arrived for Neal and Leandra and they will bring their music, old and new, along with their wonderful connection to their audience in the intimacy of Bjorling Recital Hall on Saturday, October 7. Tickets remaining at showtime will be on sale in the recital hall lobby one hour prior to their appearance on stage at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for this performance by Neal and Leandra may be purchased in advance by calling the Gustavus Ticket Center at 507-933-7590.
Neal and Leandra, clearly among today’s finest folk artists, appear in concert, October 7, 2006, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Bjorling Recital Hall on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus.
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