| Thursday, Apr 5 |
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| 6th Avenue Wine & Ale |
| Alexandria, MN |
| 7:00PM - 10:30PM |
| Thursday, Mar 1 |
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| 6th Avenue Wine & Ale |
| Alexandria, MN |
| 7:00PM - 10:30PM |
| Friday, Jan 27 |
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| Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Annual Celebration |
| Arrowwood Convention Center |
| Alexandria, MN |
| 9:00PM - 11:00PM |
Funky Gumbo is an energetic and highly skilled five-piece group comprised of drums, bass, guitar, sax, trumpet and vocals. We are dedicated to performing some of the most timeless and entertaining jazz, blues, R&B, and dance music ever written. Read more ⇒
We're starting off the new year with two shows - one with our friends at 6th Avenue Wine & Ale, and the other at Arrowwood for the Alexandria Chamber's Annual Celebration. We certainly have cause for celebration; we had a blast in 2011 with many memorable shows! We'd especially like to thank all of our loyal supporters for coming out to see us - sometimes in questionable weather. So here's to 2012 and all the good times yet come!
Join Funky Gumbo and the Veteran's Club of Eagle Bend for a funky, spooky, and downright good time Saturday, Oct 29th. The Halloween event is open to the public and was packed-out last year. The folks at the Vet's Club know how to treat you right - there will be free food, cash prizes, and of course, music by the funkiest dance band in the Mid-West. So dig up that costume you've been itchin' to wear and we'll see you there!
We hope you were able to attend either the Glacial Ridge Winery or Douglas County Fair shows this past week (hopefully both!). Each show had its own unique quality that really made it special. We appreciate very much how both venues go the extra mile to support live music. Judging by the turnout and positive comments, the audience does too.
In other news, we're happy to announce the latest member of the group, Chuck Wencl. Chuck is no stranger to the area and comes with a wealth of musical skill and knowledge. Chuck has replaced Luke Skrove, who has moved onto other things. As a testiment to Chuck's musical prowess, we gave him only one rehearsal and a day to learn our entire set. Not only did he learn the material, he played some smokin' solos to boot! Chuck is comfortable playing soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, so we feel the choice of colors to choose from has grown considerably. The double threat sax section of Chuck and Mike is something to behold, so we've made sure to maximize it to its fullest potential! The website will be updated soon. Until then, enjoy the rest of the summer and keep on groovin'.
Help Funky Gumbo and Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale celebrate 5-yrs of great food, drink, and of course, live music. The two day event features Funky Gumbo (Fri) and The Way Backs (Sat). There will be wonderful food/drink features as well as their ever-popular cork guessing contest. All in all, it promises to be a great weekend of music and food. What more can a person ask for?
Be sure to swing by the Minnewaska Golf Course, located in Glenwood, this coming Friday for the 4th Annual Glenwood and Beyond Golf Charity event. Golf sign-up is at 1pm, shotgun start at 2pm, happy hour at 6pm, dinner at 7pm, and we hit the stage at 8pm and play until 11pm. The weather actually looks good for a change, so even if you don't golf, stop in, grab a bite, and dance to some great music to kick the summer off right. At the end of the evening, you can feel especially good being this event is for such a great cause.
We've been busy these past few weeks adding new material to our sets and stretching our musical wings with Spencer and Luke. Although the economy is still sluggish, we're happy to report steady progress as we build our itnerary for this year. In addition to upcoming performances with our friends at Sixth Ave Wine & Ale and Lakeside Ballroom, upcoming shows this Spring/Summer will include Angelinas, Andes Tower Hills (Spring Fling), The Eagles Club (Alexandria) and Eddy's Interlachen Inn. All these fabulous venues serve excellent cuisine and offer top-notch service. So dust off that wallet and step out for a great night of music, fun, food and dancing with Funky Gumbo. You'll be glad you did!
It's been while since our last update and I must say we're happy to be back! The band has been on a hiatus of sorts, as we looked for musicians to fill open guitar and trumpet positions. It took longer than expected - but fill them we did! On guitar we're introducing Spencer Christensen. Spencer has played around the area a bit but was looking for something a little more involved. Spencer is one of those rare musicians that can play jazz, blues and rock n roll. We're pretty sure we'll keep him busy doing just that (and some singing too). On trumpet we have Luke Skrove. Luke is attending the University of Minnesota Morris and brings solid trumpet chops to the band in addition to vocals. We're rehearsing for the next few weeks and plan to bring the whole band over to our show at Sixth Ave Wine & Ale in February. Be sure to stop by and say hi!
Funky Gumbo will be returning to Lakeside Ballroom's patio during the Glenwood Waterama festival, which runs Wednesday July 21 through Sunday July 25. Normally, we play all four days on the patio. This year, however, we will have a special performance on Sunday only, between the Grand Day Parade and the coronaton. The forecast looks good so stop in for a drink, some great food, and the best live music in the area!
For the first time ever, the full band will play at Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale on Friday, June 25th from 7pm to 10pm. As many know, the Funky Gumbo jazz trio has performed at Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale (SAWA) many times before. However, Funky Gumbo is one of the only bands in the area that can literally play it all. So arrive early, grab some food and a beverage, and sit back listen to the full band perform hits from the other side of our repertoire - includng such luminary artsts and groups as Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, Ray Charles, Blues Brothers, Elvis, Stevie Wonder, The Meters, Brian Setzer, BB King, The Band, and many more. See you there!
Due to uncooperative weather, Andes Tower Hills Spring Fling has been cencelled. It's just been too warm and rainy, so Andes had to close for the season. Last year the weather was perfect and we had a great time. Maybe we'll have better luck next year!
Ok, so it's not quite spring yet, but don't let that stop you from swinging by Andes Tower Hills in Kensington, MN. Starting on Saturday, you can indulge in all sorts of great activities, including a radar run, a fire hose race, and even whizzing down the tube hill on a piece of cardboard! The good times culminate on Sunday, with a costume contest, backwards race, and the remarkable pond plunge starting at 2PM. Funky Gumbo will be performing in the lodge on Saturday from 7PM to 9PM, and on the deck (weather permitting) on Sunday from 1PM to 4PM. We had an absolute blast last year. Be sure to stop by, say hi to the band, and enjoy the spectacular food prepared by the ski patrol!
Please join Funky Gumbo as we kick off our inaugural performance at The Muddy Boot in Forada, MN. Among other things, the Muddy Boot is known for it's easy going atmosphere, killer food, service, and of course, great music. So bring all your friends this Saturday and we'll see you there!
Ring in the new year with Funky Gumbo at Thumper Pond in Ottertail, MN! Thumper Pond is a beautiful resort with a hotel, lounge, and waterpark - all located in downtown Ottertail Minnesota. Grab some friends, come on up, and enjoy a rip-roaring good time. We hear rooms are going fast so make reservations now. We'll see you there!
As many of you know, we oftentimes invite guests and former Gumbo alumni to join us on our musical forays at 6th Ave Wine & Ale (SAWA). With that in mind, we would like to extend a special thanks to Eric Franzen for his past few appearances with the band. His exceptional skill on the piano is something to behold, and yet everything fits and feels so good! We'd also like to thank Joe Carucci for his stellar playing on the sax. When Joe first sat in, SAWA Thursday night regulars could hear immediately that his playing is first rate. By the way, Joe is a professor in the University Of Minnesota Morris music department and Eric is a graduate of UMM. If you're wondering how and where to expand you musical skills, now you've got the inside skinny. So be sure to catch the band next time we're at SAWA. Like the zesty gumbo dishes of New Orleans, you'll never quite know what's in the "mix" until you sit down and experience it yourself.
Andes has some great events coming up in October, starting with their annual ski swap on the 14th, followed by the Snow Fever Film Festival on the 15th, and a Funky Gumbo performance on the 17th in celebration of their new addition. It's always a great time at Andes, but with so much going on this month, it's easily "the" good time destination for the West-Central area. We'll see you there!
Although we're still enjoying the dog days of summer, September is just around the corner. And for those of us in West Central Minnesota, September means Grape Stomp at Carlos Creek Winery! We had a blast last year sharing the stage with The Platte Valley Boys. Stellar group - and a great bunch of guys! This year, we'll be performing September 12-13 on the Arena Stage, rubbing musical elbows with groups KGB and Skilly & Duff. Be sure to swing by, drink some great wine, and check out the bands!
Happy 4th of July! We wanted to let you know about a couple of great shows coming up this month. First, we have our usual performance every third Thursday of the month at Sixth Ave Wine & Ale. SAWA, as we affectionately call it, is the only venue in the area that has entertainment weekly. It's one of those places that everyone seems to like. So come as you are and enjoy your favorite wine or beer while listening to some of the best musicians in the area.
Funky Gumbo will also be returning to Lakeside Ballroom's patio for the Glenwood Waterama festival (July 23-26). We'll be performing Thursday through Sunday - with a special parade appearance on Sunday to boot! If you haven't been to Lakeside Ballroom before, you're in for a real treat. Aside from the historic ballroom, photos, and huge dance floor, the patio sits right next to the lake and runs almost the full length of the ballroom. Sunsets are something to behold, and with the excellent food, drink, and music, well, let's just say it doesn't get any better! Be sure to bring your family and friends. Heck, just make a weekend of it and enjoy the entire Waterama festival. We'll see you there!
As you can tell, there's been a few changes to the website! It's been a long time coming and hope you like the new look and feel. We'd like to thank Tom Nordlund for his excellent work on the site.
It's hard to believe, but 2008 is fast coming to an end. We've had a great time this year and want to thank all of you (you know who you are) for supporting Funky Gumbo by coming to our shows. Speaking of which, we are excited about our New Year's Eve show at Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood, MN! We will be performing for Glenwood and Beyond's New Year's Eve gala event, and anticipate we will be performing our full range of material, including waltzes, polkas, jazz, swing, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, etc. As always, we will be focusing on what the dancers want to hear, so we may focus a little more on certain genres. The following was pulled from the Glenwood Chamber of Commerce website for those that would like more information. We look forward to ringing in 2009 with you!
Glenwood & Beyond's annual New Year's Eve Gala is just around the corner. The early-bird discounted ticket price of $45 per person or $400 for a table of 10 is only available until Nov 14. The ticket price includes a sit-down, prime rib dinner, dancing to live band Funky Gumbo, silent auction, and fireworks and Champagne toast at midnight. Bring your family and friends and make this your new New Year's Eve tradition! Tickets are available at Glenwood State Bank and Lakesie Ballroom. They make a great Christmas present while helping to support a wonderful local cause! Call Terri Richards @ (320) 424-0529 with questions.
Are you wondering how you're going to be able to eat another bite of those turkey left overs? Do you need to get out of the house? Bring your family and friends down to Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood for an evening of fun, food, and of course, great live music. We'll be performing from 8:30PM to 12:30AM and the $5 cover goes to support the Glenwood ski hill. We've played holiday shows at Lakeside before and it's always a guaranteed good time. We'll see you there and be sure to stop and say hello to the band!
Take a night out and enjoy yourself! We'd like to invite everyone to Broadway Ballroom on Friday, November 21 for the first of (hopefully) many dance series. We will be playing whatever music everyone wants to hear. So for us, that means you can pick dance music from the 40's all the way through the New Millennia! Feel free to check out our repertoire on this site for a more concise list of tunes. For questions and other details, please contact Broadway Ballroom at (320) 763-6565. See you there!!
Join Funky Gumbo in welcoming Ben Cook on guitar! Ben played his first show with us at the Douglas County Fair. In fact, he had to learn our show in less than two weeks! Needless to say, he did a bang up job and we're looking forward to more of his slick, thoughtful playing. As many have noticed, we had to cancel our performance at the Minnesota State Fair. This was due to some unforeseen scheduling challenges. Be that as it may, you can bet we'll be back next year. It's one of our favorite shows of the year! We'd like to thank all of you that continue to support the band - we really appreciate it. Take care, and we'll see you on the flip side!
Join Funky Gumbo as we ring in the New Year at Eddy's Interlachen Inn, in Alexandria MN. Music starts at 9:30am and we will perform until 1:30am. As always, you will be able to enjoy Eddy's excellent food and "come as you are" relaxed atmosphere. It will be a great night of food, fun, and dancing. See you there!
Because we're asked frequently, we'd like to mention our performance schedules for Bella On Broadway and Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale. Our Bella performances will be from 6PM-8PM on the first Wednesday of every month, for the next few months. Our Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale performances will continue to be the third Thursday of each month. We'd like to thank both venues for supporting live music, and we'd like to thank all of you for showing up!
News Flash! Along with the parade and concert this Sunday, Funky Gumbo will also be performing at Lakeside Ballroom on the patio (side nearest the lake) Thursday 7:00PM -11:00PM, Friday 5:00PM - 9:00PM, and Saturday 5:00PM - 9:00PM. Lakeside recently adjusted our performance times, so please note these are the correct times. If the front doors are locked due to other activities near the ballroom, you can get to the patio from either end of the ballroom. Bring your family and friends and we'll see you there!
It's hard to believe summer is here, but time flys when you're having fun! We'd like to thank Cafe Bella, Eddy's Interlachen Inn, John O's, 6th Avenue Wine & Ale, Melvin's On The Lake, Miltona Liquor, IBR, and the Alexandria Beetles baseball team for their continued support of live music. They certainly know how to treat us right, and we've seen first hand how well they treat you, their valued customer. So make sure you get out and support these fine establishments!
We're proud to announce we're once again appearing at Glenwood Waterama. Waterama is always the last full week in July. So bring your family and friends to Glenwood, kick back on the lake, and make a week of it! We'll be performing in the parade on Sunday and also performing a concert in City Park between the parade and coronation. See you there!
Hello everyone! Our Cafe Bella performances will be moving to normal summer hours, which are 7:00PM - 9:00PM. We'd like to extend special thanks to all that joined us during the Fall/Winter season. As many of you discovered, not only is the food and service out of this world, but we had a blast watching many of you tango and cha-cha in the aisles! Of course, we assume there will be even more dancing this summer!
Be sure to join us for the second annual Pope County Days held May 5th in Glenwood, MN. We'll be performing in the City Park bandshell from 10:00AM to 2:00PM. It's a great event and is guaranteed fun for the whole family. We'll see you there!Last but certainly not least, we're proud to be a part of the Pope County Hamane Societie's fundraiser at Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood. The event is Sunday, May 27th and features four bands: Funky Gumbo, Elijah and the Powerhouse Band, Pure Country, and The Buddwa's. The $8 cover goes directly to the Humane Society. In addition to helping the dogs and cats of Pope County, it promises to be a great kickoff event for Memorial Day.
Join Funky Gumbo Friday, Feb 9th at Eddy's Interlachen Inn for a pre-Mardi Gras event featuring Mardi Gras Indian, David Robertson in full costume. Dinner specials, which include New Orleans dirty rice, Bourbon Street chicken and gumbo, will be offered from 5PM to 10PM, with music by Funky Gumbo from 10PM to 1AM
New day and time at Cafe Bella! We're excited to announce that Frankie and select members of Funky Gumbo will now be performing every other Friday from 6:30PM to 8:30PM, starting January 26.
Join Funky Gumbo as we ring in the New Year at John O's in Brooten, MN! We'll play jazz standards from 6PM-8PM and then kick into high gear until 1AM. If you haven't been able to check out John O's - now's your chance. It will be a great night of dancing and fun!
Things have gone so well since Tyler, Kevin, Nick, and Elijah joined the band that we decided to celebrate by jumping into uncharted territory. December 3rd will mark our first performance for the Lakeside Dance Club. We pride ourselves on playing a pretty diverse set. But this will be the first time we're performing for a roomful of ballroom dancers. Needless to say, we're excited. We'd like to thank Barbara for for all of her help and we'll see you there!
Be sure to check our December schedule. We're performing at some of our favorite spots including Cafe Bella, The Huntin' Shack, The Eagles Club, and John O's on New Year's Eve. Happy Holidays!
The St. Mary's Block Party was a smashing success. Not only were we glad to be involved in such as awesome event, but it was first performance with the new lineup. Wow - did we have fun! The band would like to extend huge thanks to those of you that stopped by to say hello and to let us know you enjoyed the band. We'll see you soon!
Just as seasons change, alas, so does Funky Gumbo. We've had a few questions regarding the band and its members so we'd like to clarify everything for those of you interested in such things. First of all, Funky Gumbo is not breaking up. However, some members of the band are moving on to other things. Tom Nordlund has decided to move back to Madison Wisconsin to reconnect with old musical allies and focus on jazz performance. Dustin Retzlaff is seeking music related employment with an initial stop in the Twin Cities. Casey Kavanagh has decided to stay in the Cities to pursue musical interests in the metro area. We've been together four years and it goes without saying their awesome talents will truely be missed. You guys are the best! Although the void is massive, we've searched high and low and are thrilled to add Elijah Antiel (guitar, vocals), Tyler Helland (bass, vocals), Kevin Johnson (sax), and Nick Champaue (guitar). Stay tuned for more details on these great players.
Funky Gumbo goes Italian! Be sure to stop by Cafe Bella in Glenwood every other Tuesday evening for great food, great hospitality, and of course, great music. We've formed a trio version of the band to back none other than the Italian Diva herself - Frankie. Everyone is in for a real treat as she whisks listeners through a plentiful cornucopia of Italian songs - some of which harkens back to her childhood days in Italy. Needless to say, it's a great time for all. See you there!
It's baseball, hotdogs, and...music at the ballpark! We're happy to announce Funky Gumbo has teamed with the Alexandria Beetles for the 2006 season. We promise to keep you rockin' and rollin' at the Knute Nelson ballpark as the Beetles take on any team brave enough to get off the bus. Be sure to stay tuned for upcoming games and times. Go Beetles!
What a year it was! Fortunately, we were quite busy, with sometimes 3 to 4 gigs in a single week. Consequently, everyone in the band would like to thank those of you who have shown such steadfast support for the band and for live music! If it weren't for all of you, we'd simply be practicing on the job. We'd also like to extend big thanks to Rudy's Redeye Grill, Old Broadway, Lakeside Ballroom, Cafe Bella, Osakis Pub, Gillie's, Northern Grounds, The Common Cup, and Funky's. We're looking forward to many more great times at these fine establishments. Special thanks also goes out to Tastefully Simple, The University of Minnesota Morris, Jim (Doc) Carlson and Mike Eull. We appreciate all that you have done for us.
If you read our news frequently you may have noticed our plan to release a CD in 2005 didn't quite make it to fruition. Not to be deterred, we are focusing on finishing our first CD of original material by the first half of 2006. Be sure to stay tuned for further developments.