11.10.08
Take a night out and enjoy yourself! We'd like to invite everyone to Broadway Ballroom on Friday, November 21 for their 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!!
8.26.08
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!
12.09.07
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!
7.25.07
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!7.7.07
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!4.26.07
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.2.3.07
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
1.2.07
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.
12.24.06
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!
11.28.06
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!
09.23.06
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!
08.30.06
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.
03.11.06
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!
01.06.06 | Newly redesigned funkygumbo.net launched.
01.05.06
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.