“The Monroe Crossing” Bluegrass and Gospel Show will make it’s first appearance on the Backus stage in International Falls at 3 p.m. Jan. 28.
The group, which is based in the Twin Cities, is nationally known and performs annually at Branson’s Silver Dollar City.
“I dare anyone to watch Monroe Crossing and not get happy,” wrote D.A. Callaway of Silver Dollar City.
A local group “Sloughgrass” will be the special guests and will open the performance.
Two-thirds of the band’s 125 yearly performances are in Minnesota, but the group performs all over the country.
Art Blackburn, of Monroe Crossing, tells a story about an experience he had after the band had performed in Baudette about three years ago. The group was on its way to a benefit performance in Babbitt. He and his entourage passed the “Bass Henge” metal sculpture on the highway from Baudette to International Falls.
“Anybody see that?,” he asked the other band members. “I have to go back and see that.” Blackburn and his wife circled back and spent about 15 minutes viewing the sculpture and then decided to hold the pedal to the metal to catch up with the rest of the band. When he hit about 90 miles per hour, the highway patrol pulled him over and gave him a $140 ticket which he accepted as a gift since it was his birthday. Needless to say, Blackburn did not catch up with his band members.
Monroe Crossing has released their seventh compact disc on Dec. 1, entitled “Into the Fire.” The title song, by the group’s fiddler Lisa, was written on the road to Nashville while she sat on the bathroom floor. It is one of the finest songs the band has performed, according to Blackburn.
“We hope to get the Falls crowd out,” Blackburn said in a phone interview with The Journal. “Bluegrass and gospel are part and parcel and we totally enjoy what we do.” The show is billed as an “event for the entire family.”
Advance tickets are available at City Drug, The Coffee Landing, Thrifty White Drug and the Backus Community Center in the Falls as well as Betty’s and the library in Fort Frances. Advance tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children and $25 for a family. Tickets at the door will be $12, $6 and $30 respectively.
The performance is presented by Citizens for Backus/AB. More information about the group can be found at www.monroecrossing.com