"Club day monday cabaret!" - February 9th - 6:00 pm
Hosted by Doug Anderson & Lori Dokken!
After a highly successful three year bi-monthly run of “Club Day Monday” at The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis, Lori Dokken is joining forces with Doug Anderson to launch version 2.0 of the Monday evening experience.
Doug and Lori will be joined on stage for each monthly edition by several local artistic luminaries for the ninety-minute extravaganza. You can expect some fantastic music of all styles, cutting edge comedy routines along with a cornucopia of art forms that the artists will expose the “Club Day Monday Cabaret” audience to.
On stage with Doug and Lori to launch the first edition will be T. Mychael Rambo, Jennifer Grimm, Greta Grosch and Bradley Beahen.
This is a DON’T MISS opportunity to get out on a Monday for some great entertainment and start the week off with a bang … AND you’ll get home early!
Featuring:
Doug Anderson: Vocals & Host
Lori Dokken: Piano and Vocals
T. Mychael Rambo: Vocals
Greta Grosch: Vocals
Jennifer Grimm: Vocals
Bradley Beahen: Vocals
Monday, February 9th @ 6:00 PM
CROONERS SUPPER CLUB
The Dunsmore Room
6161 Highway 65 NE
Minneapolis, MN 55432
Box Office: (763) 760-0062
"Songs by Boys by Girls" - Sunday, February 15th @ 7:00 PM
An evening of switching musical chairs!
Patty, Judi, Rachel and Lori are singing the songs that boys have made famous that they’ve ALWAYS wanted to sing!
Patty Peterson, Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder and Lori Dokken (members of “the girls,” the “I Am Woman,” and “Women on the Moon” shows) will put their own spin on iconic songs made famous by legendary “boys” — including Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Elton John, The Beatles, Kenny Loggins, Steve Miller, Leon Russel and many more. Every time these great friends take the stage; it promises to be a fantastic evening of powerful vocals, rich harmonies, and a sprinkle of Rat Pack-style charm and humor. Presented by local music powerhouse Lori Dokken – this dynamic ensemble of women will deliver a one-night-only event you won’t want to miss!
Patty Peterson: Vocals
Judi Vinar: Vocals
Rachel Holder: Vocals
Lori Dokken: Vocals & Piano
Perfect Valentine's Day Weekend Concert!
CROONERS SUPPER CLUB
Main Stage
6161 Highway 65 NE
Minneapolis, MN 55432
Box Office: (763) 760-0062
"THree" in concert - saturday, February 28th @ 4:00 PM
A portion of the proceeds will be split between Project Diva International & St. Luke's Presbyterian
“Three” is the brainchild trio of local Twin Cities’ musicians - Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder and Lori Dokken. These three artists have not only been friends for many years but have also been colleagues in a diverse array of musical groups and productions.
“Three” brings together a triad of diverse voices that are skilled in multiple styles and genres and the end product is an incredible performance that unites them into a singular sound - rich in color, character, confidence and the sonic seasoning of experience. Three represents so many things … past, present and future … beginning, middle and end … body, mind and soul … Judi, Rachel and Lori.
Saturday, February 28th @ 4:00
St. Luke's Presbyterian Church
3121 Groveland School Road
Minnetonka, MN 55391
952-473-7378
"WOMEN ON THE MOON" - SUNDAY, march 8th - 7:00 PM
The perfect concert for "International Women's Day!"
Women on the Moon is a concert event that showcases some of our favorite artists from the 1960s such as: Mama Cass, Tina Turner, Aretha, Cher, Dusty Springfield, Lesley Gore, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Dionne Warwick, Mavis Staples, Joan Baez, Cher, Ella, Shirley Bassey, Laura Nyro, Diana Ross, Barbra, Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Sinatra, and the great Nina Simone.
The 1960s was one of the most memorable decades of all time in the history of The United States. It started out with the election of President John F. Kennedy and the dawn of “Camelot” and closed out with the first man landing on the moon. In between these bookends would be the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK; civil rights legislation; protests; drugs; The Feminine Mystique; Black Power; hippies; Vietnam; Gloria Steinem; Nixon; the Watts riots; Andy Warhol; Stonewall; NOW; The Beatles; Laugh-In; The Rolling Stones; Twiggy; Woodstock; and so many other momentous events.
While men landed on the moon, women artists took their own giant leap into every area of the musical landscape. The ‘60s were inarguably the most prolific decade for female vocalists and musicians in many diverse styles and categories. From pop and folk to rock and roll and rhythm and blues, women launched themselves into the music scene and claimed their space in the mostly male dominated industry.
Producer and musical director Lori Dokken has assembled some of the Twin Cities’ finest female vocalists to transport you back more than 50 years to a time when many things were static and tumultuous, yet “peace” and “love” were two of the most circulated words of the era.
Featuring:
Patty Peterson - vocals
Judi Vinar -vocals
Ginger Commodore - vocals
Rachel Holder - vocals
Joyann Parker - vocals
Joe Elliot - guitar
Tony Axtell - bass
David Stanoch - drums
Lori Dokken - vocals/piano/music director
Sunday, March 8th - 7:00 PM
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres
501 West 78th Street
Chanhassen, MN 55317
“A Return to Studio 54” ... Sunday, April 26th - 6:00 PM
It’s time for “A RETURN TO STUDIO 54!”
Studio 54 burst onto the scene in 1977 and its glamour and pageantry defined the disco era. Certainly Studio 54 was a place to party, but in its intermingling of art and culture, the club was a kind of performance piece in and of itself. The club’s admission policy only let in a select few … however it drew a mix of denizens from ALL walks of life, and the club offered a haven where people from diverse backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities could come together without judgment. On any night the guests might include Liza Minnelli, Andy Warhol, Grace Jones, the drag queen Divine and Bianca Jagger along with patrons of all races, socio economic scales and sexual orientation. Even though the original club was only open for three years … it created a space where all were welcome to come and dance, party, people watch and just celebrate being together.
It’s time for “A RETURN TO STUDIO 54!”
Some of the artists featured in the show include Evelyn “Champagne” King, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, The Pointer Sisters, Tina Turner, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, The Weather Girls and many more! A few of the disco classics you will experience are Shame, I’m Every Woman, I Will Survive, It’s Raining Men, Boogie, Oogie Oogie, Don’t Leave Me This Way, We Are Family, No More Tears (Enough is Enough) … We’re going to leave it there. We don’t want to give everything away!
Featuring:
Patty Peterson: Vocals
Judi Vinar: Vocals
Ginger Commodore: Vocals
Rachel Holder: Vocals
Lori Dokken: Music Director, Piano, Vocals
Joe Elliott: Guitar
Tony Axtell: Bass
David Stanoch: Drums
Sunday, April 26th @ 6:00 PM
CROONERS SUPPER CLUB
The Main Stage
6161 Highway 65 NE
Minneapolis, MN 55432
Box Office: (763) 760-0062
"a cabaret of gratitude" go fund me campaign for involve MN!
What is Involve MN?
Involve MN is a Minnesota based 501c3 non-profit and is a collaboration of community, business, and government partners providing for the unsheltered and vulnerable people of the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.
Involve MN produces and distributes over 15,000 meals weekly to shelters, drop-in centers and encampments across the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Meals are delivered 365 days a year. They work tirelessly every day to ensure that no one who is unhoused will go hungry.
The Go Fund Me campaign will be available online the weeks before the event and for two weeks after the cabaret.
Give to the INVOLVE MN Go Fund Me Campaign!
Let's make a difference in the lives of our neighbors and community!
We would love to see you at the concert ... but if you are unable to attend, please consider donating to this amazing organization!!!
unity minneapolis - music director - lori dokken
Sunday morning services have moved back to Unity Minneapolis' Sanctuary! Live-streamed and in person
Sunday morning services have moved back to Unity Minneapolis' Sanctuary! Live-streamed and in person
Sunday morning services have moved back to Unity Minneapolis' Sanctuary! Live-streamed and in person
Unity Minneapolis - live-streamed and in-person service at 10:00 AM!
After 15 months of gathering at Robbinsdale Parkway United Church of Christ ... Phase One of the renovation is done and on July 13th we celebrate a homecoming to the new Unity Sanctuary!
Unity Minneapolis
4000 Golden Valley Road
Minneapolis, MN 55422
Join me for a tremendously uplifting Sunday morning experience at Unity Minneapolis where I have been the Music Director for the past fifteen years. Weekly Sunday morning service at 10:00 with the service available in person or by livestream on the church's website or their Facebook page or YouTube channel.
Frequent musical guests include The Unity Choir, Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder, Patty Peterson, Dane Stauffer, Joyann Parker, Erin Schwab, Ginger Commodore, Mary Jane Alm and many, many other great Twin Cities’ artists.
August & September Music Teams
Sunday - August 24th - Musical Guests are Erin Schwab, Dave Berget, Pete Hennig and me!
Sunday, August 27th - Musical Guest is Patty Peterson and me!
Sunday September 7th - “What Would You Do?”
Musical Guests Rachel Holder, Dave BErget, David Stanoch and me!
Sunday, September 14th - “God Help the Outcasts
Musical Guests are Rachel Holder, Dave Berget, David Stanoch and me!
Sunday, September 21st - “Beautiful City”
Musical Guests are Dane Stauffer, Tristana Ward, Dave Berget, David Stanoch and me!
Sunday, September 28th - “I’m Here”
Musical Guests are Rachel Holder, Ben Kelly, David Stanoch and me!
The Annual September Music Series for 2025 at Unity Minneapolis is "When Art Speaks ..."
Sunday morning services have moved back to Unity Minneapolis' Sanctuary! Live-streamed and in person
Sunday morning services have moved back to Unity Minneapolis' Sanctuary! Live-streamed and in person
“When Art Speaks …”
… from Berlin in the 1930s to today.
This year’s September Music Series will highlight the world of American theatre and specifically Broadway musicals from the past seventy years.
Artists and composers have brilliantly used this medium to express feelings, thoughts, emotions, worries, anger and sadness in reaction to their surroundings … political culture … daily life … and the environment. It seems that this need to create and express themselves is spawned from a desire to engage in and change the landscape of the times they were living through.
Please join us in person or online for the September Music Series at Unity Minneapolis - “When Art Speaks.” It promises to be a powerful, engaging, poignant, humorous, thought provoking and incredibly inspiring month.
“When Art Speaks” to us it can motivate and inspire diverse communities to bond together with common cause to form a movement – a broad and inclusive movement.
We CAN come together … We CAN do better.
Special Music featured during Sunday Services in September will be selections from some well-known Broadway musicals from the past seven decades.
On Sunday, October 5th at 5:00 PM – Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder and I (THREE) will close out the series by presenting a retrospect of material from contemporary music that has spoken to the people.
See you in September!
I hope you can come and experience “When Art Speaks …”
Lori
Special Guests for this series include: Rachel Holder, Dane Stauffer, Tristana Ward, David Stanoch, Dave Berget, and Benjamin Kelly.
"when art speaks" ... from Berlin in the 1930s to today.
Read Lori's notes regarding the Music Series
This year’s September Music Series, “When Art Speaks …” will highlight the world of American theatre and specifically Broadway musicals from the past seventy years.
Artists and composers have brilliantly used this medium to express feelings, thoughts, emotions, worries, anger and sadness in reaction to their surroundings … political culture … daily life … and the environment. It seems that this need to create and express themselves is spawned from a desire to engage in and change the landscape of the times they are living through.
History contains many eras of struggle as well as times of great accord that have driven and inspired artists to create some of the most influential works contained in the annals of our times. The categories of expression by these archivists have been threaded through theatre, spoken word, essays, paintings, photography, poetry and music. Quite often, works of art have inspired and motivated a society to enact positive and meaningful change that has caused the arc of our future to continue to bend toward justice.
I recently attended the production of Cabaret at The Guthrie and was gob smacked by the similarity of the topics the play highlighted from Berlin in 1930 that are front and center in the United States today.
I did some reading and research about the development of the musical Cabaret and discovered that in the early 1960s, Broadway producer Harold Prince acquired the source material for the show which was Christopher Isherwood's stories from his 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin. Prince wished to create a gritty adaptation of Isherwood's stories that drew parallels between the spiritual bankruptcy of Germany in the 1920s and contemporary social problems in the United States at a time "when the struggle for civil rights for black Americans was heating up as a result of nonviolent but bold demonstrations being held in the Deep South."
I found an incredible correlation between Isherwood’s Berlin in 1930 … Hal Prince’s America in the 1960s … and the alarmingly dangerous situation we are in today … in 2025.
People are being arrested without warrant, cause and due process … disappeared without basic rights … pulled off the street because of the color of their skin or the language that they speak … silenced because they are saying things in opposition to the people in power … are afraid for their lives if they do speak out … are being robbed of their basic human rights … and they watch without recourse as the programs and agencies they have relied on for their very survival are either being gutted, closed or people are casually being deemed no longer eligible to receive the assistance.
“When Art Speaks” to us it can motivate and inspire diverse communities to bond together with common cause to form a movement – a broad and inclusive movement - that demands adherence to The Constitution, respect for the rule of law, champions human rights and demands a return to the premise from which this great country began – E Pluribus Unum – out of many … ONE.
We CAN come together … We CAN do better.
Please join us at Unity Minneapolis for the September Music Series – “When Art Speaks.” It promises to be powerful, engaging, poignant, humorous, thought provoking and incredibly inspiring.
Some of the songs we will feature are: “What Would You Do?” and “Maybe This Time” (Cabaret); “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” (South Pacific); “Easy to be Hard” and “Age of Aquarius” (Hair); “Save the People,” “Beautiful City” (Godspell); “You’ll Be Back” (Hamilton); “I’m Here” (The Color Purple) and many, many more …
On Sunday, October 5th at 5:00 PM – Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder and I (THREE) will close out the series by presenting a broad retrospect of material from contemporary music that has spoken to all of us.
In closing …
These famous and historical words will probably feel familiar to many people. Their relevancy to our times gives a startling example of the serious truth of our current situation.
Written by Martin Niemöller, a German Lutheran pastor and theologian in 1930s Germany, Niemöller supported Hitler’s rise to power but came to odds with the government when Hitler insisted on the supremacy of the state over religion.
Niemöller then led a group of German clergymen who now opposed Hitler, and he was consequently arrested in 1937 and spent eight years in two different concentration camps until he was released by the Allies in 1945.
I didn’t know his history until doing research for this series. I now read his words through a much different lens … they ring even more true to me now.
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
See you in September!
Lori
About Lori
Musician - Pianist - Vocalist
Music Director - Producer - Arranger - Performance Coach
Music Director - Producer - Arranger - Performance Coach
A vast catalogue of music from old Swing tunes to R &B, Pop and Folk to classic old hymns ...
Music Director - Producer - Arranger - Performance Coach
Music Director - Producer - Arranger - Performance Coach
Music Director - Producer - Arranger - Performance Coach
It's not surprising that she was voted "Most Versatile" in high school ...
Passionate Performer
Music Director - Producer - Arranger - Performance Coach
Passionate Performer
This musician will give you everything she's got ...
And that's a lot ... four decades of seasoning as a pianist and vocalist.