February 14th @ 7 PM - at the history theatre!

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Valentine's Day Concert, February 14, 7pm 

For the Love of…”, a Valentine’s Day concert featuring the Twin Cities’ best female musicians, is presented by History Theatre in partnership with Lori Dokken. The performers will share their musical insights about the things they love, the people they love, and what they believe true love is about. There are many different types of love that we can all appreciate, from the love of nature to the love of a best friend and even the love of a pet!  
 

This eclectic group of stage veterans will perform romantic musical selections Broadway to opera and from folk to pop. Judi Vinar, Ginger Commodore, Rachel Holder, Erin Schwab, Joan Griffith, Maria Jette, Jen Maren, and Ellis Delaney are among the featured artists under the direction of musical director Lori Dokken.
 

Through their experiences and life tales, these women artists not only personify the Latin word valentine, which means “strong,” but they have also been inspired by an independent spirit. “The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before,” Albert Einstein once stated.

Come spend an evening with nine powerful, independent performers, each of whom has strong musical ties to our community. This one night only concert will entertain you while we celebrate the real meaning of love. 

We think it’s about time to put a tuxedo-clad group of women on stage and set them free to sing, swing, sass and show the alternative of what Vegas’ lounges in the ’60s could have been like.   This show brings you back to the days of the Rat Pack with Johnny Carson at The Copa Room at TheSands Hotel.   

Featuring Patty Peterson, Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder and Lori Dokken with Jendeen Forberg on drums and Jordan Hedlund on bass.   

Special Guest – James Rocco, The Ordway Center’s past artistic director and vice president of programs for 13 years, will be your host!

1971 – 51 years ago – two of the most influential and renowned albums were released by two of THE greatest female composers of all time – Carole King and Joni Mitchell.  The critical acclaim of Tapestry and Blue has only grown over time and this year these albums reach the milestone of being released a half century ago.

To celebrate this grand anniversary, “THREE” (Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder and Lori Dokken) is teaming up with bassist Jay Young and percussionist Dave Stanoch to present these two classic recordings in their entirety on The MainStage at Crooners Supper Club on Sunday, August 28th at 5:00 PM.

If you are like many of us, you have worn out several copies of Carole’s and Joni’s masterpieces.  You won’t want to miss this opportunity to hear the entire albums played uninterrupted by this incomparable group of local artists.

"50th Anniversary of Pride All-Star Cabaret Show”

FEAT:  Erin Schwab, Dan Chouinard, Mary Jane Alm, Ann Reed, Joan Griffith, Ellis, James Rocco, Mistress Ginger, Dennis Spears and many more to be announced.

Crooners joins in congratulating and celebrating Twin Cities’ Pride and the LGBTQ+ community on the 50th Anniversary of Pride with an All-Star Cabaret Show presented by Lori Dokken on June 25th at 8:00 PM and June 26th at 4:00 PM. 

From the first gathering in Loring Park and the first Gay Pride parade, through decades of disco, the AIDS quilt, the Human Rights Campaign, transgender rights and now same sex marriage … TC Pride has continued to grow in diversity and community inclusivity and this June expects more than 400,000 visitors to attend their many Pride activities! 

We sincerely hope you will join Crooners, Lori Dokken and her very special line-up for this insanely fun and sometimes incredibly poignant cabaret show. It will be EPIC!

"I Am Woman ... Hear Me Roar!" - featuring Lori Dokken, Judi Vinar, Patty Peterson and Rachel Holder with Jay Young, III and David Stanoch.  

We hope that you will join us for an evening celebrating some of the greatest women singers and songwriters ever!   

With Lori Dokken at the piano, Twin Cities’ vocalists Judi Vinar, Patty Peterson and Rachel Holder along with bass player Jay Young and drummer David Stanoch will turn the stage into a celebration of some of the matriarchs of music. Sit back and enjoy the vibrant vocal harmonies these girls put to tunes made famous by such divas as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Annie Lennox, Carole King, Tina Turner, Judy Garland, Christina Aguilera and many more. It promises to be a fantastic evening of hearing these women “roar” as only they can!   

"I Am Woman ... Hear Me Roar!

Friday, July 15th - 7:00 PM

Benson Public Schools' Performing Arts Center

1400 Montana Avenue

Benson, MN 56215

Here's the link to purchase tickets -  https://www.vancoevents.com/BFZI

How Spirituals and Gospel Music provided the musical inspiration and foundation for blues, jazz and rock and roll.

Every September at Unity Minneapolis the Music Department presents a month-long focus on a specific musical style, genre, artist or era from our past. Being the Musical Director at Unity places me in the position of selecting what will be featured each year.

I am very excited to join with my friend and collaborator, Ginger Commodore, to assemble this journey through Gospel Music from the Spirituals to contemporary Gospel artists. As challenging as this will be for us to distill into four Sundays, decades and centuries of songs, composers, and artists, we look forward to bringing you a snapshot of the foundational, musical building blocks for the development of some of America’s most renowned contemporary music styles such as blues, jazz and rock and roll.

Musical Guests for this series include: Ginger Commodore, Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder, Julius Collins, T. Mychael Rambo, Jordan Hedlund, Bobby Commodore, Pete Hennig and Dave Berget. 

The musical journey begins with Sister Rosetta Tharpe and travels through time to today featuring such female phenoms as Laura Nyro, Carole King, Phoebe Snow, Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Lady Gaga and India.Arie as well as others. The evening will also be interspersed with words from some wise women such as Maya Angelou, Terry Tempest Williams, Winona LaDuke, Coretta Scott King, Mary Oliver and many others.   

On stage to deliver an eclectic and dynamic array of arrangements of songs written by these iconic female composers are a cadre of local Twin Cities’ vocalists including Judi  Vinar, Joyann Parker, Rachel Holder, Katie Gearty, and Anna Christy backed by pianist Lori Dokken (Producer & Music Director of “Shout! Sister, Shout!”) along with Jordan Hedlund on bass and Daryl Boudreaux on percussion.  We will also be joined by actress Eden Bodnar who will be delivering the spoken word sections.  

Patty will be joined by her trio of pals – Judi Vinar, Rachel Holder and Lori Dokken, along with special guests yet TBA. In the business for more than five decades, Patty is as diverse as they come. She is a world-class Jazz/R&B vocalist, a radio show host on KBEM Jazz 88, a mainstay in the jingle and voice-over industry and an inspiring presenter on the national speaking circuit. There is so much that we know about her. Yet with more than 50 years of musical history, this evening promises to be an amazing journey of stories and songs that will move us to tears, cause us to have bursts of spontaneous laughter and surprise us with all that have we yet to learn about this phenomenal woman. 

To honor the accomplished life and generous heart of this Twin Cities’ treasure, the producers of this event are offering two FREE Concerts in the Dunsmore Room at Crooners on February 19th and 20th. They invite the attendees during that evening or afternoon to consider honoring Patty with a monetary gift to The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation which is an organization that helps to support the staff and caregivers who saved Patty’s life fifteen years ago.

This concert is a gift with our thanks and gratitude to you, our musical supporters. We hope that will join us to experience “The Story of Patty …” and we sincerely thank you for considering making a financial gift that evening or afternoon to our friends in the medical community, who not only saved Patty’s life 15 years ago, but devotedly care for us every day and especially during this pandemic.

Your 100% tax-deductible donation will go directly to the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation is an independent nonprofit research organization that partners with the cardiologists from Minneapolis Heart Institute to lead groundbreaking clinical research and education focused on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart and vascular disease. 

Lori Dokken Presents “Singin' in the Kitchen"

Feat: Judi Vinar, Patty Peterson, Ginger Commodore, Rachel Holder, Joyann Parker and Lori Dokken

“Singin' in the Kitchen” says it all ... that magical place where we share so much together during our lifetimes. That warm haven where we talk about our struggles, our successes, our loves and sometimes our losses - the kitchen holds all of our secrets and stories. 

Judi, Patty, Ginger, Joyann, Rachel and Lori will reach into their bag of personal favorites and offer their collection of remembrances about those snapshots in time when we quietly smile and remember all that really matters in this life. Please join us for an evening of holiday favorites!

I am ecstatic to be back at The Ordway Center of the Performing Arts for I believe the twelfth year ...(?)  This year's production is "Beauty and the Beast" and you will find me once again in The Target Atrium, seated at a very lovely Steinway Concert Grand piano, playing pre show and intermission music.  It is really my favorite job of the year ... I love Christmas and Holiday music ... I can't wait to see lots of 'short people' - some old friends and some new ... and of course I enjoy spending time with the fantastic staff at this treasured St. Paul theater.  

"Beauty and the Beast" - runs from Wednesday, November 30th through Saturday, December 31st.  Evening shows usually have a curtain time of 7:30 and matinees are at 2:00.  

You will find me seated on the bench an hour prior to the start of the show and then I will be playing again during intermission.  I am fairly certain that some of my young friends will sit in and play a little "Jingle Bells" with me ... and we'll see how many renditions end up being posted on YouTube!  

When you come to the show - make sure to stop by and say "hello!"

Please check out The Ordway site to find the exact times for certain dates.