KUMD-FM's 50th Anniversary Celebration Brings in Top Performers to the DECC

April 24, 2007

KUMD-FM radio will mark its 50th anniversary of broadcasting the weekend of May 4th & 5th and as part of the celebration the station will host a concert on Friday, May 4th at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) featuring musical headliners Shawn Colvin, Iris Dement, and Pat Donohue.

"This will be a great opportunity for music lovers in our region to experience three wonderful performers who fit together on a bill so well but are all so special in their own right," KUMD's Program and Music Director John Ziegler commented. "This will be a great night of music. Many years ago, Colvin, Dement, and Donohue were new to listeners on our KUMD airwaves. Today, they're renowned recording artists and performers across the U.S. and Canada."

Shawn Colvin's music has taken her from her South Dakota birthplace to the clubs of Boston and New York City, where she first attracted a following. She received a Best Contemporary Folk Grammy in 1989 and both Song of the Year and Record of the Year Grammy's in 1998. Colvin has continued her successful recording and performing career, recently releasing the album, "These Four Walls."

Singer/songwriter Iris Dement is one of this decade's most celebrated country-folk performers. The youngest of 14 children, she grew up singing gospel music and went on to a Warner Brothers recording contract. In 2000, Dement earned a Grammy nod for her recording performances with country music's John Prine.

The opening act is the talented Twin Cities-based guitarist and songwriter Pat Donohue, whom Chet Atkins has called one of the greatest finger pickers in the world today. As the guitarist for the Guys All-Star Shoe Band of Minnesota Public Radio's "A Prairie Home Companion," Pat shows off his original songs to millions of listeners each week.

The concert is set to start at 7:30 p.m. on May 4th (tickets are on sale at the DECC ticket office or via phone and online through Ticketmaster) and is part of a two-day anniversary celebration that will also bring back to Duluth KUMD alumni of the past five decades, including the volunteers, underwriters, students, and others who have helped make KUMD a success over the decades. The DECC event will benefit KUMD.

The station has organized a special KUMD open house for the weekend as well as a free live broadcast concert on Saturday, May 5th in the Marshall Performing Arts Center featuring KUMD alum Jim Hall, Hattie Peterson and the Black Frames, the Randy Lee Quartet, and the Azure du Jour Blues Band, all hosted by John Ziegler. Ziegler, on the air at KUMD for more than 30 years, is one of the station's most familiar voices and a regular host of live studio sessions.

For more information about the Colvin, Dement, and Donohue concert at the DECC or about other 50th anniversary events, contact Station Manager Mike Dean at 218-726-8097 or mikedean@kumd.org

Visit KUMD online at http://www.kumd.org.