Jazz Age Rumpus

A portion of proceeds will support Hopewell Music Cooperative North whose mission is to improve access to music education in North Minneapolis through affordable, inclusive and engaging music programs.

The Hook & Ladder Theater is proud to present a unique performance 100-years in the making – Jazz Age Rumpus! Immerse yourself in the jazz sounds of the 1920s and 30s. For listeners and dancers alike, this festival celebrates the greats of the Jazz Age: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Eddie Lang, Lonnie Johnson and many more! Featuring special performances by Southside Aces, Miss Myra & The Moonshiners, Spruce Top Duo and Rick Carlson.

Since 2003 the Southside Aces have performed for clubs, dancers, and festivals in the Twin Cities and throughout the midwest, including the 50th Anniversary Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival in the summer of 2021. They bring alive the music of Jazz Age greats Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong, not to mention the New Orleans sounds of Preservation Hall. They have released seven albums of traditional jazz and have a new one on the way featuring all originals in the style.

Miss Myra and The Moonshiners are a formidable 5-piece swing band from Minneapolis, MN with a fresh sound grounded in early jazz and blues. Playing original music amid a broad repertoire of classics from the ‘20s and ‘30s, they have developed a singular style that delights audiences and dance halls with the spirit of a musical tradition at its centennial. The group has made appearances at Bayfront Blues Festival, Fargo Blues Fest, Sioux Falls Jazz Festival, among others, and is excited to complete the spring portion of a tour with Allied Concert Services in April of 2022.

Spruce Top Duo is made up of Miss Myra Myra and Fitzgerald Palmer, two guitar players on the twin cities scene with a heart for swing guitar from the 20s and 30s. From their debut performance at the Lowertown Guitar Festival in August of 2021, Miss Myra and Fitzgerald Palmer have become a vintage guitar sensation, playing for block parties, composing music for silent film, and have even been featured in a promotional video for the famed Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville.

Since 1980 Rick Carlson has been the pianist for the Wolverines Big Band, and has performed on concert stages in London and New York City. He’s appeared with Count Basie drummer Butch Miles, and horn stars Warren Vaché, Delfeayo Marsalis, Evan Christopher and Wycliffe Gordon. His credits as musical director, arranger and pianist include the Guthrie Theater presentation of “Coward’s Women”, the Capri Theater “Legends Series” and in various concert and cabaret presentations internationally. He opened for Rosemary Clooney, accompanied Kathryn Crosby in various cabaret shows, and counts Madeleine Peyroux among his many unwitting fans.