Cornmeal, Big Tree Bonsai

By Kyle Gunderson
Contributing Writer

Bluegrass is alive and well, thank you very much!  On April 2, blowing into Fargo straight from the windy city will be Chicago’s finest bluegrass quintet Cornmeal and Minnneapolis’ own funky 4-piece Big Tree Bonsai.

The more I read about Cornmeal the more they sound as if they could have came from our own humble home of Fargo.  For the first six years of their existence they played every single Wednesday in humble venues around Chicago to a small but unrelentingly dedicated fan base…maybe like your favorite local Fargo band whoever that may be.

Cornmeal is a collective of five musicians; Kris Norwak (guitar and vocals), Chris Gangi (upright bass), Dave Burlingam (banjo and vocals), Allie Kral (fiddle and vocals), and J. P. Nowak (drums) who came together simply for the love of the music. They have been together for ten years and have recently been performing larger scale shows at festivals such as Bonaroo, 10k, and Wakaroosa.  Their sound is a familiar yet comforting blend of American bluegrass, electric jam, acoustic folk, a little bit of country, and a little bit of rock and roll.

Joining Cornmeal on stage will be Big Tree Bonsai. Coming out of Minneapolis, BTB complements Cornmeal well, with a similar jam style and a melting pot of genres that ranges from rock to jazz to funk. They are made up of Ben Berg (Bass), Brandon Hagstrom (Guitar/Vocals), Colin Hacklander (Drums), Zach Mullan (Guitar/Vocals) and have mostly toured around Minnesota.  21+, doors at 8, music at 9.  It should be an amazing show with a strong festival atmosphere so dont forget your hula hoops and try putting a couple dreads in your hair.

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If You Go

What: Cornmeal, Bigtree Bonsai
Where: The Aquarium
When: Fri, Apr 2
Info: 701.235.5913