Papa John Kolstad & Friends

Papa John Kolstad is an accomplished musician, a fine blues singer and songwriter, as well as a stellar picker on both 6 and 12 string guitar. He employs a variety of styles in his performances; folk, blues, swing, and jazz. He is joined for this performance by lyrical harmonica player, Bill Smith and Amy Houle, a powerful vocal presence who brings massive quantities of character in every word she sings.

Papa John Kolstad has been performing more than  years, blazing a musical trail across these United States and Europe. He performed regularly on The Prairie Home Companion radio show with Garrison Keillor and has been a featured performer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Papa John was featured in a chapter of “The West Bank Boogie”, covering the music and musicians of the 60’s and 70’s in the Minneapolis West Bank Music Scene. In 2022 Papa John received the Legend Award and was formally inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame.

Bill Smith is an excellent, lyrical harmonica player and also a very fine singer. Bill is terrific on the Blues but also does swing, standards and jazz tunes. He has been performing for over 30 years at clubs, concerts, coffee houses, festivals and low life bars. Bill is a seasoned player with excellent chops. He regularly performs with some of the top musicians in the Twin Cities area. We call him Wailin’ Willie and you’ll see why.

Amy Houle is a powerful vocal presence and brings massive quantities of character in every word she sings. A vocalist with a captivating voice, her style is one of a kind. She is very compassionate, and you’ll find yourself relating to her delicate tones. She is a modest musician with so much talent! Using her voice as her brush, she paints her words onto life’s canvas.