Patty & his buttons with Rick Carlson - January 9, 2015

Patrick Harison is a musical wonder. As a young musician he has traveled far and wide and made a name for himself as a button accordionist (!), adept at all manner of musical styles from zydeco to hot jazz. Amazingly, he has played as an accordion soloist for both the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Opera (to name just a few orchestral appearances), as well as under the direction of the famous Doc Severinsen. The recipient of a McKnight Fellowship for performing musicians, Patty spent considerable time in New Orleans where he performed regularly and soaked in the musical juices of that great jazz city. Patty is a member of many musical projects and the band leader of Patty and the Buttons, a group which just released their second album, Mercury Blues, to great acclaim as wonderfully detailed in this in-depth review from Hymies Vintage Records.

Some of you saw Patty last summer at the great Jack Klatt show (and if you missed, here’s a video from that show featuring Patty). On this evening, Patty will be accompanied by jazz pianist Rick Carlson (called Minnesota’s answer to Count Basie) and the two of them will be performing music that would be heard in a 1920’s Chicago speak-easy (flasks of your favorite beverage welcome), or a cafe in Paris (picture splitting a bottle of merlot with Hemingway). Here’s a little sample, appropriately set to an old-time cartoon. We’re excited to have Patty perform at the barn again and particularly grateful to him for working us into his schedule at the last minute. One thing we can promise, this will be a very entertaining show, because Patty is a very entertaining fellow.

Doors will open for this show at 7 PM with music to start at 7:30 PM. To reserve your seats, please RSVP to Milesdog@tds.net. We’re asking $15 for this show, with all proceeds going to the artists. As always, BYOB for the communal beverage tubs and a snack to share if you’d like. Come prepared for a jazzy evening.