An Evening with Leo Kottke

Saturday May 13, 7:30pm MainStage

Acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke absorbed a variety of musical influences as a child, flirting with both violin and trombone, before abandoning Stravinsky for the guitar at age 11. After adding a love for the country blues of Mississippi, Kottke joined the Navy underage and eventually lost some hearing shooting at lightbulbs. Discharged in 1964, he settled in the Twin Cities and became a fixture at Minneapolis Scholar Coffeehouse, which had been home to Bob Dylan and John Koerner.

 With 1975’s Chewing Pine, Kottke reached the U.S. Top 30 for the second time; he also gained an international following thanks to tours in Europe and Australia. His collaboration with Phish bassist Mike Gordon, “Clone,” caught audiences’ attention in 2002.

 Kottke has two Grammy nominations; a Doctorate in Music Performance by the Peck School of Music at the U of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and a Certificate of Significant Achievement in Not Playing the Trombone from the U of Texas at Brownsville with Texas Southmost College.