May 22, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter presents a profile of the band, Conga Se Menne. The group from Upper Peninsula of Michigan utilizes some bongos, steel drums, and a tropical beat. They call their music Finnish reggae. The reggae beat is surprisingly similar to the Finnish schottish and soca is not far from a polka.
May 28, 1997 - MPR’s Mariann Sullivan interviews Twin Cities singer Lucia Newell, who discusses her passion for Brazilian music. Newell also demonstrates the different vocal and rhythmic styles.
May 29, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe profiles Minnesota's Linda Eder, who is wowing Broadway audiences as the female lead in the musical version of Jekyll and Hyde. 36-year-old Eder, who grew up outside Brainerd, has an exceptional, powerful voice, according to the theater critics and fans singing her praises.
October 3, 1997 - An October edition of our "Voices of Minnesota" series, featuring two Minnesota stars in the music world, singer and Broadway performer Linda Eder; and violinist and jazz musician Clifford Brunzell.
November 2, 1997 - Female vocal ensemble Anonymous 4 bring the music of Hildegard of Bingen to Saint Paul Sunday. Anonymous 4 perform the festal chants Hildegard composed to honor Ursula, a fifth-century saint who, along with the 11,000 women she inspired, chose martyrdom over forced pagan marriage.
November 28, 1997 - Midday presents an NPR recording of Norman Corwin's play The Secretariat. Performers include Hume Cronyn, William Shatner, and Tandy Cronyn (who is Hume's daughter).
March 19, 1998 - Minneapolis playwright Kim Hines tells the story of three prominent African American women of the time who are largely unknown to most Minnesotans. Hines has written monologues portraying the life of businesswoman Amanda Lyle, social worker Gertrude Brown, and attorney Lena Smith.
April 4, 1998 - The Jazz Image’s Leigh Kamman talks with Minnesotan Butch Thompson, a renowned American jazz pianist and clarinetist. Thompson discusses his recording of Scott Joplin work.
April 15, 1998 - As part of the series Remembering and Rebuilding - The Great Flood of 1997, a special Mainstreet Radio program from East Grand Forks, one year after the flood. Host Rachel Reabe interviews several business people and families who were affected by the flood…some who rebuilt, and some who moved away.
April 24, 1998 - MPR’s Chris Roberts interviews Dylan Hicks, a local songwriter. Hicks has always relied on his zany sense of humor to draw attention to himself and his music, but on his CD "Poughkeepsie" he is presenting a more serious side, and critics are responding favorably. Segment includes various music clips.