Twin Cities performer Mick Sterling will pay tribute to Billy Joel with two concerts titled "A Billy Joel State of Mind" scheduled Jan. 18 in the Chalberg Theatre stage at Central Lakes College in Brainerd.
The concerts are part of the Cultural Arts Series of the Central Lakes Community Performing Arts Center. Sterling's group will perform at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Series producer Patrick Spradlin calls this a much-anticipated event.
"Mick appeared here a few years ago with the Fabulous Armadillos in their Motown tribute," Spradlin stated in a news release. "I'm really happy to have him back. He's an incredibly gifted singer, one that doesn't come along very often."
In 2018, Sterling is celebrating his 38th year in the music business. His career, like any musician
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doing it as long as he has, has experienced many changes, highlights, lowlights and everything
in-between. Within those 37 years, Sterling transformed himself from a young and energetic
lead singer of throw-together bands to one of the most recognized names into the Twin Cities
music scene, a news release stated. Mick Sterling and the Stud Brothers, the band he led for 17 years, was recently inducted into the Midwest Music Hall of Fame, and falls in the category of the other legendary Twin Cities Soul and R&B bands such as Doug Maynard, Willie and the Bees, Lamont Cranston and others, according to the news release.
As a producer of many shows, his event production company Mick Sterling Presents has produced a large array of unique and diverse theatrical shows that feature some of the legendary names and songs of multiple genres. All of these large bands-minimum 10 members per band-feature some of the top musicians in the Twin Cities. These amazing shows are performing in various theaters in the Midwest, the news release stated.
"A Billy Joel State of Mind" is one of those shows, Spradlin stated. Led by Sterling, the show includes a four-piece horn section, full percussion, the double piano combination of Peter Guertin and Charlie Peterson, two violins and a band totaling 14 members, "A Billy Joel State of
Mind" features hits such as "Piano Man," "Uptown Girl," "New York State of Mind," "Big Shot"
and many more. But the show also features deeper tracks such as "Billy the Kid," "Zanzibar,"
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"Easy Money," "Summer Highland Falls" and others.
"This is a powerful statement of the incredible work of Billy Joel handled by a band that Mr. Joel would be proud to front himself," Spradlin stated. "When we first announced this show in August the evening performance nearly sold out immediately. We added the 3 p.m. matinee to
accommodate what we know is very strong demand for this incredible show."
Tickets are available from the CLC Theatre Box Office at 218-855-8199 or online at www.clcperformingarts.com .
The show is sponsored the Scott and Kari Christiansen Family. The entire season, and this
activity, are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State
Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
