Entertainment Briefs — July 6

Enjoy a beer and help out the National Loon Center at the same time from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 6.

Interested in learning more? Representatives from the Crosslake-based organization will be on hand to talk about its impact on the community.

For more information, call 218-270-8072 or email info@jackpinebrewery.com .

Performances in the Park continues with the Muddy Water Band at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 7, in Gregory Park in Brainerd. The group plays classic country, 1950s music and country-rock.

The band has been around for some 35 years and consists of local area musicians. Jack Franzen is the lead singer and plays guitar along with bass player Kevin Wright and drummer Ted Alvord.

Contributed / The Center

Wright does his single gigs in clubs and private parties in the Pequot Lakes area. Franzen finds his passion in writing and recording songs along with a few chances to play special gigs with his sons. Franzen and Alvord played together at the Old Oaks Club for many years.

Performances in the Park is a collaboration between the Brainerd Parks and Recreation Department and The Center. Those attending should bring a blanket or lawn chair. The rain site during inclement weather is The Center at 803 Kingwood St.

A night filled with your favorite country music performed by country artists paying tribute to Tim McGraw, Eric Church and Jason Aldean will take place from 6-10 p.m. Thursday, July 7.

The summer concert series features three great shows on Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the driving range at the Pines Golf Course in Nisswa.

The cost is $40 per person and tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/3ylIL2b .

The Lakes Area Music Festival’s Prelude Series will feature rising stars and award-winning talent in a tour of central Minnesota. The music festival’s artists will give free concerts in Aitkin, Nisswa, Brainerd, Crosslake and Deerwood.

A string quartet from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will kick it off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 9, at Aitkin’s Butler Building and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Nisswa with works by Beethoven, and composers Samuel Barber and Jessie Montgomery.

Contributed / Titi Ayangade

The Lakes Area Music Festival then welcomes the 2022 laureates of its String Quartet Fellowship, the Maryland-based Thalea Quartet, at Tornstrom Auditorium in downtown Brainerd at 7:30 p.m. July 15.

Fueled by the belief that chamber music is a powerful force for building community and human connection, the quartet has performed across North America, Europe and China, and appeared at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Their program will feature Antonin Dvorak’s “American” String Quartet.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Henry Kramer will present a solo recital at 2 p.m. July 17 at Brainerd’s Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts, showcasing the Steinway Model D piano which was recently acquired for that space.

Contributed / Lakes Area Music Festival

Emerging classical singers from the LAMF’s Vocal Fellowship, chosen from the nation’s top conservatories and training programs, will present a potpourri of opera arias and beloved songs at Crosslake Lutheran Church (July 23, 7:30 p.m.), Salem Lutheran Church of Deerwood (July 24, 2 p.m.) and Nisswa’s Lutheran Church of the Cross (July 24, 7:30 p.m.).

All Prelude Series concerts are free of charge, and tickets are not required.

The festival’s 14th annual festival season will take place July 29 through Aug. 22. The festival will feature over 180 of the world’s top classical musicians in more than 25 events, from an original opera production to symphony orchestras, learning opportunities and “casual classics.”

Name-your-price tickets for the season concerts are now available through the festival’s website, www.lakesareamusic.org . For assistance, call the ticket hotline at 218-831-0765.

Founded in 2009, the Lakes Area Music Festival connects the nation’s best performers and audiences through excellent classical music and inspiring education.

The Crosslake Ideal Lions has arranged a fabulous slate of live music coming to Crosslake's Town Square at 35770 Allen Ave. every Saturday night beginning at 6 p.m.

The Mraz Brothers, based in the Twin Cities, will perform Saturday, July 9, and have earned a great reputation as a fun and talented band. Their great relationship with the Brainerd lakes area has spanned over four decades.

From 1950s to 1970s family-friendly dance rock, the band brings their personalized twist to classics and you can learn more about them at www.mrazbrothers.com .

Come with your friends and family, bring your own refreshments and enjoy live music on the Whitefish Chain of Lakes.

Folksinger-songwriter Kelley Smith will perform a wide range of vintage tunes — from bluegrass, folk, country blues and jazz genres, as well as modern Americana — from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, July 9, at Camp Knutson at 11148 Manhattan Point Blvd. in Crosslake.

The performance is free but an at-will donation is suggested. For more information about Camp Knutson, visit www.lssmn.org/campknutson.

Strikepoint, an internationally-acclaimed handbell ensemble, will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 10, at First Congregational Church at 415 Juniper St. in Brainerd. This performance is part of both the ensemble’s 2022 summer tour and the church’s 150th-anniversary celebration.

Strikepoint is noted for capturing the enthusiasm of audiences with its dynamic style and accessible music, according to a news release. Concert selections range from a 1940s Glenn Miller ballad to Lady Gaga to a bluesy spiritual, and include both familiar and new music.

Contributed / Strikepoint

Strikepoint is based at First United Methodist Church in Duluth. The 11-member directorless ensemble is unique among touring handbell groups as a combination community/professional/church group and an adult/youth group.

Bill Alexander, a nationally-known handbell clinician and conductor, is the leader of the ensemble.

Admission is free but a $15 donation is suggested. To support local music, Strikepoint will share 20% of the freewill donation with First Congregational’s music program.

The Brown Bag Lunch Summer Author Series is back in person in the large meeting room of the Brainerd Public Library from noon to 1 p.m. Mondays in July. Minnesota Wendy Webb will discuss her new mystery novel “The Keepers of Metsan Valo.”

In the novel, when Anni’s beloved grandmother passes away, she, her twin brother and the rest of their family gather at Metsan Valo, the family estate on the shores of Lake Superior, for the reading of the will.

No sooner does Anni arrive than frightening and unexplainable things start happening. Strange visions, whispers in the walls and unnerving nightmares plague her first days and nights, compounding her grief and rattling her spirit.

Contributed / Brainerd Public Library

Webb is the award–winning author of six novels of gothic suspense, including “The Haunting of Brynn Wilder,” “Daughters of the Lake,” “The Vanishing,” “The Fate of Mercy Alban,” “The Tale of Halcyon Crane” and “The End of Temperance Dare.”The Minneapolis author’s books are sold worldwide and have been translated into seven languages. Dubbed “Queen of the Northern Gothic” by reviewers, Webb sets her stories on the windswept, rocky shores of the Great Lakes.

This presentation is sponsored by the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library through their volunteer and fundraising efforts.

For more information, call 218-829-5574 or visit facebook.com/Friendsofthebrainerdpubliclibrary .