By Marty Warburton, For Iron County Today
Even though the calendar says that Spring has officially sprung, our inner calendars still have us wondering about the ‘winter that wasn’t.’ No doubt to be long remembered as, the Winter of ’25. Yet we move on, eager to partake of all the goodness that Springtime has to offer. Baseball, flowers, leafy trees, sunshine, new lambs, Easter…the list goes on and on.
As is the case most every year, just as Spring is winding up, the annual Cedar City Music Arts season is beginning to wind down. For the last 95 years CCMA has worked through wars, depressions, pandemics and yes, even snow-less winters, to bring none but the finest performing artists from around the world to Cedar City, Utah.
This season, which began last October with a performance by the Utah Symphony Orchestra, has been a great success thus far and will continue as such for the remaining two performances for this season.
Gracing the stage at The Heritage Theater on Tuesday, April 8th will be the amazing Kruger Brothers. Born and raised in Europe, brothers Jens and Uwe Kruger started singing and playing instruments at a very young age. Growing up in a family where music was an important part of life, they were exposed to a broad diversity of musical influences. The brothers were performing regularly by the time they were eleven and twelve years old, and began their professional career in 1979. Jens’ and Uwe’s first public performances were as a duo, and in just a few years they were busking on the streets of cities throughout Eastern and Western Europe. In 1982, Jens was a featured guest artist of Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys on the Grand Ole Opry making him quite likely the first European banjo player to ever perform on the hallowed stage.
CBS Records contracted with Jens and Uwe when Jens was just seventeen years old, and shortly thereafter, the Krugers hosted a radio show on SRG SSR, the Swiss Public broadcast group. Years later, the brothers teamed up with bass player Joel Landsberg, of New York City, with an extensive musical upbringing in classical and jazz, thus forming a trio that has been playing professionally since 1995.
The trio moved to the USA in 2002 and are now based in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. On June 6th, 2006 an official US flag was flown over the US capitol in honor of Jens and his contributions to American culture. Jens and Uwe were eventually made honorary citizens of North Carolina and in 2020 The Kruger Brothers were inducted into the Wilkes County Hall of Fame. Since their formal introduction to American audiences in 1997, The Kruger Brothers’ remarkable discipline, creativity, and their ability to infuse classical music into folk music has resulted in a unique, nuanced sound that has made them a fixture within the world of acoustic music. The honesty of their writing has since become a hallmark of the trio’s work. The Kruger Brothers are also very well known for their performances and commissioned works with symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, and string quartets in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts and Chamber Music America, among others.
Accolades abound – in 2011 Jens was inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame. Two years later, in the fall of 2013, he was awarded the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo The Kruger Brothers have performed with Steve Martin in an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Jens is also a 2021 inductee into the American Banjo Hall of Fame.
In their ever-expanding body of work, Jens Kruger (banjo and vocals), Uwe Kruger (guitar and lead vocals), and Joel Landsberg (bass and vocals) together as The Kruger Brothers personify the spirit of exploration and innovation that forms the core of the American musical tradition. Together, they established the incomparable sound that The Kruger Brothers are known for today. Their original music is crafted around their discerning taste, and the result is unpretentious, cultivated, and delightfully fresh.
Jens, Uwe, and Joel have always felt a deep emotional responsibility towards their audience always striving to inspire hearts through their music leaving people feeling loved, respected, and with a renewed sense of joy and hope. Courtesy of Cedar City Music Arts and the Rap Tax Committee, approximately 500 Iron County School District students will be treated to a morning matinee by the Kruger Brothers, with a chance to ask questions, and to see and hear close up, how live music is created out of thin air.
The Kruger Brothers continue to tour extensively sharing their music with audiences far and wide. To date, they have recorded and released more than twenty-two albums.
So be there! Tuesday, April 8th. Doors at 6:30–Show begins 7:30 All events are held at The Heritage Center Theater, 105 N 100 E, Cedar City, Utah For Advance Tickets Call the Box Office at 435-865-2882 or Cedarcitymusicarts.org.