VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Valley City Parks & Recreation and The Bridges Arts Council are excited to announce the return of award-winning singer, songwriter, and author Jessie Veeder to Valley City for a Music in the Park concert on Wednesday, August 11 at 7:15 pm.
Jessie will perform with her father, Gene Veeder, and with other supporting musicians at the City Park bandshell, located at 221 5th Ave SW. Accessibility accommodations will be in place to enable all community members wishing to attend the performance to do so. Free transportation to and from the event will be offered by South Central Transit Services for any person age sixty-five or over and/ or having a disability. Individuals who would like assistance with transportation are encouraged to reach out to South Central Transit Services prior to the event by calling or texting 240-462-8785 and requesting a ride to the Jessie Veeder concert. The performance will also be livestreamed via the Bridges Arts Council’s Facebook page so that people can watch it from home, if they are unable to attend in person.
Veeder released her first album, This Road, when she was only sixteen years old, and she has been making music and performing ever since. In 2015, she recorded her fifth original studio album in Nashville entitled Northern Lights. Her music is rooted in stories of the Badlands of North Dakota that she calls home, reflecting the Bakken artist’s blues, folk, and country influences. Veeder is also a columnist for the Forum News Service and the author of Coming Home (2017), her tribute to life in a North Dakota paradise. In her spare time, she maintains her popular blog, Meanwhile, back at the ranch, is a frequent commentator for Prairie Public Radio, and helps to bring art and music to Western North Dakota and the Watford City area as the Director of the Long X Arts Foundation. She is a recent recipient of the Governor’s Award for the Arts in Individual Achievement, was named North Dakota’s Favorite Folk Artist in 2016 and 2017, and is the recipient of the North Dakota Ambassador Award. On a personal note, Veeder is a mother of two, a Cancer survivor, and a fourth-generation steward of her family ranch in Western North Dakota.
The “Music in the Park” concert series has been held each summer in Valley City since 1996. The Bridges Arts Council, Valley City Parks and Recreation, and their community partners are excited to be hosting the concert series in its milestone 25th year. Every Wednesday evening, June through mid-August, musical entertainment representing a variety of genres is performed by regional artists on the historic bandshell stage in City Park. There is no admission charge for Music in the Park events, but a free will offering is collected at each concert to support the bandshell and its future programs. Concert attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets for their comfort. In case of inclement weather, the Jessie Veeder concert performance will be moved to Foss Hall at VCSU.
The Jessie Veeder concert is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the North Dakota Council on the Arts. Local contributions are being provided by the Bridges Arts Council. For more information or questions please contact Bridges Arts Council Arts Administrator, Nick Lee, at info@bridgesarts.org or by calling 701-840-6182 and leaving a voicemail.