St. Patty’s Primer: Serendipity Music Series Welcomes Guitar Masters March 14

Just in time for a St. Patty’s Day primer, Minnesota guitar masters Lehto and Wright bring their traditional Celtic and American folk/rock sound to their first appearance with the Centennial Student Union Serendipity Music Series.

The duo’s free two-hour daytime performance will be Wednesday, March 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the CSU’s Lower Level Flex Programming Space.

According to Dirty Linen, the national newsfeed for folk and world music, Steve Lehto and John Wright are “.. among North America’s best practitioners of Anglo-Celtic folk-rock… wonderfully intricate, powerful guitar-driven music…”

Lehto and Wright’s accomplished twin guitar/mandolin approach features “unplugged” song sets ranging from Irish tunes to American spirituals. Their musical style, shaped by such influences as Jethro Tull, Miles Davis and King Crimson, challenges the boundaries of the traditional Folk genre.

The CSU’s ongoing Serendipity Music Series is a mid-day, mid-week, “street corner serenade” series that seeks to expose students, the campus and the Mankato community to a range of genres by Minnesota musicians. Lenny Koupal, coordinator of the series, said it was “serendipity” to come upon Lehto and Wright.

“Lehto and Wright came recommended by Tim Cheesebrow, a Twin Cities singer/songwriter who performed here in January,” Koupal said. “What a pleasant surprise to find Celtic music was in their wheelhouse and they were available for a daytime, pre-St. Patty’s gig. Two hours of free, top-notch tunes should help set the Irish mood and once-again expose our community to the wealth of talent among Minnesota musicians.”