MINNEAPOLIS (Aug. 23, 2023) — In what might be the longest running Holiday show in the country, Hennepin Theatre Trust has announced that The Blenders’ Annual Holiday Soul Tour returns to the historic Pantages Theatre (710 Hennepin Ave.) for their 24th year Friday, Dec. 8 to Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023! The legendary foursome, originally from Fargo, will be bringing the kind of Holiday joy to kids from 1 to 92 that only they can. Expect to hear some new music, including a cool new jazz Yule medley, and old favorites that in the hands of this powerful “vocal band” always glisten like new.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 8 at 10 a.m. to the general public at the State Theatre Box Office (805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis) and online at HennepinTheatreTrust.org.

DAY	DATE	TIME	VENUE	TICKET PRICES
Friday	Dec. 8	8 p.m.	Pantages Theatre	$52
Saturday	Dec. 9	8 p.m.	Pantages Theatre	$52
Sunday	Dec. 10	2 p.m.	Pantages Theatre	$52

Sponsored again by longtime supporter, Bell Bank, The Blenders returned to live performance– and cheering fans nightly last year  in 2022 after two years of disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the interim, Tim Kasper, Ryan Lance and the brothers Rust, Darren and Allan, launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2020 to produce six knock-out performance videos for social media called the “Holiday Studio Sessions 2020” that kept the Blender magic alive – and for many saved Christmas!

Watch one of the six 2020 video performances shot during the pandemic “blackout” of “Children Go (Where I Send Thee).” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drpZT_WFtyA)

“Every year we wonder if this holiday season will be our last onstage. But every year, our fans convince us to come back again,” explains Tim Kasper. “Plus, the truth is, all of the guys still love doing this! So, it’s a good relationship that amazingly we’ve still got going with each other and our fan base. It never gets old, even after 24 years of the Holiday Soul tour.”

For more Information – or to interview The Blenders – please contact Martin Keller, Media Savant Communications, 612-729-8585, mkeller@mediasavantcom.com, @mediasavant

More Blenders History

Now in their 33rd year together after forming in Fargo, The Blenders celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2019 with a new single and video, “One Last Song” – plus an hour-long  documentary TV special of the same name. It was produced by Click Content Studios for the ABC affiliate WDAY-TV in Fargo. The program aired on all ABC stations in North Dakota and is available now to watch on YouTube for free.

To date, the fab foursome has made seven non-seasonal albums for various labels, including Universal and nine Christmas albums (including two collections). And Yes, They Were in Love with the McDonald’s Girl — and Yes, They’ll Take Fries with That! Their 1998 single, “(I’m in Love With the) McDonald’s Girl,” – still a fan favorite — was a number one hit in Norway and a few other European countries, plus New Zealand. Inevitably, it ended up in a McDonald’s commercial many years later.

 MORE BLENDERS FUN FACTS

• Cool Cameos: Their special TV documentary includes Congratulatory Cameos from Jay Leno, Howie Mandel, Arsenio Hall and more – including interviews with Levi Seacer (from Prince’s band, New Power Generation, NPG) and singer, producer and actor JD Steele – the two Twin Cities heavyweights who co-produced the group’s self-titled 1995 album for the independent record label, Orchard Lane Records (owned by the then-largest music retail chain in the country, Musicland).
• Not A Bronx Tale – Robert DeNiro and The Blenders: One time, the group was flown to New York to audition for the musical director of DeNiro’s 1993 movie, A Bronx Tale, but was rejected for a more strictly doo-wop-oriented group.
• Emmy Awards, Check: The Blenders won three Emmy Awards in 2007, 2008 and 2009 for a catchy little jingle they wrote, sang and performed for the Twin Cities’ Fox affiliate morning news program promo. It was called “Wake Up with Fox 9.”
• Reality TV?!:  The dudes briefly toyed with the idea of doing a Reality TV show for HBO and FOX TV after being offered the opportunities in the ‘90s.

• One of the First to Explore Gun Violence in Song: For their 1995 eponymous album for Orchard Lane, Ryan Lance and Levi Seacer (from Prince’s legendary New Power Generation band) co-wrote “Charlie Anyboy” about a young kid who brings a gun to school where it discharges on the playground and kills him.
• The Blenders’ 2002 top-selling Christmas CD When It Snows charted on Billboard’s Independent CD Chart at #34, while internationally known R&B/Hip star and actor, Erykah Badu, called it one of her favorite Christmas albums.
• Jingle All the Way! Two Blenders arrangements of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’ and “Deck the Halls” landed in the nationally released 2007 film, The Perfect Holiday.

Hennepin Theatre Trust drives cultural and economic vitality in Minnesota through leadership of the dynamic Hennepin Theatre District in downtown Minneapolis and educational programming that reaches every area of the state. Its historic theatres — Orpheum, State and Pantages — and event center at 900 Hennepin Avenue light up Hennepin Avenue with top-tier entertainment, including the best of Broadway and a wide variety of arts programming. Hennepin Theatre Trust is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at HennepinTheatreTrust.org.

This activity is made possible by voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.