By Sara Strong
In what local planners are calling a golden opportunity, Prudence Johnson is scheduled to perform at the Palace Theatre between stops in Fargo, N.D., and Minneapolis.
Her vocals have also been called golden, earning Johnson praise and attention across the country.
Her latest CD, "Moon Country," is a tribute to Hoagy Carmichael, writer of popular mid-20th century songs like "Heart and Soul," "Moon Country" and "Skylark."
While at the Palace (2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23), Johnson will take stage with just a piano to accompany her voice.
When her CD was released in May 2002, critic Jim Walsh of the St. Paul Pioneer Press said, "Here’s the sound of a true artist hitting her timeless stride."
Variety Magazine also said in a performance review, "As she sang, a silence born of hearts deeply moved fell over the audience."
One of Johnson’s earlier CDs, a collection of lullabies, got her a Grammy nomination in 1992. But she still calls "Moon Country" her best work yet … even though she almost didn’t make it.
Johnson pulled back from the music scene in the 1990s, after a failed effort in Nashville, where her eclectic style wasn’t welcomed by producers looking to fill pigeonholes.
She and her husband moved back to Minnesota to run a bed and breakfast in Taylors Falls.
Three years later, music brought her back to the Twin Cities to live and work. Music always seems to call on Johnson.
One of 10 children brought up on a farm outside Moose Lake, music has always been her work (besides breaking to get a degree in international studies). Music is even what gave her a bit part in the Robert Redford movie, "A River Runs Through It," in which she played a 1920s flapper singer.
And, of course, her music is what brings Johnson to Luverne to perform.
Tickets for the show can be reserved at 283-8294, or purchased at the Carnegie Cultural Center, Luverne. Otherwise, doors will open an hour before the show to sell tickets.
