Big News...

August 23, 2008               South Dakota Public Television will be broadcasting
10 PM Central Time         "No Cover, No Minimum" .  It's an hour with "East of
9 PM Mountain Time        Westreville."  Don't miss it!   

"East of Westreville"  recorded a  "No Cover, No Minimum"  TV special on June 13 for South Dakota Public Broadcasting.  Everything went very well!  We want thank Kevin and the whole gang at SDPB for making the taping so easy.  We also want to thank everyone who joined us in the studio audience for making it so fun!

We did get a chance to see some of the unedited raw video.  (we'll put on a "sneak preview" soon). We think you will enjoy it!  They recorded about a 75 minute show and did interviews.  They will put all those pieces together for what will actually air.

Click here for a story about the taping. To see some video from the shoot, click here.

The new East of Westreville  CD has been released!   They are on sale NOW through this website. We are so pleased with the results and we think you'll love it!

This  musical concert is based on folk, bluegrass, gospel, country, and roots music of rural America.  Kaija Bonde is on vocals, with Boyd Bristow and Brian Bonde on guitars and vocals.  Al Slaathaug is on bass.

Our Broadway cabaret show with the Gene McGowan Jazz Trio, Of Thee I Swing, is now touring on a limited basis.   Also, be watching for Gene's new Dixieland band, "First Thursday" playing in the area soon.  Click here for more about the band.

We're having a busy summer! 

"East of Westreville" had a great time at the 1905 Opera House in Wessington Springs, SD on Saturday, June 14.  Sherry and everyone at the arts council gave us warm welcome. That community has done a wonderful job of restoring that opera house and saving a bit of South Dakota prairie history.  If you are ever in the area, be sure and stop at the Shakespeare Garden, and get some of the best chicken around at the Springs Cafe.

We also recorded a special for South Dakota Public Television in Vermillion on June 13 (see the BIG NEWS above).  To see some video from the shoot, click here.  We were at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD, on July 9 for an event for the United Methodist Church and again on July 10 for "George McGovern Days." 

George is such a wonderful, gracious man and has been very kind to us. He has had us play for his birthday the last few years.  We understand we are his favorite group, next to Peter, Paul and Mary--not bad company!  That night he talked about his childhood in Avon, SD, and how politics has changed over the last 60 years.  He also is working on a new book for Time on the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and talked about the political situation leading to the Civil War.   And he let us know he's patched things up with the Clintons. It was fascinating... Happy 86th birthday, Senator!

Then, "Of Thee I Swing" was at the McKennan Park Band Shell in Sioux Falls, SD on July 14. Nearly 1000 people came out in 95 degree heat to hear Kaija Bonde, Gene McGowan, Greg Olson (drums) and Dave Napier (bass).  It was a "hot" night in every way.  Be watching for Gene's new Dixieland band, "First Thursday" playing in the area soon.  Click here for more about the band.

Hard to believe it's been over a year since we closed "Always... Patsy Cline!"  We want to thank everyone who came to our final "Patsy" shows.  You gave us a wonderful send-off and we so appreciate your support and tender words!

The musical about the friendship of the late Patsy Cline and one of her most devoted fans, Louise Seger, opened in July, 1998 at the Barn Theatre in Tea, SD to standing room only. The show toured the upper Midwest performing to continually sold-out crowds and making it the longest-running touring musical in the region. 

"When we came up with the idea to produce and tour "Always…" , we thought it might last one year, but never more than that," said Kaija Bonde, the Sioux Falls native who has played Patsy Cline ever since the show opened.  "We simply had no idea of what we had or how people would respond. There were times, especially in the first 4 or 5 years, when we were on the road every weekend. It's been an amazing run."

When the final curtain fell, the production had been on the road for nearly 9 years for over 150 performances and has been seen by over 250,000 patrons across South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and Nebraska.

Click here for more information about the Patsy show. 

It has been said that live perfomances should “change the air around you.”  It should touch a spot inside of you, reminding you of a similar place and time in your life and somehow leave you changed. Just a few years ago we only had a dream--a new and exciting concept grown from a lifetime of experience as artists.  Here we are hundreds of shows and tens of thousands of patrons after opening night.  And we feel like we're just getting started...

We hope that you enjoy what you see here and that it will inspire you to come see The Comfort Theatre onstage. Who knows…you may end up changed too!

See you at the show!

Kaija and Brian Bonde