<yles was exploding with music yesterday during common time when the first musician of the “Live From Sayles” series took the stage to perform original compositions but also covers of famous songs. Noah Hoehn, a solo musician based out of Minneapolis, specializes in harmonica and vocal performances, as well as a trademark “looping” performance, for which he has been dubbed “A modern day musical scientist.”
He has twice been awarded the McKnight Foundation’s Fellowship for Performing Musicians. The foundation, founded by a family which has several Carleton alums, has also given funds to the school for the Arboretum’s McKnight Prairie and for the Virginia McKnight endowed scholarship.
Hoehn’s performance was the first in a series of noontime concerts to be held in lower Sayles during common time. The Student Activities Office will also sponsor the appearance of Caleb Hawley and Jenn Mundia for common-time concerts in late February.
The mid-day crowd proved tame but nonetheless absorbed in Hoehn. They chuckled appreciatively when he told them of one noontime college performance in which audience members fell asleep – one standard, at least, which the Carls far exceeded. For his part, the artist took a relatively light turnout in stride, demonstrating the gentle but dry humor throughout that marked him as a native of Minnesota.
Less than three hours later, the stage was gone and common-time concertgoers were looking ahead to the performances of Hawley and Mundia.
Mundia, who will play on Feb. 26th, is a North Carolinian vocalist of Kenyan ancestry whose sound has been described as “perfect for a rainy day or lounging around the house.”
Hawley, who is scheduled to perform on Feb. 14, was in the Top 50 chosen on American Idol in 2011 and has performed at various folk music festivals. His musical style is described as “southing folk to powerhouse soul” and he chooses to cover ecclectic pop songs outside of his performance genre. He currently lives in New York City but is from the Minneapolis area.
Be sure to stop by Sayles during the next few weeks. It’s sure to be a musical experience.