Ari Herstand (Photo by Mike Minehart)
Ari Herstand, a musician that has called Minneapolis his home for the past seven years, is moving to L.A., much to the chagrin of the ginormous local following he has amassed. Ari, pictured here, has collected a group of his musician friends to blow your minds with a big farewell show as his Twin Cities swan song. Last Kiss, Mpls. is that show.
Ari himself will be the featured and celebrated performer. A multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter, Ari has performed all over the country, including both coasts and much of the country’s mid-section as well. He tours pretty much alone most of the time, and performs with an acoustic guitar, a trumpet, perhaps a digital keyboard, various percussion instruments, and a loop station. A virtuoso beatboxer, Ari lays down a beat, then layers instrumental tracks and background vocals over it, allowing him to perform an arrangement that sounds like a full band, but it’s just him, his toys and a looped track that he creates right before your eyes.
For his final show, you are likely to see a bit of his looping skills, but mostly he’ll be playing with friends, including Dan Rodriguez, Gabriel Douglas, Joey Ryan, and Sarah Winters. Also rocking the stage will be melodic pop/rockers ReadyGoes, The Alarmists, White Light Riot, and Cedar Avenue, as well as reggae/soul-flavored jam band Roster McCabe.
Last Kiss will happen Thursday August 12th at the Varsity Theater at 1308 4th Street SE in the Dinkytown neighborhood of Minneapolis, near the University of Minnesota.
You can get tickets online through Ticketmaster, or pick them up yourself at the Loring Pasta Bar, just a couple of doors down to the east of the Varsity. Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door.
You can call the Varsity Theater at (612) 604-0222 for more information about the show, or visit them online at www.varsitytheater.org.