Gail Heil taught countless people her love for traditional music as a teacher, performer and festival organizer.
Heil taught fiddle, banjo and the autoharp at the Homestead Pickin' Parlor in the early 1980s and performed for years with her husband and partner, Bob Bovee. Together they established recurring dance and music events that celebrated their love of traditional old-time music and dance.
Heil died from cancer on May 30 at her home in Spring Grove, Minn. She was 67.
Heil played fiddle, banjo, guitar and autoharp. She was also a singer, square dance caller and instructor.
Her musical career began in St. Louis, Mo., where she was a member of the Mound City String Band and a volunteer at the Frontier Folklife Festival.
She met Bovee at that festival in 1978, and they moved to the Twin Cities in 1979. Heil and Bovee began performing together in 1980. In 1988 they moved to Houston County, Minn., and got married. They later settled in the town of Spring Grove.
Heil and Bovee recorded together on independent and national labels and later self-released their albums of what Bovee describes as old-time music that was a precursor to bluegrass music.
Heil, Bovee, Pop Wagner and Matt Haney co-founded the Monday Night Square Dance in 1979. The weekly event was held at the Union Bar in Minneapolis for years and later moved around to a variety of Twin Cities venues. The square dance continues on the first and third Mondays of each month at the Minneapolis Eagles Aerie No. 34 Club on E. 25th St.
