In 1994, Collective Soul had a double-platinum album and played at the 25th Anniversary Woodstock concert with a mega #1 hit "Shine." Then in 1995, their triple-platinum, self-titled album generated three Billboard number 1 hits and four hit singles: "December", "The World I Know", "Where The River Flows", and "Gel." Why the classic rock lesson? Collective Soul is headlining the free Riverside Concert Series on Sunday, August 21, in Rochester.

Riverside Concerts receives general operating funds from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment voters passed in 2008. It's the same funding that has helped create a plan to improve water quality in the Zumbro River which flows along Mayo Park and many of the Rochester City Trails, as well as to bring the Tuvan throat singers to town.
"It's allowed us to bring in artists from all over the world that are the best at what they do to this part of the state who would never have the chance to see them," said Steve Schmidt, general manager of Riverside Concerts.

In addition to Collective Soul, Rochester received funding through the Southeast (MN) Arts Council to fund a special project for World Music. Most recently, musicians from Tuva, near the foothills of Himalayas, came to play and sing songs about the harsh plains of Siberia. Tuvans are horse people living in tents and playing exotic instruments made from horse hooves and rib bones. They also perform bizarre but beautiful songs sung from the throat, and each singer is actually able to keep harmony with himself. Legacy funds sponsored these musicians' mini-concerts, talking circles, and lectures at Rochester's libraries and schools. Musicians from Iran, Mexico, and soon, Scotland have performed in Rochester as part of this project.

"The Legacy funding gave us the ability to do cross-culture programming and take it outside of Rochester," Schmidt said. He added these kinds of cross-culture programs have been on his organization's wish list for many years but without the funds to make them come together.
On August 18, the first day of Rochester Legacy Weekend, the Paul McKenna band from Scotland will play Celtic folk music, including the traditional Bouzouki--a type of Celtic mandolin with strings tuned an octave apart like an 8-string guitar.

Another pool of money comes from the Minnesota State Arts Board that serves 5,000 children in 11 counties. The program funds SE MN Youth Orchestra and local choirs to perform classical music, gives them free tickets to performances, and even pays for the bus rides to concerts for musicians and audience members alike. That's a lot of programs for a local arts organization that has seen cuts in other funding, such as Local Government Aid.

"Legacy funding has helped to secure the legacy of this department that has been in existence for 75 years. When we think about Legacy funding, it's helped to preserve a longstanding legacy and create new programs that will be the new legacy going forward," Schmidt said.

Besides the concerts, Rochester's Legacy Destination Weekend, August 18-21, includes ARTigras, an Americana Showcase at the Civic Theatre, and tours along the Rochester City Trail System. Find more Rochester Legacy Destination Weekend activities at exploreminnesota.com/legacy.