TOWER, Minn., May 25, 2024 – Well-known Ely keyboard player and vocalist Irene Hartfield will perform a benefitconcert for the Lake Vermilion Cultural Center on Friday, June 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the center. Admission is a free will donation. The event also coincides with a celebration of her 75th birthday.
Hartfield states, “This concert will be special – with favorites and songs you may not have heard from me before.” As a child of the 1960s and 1970s, Hartfield describes her musical repertoire as “last century pop.” But she loves beautiful music of all eras and has a few recent additions from this century.
Her latest CD, Play Me, documents some of the love songs she has enjoyed performing over the years. For a taste of her style, enter “Irene Hartfield” in the search box of any music service: YouTube, Amazon Music (just ask Alexa!), Spotify, or most other music services.
After attending a concert in the Lake Vermilion Cultural Center last fall, Hartfield arranged to use the space for a concert this spring. “The atmosphere, the acoustics, everything is so conducive to a great concert venue. I just had to sing there,” she exclaimed.
Growing up in Ely with an abundance of musical opportunities and then studying music at Gustavus Adolphus College, Hartfield ended up in New York City in the musical heyday of the 1970s where the Irene Hartfield Trio enjoyed steady employment in night clubs throughout the City and around the tri-state area, as well as Florida, Las Vegas, and Venezuela. She also worked in recording studios in New York and Portland, Oregon, singing jingles and producing various musical projects.
Hartfield also had the opportunity to perform as a solo artist in Sweden for a month each in three cities. She also had engagements in Bermuda and was an entertainer on Holland America Lines for several years.
Since returning to her hometown, Hartfield has been playing in the area as accompanist for musical theater and choirs, in concerts, and in local venues, such as The Loft, Mealey’s Tiki Deck, and the Winton Roadhouse. She has played solo and with fellow musicians Jef Cierniak, Joey Kenig, Robin Anders, and (her favorite) in the Roadhouse Jam Band founded by the late Earl Bulinski. For five years, Hartfield was the Musical Director for the Reflections Dance Company. She is also the musician in two local churches and, whenever possible, plays and sings with the Mesabi Symphony Orchestra.
The Lake Vermilion Cultural Center concert will have a reception following Harfield’s performance in the Cultural Center’s Halonen Lobby.
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