Jan. 16: Reggae Band to Perform on Campus as Prelude to Martin Luther King Jr. Day Activities

Wednesday, January 16, 2019
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Centennial Student Union

Mankato, Minn. – Minneapolis reggae band Dred I Dread will perform from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16 at Minnesota State University, Mankato in the Centennial Student Union’s Flex Programming Space (located on the lower level of Centennial Student Union).

Dred I Dread’s performance is free and open to the public and is a prelude to Monday, Jan. 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Day campus events, which will begin from 1-4 p.m. with a variety of service projects initiated by the University’s Community Engagement Office. The projects will benefit area services agencies and be held on the Centennial Student Union’s main level. (Call 507-389-6076 for more information.)

Later Monday, Jan. 21, the University’s Office of Institutional Diversity will host a Martin Luther King Jr. Day community celebration from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom. The keynote speaker is the Rev. Dr. Luke Powery, dean of Duke University Chapel and a national leader in the theological art of preaching, particularly the study of spirituals as expressions of displaced Africans. Ticket information is available here. Parking is free in the University pay lot in front of Centennial Student Union.

The reggae band Dred I Dread, according to its website, was formed in 1998 and quickly rose to regional popularity, earning “Best Local Reggae Band” by City Pages Magazine in 1999. During 2000 and 2001, Dred I Dread was named “Best Reggae Band in Minnesota” by the members of the Minnesota Music Academy.

Over the years, Dred I Dread shared stages with Chronixx, The Wailers, Yellowman, Israel Vibration, The Meditations, De La Soul, Jimmy Cliff, Sister Carol, Third World, Wailing Souls and many other international acts. In 2015 and 2017, Dred I Dread toured Kingston, Montego Bay and Negril, Jamaica as part of its Coming in the Cold Tours I and II.

The group released its first CD, “Listen to the Revolution,” in 1999, and the group’s latest album, “Listen to the Evolution,” is available for retail purchase. Find out more at https://dredidread.com.

Dred I Dread’s Wednesday performance is part of the Centennial Student Union Serendipity Music Series, which offers free midweek, midday performances for the campus and Mankato area community.

The series spotlights Minnesota musicians with “street-corner serenade” style performances. Passers-by can stop to listen on the way to class, or bring their lunch and enjoy some of Minnesota’s finest musicians. Centennial Student Union sponsors the series with support from student activity fees.

For more information, contact Lenny Koupal, Centennial Student Union communications coordinator, by phone at 507-389-6734 or by email at leonard.koupal@mnsu.edu.

Other performers slated for the Centennial Student Union’s spring 2019 Serendipity Music Series include Tim Cheesebrow, songwriter and founder of Discover Music, Wed. Feb. 13; Blue Ox Jazz Babies, a Mankato region Dixieland band offering a Fat Tuesday performance March 5; a pre-St. Patrick’s Day performance Wednesday, March 13 featuring O’Darby, an Irish pub band that mixes music with political satire; and a Monday, April 1, performance by Rachel Kilgour, an award-winning indie folk songwriter from Duluth.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,227 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.