30-Minute Music Hour

Haley Bonar

From the Twin Cities, it's our great pleasure to share the wit and warmth of singer-songwriter Haley Bonar (BON-are). Minneapolitans have adopted the talented, 25-year-old singer-songwriter-producer (and they place her gifts aside another Minnesotan, Neko Case). However, Ms. Bonar's music reflects the moods of her unlikely upbringing. She was born in Winnipeg, raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and began serious composition during freeze-dried winters in Duluth. Her new record, Big Star, is an incandescent mix of laments, country stomp, and guitar crunching folk. Though she defies fame in some of her songs and certainly with her artistic integrity, it seems certain that Haley Bonar is one of those who you'll be able to say, "I saw her play the 30 Minute Music Hour." Ms. Bonar strums a driving acoustic guitar and plays a vintage Rhodes electric piano. She will be performing solo.

Recorded Nov. 16, 2008