Hans Mayer

Hans Mayer will be giving a concert for parents and preschoolers on Tuesday, May 12 at 11:00 a.m. at Mille Lacs Lake Community Library. Mayer is a gifted musician who has played for children all around the country, especially at libraries. East Central tried to hire him for the summer reading program, but he was totally booked. Because of this, he has offered to do a free concert for Mille Lacs in his slower month of May.
Mayer has written and recorded eight CDs. He has won a Parent's Choice Approved Award for his 2008 CD "Funny Little Creatures." According to his website, he has appreared on the Today show, Austin City Limits, and written music for the PBS special "Songs of the Spirit". Mayer plays guitar, mandolin, and Native American flute. He has opened for Willie Nelson, Tori Amos, Pearl Jam and the BoDeans.
I asked Hans, who lives just north of Isle, how he got his start as a children's entertainer. He told me that his band broke up in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He played various places around town, and was asked to write the theme song for a radio show that was sponsored by the LaCrosse Public Library. It was also there that he met his wife Carol, who is a librarian. Hans has been writing music and lyrics for a new CD and he said that he will be playing some of those songs at the Mille Lacs concert.
John is a delightful person who is a patron at the Mille Lacs Library (he favors books on CD) and I look forward to hearing the songs he has composed for children. Please stop by on May 12 and hear this local treasure.