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Aug 2, 2009 10:53 pm US/Central
Finding Minnesota: Keeping Country Tunes Twangy
SANDSTONE, Minn. (WCCO) ―
Sandstone, Minn. will never be mistaken for Nashville or even Branson. But on Saturday nights, country music fans around the country tune in to see who's on stage at the
Midwest Country Music Theater there.
Joe and Kathy Jensen produce a small-budget, small-town TV program that just happens to have a legion of loyal viewers.
"People call all over the country," said Joe, as he sat back in the theater's control room. "And they e-mail you. And sometimes they even say things that ain't so nice, but most of the time it's compliments."
Midwest Country is shown on RFD-TV, a channel mostly available on satellite. The stage is inside what used to be an old movie theater, and it seats about 300. It's where the Jensens carry on their mission to keep old-fashioned country music alive, the type with steel guitars and a twang in the singer's voice.
"I love country music," says Jensen, "and I know old traditional country (music) is going down the toilet."
Kathy Jensen is in charge of booking the acts, and she says "I don't bring in a lot of artists unless they stay to the old country."
"Old country" meaning, to them, artists such as Kitty Wells, Porter Wagoner and Hank Thompson -- the sort of folks Joe listened to while growing up on a farm.
And now they've all been to Sandstone. Joe Jensen said he still gets nervous driving the stars to their motel.
"While we're driving along, I said, 'Hank, I've never seen you or been with you before, and now here I am. I used to listen to you while I was shoveling manure out of the barn.' And he sits there in the car kind of stiff and he says to me, 'Sounds like you're shoveling manure right now.'"
Even as the Jensens have met some of their favorite musicians, they hope to create new stars as well, such as St. Cloud school teacher Elizabeth Keeney, who has made four or five appearances on the show.
"One of the best parts of Midwest Country are the home-cooked meals that we get, because we do two shows, 3 and 7," said Keeney. "And the home-cooked meals they provide in between -- oh my gosh!"
The Jensens don't make much money off the show. In fact, they pay to broadcast it on RFD-TV, though they do sell some advertising. That's why, when it's showtime, all the workers are volunteers.
It won't make them rich, and it keeps them more than a little busy. But this small-town theater has allowed Joe and Kathy Jensen to realize a dream.
"I had no idea that, even when I started this theater, that I would ever meet and talk to those people," said Joe.
If you have satellite TV, you can see the show every Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on RFD-TV.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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