We are excited to bring the #1 Billboard bluegrass charting hip-hop band Gangstagrass for a concert and presentation on the origins of American music! Gangstagrass will be performing at the New Ulm Public Library on Saturday, October 7 at 1 PM and again at The Grand Center for Arts & Culture at 7 PM. Gangstagrass's music fuses cherished American traditions into a fresh sound that is greater than the sum of its parts and underscores music's ability to unite across boundaries. Their presentation will explore the origin and development of the banjo and the cotillion, providing historical context that upends modern ideas of "black music" and "white music". They will also discuss how marketing created artificial genre distinctions during the Jim Crow era when the recording industry emerged -- leaving a legacy of segregation that still persists today. We hope you’ll join us for this interesting and entertaining program! This free program is made possible by a grant provided by the Traverse des Sioux Library Cooperative and funded with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Call 507-359-8331 for more information.