- It's not every day you get to witness a world premiere, let alone three.

Tonight, we're checking out some of Minnesota's most innovative emerging composers and musicians.

This is music you won't find anywhere else, but live at the Cedar Cultural Center.

Let's go check it out.

(jazz music) (audience cheering) The Cedar Cultural Center has been a main stain presenting global music and dance since it's beginning in 1989.

Located in the heart of Minneapolis's Cedar Riverside community, this venue has always presented music that reflects the diverse communities that call Minnesota home.

The Cedar Commissions give local emerging artists, the opportunity and funding to take risks.

They get to create works, and then share them with a live audience in an intimate paired down way.

Tonight's artists are taking full advantage of this opportunity.

Artists Vie Boheme, brings her unique athleticism and this multidimensional performance inspired by the quarantine journal she's kept over the past two years.

Joining her a singer songwriter, Alicia Thao who plays homage to her Hmong American ancestry in music inspired by folk, R&B, soul.

It's a really beautiful work.

Kicking things off tonight is Kat Parent, a composer influenced by the most unlikely pairing.

You ready?

Minnesota Wetlands, classic horror comic books.

This new work Swampling is going to blow your mind.

Please welcome to stage Kat Parent and the world premiere of Swampling.

(indistinct chatter) (upbeat music) ♪ Up in the stacks I'm going to seed ♪ ♪ I give the research one more read ♪ ♪ Spacebar twice before I breathe ♪ ♪ Writing special reports on a company screen ♪ ♪ I'm tracing the gaps between the lines ♪ ♪ The obvious held out of mind ♪ ♪ I'm leaving a breadcrumb trail of facts ♪ ♪ Footnotes down to hell and back ♪ ♪ They say: Drain the swamp ♪ ♪ Clear the slate ♪ ♪ Make it clean, so we can take ♪ ♪ Blessings in, like a sign ♪ ♪ Of the purity of easy minds ♪ ♪ Dark calls to me ♪ ♪ I see shadows ♪ ♪ Off in the weeds ♪ ♪ I will follow ♪ ♪ I've wandered from what they wanna hear ♪ ♪ Sing pretty bird, or choke my dear ♪ ♪ I'm still trying to outline the smoking gun ♪ ♪ My voice gets stuck in omissions ♪ ♪ Dark calls to me ♪ ♪ You sweet shadows ♪ ♪ They say: Drain the swamp ♪ ♪ Clear the slate ♪ ♪ Make it clean, so we can take ♪ ♪ Blessings in like a sign ♪ ♪ Of the purity of easy minds ♪ ♪ Walk through the walls, all hollow now ♪ ♪ The ghost of stories not allowed ♪ ♪ Will millions more my unheard screams ♪ ♪ Are filed away with stolen dreams ♪ ♪ And I can't hold it in ♪ ♪ I know their names ♪ ♪ My bones are going up in flames ♪ ♪ The damage done ♪ ♪ The cost unsung ♪ ♪ It's spreading now ♪ ♪ It's all around ♪ ♪ I'm gonna drown ♪ - Hey Kat, it's so nice to meet you.

Thank you for taking time to chat with me today.

- Thank you, I'm really glad to be here.

- Okay, so I have to ask first, tell me about this jumpsuit you're wearing.

- This is the jumpsuit that I made out of some vintage, Marimekko curtains that I found at a thrift store and dyed pink.

- Oh, wait, that's the curtain pattern?

- Yeah.

- I'm very, I can't, if I had to sew something, it would be like a tube that I would like safety pin it.

- We gotta start somewhere.

- Yeah, I don't think that's in the stars for me.

So speaking of trees, your pieces is eco-horror.

- Yes.

- What is eco-horror?

- So ecohorror for me comes out of like holding multiple truths at the same time, knowing that the growing green world around us is what gives us life.

It's so beautiful, but also it's a place that's deeply wounded.

Like our whole continent and planet has been deeply wounded by colonialism and really exploitative extractive ways of living.

So eco-horror for me holds like the love for this place.

And also the understanding that it's been violently hurt and that we're living in a time of facing a lot of the consequences of that.

- So your piece also involves kind of a comic book called the Swamp Thing?

- Yes.

- And the Minnesota Wetlands.

Tell me more about how that connection got formed.

And then, I mean, where does this greater theme of the dualities of what we love and also what we've heard kind of come into that?

- My partner introduced me to the, Alan Moore, Swamp Thing comic books from the 80s.

- Yeah.

- That are very spooky, paranormal adventure and involve a researcher who is transformed into a plant elemental.

- [Natalia] Yeah.

- I found a lot of really beautiful metaphors in those comic books, like both the horror and also like what it means to grow into deeper relationship with an ecosystem.

The Swam Thing comic books also really grabbed me because I find them deeply queer.

A lot of queer artists have talked about how horror is a sub genre that a lot of queer people are drawn to for really complicated reasons, because for a long time because of laws and codes in filmmaking, it was like monsters were the only way that queer people could be portrayed, which of course is like messed up and problematic.

But a lot of us also saw ourselves in monsters.

So for me, Swamp Thing is a very queer, and also like you can read as a disabled superhero.

Is like body works differently than other humans.

He loves living in the shadows.

He's like deeply connected to this ecosystem and like needs to be connected to it and for it to be healthy, to be strong.

And also Swamp Thing spoiler is in love with a human.

And so they have this like supernatural romance across like pretty vast difference.

- Yeah.

- That is explored in like really beautiful ways in the books.

(ominous music) ♪ But I keep having frights of vines climbing my bed ♪ ♪ Growing up from the trash like a sick pumpkin head ♪ ♪ Of course it's no matter, it's only a dream ♪ ♪ You try running this show and keep your damn hands clean ♪ ♪ What you dumped didn't disappear ♪ ♪ Its all underwater, buried here ♪ ♪ Caught up in roots ♪ ♪ Seeping into these bones ♪ ♪ What's silenced by canon sings ♪ ♪ under the stones ♪ ♪ Alec, smart alec, I'm sorry, it's true ♪ ♪ You wouldn't stop digging ♪ ♪ I killed you ♪ ♪ Stupid smart Alec, I once was like you ♪ (ominous music) (audience applauding) - Where do the Minnesota Wetlands piece comes into all of this?

- Yeah, because I am the descendant of a lot of people who settled in the Midwest.

I've been trying to connect with those roots and learn about the watershed that I live in.

So went out with my partner to a bunch of different places, marshes, bogs, and just like listened to sounds, learned about the plants and animals there, recorded some of the sounds mixed them into the songwriting.

- I was gonna ask.

- Yeah, my partner See More Perspective took a bunch of video footage of the different places we visited, really, really beautiful stuff.

- It's so clear that you have this passion for this story and like this part of our community that maybe people don't know about.

What do you want the audience to walk away from this performance that sounds really immersive?

- I want them to feel excited about getting to know their local wetland, if they don't already.

Or inspired with love, they already are full of.

I want them to be invited into feeling some of that sadness and heaviness that is living in a deeply wounded place that's in need of a lot of repair.

And also have fun while doing that, I hope it makes people want to dance and inspires them to create their own work about the place that we live in and love.

- Kat, thank you so much for chatting with me.

I'm the costumes part, I'm like kind of geeking out about.

- Super excited, thank you so much.

(upbeat music) ♪ Dark nights, fireflies ♪ ♪ Rising softly in the green ♪ ♪ Stories by the fire ♪ ♪ I'm at your back, let me rot ♪ ♪ Let us dream ♪ ♪ Hush hush to your disgust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ ♪ Ash, decay, moss, and rust ♪ ♪ Hush hush to your disgust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ ♪ Ash, decay, moss, and rust ♪ ♪ Bogs and marshes more than dust ♪ ♪ Hush hush to your disgust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ ♪ Ash, decay, moss, and rust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ ♪ Ash, decay, moss, and rust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ ♪ Ash, decay, moss, and rust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ ♪ Ash, decay, moss, and rust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ ♪ Ash, decay, moss, and rust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ ♪ Ash, decay, moss, and rust ♪ ♪ Listen, breathe, fear not us ♪ ♪ We are the creatures of the night ♪ ♪ We are the ones who feed your life ♪ (audience applauding) - Singer songwriter Alicia Thao draws inspirations from our familial relationships and her own identity.

Singing in both Hmong and English, her new work tells the story of her parents' lives as refugees and how she's explored herself through the past couple of years.

Please welcome tonight to Stage Alicia Thao.

(gentle acoustic music) (Alicia singing in Hmong) (audience applauding) Hey Alicia, it's so nice to meet you.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- Tell me about the process of writing this work, because some of it is in Hmong and some of it is in English.

- Yeah, I really wanted it to reflect like my Hmong American identity, so that's why I have it, like my first half is gonna be a Hmong and then the second half is gonna be in English.

Well, I actually don't know my parents' story.

I don't know what their life was like coming over here.

And so I really wanted to use this project to get to know their story better, but then I didn't really want it to be like potentially around trauma, so I wanted to do more joyful things.

- I heard your mom singing.

Is this an original piece that she's written?

- Yes.

She'll be singing Txhiaj, which is traditional Hmong folk song.

And I have a surprise for her, I have a song written about her, it's called Zoo Li Kuv because she would also say like, (Alicia speaking Hmong) meaning no one loves you the way your mom and dad does.

- Oh, I like genuinely have tears in my eyes.

I am an immigrant.

I came to this country when I was 10 and I call it like the Venn diagram, right?

Especially, I think for immigrants with children of immigrants who you're like too much of this culture to be enough of that culture.

And so you kind of have to find yourself in the margins.

And I just love that thought of, she doesn't even know that this is coming, but that she's shared this with you and you've picked it up, but now it's this beautiful, like circular thing that you're doing tonight.

- I really challenged myself for the past year, just try to deepen my connection with them.

And it's been really awesome to hear stuff I just never knew before.

And my mom loved listening to like Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, when she was a teen, I'm like, what?

- You are a folk artist, and your music is kind of inspired by folk and R&B and all sorts of other things.

What does the English set look like?

- Yeah, it has some folk in there, there's R&B, I'm really excited for the R&B song, it's called natural.

- Okay.

- That's the one that's gonna be talking about my queer identity.

And it's also like vocally challenging.

I'm a very soft singer, and so I'm gonna really belt that one out.

And then I was going to challenge myself to try to rap, but then I didn't work out, but you'll just kinda get some, maybe hip hop elements in the last song.

(soft rock music) ♪ I met her on a summer's night ♪ ♪ Making me feel comfortable ♪ ♪ As she stood a bit too close to me ♪ ♪ She made my heart move ♪ ♪ It felt so wrong yet so right ♪ ♪ Who am I to deny ♪ ♪ It feels so wrong yet so right ♪ ♪ So right ♪ ♪ Letting everything go ♪ ♪ Doesn't mean we're losing control ♪ ♪ No more holding back now ♪ ♪ When this all just feels so natural ♪ ♪ So natural ♪ ♪ What exactly is normal ♪ ♪ Skin on skin ♪ ♪ There ain't no science to this chemistry ♪ ♪ Tell me what does your heart say ♪ ♪ And it felt so wrong yet so right ♪ ♪ Who am I to deny ♪ ♪ It feels so wrong yet so right ♪ ♪ So right ♪ ♪ Letting everything go ♪ ♪ Doesn't mean we're losing control ♪ ♪ No more holding back now ♪ ♪ When this all feels just so natural ♪ ♪ So natural ♪ (acoustic music) ♪ And it felt so wrong yet so right ♪ ♪ Who am I to deny ♪ ♪ And it feels so wrong yet so right ♪ ♪ So right ♪ ♪ Letting everything go ♪ ♪ Doesn't mean we're losing control ♪ ♪ No more holding back now ♪ ♪ When this all feels just so natural ♪ ♪ Natural ♪ (audience applauding) - Tell me about what the commission process has been like for you to have the time in this space to be like, okay, I'm gonna create this work.

I have this goal in mind and I can do whatever I want with it, what's that been like?

- For this project, I'm just more vulnerable than usual because most of the topics are about stuff that I don't really wanna think about.

I just had a really difficult time growing up in Oklahoma.

When I was younger, I used to know how to speak Hmong very well, and of course, growing up, you kind of lose that because you don't really exercise that skill.

And you know, Oklahoma's very white, not that that's a bad thing, but I didn't really get to really connect with my community.

And I didn't have resources to really learn about my history and there weren't like language classes.

And so being here and I was visiting my sister for the summer and just like being exposed to this community, I was like, oh my gosh, I can have a community with shared values.

And there's also many artistic opportunities here too.

I think what's really nice is I wrap up my set with a song called Found.

And I think my character and the decisions that I make every day just like make me who I am and there's nothing to be found.

And so just finding home with yourself and there's nothing really concrete that you can hold onto of what you need to find.

- What do you want the audience to take away from this?

- This project has been very personal and kind of my own personal journey of how do I document and connect my history with my parents and all the things that I've been through.

And so I just hope like it inspires people to just dive into their history and get to know maybe like their ancestors, their parents, whoever they call family and home.

Thank you so much for chatting with me.

- Thank you PBS, for having me.

I'm just super grateful and I am excited.

(soft rock music) ♪ I've been waiting all my life ♪ ♪ Just to find me but I'm already found ♪ ♪ I've been waiting ♪ ♪ I'm already found ♪ ♪ When you're a little girl ♪ ♪ They strive for you to have an education ♪ ♪ But not to have your own opinions ♪ ♪ Everybody's wanting me to change my ways ♪ ♪ No matter how hard I try, it still won't be right ♪ ♪ Why do I even bother ♪ ♪ I won't apologize for being bold and angry ♪ ♪ Some people make me feel like being honest ♪ ♪ is a bad thing ♪ ♪ They're saying there goes that crazy little girl ♪ ♪ Who's in her own world ♪ ♪ But at least I'm just being me ♪ ♪ You see, I've been waiting all my life ♪ ♪ Just to find me but I'm already found ♪ ♪ I've been waiting ♪ ♪ I'm already found ♪ ♪ Some people want to act like they know me ♪ ♪ But I am not the idea of who you want me to be ♪ ♪ Don't love me when I'm trying to make a name of myself ♪ ♪ Yeah, you can take your fake shit somewhere else, yeah ♪ ♪ Don't you wanna be on the radio someday ♪ ♪ And you just looked at me like it's stupid ♪ ♪ to be dreaming ♪ ♪ Yeah, you will never get far ♪ ♪ But I'm not just a girl with a guitar ♪ ♪ Some girls like to be called a queen but ♪ ♪ I don't need a crown to know who the fuck I am ♪ ♪ Yeah, I struggled with my identity ♪ ♪ Yeah, I want to love me for me ♪ ♪ You see I've been waiting all my life ♪ ♪ Just to find me but I'm already found ♪ ♪ I've been waiting ♪ ♪ But I'm already found ♪ ♪ I'm already found ♪ ♪ Alicia, Alicia ♪ ♪ Alicia, Alicia ♪ ♪ Alicia, Alicia ♪ ♪ I'm already found ♪ (audience applauding) - Vie Boheme brings her background as a dancer and as a yoga instructor to her writing, singing and producing.

Her new work tackles the feeling of being on edge.

It's something I think we've all grappled with over the past two years.

And I would even argue has been where a lot of the growth has come from.

This new work is all about being uncomfortable in the middle of those transitions.

It's an intimate, powerful work, and Vie argues that living on the edge is where we should be.

Please welcome to Stage.

Vie Boheme.

♪ I want my rhythm ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ I want my rhythm ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ ♪ Tryna be tough about it ♪ ♪ Tryna be tough about it ♪ ♪ Tryna be tough about it ♪ ♪ I want my rhythm ♪ ♪ When you think of me ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ I want my rhythm ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ I don't know what everyone thinks of me ♪ ♪ I want my rhythm ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ There've been many times in my life ♪ ♪ When all I had were all your disappointments ♪ ♪ I wasn't who you thought ♪ ♪ There have been many times in my life when all I had ♪ ♪ Were all of my tough choices ♪ ♪ My good and bad choices ♪ ♪ There was a chipping away of me ♪ ♪ I felt it so deeply ♪ ♪ It was very real to me ♪ ♪ I felt it so deeply ♪ ♪ So I continue to fall into my orbit ♪ ♪ Yes I continue to fall into my orbit ♪ ♪ I radiate warmth ♪ ♪ Fire from my heart ♪ ♪ I realize ♪ ♪ It's all right ♪ ♪ It's all me ♪ ♪ I realize ♪ ♪ It's all right ♪ ♪ It's all me ♪ ♪ Ain't nothing I need to try to do ♪ ♪ Gotta do ♪ ♪ I am everything I am ♪ ♪ I radiate strength from birth ♪ ♪ Out of high folding I know the real good ♪ ♪ I just seem to know things ♪ ♪ I do everything oh so deep ♪ ♪ I think deep I love deep ♪ ♪ Yea, I'm one of those ♪ ♪ Sink, spread and seep ♪ ♪ Deep into all I touch ♪ ♪ So I continue to fall into my orbit ♪ ♪ Yes I continue to fall into my orbit ♪ ♪ I radiate warmth ♪ ♪ Fire from my heart ♪ ♪ I realize, it's all right ♪ ♪ It's all me ♪ ♪ The good bad the ugly ♪ ♪ It's all right ♪ ♪ Ho-whoa ♪ ♪ I realize, it's all right ♪ ♪ It's all me ♪ ♪ The good bad the ugly ♪ ♪ It's all right ♪ ♪ Ho-whoa ♪ ♪ I realize, it's all right ♪ ♪ It's all me ♪ ♪ I realize, it's all right ♪ ♪ It's all me ♪ ♪ Yes I am, yes I am yeah, I'm alright, I'm okay ♪ ♪ Because I wanna be I am yeah ♪ ♪ If you know you know ♪ ♪ Yes I am, yes I am yeah, I'm alright, I'm okay ♪ ♪ Because I wanna be I am yeah ♪ ♪ I realize, it's all right ♪ ♪ It's all me ♪ ♪ The good bad the ugly ♪ ♪ It's all right ♪ ♪ I realize, it's all right ♪ ♪ It's all me ♪ ♪ The good bad the ugly ♪ ♪ It's all right ♪ (audience applauding) - Hi, Vie, it's so nice to meet you.

Thank you for taking time to chat with me tonight.

- It's my pleasure, Natalia, thank you.

- So tell me about your music.

You're a multimodal artist.

How would you describe your performances to someone who've never heard them before?

- That is the magic question that I've been trying to answer for years now.

Yeah, it is a fusion of live vocalization, singing, dance, poetry, monologues, all woven into the same experience.

And I use so many different performance modes because each one of them gets at a different layer of our emotional experience.

So that's also my intention and the reason why I use so many things.

- This piece, The Edge, like it's you pushing yourself to the edge, your music, tell me kinda how did this whole idea come to mind?

- Tonight's collection of songs all come from my quarantine journals.

During the quarantine I felt like we were all really pushed.

I'm always on the edge.

Like, that's just what I do, I'm always self reflective and considerate of my, like how I'm moving through the world, but I felt like the quarantine really pushed everybody into this really intense space.

And I was like, well, I'm not the only one now, okay.

You know?

But I feel like some really powerful lessons came out of that I don't want us to forget.

So I decided to distill them down into a collection of songs and this experience, I learned a lot about myself and feeling lonely, that something that came up in waves over the course of it.

Another lesson is about the uprising, and the, I had resentment in my heart for the artists who were sharing about how they were feeling in that moment, which is very vulnerable for me to admit out loud.

And the reason why I felt resentful was because I was just like, what else could I say that Nina Simone, didn't already say?

What else could I say?

I don't wanna keep feeding this energy.

As long as society continues to evolve, we're gonna have dissatisfying experiences, but I wonder, what else can we lead with?

Do we have to lead with bearing the layers of trauma every time?

Is there another entry point that we can come at this to process what's happening?

Can we just be in it?

Can we just be where we're at and acknowledge?

So those are some questions.

Nothing I do comes down to a single statement.

It's always several layers woven to say what I wanna say.

(soft music) ♪ I've learned some nasty lessons from you my darlin ♪ ♪ I've learned some painful lessons from you my love ♪ ♪ Waited around all alone ♪ ♪ I tried to call you but you just didn't answer ♪ ♪ Waited around but you never called back ♪ ♪ I poured love into your life ♪ ♪ I poured love into you every way that I knew how ♪ ♪ Somehow it just wasn't enough ♪ ♪ And my heart is just broken in two ♪ ♪ And now I am just tired so I'm going away ♪ ♪ From you I learned conditional friendship ♪ ♪ From you I learned conditional love ♪ ♪ Limited love ♪ ♪ And how to make myself a little smaller ♪ ♪ I learned how unmoved you can be ♪ ♪ How much you may not care ♪ ♪ And so by now I've had enough ♪ ♪ And my heart is just broken in two ♪ ♪ And now I am just tired so I'm going away ♪ ♪ Away ♪ ♪ I'm going away ♪ (audience applauding) - So do you feel like your music when you have a performance is like a set list or do you just feel like the whole performance is the set?

- I guess I feel like the whole performance is the set.

And I can tell you that that is an evolution with this experience that we're having tonight.

Typically I've performed with a live band, it's always a full high energy dancing, kicking my legs in the air and doing turns and all kinds of things, which is a lot of fun.

But tonight, and what I've been working on is something a little more measured and focused in order that people may be able to hear what I'm saying.

- You also changed the setup of the audience, is that intimacy kind of what you're looking for, or what are you hoping to foster?

- 100%, that actually came out of performing in the Twin Cities for so many years that, you know, Twin Cities audiences are going to be as quiet as possible, to be as respectful of the art that's happening.

And while that is very endearing and it's taken me time to understand where the audience is coming from, it has caused me some challenge over the years of really understanding and being sure that I'm connecting or that it's landing.

I can't force a connection with an audience.

- Yeah.

- But I can create a sense of connection with the circular experience.

The round the circles are unbroken, right.

So even if I don't, you know, like I said, I can't forge a connection that's not there, but I can create a sense of cohesiveness in the space.

- I'm excited to feel that.

And especially, I think after all this time to feel connected to a performer.

- Yeah, that's a very high priority for me.

We've become so disconnected from our bodies in the US in so many ways, what's appropriate touch, what's not?

And that journey has caused us to really individualize ourselves even to another degree.

And I can talk about that all day, 'cause I really feel like it started with the disco era when we stopped having live musicians, really in this space, creating the sound and we stopped facing each other, and we started having this very personal experience.

We don't dance heart to heart anymore.

Like being in middle school, having the nerves to actually talk to someone, connect your chest to theirs and feel their heart beating, we don't have that as a society anymore, really in the US.

And I think that we are seeing the impact of that every day in so many ways, the ways that people are lacking a capacity for empathy.

And I feel that finding ways to viscerally shake people back into their bodies is what I can do as a performer is create these performances that really bring people to the edge of their seat, to feel their own feelings and their bodies.

And maybe that can be just a little nudge where people being on the street and seeing something and being back connected to their body in such a way that they can reach out, connect, you know, have some empathy.

- What do you want the audience to kind of walk away with from this performance?

- I want them to walk away knowing that they can listen when someone's in a really vulnerable space.

If they sit through this whole performance and they don't get up and go, then if you can do that for me, you can do that for someone that you love.

You can do that for somebody you don't understand.

- Yeah.

- You know?

It's not always comfortable to hear people say something true about themselves out loud, but that's the world we keep saying we want, maybe that's what I'm hoping that, you can be in a vulnerable space with someone and that you're able to listen if you choose to do it.

- It's powerful to bear witness.

- Yes it is.

- And it's hard.

- It is not easy.

(laughs) - Seriously, thank you for taking the time.

- My pleasure.

♪ Beauty shines glows with the brilliant twilight ♪ ♪ I live for the night sky ♪ ♪ I defy the laws ♪ ♪ I defy the laws of space ♪ ♪ I defy the laws of space and time ♪ ♪ I defy the laws ♪ ♪ I defy the laws of space ♪ ♪ I defy the laws of space and time ♪ ♪ Space and time ♪ ♪ Maybe if I scream loud ♪ ♪ I'll be heard ♪ ♪ Maybe if i give them what they want ♪ ♪ I'll soar past the heavens ♪ ♪ But not toward my goals and not toward my vision ♪ ♪ My heart would be soar ♪ ♪ Beauty shines ♪ ♪ Glows with the brilliant twilight ♪ ♪ Yea, yea, yea, yea, yea, ♪ ♪ Beauty shines and glows with the brilliant twilight ♪ ♪ I live for the night sky ♪ ♪ The night sky ♪ ♪ I defy the laws ♪ ♪ I defy the laws of space ♪ ♪ I defy the laws of space and time ♪ ♪ I defy the laws ♪ ♪ I defy the laws of space ♪ ♪ I defy the laws of space and time ♪ ♪ Space and time ♪ ♪ Warm me up ♪ ♪ Warm me up ♪ ♪ Into the heavens ♪ ♪ Past the heavens ♪ ♪ Make a left turn past Orion's Belt yea yea yea yea yeah ♪ ♪ I, I, I, ♪ ♪ I wanna build a little atmosphere around me ♪ ♪ So I can perceive ♪ ♪ Sound out there in outer space ♪ ♪ Where the dark matter flows in between ♪ ♪ Underneath me as I fly and soar ♪ ♪ I wanna build a little atmosphere around me ♪ ♪ As I fly and reach speeds of light ♪ ♪ The speed of light ♪ ♪ Maybe I'll just skip right through this wormhole ♪ ♪ Maybe I'll skip right through ♪ ♪ And jump right over this nebula over here ♪ ♪ I'm gonna have dinner at the restaurant ♪ ♪ At the end of the galaxy of the galaxy yea yea yeah ♪ ♪ I'll see my friends there, yea, yea, yeah ♪ ♪ From 30 light years up the road, oh yeah ♪ ♪ The president of the galaxy will welcome me ♪ ♪ With arms wide open, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Keep going ♪ ♪ And I'll say, ♪ ♪ Where my $5 at ♪ ♪ You know you still owe me ♪ ♪ And he gone roll his eyes be like ♪ ♪ Vie now you know I paid you back that $5 ♪ ♪ You really gone hold that against me ♪ ♪ And I'm gonna be like ♪ ♪ You don't have to give me $5 ♪ ♪ But you know what you can give me ♪ ♪ You can give me some galactic money ♪ ♪ 'Cause that worth way more than dollars ♪ ♪ Eyyy, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ ♪ I wanna build a little atmosphere around my body ♪ ♪ So I can perceive sound in outer space, outer space ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ I'm flyin soarin reaching speeds past that of light ♪ ♪ And I can feel the dark matter floatin all around me ♪ ♪ I'm going to have dinner at the restaurant ♪ ♪ At the end of the galaxy ♪ ♪ Y'all don't believe me ♪ ♪ Try me ♪ (gentle music) (audience applauding) (upbeat music) ♪ It's something more for me and you ♪ ♪ It's something more its greater and bigger ♪ ♪ Ecstasy and bliss sit side by side ♪ - [Man] Funding for this program is supported in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund Jennine and John Speier and these Stage supporters.

♪ Happiness and joy ♪ (soft music)