Dakota Drifters Open The Sibyl Center Season
Dakota Drifters, vocal and dance band and perennial audience favorite, opens the 2025 season at the Sibyl Center on Saturday, May 31 at 7:00 p.m.
This quartet plays a variety of country, gospel and a bit of rock and roll. Members are Dick and Brenda Johnson from Turtle Mountain area; Carl Kannianen from the Stanley area; and Kevin Ternes from Minot. All four are home grown self-taught musicians who really enjoy country music.
Dick farms near the International Peace Garden with Brenda. Involved with music from the time he was young, he plays guitar and handles a lot of the vocals. He is known to favor Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash songs and always includes a few Norwegian jokes to keep things lively.
Kevin Ternes, accomplished pianist, is the owner of Kevin’s Piano Service in Minot and owns a commercial appraisal business. He started playing drums at age four and moved on to the guitar at thirteen, teaching himself the basics. A member of the Minot musician’s union since age sixteen, he played with The Redbirds and added bass guitar to his skill set. After moving around a bit and continuing in music, he resettled in Minot and joined both The Bill Merck Polka Band and Tin Star. He shares his talent at his church, in nursing homes and at other community events.
Brenda plays the standup bass, keeps the group organized and is always looking for new “old” material.
Carl farms in the Stanley area and has played the guitar for many years, discovering early in life how much he enjoyed music. He sings harmony on several songs and also does vocals. Carl has a unique and expert style of picking that is featured on several of the band’s numbers.
All are inductees of the Dakota Musicians Hall of Fame in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and they’ve recorded three CDs. The band likes to say if you like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Chet Atkins and similar classic country, you’ll enjoy their music. The audience is always encouraged to dance.
Admission is available for a set price at the door, children free. There are no advanced ticket sales.