Rochester, MN
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201 4th St. SE
Suite 170
Rochester, MN 55901
Phone: 507-328-2200
TTY/TDD: More Information
Mon-Fri: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Passport Sessions
Music With Roots. Sounds That Travel.
Est. 2010
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Passport Sessions in 2025!
These free concerts brought diverse sounds into the heart of Rochester - from Indigenous hip hop to Turkish orchestra music. We’ll be back in summer 2026 with more new sounds.
Lineup announcement coming spring 2026.
Passport Sessions is a summer music series that celebrates cultural connection through sound.
Each featured artist brings a distinctive musical tradition shaped by identity, heritage, and place. Styles range from hand-drummed rhythms and string traditions to vocal forms passed down across generations.
Performers share their work in two ways: through a free public concert at Thursdays Downtown, and through daytime performances for students in Rochester Public Schools’ Summer SACC (School Age Child Care) program.
This series invites audiences of all ages to listen, learn, and connect through music.
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Planning Your Visit
At the Event
Siama's Congo Roots - Adult Enrichment Workshop
(World Music Series)
- Date: 12/21/2020 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
- Location: ONLINE EVENT
- Intro Text Live-streamed from the Historic Chateau Theatre in downtown Rochester's "Heart of the City" district. Brimming with catchy songs and engaging stories that bring renowned musician Siama Matuzungidi’s rural Congolese culture to life, this charming program features Siama’s spirited singing, masterful finger-picking acoustic guitar and captivating traditional African instruments like Mbira (thumb piano), Lokole (tone drum) and Balafon (marimba). Dallas Johnson narrates and encourages everyone to sing along in Kikongo, Lingala and English while drummer Luke Rivard adds infectious African rhythms. Whenever Siama plays, he hopes you’ll feel inspired to sway and dance and sing along. It’s no wonder people call his music, “the Sound of Happiness”
- Artist Website URL https://www.siamamusic.com/
Siama's Congo Roots - Adult Enrichment Workshop | Mon Dec 21 at 12 NOON | Facebook & YouTube LIVE | 2020 World Music Series
Live-streamed from the Historic Chateau Theatre in downtown Rochester's "Heart of the City" district
Rochester Civic Music's Facebook Link:
https://www.facebook.com/riversideconcerts1
Rochester Civic Music's YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc3Q3IHNlUpCmzJbnpH_cbw
Brimming with catchy songs and engaging stories that bring renowned musician Siama Matuzungidi’s rural Congolese culture to life, this charming program features Siama’s spirited singing, masterful finger-picking acoustic guitar and captivating traditional African instruments like Mbira (thumb piano), Lokole (tone drum) and Balafon (marimba). Dallas Johnson narrates and encourages everyone to sing along in Kikongo, Lingala and English while drummer Luke Rivard adds infectious African rhythms. Whenever Siama plays, he hopes you’ll feel inspired to sway and dance and sing along. It’s no wonder people call his music, “the Sound of Happiness”.
Back in Africa, Siama was a sought-after studio musician, recording hundreds of songs and touring the world with popular Soukous artists like Kanda Bongo Man, Tshala Muana, Sam Manguana and Samba Mapangala. (Soukous is upbeat dance music that originated in Bas Congo, the region of DR Congo where Siama grew up.) After living in Uganda, Kenya, Dubai and Japan, Siama settled in Minneapolis in 1996. He earned a McKnight Fellowship in 2014 and has since won numerous grants and awards for his engaging original songs which are inspired by Soukous, traditional Congolese music, Congolese Rumba (a genre inspired by Cuban Rumba) and flavors he’s picked up along the way.
In addition to performing special concerts at premier venues and events and teaching in universities, he and his wife Dallas recently earned World Music Pedagogy certificates from Smithsonian Folkways and they host fun library programs and teach in schools for COMPAS and Classical MPR’s “Class Notes Artists” program. Siama’s album, “Rivers – from the Congo to the Mississippi” was featured in BBC and Songlines Magazine and he and Dallas’ children’s CD, The Land of Yangalele (yawn-gaw-LAY-lay = “happiness”) received a Parents’ Choice Parent Approved award and has earned accolades from Grammy-award winning artists like The Okee Dokee Brothers (“We dig it! A great addition to the family music mosaic! Outstanding rhythms and performances.” and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, “When we listen to, "The Land of Yangalele" we hear home, Mama Africa. This is very beautiful music that everyone can enjoy.”) Check out Siama’s music on www.SiamaMusic.com/Music and Spotify and find @SiamaMusic on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Brought to you by the Friends of Riverside Concerts with additional support by the Mayo Clinic. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support Grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.
Passport Sessions Lineups
Going to a Passport Show:
Supporters & Partners
Passport Sessions is a City-funded program presented by Rochester Public Music. Our partners play a key role in extending its reach by helping us share performances that spark curiosity, celebrate cultural traditions, and connect communities across Rochester.
2026 sponsorship opportunities are now available. Visit our Supporters & Partners page or email publicmusic@rochestermn.gov to learn more.
2025 Funding Partners
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Grant Support: Thomas X Event
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
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2025 Venue Partner
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Presented in partnership with Thursdays Downtown
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2025 Youth Program Partner
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Host sites for youth concerts through Summer SACC
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