The Floras, a Northeast-based husband-and-wife singing duo, share decades of performing experience, often with folks who are decades older than they are.
Mark Flora, on electric guitar and sporting a silvery rockabilly pompadour, and Lisa
Flora, confidently slapping the upright acoustic bass, answered the siren call of country gospel and old-time ’50s rock ‘n’ roll. They’ve since become specialists in performing at assisted living facilities.
Mark and Lisa Flora have already performed 129 times at assisted living homes in the Metro area this year. The couple has known each other since 1989, and have been married since 1996. (Karen R. Nelson)
Their motto is “We sing for people.”
And sing they do. Their packed schedule of local and regional gigs is generated mostly by word of mouth, with Mark doing the booking. Locations range from Willows Bend in Fridley and Deer Crest Senior Living in Red Wing, to a holiday party at Wayzata’s Boardwalk Apartments, where I caught up with them in front of an enthusiastic group of seniors, other residents, friends and family.
Mark had given me a heads-up: “This is a ‘rowdier’ crowd — they’re spirited and ready to go from the first song. There are smiles, lots of toe tapping — if they’re able, they get up and dance. They sing along. It’s one of the most fun times we’ve had.”
Indeed, the festive crowd included a few energetic dancers, while others clapped and smiled, seated in folding chairs or wheelchairs around holiday tables.
The Floras have the chops to play Minneapolis’ big clubs. In the late 1980s, Mark was with The Law, a band that played First Avenue, The Cabooze, the Uptown Bar and the 400 Bar. They often opened for the Gear Daddies.
Performing for underserved or marginalized communities started by necessity but now is mostly by desire. The duo began in early 2013 after Mark lost his job as audio editor at Compass Productions when a Canadian company bought it out.
“At the time, it was devastating,” Mark said. “But looking back, I’m glad it happened. We started knocking on doors, and sang at a couple of assisted living facilities. When they started handing us checks, we realized ‘Wow, we might have a new business here.’”
They still play state and county fairs, theaters and parties, but the Floras have performed more than 129 times at assisted living/senior centers in the metro area alone. Nearly 63,000 Minnesotans live in more than 2,200 licensed homes across the state, so there’s a broad potential audience.
“We feel like we’re just building the assisted living business,” said Mark. “It’s our goal to do it four to five times a week. The residents take away joy and happiness — and we cement many happy returns.”
The duo performs a rousing blend of Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and other ’50s standards. They adjust to the holidays with classics such as “Santa Baby” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
“We watch the elders get their young selves on again,” Mark notes. “Our appeal is that we really do enjoy performing the ’50s music for the folks who grew up with it. There’s a connection. We hear over and over how we make them feel like teenagers again. It never gets old.”
The event company Paint, Paper, Scissors planned the Boardwalk’s holiday party. They knew to book the Floras.
“They’re super high quality and so professional,” said co-owner Bev Leckie. “They play the room well, and know how to gauge people. Everyone enjoys them, obviously.”
While their performances are a type of music therapy, the couple didn’t study that subject. “The music is the therapy,” said Mark. “We come in and are a bright spot in their day. We always chat with people after the shows, too.”
One of their most memorable moments, said Mark, was at a St. Paul memory care house. “There was this guy in a wheelchair and he was not very present. But as soon as we started singing, ‘One for the money, two for the show … three to get ready, now go cat go!,’ he popped up and started singing along word for word. He had the timing, phrasing and there was life in his eyes. It was amazing to see the transformation.”
Beginnings
Mark and Lisa met in 1989 in Clark, S.D., where Lisa’s dad was a farmer/musician. He taught her to play electric bass when she was 7 so she could perform with his band.
With a journalism degree fresh in hand from Iowa State, Mark landed a job at a South Dakota paper and was assigned to cover South Dakota’s Centennial Wagon Train journey. When the wagons rolled to Clark, Mark was there.
Mark remembers hearing Lisa performing with her dad’s band at a park. He thought, ‘These guys are really good — and that gal’s a great bass player.’
Lisa’s father and Mark began chatting about guitars, and they invited him on stage to play. Mark became instant friends with the family.
Later, Mark even stepped into her father’s prison ministry gig at the South Dakota State Penitentiary with a rockabilly trio band called the Holy Rocka Rollaz. “Sometimes it was fun, with guys saying a song moved them or gave them hope,” said Mark. “But sometimes it was really hostile with people glaring at you.”
That gig eventually went away. But when Lisa graduated from high school, the two noticed each other in a different way. Mark moved to Minneapolis, and took a desktop publishing job at Brede Exposition Services on Broadway in Northeast. Lisa followed and they both continued to do music. They were married in 1996 and remain partners in life and music, raising two artistically inclined daughters who are now 23 and 21.
Dancers took to the floor at a holiday party in Wayzata. (Karen R. Nelson)
The Northeast vibe
Mark and Lisa have lived in a house near Northeast Middle School for 22 years.
“We know we live in the greatest neighborhood in the U.S.,” said Mark. “We just caught a vibe when I worked here and wanted to stay. It’s a very artsy community and there are musicians all over. During COVID, we’d set up in our front yard and do shows.”
Lisa mused, “I feel like it’s a big circle. And I love that circle. They don’t get a lot of entertainment and sometimes they’re lonely. When we perform, they’re feeling joy.”