Chan Poling

Chan Poling has been in the business of entertaining since 1977 when his alternative rock band, “The Suburbs” got their first recording contract with Twin/Tone Records and became a touchstone of the Minneapolis Sound which spawned The Replacements, Husker Du and Prince. He has since gone on to record music for PolyGram Records, A&M Records, Universal Music, Restless/BMG, Manifesto and Tinderbox Music and entertain many thousands. Mr. Poling’s songs have charted on U.S. and European charts and are still popular favorites on radio stations and all manner of media around the world to this day (his song “Rattle My Bones” was the soundtrack for an award winning Target spot and is featured during the Minnesota Vikings home games).

Mr. Poling’s music credits in the world of theater include award-winning work for the Tony Award ® winning French/American troupe Theatre de la Jeune Lune. “Children of Paradise” played the Yale Rep and La Jolla Playhouse theaters and was featured in TIME and NEWSWEEK. In 2001 Kevin McCollum (producer of Tony Award ® winning Rent, Avenue Q, In The Heights et cetera) commissioned Chan to write music for a new work, HEAVEN, directed by Joe Chvala. Mr. McCollum had this to say about Chan: "He's a voice we need to listen to. He’s a great music storyteller.”

Chan's band The Suburbs was voted among the “100 Most Influential Minnesota Musical Entities of the Twentieth Century” by The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Rake Magazine Readers voted Chan #6 in their “Favorite Minnesota Rockers” poll (alongside Prince, Bob Dylan, Paul Westerberg, etc.), and the Minnesota Music Awards honored him with their POP (Perpetually Outstanding Performer) Award. Mr. Poling’s recent endeavor, the cabaret trio The New Standards, are regulars at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater in New York City, have played Europe and China, and regularly sell out the 1000+ seat Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul with their Annual New Standards Christmas Show. Their 2nd collection of “new standards” produced by Grammy Award-winning Dan Wilson reached #23 of the CMJ Radio Jazz charts for 7 weeks in 2009. His musical VENUS premiered at the Ritz Theater in Mpls. and ran for 3 weeks to enthusiastic houses in spring 2009. Mr. Poling continues to score television commercials, feature and documentary films and new theater projects.