Leon Olsen
Inducted 2013
Leon Olsen was born in Tyler, Minnesota. In the fifth grade, he started playing the trumpet but was also very interested in the concertina. His first paying job was at the Checkerboard Café in Lake Benton at the age of 11. Leon started playing bass and rhythm guitar in addition to the concertina. After high school graduation, he began teaching students and building concertinas at Brown’s Music Store in New Ulm. The Leon Olsen Show has received many awards from Ballroom Operators Association, World Concertina Congress and others. The Band has recorded and released dozens of albums on vinyl LP, cassette, and CD and continues to play throughout the United States.
