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The St. Scholastica Steel Band performing at Bent Paddle on Dec. 20. Photos by Jill Fisher.

For my last column of 2023 I decided it might be appropriate to take a looksee back through the photos and two-and-a-half notebooks I managed to fill up during the last 12 months. I thought I would highlight those especially memorable and outstanding concerts, gigs and jams, which now seems to be an impossible task, but I will do my best.

Although local, that is Twin Ports, live music is my focus for this column, I’ve found experiencing music elsewhere and in different venues has enhanced my appreciation for the depth and richness of the talent we have available to us here.

With that proviso, January’s memorable concert had to be the Last Waltz Tribute the Curmudgeon and I saw at the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. Although it was my first time seeing this, it was the 18th anniversary of the show.

Rich Mattson, foreground, at Sparta Sound with New Salty Dog.

February’s special music moment has to have been sitting in on a recording/remixing session at Rich Mattson’s Sparta Sound studio up on the Range with New Salty Dog. I was there as part of my research into Jacob and Owen Mahon for the profile I was writing on them (April 13 and 20 Reader issues).

This was an entirely new experience for me – definitely ear opening! Seeing the interaction between Rich and the boys (Sam Deters was there too), overhearing discussions amongst the band members and seeing the technical equipment will all be in my memory for as long as I have my marbles (as they say about us oldies).

Another February memory: Kim Roe of the Roe Family Singers clogging at Wussow’s on Feb. 24 to an almost unending bluegrass number, which I recorded and watched again. Very inspiring!

March was chockful of simply wonderful live music, I couldn’t begin to list it all. But in terms of firsts, there has to be my first time at First Avenue. The show was the duo Larkin Poe on their “Blood Harmony Tour.” Here’s what I wrote in my March 23rd column about that: “My experience at First Avenue made me wonder whether groups that break out of their local music scenes and gain a larger audience must necessarily perform in the glam arena rock mode. Plus, it made me all the more convinced of the high level of our local Twin Ports talent. For the price I paid for two tickets to this show, I would far more willingly support local bands and musicians, sans light and fog shows.”

April was something of a bust since I was traveling for three weeks, during which my musical excursions were nearly completely curtailed. Getting to see a retrospective show of  Bob Dylan’s artwork at the Museo Maxxi in Rome, however, was an amazing discovery (April 27 issue).

The day before departure I learned what “Dub” music was (an offshoot of reggae that generally uses remixes of existing recordings) when I attended the “Woodblind In Dub” gig at Bent Paddle’s Taproom Splash Reggae Jam with DJ TnT HiFi. In this instance the  sampling of Woodblind’s live music was unique and a whole new auditory experience.

Jacob Mahon and friends at Duluth Coffee Co. during Homegrown.

May of course was given over almost entirely to two annual events – the Homegrown Festival and Duluth Dylan Fest. I can’t praise enough these celebrations of present and past contributions to our music scene (from local to global). One thing that was fun to witness was the pop-up morning gigs at Duluth Coffee Co. downtown with Jacob Mahon inviting all manner of musician friends to sit in with him and Owen.

With little or no official promotion, word of mouth ensured that the lucky among us got an extra dose of musical inspiration during Homegrown week.

At the tail end of the month, on Sunday the 28th, the annual Battle of the Jug Bands was revived (after some years, including the COVID hiatus) at Dovetail Café in Lincoln Park. It was also something of a memorial for Elliot Silberman, who began the Duluth Battle of the Jug Bands back in the 1990s and who died the previous September.

Kurt Koehler

In June was Superior’s Porch Fest. Thursday evenings all month long a bunch of good local bands were showcased in various neighborhoods. Then, my second time down to the Blues Saloon in St. Paul brought blues guitarist Kurt Koehler to my attention and subsequently his band, Inside Straight, that I am now a fan of even though it’s based in the Twin Cities. We could use more blues here in the Twin Ports, even with our Bayfront Blues Festival. Just sayin’!

Diona Johnson’s (AfroGeode’s) celebration of life on June 29 at Bent Paddle and the Park Point Bathhouse was another memorable event that reminds us to enjoy what our local musicians have to offer while they are still with us.

July’s highlight has to be the World Music and Reggae Fest at Bayfront the 14th through 16th. This was my third year since returning to Duluth and it continues to amaze, challenge and delight me. Being in the so-called “racial” minority for even a short time is quite an education.

Jill at Bayfront Blues Fest.

August was another full month of great music. The Bayfront Blues Fest is a really intense time but one I try not to miss now that I’m back living in Duluth – so much great blues with legendary blues musicians. I loved that my photo of Rick Estrin made the cover of the August 17 Reader.

The following weekend was the Twin Ports Music Festival at Earth Rider when I saw and became aware of Ana Popovik for the first time. Wow! Besides this was the inaugural Ship Rock Community Concert with three of our best local bands – New Salty Dog, Boxcar and Erik Koskinen.

Traveling three weeks in September resulted in me missing way too much local music, including the Great Northern Squash Festival out at Adam Staupe’s place in Foxboro, Wis. Bummer. However, I did get to a concert by the Squirrel Nut Zippers while in Washington, DC, a remarkably fun group I had not seen or heard of before.

My birthday month, October, was loaded with great music and dancing. The Patsy Cline Tribute show by Joyann Parker at the West Theatre was wonderful, along with the discovery of the Twin Cities-based band the Long Goodbyes (Oct. 19 Reader).

Jill with Cory Younts of Old Crow Medicine Show.

My first outing to the Black Bear Casino in Carlton (or any casino for that matter) to attend the Old Crow Medicine Show concert made me think I’ll keep that venue on my radar for acts I might wish to see. The Talking Heads movie Stop Making Sense seemed like a special treat just for me.

Wrapping up the month with a trip to Prescott, Ariz., and taking in live music at its Whiskey Row venues has left me with a surfeit of pleasant musical memories.

November too was full of excellent music. Paul Metsa’s birthday gig at Blackwater Lounge on the 8th with Sonny Earl and special guests Alan Sparhawk and Taylor Shykes was fun. The Jimmys at the West Theatre was another great show, as was my first time attending a Matinee Musicale event at the First Presbyterian Church on the 12th. That show was by a four-person brass ensemble, The Westerlies, based in New York City.

And then to further expand my musical boundaries I attended the “Seeds of Culture – Baroque Time Travel Hip Hop” concert at Sacred Heart Music Center on the 17th. That was truly mind-blowing.

No local music for me during the first part of December due to travel, etc. but I did manage to get out to the weekly Splash Reggae Jam at Bent Paddle run by TNT HiFi featuring Natty Nico on Wednesday the 20th. It showcased a special steelpan group, the St. Scholastica Steel Band, under the direction of Jeremy Craycraft. Students Hannah Wohlers, Ben Brach, Henry Huber, Aaliyah Paxton, Maddy Campbell and Jackson Miller together with Craycraft brought a great beat and sound to the evening playing “Island Music” on steel drums. It was an impressive and very danceable performance. I’m sure the “Parrotheads in the audience were pleased by the piece played in honor of Jimmy Buffet. The group plans to be back here in May, so I will be on the lookout for that.

In celebration of the season I hope to attend the Charlie Brown Christmas jazz show at the West Theatre on the 21st and I wouldn’t miss the Belfast Cowboys there on Thursday the 28th.

While I am reminiscing about all this I want to thank Bob Boone especially for the many wonderful shows he has brought to the West this past year (way too many to mention here) and for roping me into this writing gig that has opened up the world of live music for me.

A number of new local bands have formed in 2023, which we can check out in the New Year. The few I’ve noted are Triple Check, Magic Bus, Blue Valentine and Desire Store.

And by the way, if you see me out and about, please let me know what you think of the music you are hearing and clue me into any new group that you know of. Even with Facebook listings, it’s hard to keep up with everything that’s happening.

Here are a couple upcoming shows you might want to be sure and see: Wussow’s line-up for New Year’s Eve from 8 am to midnight!  And on Tuesday, Jan. 2, Charlie Parr begins a January residency at Cedar Lounge with Alan Sparhawk sitting in that evening. Hope all my readers are enjoying themselves this holiday season. My best wishes for a fun, music-filled New Year!