News & Articles

The Fish Heads at the Festival Rialto at the Rapids Brewing Company in Grand Rapids. Photos by Jill “Jillybones” Fisher.

You might as well call it “Musical Monday” when Saltydog is in residency at Bent Paddle Brewing. 

On June 3, this Monday not only featured a performance by the band but celebrated the release of its second studio album, Pepper on both vinyl and CD. The first album, Pecan, Pecon, was under the band’s previous name, New Salty Dog; three earlier recordings were live). 

Why is it called Pepper? Not only because it makes the doggies sneeze but it’s a complement to salt!

It was a wonderfully warm evening on which to enjoy Saltydog perform on the outdoor stage. They started out with a slow groove instrumental, becoming more upbeat with every song, which included a newly improvised one that isn’t even on the new album followed by an obvious favorite of mine: “Jillybones.” This band just keeps getting better and better. 

Saltydog

The last song before a break had an infectious reggae beat with Lefty giving his all on the congas. 

Saltydog’s second set brought Boss Mama to share the stage for a few tunes (“Jeramiah,” “That’s Alright” and “Muddy Water”) and with this they were all off and rockin’. 

“Done and Done” included a long jam, which demonstrated the musicality of each of the members. For an added treat, a brass quartet joined the onstage crew – Joe Anderson and Greg Moore on sax, Will Colins on trombone and trumpet and Rebecca “Beck” Fulin on trumpet. I wondered how they would fit in and was happily answered with a rendition of “Barfly” we hadn’t heard before – pretty darn exciting with all that brass taking it to a whole other level. 

I have been listening to the Pepper CD since this show and must say that “Me On You” has become something of an earworm – the subtly sexy lyrics combined with the simple memorable melody seems like one that could really catch on with a wider audience. It was a bargain at $10 and worth every penny for anyone into the Saltydog vibe.

There was another great evening of music on Wednesday, June 5, when the six-piece band Jumpsuit took the stage at Cedar Lounge. What a group of talented young musicians jazzing it up with both covers – “Can’t Wait for Perfect” and “Green Tea” among others – and an instrumental improvisation that was so impressive it deserves to be reprised and titled. 

Alex Bengtson was upfront and fabulous on sax, while Manny Eisle (electric guitar), Marshall Dillon (electric guitar), Calvin Lund (bass), Will Collins (trumpet) and Ian Hopp (drums) created a snazzy mix. One of their pieces showcased a bass solo by Lund, with Hopp providing background rhythm. 

This is a group to be on the lookout for. You won’t be sorry.

Johnny and Destini Rawls

The next night, Thursday, June 6, it was off the West Theatre to take in some soul and blues with Destini Rawls – “Child of the Blues” – together with her father Johnny Rawls, who plays electric guitar, and backup band consisting of Dean Wolfson (bass guitar), Rusty Wall (harmonica), old-timer John McGee (electric guitar) and Allen Kirk (drums). 

Anticipating this gig, I had been thinking maybe blues was making a big comeback in Duluth however, the pathetically small audience belied this idea. 

Yet in spite of this, the band gave us a fine dose of the blues. The backup band began the concert with ”I’m A Country Boy” and “Red Cadillac” and covered B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone” before Destini took the stage to serve up her full-throated version of some classic covers and new tunes, beginning with “I Don’t Want No Man” off her 2024 CD Carry On.

Destini’s voice has been described as velvet, which is fair enough, but doesn’t sufficiently describe the powerful, belting sound that she demonstrated in singing “I’d Rather Go Blind” as a tribute to the late Etta James. 

Following that up with “I’ll Take You There” and gave us a sense of the soulful sound she is capable of. After the break Mr. Rawls and crew took over again to bring us “Shake That Thing,” “Kansas City” and Down Home Blues.”  

When Destini re-emerged she performed an original song from her first album I’m Movin’ In, “What’s Wrong With You.” She followed up with three more off the new album: “Move To the Country,” “The Blues Sometimes” which conveys the thought that “everyone gets the blues sometimes” (how true) and the title track “Carry On.”

 I found this to be a very satisfying concert and only wish more folks would have been in the audience. The Curmudgeon would have liked hearing more of Destini than of her daddy.

Duluth-Stämmen

For a distinct change of pace, I attended the Friday, June 7, evening concert at Weber Hall on the UMD campus that was part of the Duluth-Stämmen, a Nordic music and dance gathering. 

It was quite the festival celebrating the culture of the old countries – Sweden, Norway and Finland. The concert was a musical potpourri, with nine groups performing, beginning with Ole Olsson’s Old Time Orkestra, which included a movable pump organ, three fiddles, acoustic guitar, standup bass and accordion. 

Clifton Nesseth (of Ponyfolk) organizer and “Chief Bottlewasher” of the event, played the standup bass with this group. 

All the performances were short, with six groups following up before an intermission. We got to hear a fair number of instrumental numbers as well as songs sung in these native Nordic languages.

Several groups included unusual (for us Americans) instruments such as the zither-like citra, Hardanger fiddles and nyckelharpa. 

The lilting tunes of ASI Spelsmanslag, minor key Finnish love songs by Lauluaika and waltzes by the three-piece Paul Dahlin and Friends served to convey the thoughts of attendees back to their families’ native roots. 

The McNordiques and Ponyfolk performance which included a bagpipe,  served up “genre-fluid” numbers. People come from far and near to participate in this event (now being held annually in Duluth) bringing new influences into the traditional sounds. 

Zosha Warpeha, who hails from New York City, gave a solo performance on her fiddle that was meditative and exotic, even having something of a Middle Eastern flavor woven in. 

When the concert concluded, the evening ended with an onstage dance. Perhaps next year I’ll take some lessons in the traditional dances of Scandinavia and stick around for that.

There were so many choices for musical entertainment on Saturday that it was difficult to decide what to take in. But when I saw the 14-group lineup for the third annual Festival Rialto at the Rapids Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, I decided it was too good to pass up. So the Curmudgeon and I enjoyed a lovely drive west to experience the music of both favorite bands plus some new groups. 

Beginning at 12:30 in the tent called the KAXE Stage, was Bark Point, a Minneapolis-based trio. I was not disappointed. Adam Hildebrandt (banjo), Dylan Breyer (mandolin) and Charlie Wickmann (standup bass) played some original up-tempo tunes with fresh harmonies. The band took their name from a small peninsula on the south shore of Lake Superior at Herbster, Wis.

Second up was Duluth’s own Fish Heads, who took the main stage at 1 pm, announcing this was part of their farewell tour! I was sorry to hear this, especially since these four performers never sounded better. I especially enjoyed the original tune “Grandma’s Meatballs” as well as the cover of Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road.” 

The solo artist Ditty Wish followed on the tent stage with original tunes and some mighty nice pickin’ on  acoustic guitar. One called “Looking Glass” was based on Alice in Wonderland with lyrics taken from lines in that book. Very clever.

Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers

Another band new to me was Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers, based out of St. Paul. They really rocked and her right-on rendition of one of my all-time favorite Bonnie Raitt tunes (written by Nan O’Byrne) “Sweet and Shiny Eyes” made me an instant fan. Maher played both acoustic and resonator guitar. She was backed up by Steve Murray (bass guitar), Paul Bergen (electric guitar) and Lars Larson (drums). 

According to my research she and Erik Koskinen play together regularly. Since Erik Koskinen is one of my favs, it makes sense I took to this group immediately.

Morning Bird, a trio comprised of Jill Burkes (violin, acoustic guitar, vocals), Rob Wheeler (acoustic guitar, harmonica vocals) and Josh Palmi (standup bass, vocals) was also a new discovery. They played a short set of very upbeat tunes ending with “Set Me Free.” The group is on tour this summer, mostly around Minnesota but traveling as far west as Montana. They will be back in Duluth on July 16 playing at Hungry Hippie Tacos in Lincoln Park and also on July 19 at Ursa Minor Brewing. I do believe this group is due a follow up listen!

Then we got to hear another of our favorite local bands, Feeding Leroy, perform their original tunes, including “Monument Valley” and “Long Gone Again.” Luke Martin (harmonica, vocals) was on hand for this gig, joining his twin Lee Martin (acoustic and pedal steel guitar, vocals), Sonja Martin (acoustic guitar, lead vocals), Nate Hynum (mandolin) and Jennifer Krussow (standup bass). The group will be on tour in various Midwest locations this summer, including the Long Iron Stage at Rugged Spruce Golf Course in Mahtowa on Saturday, July 27.

Charlie Parr

And there was way more to hear on this fine summer day, with only a threat of rain: Rich Mattson & the Northstars (always great), The Foxgloves (I first saw them during Bent Paddle’s Festiversary) Charlie Parr (he’s the absolute BEST), The Spine Steelers (female duo based in Wisconsin; missed seeing them at Cedar Lounge on May 25) and finally, the headliner, Wild Horses. It was almost too much fun.

Lastly, I must mention the Second Sunday Blues Jam at R.T. Quinlan’s, which I took in on June 9. With a revolving mix of seasoned and newbie musicians, the music is great and getting better all the time as people like sax player Joe Anderson are beginning to show up to play with Mel Sando, Dave Prudhomme, Glen Thomas et al. 

Note! There are two more scheduled jams this summer: Sunday, July 14, and Sunday, August 11, the latter being the “Leos’ Jam” in honor of Mel’s 62nd birthday and the proximate birthdays of several other musician friends.

So much music happening this summer it’s tough to keep track of it all. But note that next week is the kickoff of the Chester Park Concert series on Tuesday, June 18 with Born Too Late. See you there.