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DSSO Bridge Session with Boss Mama and The Jebberhooch (Photos by Jill Fisher)

The outlook for outdoor music remains hot as our “two weeks in July” of summer has come and gone. There are free concerts in the parks in Duluth (now at the Lincoln Park pavilion on Tuesdays and Shiprock’s Community Concert there on Thursday, Aug. 8), plus Fridays at Silver Bay City Center Park. Then there’s Superior’s Porch Fest, Glensheen’s Concerts on the Pier, Pier B Courtside Concerts as well as all sorts of bars scheduling outdoor gigs (Bent Paddle, Sir Ben’s, Vikre, Jack’s, etc.). So everyone has the opportunity to enjoy live music in our beautiful Northland. 

For those with the means to purchase tickets there are the outstanding multi-act offerings at Bayfront (Bayfront Blues Festival Aug. 9-11) and Earth Rider festival grounds (headliners Charlie Parr on Aug. 10, Wild Horses Aug 16, etc.). 

The newest arrival on the festival scene – Burnstone Art and Music Festival in Sandstone – has been organized by Dusty Keliin and is happening August 9-11. This should prove to be an attractive (and less expensive) alternative to the Bayfront Blues Festival as many of Duluth’s top bands (Box Car, Saltydog, Red Bearded Strangers, Black River Revue) along with Erin Aldridge plus numerous Twin Cities acts will be featured. But it’s not all about music – visual artists will be creating on the spot artworks. Keliin’s intent has been to establish a festival located halfway between Duluth and the Twin Cities with the goal of bringing their respective music and arts scenes together. (See burnstonemusicfestival.com)

These events (I couldn’t begin to list them all) don’t begin to cover what is on tap at the usual indoor venues that may or may not charge entrance fees. It’s hard to keep up with it all. Such live music opportunities are among the many attractions that keep tourists coming back to Duluth each summer season. As far as economic impact goes, the Twin Ports’ live music scene has proven to have year-round appeal, not limited to the “shoulder seasons.” With all of this music on the horizon, not to mention the shows I’ve seen during the past few weeks but have not yet written about illustrate how blessed we are with live music.

So to rewind a bit, I got to see Boss Mama & the Jebberhooch in a DSSO Bridge Session. That gig was last Thursday, Aug. 1, at the Depot Theater. What a sound! With those strings adding to Boss Mama’s (Colleen Myhre’s) fulsome voice and Jebberhooch backing, it was a polished performance, sounding much like a highly produced recording. 

Erin Aldridge, concertmaster for the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra as well as a member of Danny Frank and the Smoky Gold (she gets around!) addressed the audience at the outset. She said this series has been happening for more than 10 years and thanked the Depot Foundation for its support of these “Bridging the Gap Sessions.” And, as incentive for this particular audience, she announced a raffle for season tickets to 2024-25 DSSO Concerts, available during intermission. 

Those strings were an unexpectedly fitting addition to Boss Mama’s repertoire. Many tunes played were from her latest CD, Greetings from the Barnyard Lounge, including “Lonesome Rooster” which Aldridge really schmaltzed up. Besides Aldridge, the violinists were Laurie Bastian and Amy Eichers; Kevin Hoeschen played viola and Becky Peterson and Julia Carlson played cellos. I loved their pizzicato bit on “Slip Away” and Erin’s jazzy violin solo addition to Boss Mama’s “Love In Alaska.” We got to hear the DSSO sextet play Brahm’s “Hungarian Dance #5” with Gilbertson joining them on his standup bass. They demonstrated how lively classical music can be and in the process inspired me to buy two raffle tickets at intermission! (Alas, I did not win.) Caleb Anderson on piano and Gilbertson joined the strings on a couple other pieces as well

Missing in action on the Jebberhooch front, just for this gig, was Jacob and Owen Mahon. Saul Myhre, Boss Mama’s son, ably stood in for Owen on drums, as he has occasionally in the past. Whatever the configuration, they were in top form, Colleen’s voice soared in that space enhanced by those strings! 

There are only two more Bridge Sessions coming up: DSSO with Reflectivore on Thursday, Aug. 15, and with Shaunna Heckman two weeks later on the 29th. Both at the Depot Theater.

Lyle Lovett

At least once a year I try to get over to the Big Top Chautauqua in Bayfield; this year it was to see Lyle Lovett and His Large Band on Sunday, July 21. When the concert was first announced I passed, but at the last minute I impulsively decided to go and coughed up serious dough. Now I haven’t followed Lovett’s long career at all. This gig had the same name as his 3rd album, released in 1989! I was turned on to him quite recently after hearing a local musician covering Lovett’s quirky song, “If I had a Boat.” Not that I immediately went and purchased an album by him or queued him up on a playlist (as if). But I caught his distinctive voice on the radio a few times and became intrigued. Well all I can say is that concert was worth every penny. Even standing outside the big tent, without a good view, it was an unparalleled music event. 

Before the Lovett concert I attended The Burroughs concert at the West Theatre on July 18, which was a hoot. Hailing from Greeley, Colorado, the band is billed as performing “sweaty soul music.” I found the group (eight out of its usual nine members playing this evening) to be rather campy. Lead singer Johnny Burroughs struck me as Brad Pitt playing Cab Calloway with both a high girly voice and grounded lower range. They were fun and funky.

 The next evening, Friday, July 19, the Curmudgeon and I traveled north to Silver Bay to hear The Big Wu. It’s a band I’ve heard much about but hadn’t seen before. Mark Joseph, who played with his American Soul band at the West back in February and who I really liked, is a part of this group. I’m not sure whether this is a band I would need to see again – they are a jam band in the mold of the Grateful Dead. I confess that, unlike many others, I am not a Dead Head. However, I have enjoyed their CD We Are Young We Are Old. 

The World Music and Reggae Festival is now in the rear view mirror, having taken over Bayfront Park on Saturday July 20. This is one of my favorite festivals that I don’t think I’ll ever want to miss. It’s like entering a whole new country smack dab in the middle of Duluth. This year Kenya was in the air; much of Africa actually. Gramps Morgan was the headliner and a fan fav who packed them in after an hour’s rain delay complete with thunder and lightning. His were certainly catchy songs, danceable and all, though the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd didn’t allow for any real dancing. 

DiaToti

All the acts I saw were good, but I especially enjoyed DiaToti in an earlier set. She sang a song written by her father from the Congo, another that was based on a South African tune and a couple of her own as well. A performer known by the nickname Miggy, who was from Kenya, substituted for the advertised performer “Motto” (Lashely Winter). Miggy taught the audience a dance, where we moved en masse first to the left, then the right, then back and finally forward to his energetic tune. Great fun.   

What other music have I taken in since my last column, you wonder? Well, I got to dance at the Coppertop Church’s parking lot to Big Wave Dave and the Ripples on Monday, July 15 (an annual benefit for CHUM) and then again at the Lincoln Park Pavilion as part of Duluth’s Concerts in the Parks on Tuesday, July 23. The pavilion has been restored and now serves as an excellent outdoor venue for music performances.

Glensheen’s concerts on the Piers have been going strong again this year with the addition of opening acts. I’ve gotten to see The Gemstones (sounded great) opening for Chastity Brown; Boku Frequency (gotta love that funk) opening for Nurd D (he was a trip and a half); and most recently DERECHO (Alan Sparhawk, his son Cyrus, Al Church and, my favorite, Izzy Cruz). There are just three more pier gigs scheduled for the last weeks of August, so don’t miss them if you can help it.

Theory of Light

Taking a break from FinnFest, which I wrote about last week, I got over to see Theory of Light at Bent Paddle on Friday, July 26. Their jazz-rock fusion is becoming a favorite sound. Barechested Andy Lipke (electric guitar) was joined by Joe Anderson (sax and flute), Luke Busta (bass) and Ian Hopp (drums) to play a range of covers plus originals in a totally engaging fashion. I will be checking this band out again at my earliest opportunity. 

Lastly, Sunday evening, Aug. 4, the Curmudgeon and I got up to the Coppertop Church (First United Methodist Church) to hear Strikepoint, an 11-member handbell ensemble that is based at this institution. Now this is fine and subtle music experience, even when covering popular tunes such as “Mamma Mia!,” “Singin’ in the Rain” and “I’m Still Standing.” Director Bill Alexander, in his last local performance before retiring after 40-plus years, introduced each number. He joked that typically the group would perform the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” for “our Lutheran friends” but instead they were substituting another for that congregation: “Hava Nagila”! One of the most interesting pieces was a composition by Strikepoint member Derek Bromme, “Sparrows of Keshum,” that uses a Hindu Scale (otherwise known as a double harmonic minor scale). It was not about birds, but street urchins in India.

Here’s wishing you a great rest of the summer filled with all the music you could hope for. See you out there!

Strikepoint