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The Jersey Boys are Eric Elefson as Tommy DeVito, Ole Dack as Nick Massi, Jace LeGarde as Bob Gaudio, and Connor Bailey as Frankie Valli. (Photo by Terry Cartie Norton)

The Girls: or should I say “ladies,” “females” or perhaps “women”? Whatever. When I saw that Claudia Schmidt was to play the West Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 12, together with Sally Rogers, I said to myself this I have to see. 

I first heard her some 40 years ago, back when Claudia Schmidt was beginning to receive wide exposure as a gifted folk singer and songwriter. She was a guest numerous times on the Prairie Home Companion radio show, which I listened to religiously every Saturday evening back then, and saw her perform in Milwaukee where I lived in the early 1980s. Plus I also caught glimpses of her at local bistros there, when I couldn’t help but overhear her infectious laugh and boisterous commentary. 

Her obvious love of life pulled me in like a magnet. And those were exactly the qualities on full display, together with fine musicianship and soul-searching lyrics at this concert.

Sally Rogers, on the other hand, had not been on my radar. But as I discovered, she and Claudia (both natives of Michigan) have been making music together since 1980 when they met at the North Country Folk Festival in Ironwood. She also has performed on Prairie Home Companion numerous times, so there’s no excuse for me not knowing of her. 

Both of these gals play Appalachian dulcimers as well as acoustic guitars to accompany their duets. And what a duet they are with Sally’s sweet soprano vocals a perfect foil to Claudia’s deeply resonant alto.

The concert began with “We Are Welcomed,” a collaboration of theirs, followed by the Joel Mabus tune, “Love Is A Song.” Most of the songs performed were introduced by personal anecdotes and explanations, such as with the autobiographical title track of Claudia’s 2020 album Slow Steady Heart. It was a recounting of being told she had a slow steady heart by a nurse while waiting to be seen by medical staff for a broken foot. Another was about a gig at the Cincinnati Zoo where it was jokingly suggested they enter riding an elephant and getting to do just that.  

Howie Bursen, Claudia Schmidt and Sally Rogers (Photo by Jill Fisher)

“The Log Driver’s Waltz,” a Canadian folk song written by Wade Hemsworth, was a fun sing-along on the chorus of “birling down and down the white water.” As we all learned from this ditty, birling is a term for treading rotating logs as they float down a river which some say resembles dancing. These days the activity is a competitive sport. 

Sticking with water-related tunes, the duet played “The Lake Has Many Lovers” by Schmidt and inspired by Lake Michigan. It’s a cautionary tale of how “she’ll take you down and never let you go.”

And so the concert continued with a song by Sally, a “memorial for a lovely soul,” that brought tears to my eyes as I’m sure it did to many other folks in the audience. This song flowed right into “Trail of Sorrow” with its lyrics about there being no turning back. 

But counteracting these sad folk ballads were some overtly political tunes, such as the call-and-response number that got the audience chiming in with “That’s a lie” and the powerful protest song “Solstice Chant” inspired by the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis and the infamous Montgomery Walk. 

Sally’s husband, Howie Bursen, joined in on this latter tune, with his rich baritone voice to provide another level of harmony.

After an intermission we heard Sally and Claudia cover “Quetico” by Bob Gibson followed by an instrumental on their dulcimers. Next was another song based on the words of the social activist Dorothy Day that admonishes us it’s “No Time To Feel Hopeless.” A madrigal and some skatting by Claudia displayed the range of genres the two cover.

The lyrics to all of these songs were crisp and well enunciated so one couldn’t miss their meaning if one was listening. Ending the show, the singers asserted that language is so important and that we need to be aware and be conscious of what we say to each other as well as to ourselves. 

Quoting the Swiss philosopher-poet Henri-Frédéric Amiel, we were told “Be swift to love, make haste to be kind.” However, the first encore number was a round, with the refrain “get thee to the polls, let’s kick out the trolls” the message of which was immediately softened by the gospel tune, “Circle of the Sun.” 

This concert included quite a variety of tunes which gave me a greater appreciation for current “folk music.”

Now for the Boys: The Jersey Boys that is. Friday, Sept. 13, was opening night for the two-act musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. 

Jersey Boys (Photo by Terry Cartie Norton)

Can you believe it was the kickoff of the 110th anniversary season of the Duluth Playhouse producing live theater in the Twin Ports? 

Since this is the first Duluth Playhouse production I’ve attended in all my time in Duluth, I was both pleased and impressed. 

Now, after 20 years living in upstate New York, you’d think I would have attended a Broadway show or two. Jersey Boys was certainly on my wish list during that time. But it never happened, so this was a second chance to indulge myself in the music of this early 60s rock and roll group. 

The group was just plain “Four Seasons” at first; it was 1970 before Valli got top billing. The first number I recognized, but second in the show, was “Silhouettes,” which I have always associated with Herman’s Hermits but was actually first recorded and released in 1956 by The Rays. 

From the first this show was jam-packed with great oldies tunes done up right. “Sherry,” the group’s break-out hit in was the 15th number in the show (which included 35). 

The Brill Building in New York City was referred to, making clear that these were songs by other composers. As someone who is passionate about local live music and who normally eschews tribute band concerts, this production overcame that bias and hit all the right notes. And man, I did not realize just how many hits the group had nor that it was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 (same year as The Four Tops).

Jersey Boys gave us the back story of how the group came together, its various early iterations with different members along with their love lives and legal troubles, which made it additionally entertaining. 

The inclusion of another Jersey boy was a surprising character present in their story – Joe Pesci of Goodfellas fame! (He won an Oscar for that performance.) I myself never saw that movie but knew him from one of my favorite flicks, My Cousin Vinny.

The four guys that played the original band members, Connor Bailey (Frankie Valli), Ole Dack (Nick Massi), Eric Elefson (Tommy Devito) and Jace LeGarde (Bob Gaudio) did a stand-up job conveying the musicality and passion of the group. In particular, Bailey was impressive capturing the incredible vocal range and fabulous falsetto of Valli. And it was fun to hear the “Joisey” accent that Elefson managed with aplomb. 

Everyone I spoke with after the show gave it resounding plaudits and I am sure that, like me, they left with the songs like “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Rag Doll” ringing in their heads (if not out loud!). 

Surely anyone with memories of this group will thoroughly enjoy the show.

The week of music didn’t end there for me. Saturday, Sept. 14, was the Earth Rider Fest in Superior with a great lineup of artists, most of which I have had the pleasure of hearing previously. 

It was disappointing that I had to choose between the Tim Walz rally at UWS that afternoon (which I did) and attending the full festival. But fortunately I caught the last number performed by the chameleon who goes by the name of Jaedyn James. 

Later the Curmudgeon and I were able to see Pert Near Sandstone on the outdoor stage as well as Rich Mattson and the Northstars inside the Cedar Lounge. Both groups were in top form and highly danceable, so it made for a perfect weekend finale.  

UPCOMING: The Great All American Squash Fest is coming up this weekend. It begins Thursday evening at 4 pm with a potluck dinner and open mic session and takes place over the next two days. So many of our favorite local bands will be performing plus a few out-of-towners. See all the details at squashfest.org.

The Tilt Town Titans, Paul Metsa’s newest band, will be kicking off a Sunday residency at Carmody Irish Pub this coming Sunday, Sept. 22, from 4 to 6 pm. Band members include Taylor Shykes (bass), George Ellsworth (keyboards) and Ian Hopp (drums). 

Note there’s a $5 cover charge that entitles patrons to a pint of Carmody beer or equivalent drink.