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NewFound Road grassing it up at the West. Photos by Jill Fisher.

But first: What an exciting couple of weeks it’s been for Duluth!

And I’m not talking just about music. I’ve been focused on curling, tuning in to watch members of our Duluth Curling Club represent USA in the Winter Olympics.

It was thrilling to watch Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse make the finals in mixed doubles and take Silver Medals. And now, what with our women’s team (Cory as Vice-Skip) in the competition, every match commands my attention. Plus, even though the U.S. men’s team isn’t based here in Duluth, its skip is from Chaska, Minn. So I’ll also be rooting for them as well.

Hopefully our Minnesota teams will make it to the semi-finals on Feb. 19 and 20 and hopefully onto the final medals rounds Feb.21 and 22.

Fortunately, live coverage of these matches take place early in the day (some at 2:05 am!) due to the different time zones, freeing up evenings to get out to music events.

A couple of my favorite outings have been to see Boxcar at Pizza Lucé  where the band has a Tuesday evening (8-10 pm) residency through February.

On Feb. 3, which was Caucus night, I arrived late to hear them play several new tunes composed by band leader Blake Shippee. One was about a local establishment: “Bergey’s Bar.” Very fun. Then this past week, on Feb. 10, I got to enjoy the full two hours of Boxcar.

At the second Tuesday Blake played more of his new compositions, which undoubtedly will be on Boxcar’s upcoming album. These were: “Where’s This World Going Now,” “Window Seat,” “Song For Your Lover” (very appropriate for Valentine’s Day week) and “Broken Wheel.” Of course they included some of their followers’ favorite tunes such as “Another Day, Another Dollar.”

Another older song, “Jolene” (not the Dolly Parton tune), dates to an early solo album by Blake. Other crowd pleasers were their covers of Dylan: “To Be Alone With You” and a glorious rendition of “I Shall Be Released,” in which both Andy Lipke’s and Misisipi Mike’s guitar playing were highlighted.

A pleasant surprise at this show was hearing Misisipi Mike sing two of his original tunes — “Guitar Roy” and  “Maybelline Truckstop Queen” — with the backing of this excellent band.

I appreciate having different people sing lead as it provides variety and interest, especially during these weekly “resident” sessions. Next maybe we’ll get to hear Boxcar’s drummer Rick Bruner’s sing one of his tunes.

On Friday, Feb. 6, I, along with some out-of-town friends, made our way over to Wussow’s for its Bob Marley Birthday Party. He would have been 81 had he not died at age 36 in 1981. (The Curmudgeon, who is not into reggae, stayed home and cooked us all dinner.)

This outing was an opportunity to hear the band Harbor Roots play its first gig. As one who is always up for reggae, I was happy to know that I may get to hear this genre performed live more often than once a year at the Reggae and World Music Fest held annually at Bayfront Park in July.

Harbor Roots

Band members include Janna Dreher (keys, vocals), Joshua Boelter (electric guitar), Oliver Heck (electric guitar, vocals), Bijan Warner (bass), Jeremy Craycroft (drums), Stephanie Williams (vocals) and Francesca Tanberg (vocals). These two latter vocalists traded off during the opening set.

Janna, is the impresario that organizes Reggae Fest at Bayfront; she sang a couple original tunes interspersed with Bob Marley songs and other reggae classics such as “The Harder They Come” from the 1972 Jamaican crime film of the same name starring Jimmy Cliff. 

While I couldn’t say the band was “tight,” it definitely showed promise. I would certainly get out to see it again!

This show also had a surprise in store for those who follow Teague Alexy: he was sporting a brand new look due to a radical haircut. He was on hand to add his hot harmonica playing to the band’s reggae beat, as well as Woodblind’s ska. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay to hear the latter band play.

Wednesday, Feb. 11, saw me attending the NewFound Road concert at the West Theatre, which was a part of the band’s 25th Anniversary Tour. I almost passed on this one, since I had planned to be back at the West the next night to see C.J. Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band. But at the last minute I decided to take it in anyway. Boy, am I glad I did! (The Curmudgeon passed since a banjo was involved.)

The critically acclaimed Kentucky-based band was a fabulous discovery — bluegrass at its best (not blast and fast grass) with just enough gospel. The players include Tim Shelton (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Jr. Williams (banjo, vocals), Joe Booher (acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmony vocals), Ethan Ratliff (acoustic guitar), and Sam Lauderbaugh (a skinny, stripped-down standup bass).

Shelton introduced their first number in his charming southern accent, “Try To Be,” that he said was about his grandfather. Though NFR has a strong Christian message in its repertoire, it wasn’t so much in evidence during this concert. What was evident was great traditional tunes, including Ralph Stanley’s “The Lonesome River” with its sad line, “no one to love or kiss me goodbye” and “I Am The Man Thomas.”

Another was “It Takes a Worried Man (To Sing A Worried Song)” recorded by the Carter Family in 1930.

The band’s  originals had the same old-timey sound. I particularly liked the recently released “Need To Get Some Highway In.”

Their selection of covers were wonderfully interpreted too, including Tom T. Hall’s “How I Got To Memphis” and a glorious rendition of the gospel “I Will Someday” that highlighted Jr. William’s fine high tenor voice. 

Then there were the murder ballads: “Killin In Griffin,” and the 19th-century “Down By the Banks of the Ohio.” Their final song was “Deep River Woman;” an apt selection for the Valentine’s Day week.

I could go on praising this tuneful and tight band of masterful musicians. Suffice it to say that I bought a CD I was so impressed. It’s too bad that more folks didn’t come out to see them. Though the crowd was sparse, it was enthusiastic in calling for an encore, which NFR delivered with “When I Get Home.”

Fans of Danny Frank and the Smoky Gold surely would have appreciated NewFound Road. 

So, it was back to the West on Thursday, Feb. 12, to see C.J. Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band. Band leader C.J. played the accordion and sang lead vocals, Billy Thompson played electric guitar and Steve Nash played drums. (I did not get the names of the electric bass or rub board players.)

C.J. Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band

This time the house was nearly at capacity, probably because the group performed at Bayfront Blues Fest in 2011 and more recently in 2021.

And, man, did this band ever live up to its name. They got the place heated up, even though it took some cajoling. C.J. warned he might have to come out into the audience to check whether folk’s hearts were beating. He stressed that “this is get out of your seat and jump on your feet music!”

C. J. is the son of the late Clifton Chenier, who was considered “the King of Zydeco.” Thus he has been deemed “the Crown Prince of Zydeco.” The group played several of Clifton’s compositions; one being “Hot Tamale Baby.”

Other tunes included “Zydeco Boogaloo” by Buckwheat Zydeco and C.J.’s own “My Baby Don’t Wear No Shoes.” This red hot concert provided music that was a fabulous fusion of blues and zydeco with percussion and rhythms that just didn’t stop.

And, though it took a while, the meager space in front of the stage finally filled with dancers. As proof of my being taken with this concert, I purchased the band’s CD Hot Rod to immerse myself in the energy of this music.

On Friday the 13th the C and I got over to Bent Paddle for the last set of the all-female Hot Tamales Cosmos show on the Cosmic Lounge stage.

Hot Tamales

These lovely ladies include Erin Aldridge (fiddle or violin if you prefer, vocals), Sonja Martin (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jocelyn Mickelsen (vocals), Boss Mama (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Jen Krussow (standup bass, vocals).

We arrived in time to hear their fine rendition of Tom T. Hall’s “How I Got To Memphis,” evidently a popular cover since this was the second time I heard it performed this week. The next was a cover of Jerry Garcia’s “To Lay Me Down,” followed by Boss Mama’s “Falling Hard For You,” which was written with Jacob Mahon of Saltydog. Sonja’s plaintive “Long Gone” is always fine to hear.

HTC also sang Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” which seems to have become a song of resistance, being covered frequently in our turbulent times. Then they sang the appropriate response: “Ready for the Times To Get Better” a cover of the song by Crystal Gayle.

These love songs were a perfect prelude to Valentine’s Day with this group’s sweet harmonies and smooth soothing sounds (all except “Old Rooster Blues” by Boss Mama which ended in a cock’s crow!). The group wrapped up the show with a cover of The Honeydrippers’ “Sea of Love,” leaving us feel warm and cozy.

Our next musical outing was on the evening of Valentine’s Day where we got to see Skarlett Woods performing at the Alhambra Lounge. The last time I saw her was at the Duluth Does The Pretenders at Sacred Heart Music Center in late January where she beautifully performed “Hymn To Her.”

Skarlett Woods

On this occasion we enjoyed hearing her jazzy versions of songs like “You Are My Sunshine” and “Stand By Me.” Skarlett is also great at singing Dylan covers, which included “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” and “Simple Twist of Fate” on this occasion.

Of course she sang some of here own compositions, though I didn’t get those titles written down. Blame it on the fantastic cocktails served at the Alhambra! 

UPCOMING: A couple shows I’m hoping to catch in the days ahead include Erik Koskinen at Cedar Lounge on Thursday, Feb. 19, and a choral concert by Cantus Vocal Ensemble at Weber Hall on the UMD campus on Friday, Feb. 20.

Who knows what else I’ll track down before I write my next column? See you out there!