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Big Time Jazz Orchestra at Leif Erikson Park. Photos by Jill Fisher.

Now that we’ve gotten a small bit of summer weather, in amongst the cool and/or rainy periods, the outdoor music venues are calling us.

For me that meant finally getting out to Lincoln Park on Tuesday, June 30, for my first of this year’s Music In the Park series, produced by the City of Duluth Parks and Recreation Dept. This is the 43rd annual series. It was a sunny 85-degree evening that had most of the audience sitting in the shade.

The Wind-Jammers are what is called a big band, and big it is with five saxophones (alto, tenor and baritone), four trumpets, three trombones, two keyboards and drums.

I last saw and reviewed this group four years ago (Sept. 1, 2022, Reader). It was good to hear them again. They’ve been around for 43 (about 38) years now! The group played a delightful hour-and-a-half set covering a slew of classic swing and big band  tunes. These included “Jive at Five,” “April in Paris” and “Topsy” by Count Basie. He was the first Black performer to win a Grammy, back in 1958 (he won seven more in the next three decades).

Other great renditions included the French song “C’est Si Bon,” “Puttin’ On the Ritz,” “That Old Black Magic” and “Hot-Cha Cha Cha.”

The WJ’s set included a few other songs not ordinarily associated with big bands such as two from the The Wizard of Oz: “If I Only Had A Brain” and “Over the Rainbow.”

And a real treat was the vocal solos by Peggy Carlson (who also played sax): the Patsy Cline hit “Crazy” (written by Willie Nelson) and “Teach Me Tonight.”

Balancing that out was band leader Greg Kriske singing “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.” They wrapped up their performance with the Sinatra-associated song “New York, New York.” (So nice, you have to say it twice!)

The Wind-Jammers at Lincoln Park. 

Your next opportunity to hear the Wind-Jammers is on Thursday, July 30, at the Sounds of the City series that takes place at the Duluth Public Library Plaza on Michigan Street in downtown Duluth. The music starts at 5:30 pm.

But that wasn’t enough of this old-school jazz, meaning I got out to see the Big Time Jazz Orchestra at Leif Erikson Park on Wednesday, July 1.

Although it started as a cool, overcast day, the sun came out and warmed us up to make for a perfect day for enjoying music along with views of Lake Superior. The performance was billed as a special celebration of America’s 250th birthday and it began with “Strike Up the Band,” followed by an “American Medley.”

The BTJO was founded almost 40 years ago by Randy and Mary Lee. What I found interesting was that there wasn’t any overlap in the songs played by this group with those played by the Wind-Jammers. A testament to the deep reservoir of big band tunes.

Among those we heard on this date were “”Mercy Mercy Mercy,” written by Joe Zawinul for Canonball Adderley, “Big Swing Face,” “Laura” by David Raskin (written as the them song for the 1944 film noir of the same name), “Stardust” by Hoagy Carmichael, “In The Mood” by Glenn Miller and two Count Basie numbers: “Tall Cotton” and “Fly Me To the Moon.”

And guess what: this band will also be playing a Sounds of the City gig at the Library Plaza on Thursday, Aug. 13.

On Friday, July 3, the rainy 66-degree weather drove us indoors, eschewing Hairball at Bayfront!
The Curmudgeon and I got out to the Alhambra Lounge where the unrelated Andersons (Joe on soprano sax, flute and piano; Garth on acoustic guitar) played for three hours. This was quite the curious combination of instruments, guitar and sax especially.

We enjoyed their mix of covers and originals. Garth’s “Little Frisky Blues” was fun, “Bumper Sticker” was a pithy political ditty and “Livin’ On the Dying Side of Life” had a dark philosophical message. (The C thought this latter song was very Lou Reed-like.)

When Joe riffed a bit of “Summertime,” I requested they play it and they complied. Joe also ripped it up with a cover of “Tequila.” Bukka White’s “Fixin’ To Die” (a cover by Bob Dylan on his first album) was the final song of the evening. The old blues tune added a further somber note to some of the musical fare we heard. I must say, once again, that the Alhambra is a fine place to listen to music; another great venue in West Duluth!

So then it was July 4, Independence Day. Once again I skipped Fourth Fest at Bayfront in favor of hanging out and staying up late for the fireworks display (jillybones is also known as a pyromaniac!). I was also saving myself for the Whiskey River…downstream gig at Doc’s in Sturgeon Lake the next day. It was only a short 45-minute drive south down I-35 to reach what is evidently a bonafide music venue new to me.

The Rowdy Gents

Although I was intent upon seeing Whiskey River, as I mentioned in last week’s column (“Upcoming” section), I discovered a hot new group: The Rowdy Gents. Established in 2021, it is a self-claimed rockabilly trio.

The “Gents” are Kody Gerard (electric guitar, vocals), Nolan Larson (standup and electric bass, vocals) and Jake Pomas (drums). This trio impressed not only me, but the members of Whiskey River too! They played quite a few originals, among them: “Don’t Walk Out On Me” (that is slated for their upcoming album), “Shout It” and “She Don’t Like My Haircut.”

Kody, who has the swarthy good looks of Elvis Presley and a voice to match, sang most of the songs, including a cover of “Important Words” recorded by Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps in 1957.

On the song “From That Day On” (off their first album) he displayed a sweet, pitch-perfect falsetto. Two original songs were written and sung by Nolan:  “Please Let Me Know” and “That’s What I Get For Loving You.” He was also great at slappin’ that standup bass.

Covers the Gents played included Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” and “The Race Is On” by George Jones.

Man, these guys really did rock and got me dancin’ from the first. Indeed, they threw down the musical gauntlet for the headlining Whiskey River! We need to see more of them in the Twin Ports!

With a high bar set for Whiskey River, this band performed even better than I had anticipated. Since I have recently reviewed this band (May 21, 2026 Reader), I don’t wish to repeat all the accolades I wrote then, but I must emphasize how tight this band is. That’s a pretty amazing feat given that Albert Svenddal is new to the band this year.

The guys took to the stage at 4:30 sharp, played two sets with a short break between and extended the gig to 6:30 pm. They played so many great songs, most of them original Whiskey River songs — “Calico Eyes,” “Dakotah,” “Tryin’ To Get You Off My Mind,” etc. Another, “Goin’ Down To Texas” showcased the band’s signature unison playing with Curt “Stoney” Stone on electric guitar (and singing) matching Albert’s pedal steel note-for-note. Really bitchin’!

Tony’s cover of “Wind Me Up” had a strong Nashville sound that was most pleasing. Then there was Norm’s fantastic drum solo. Danny’s still strong voice is perfect for those classic Whiskey River tunes such as “Heart Without A Will.” 

Whiskey River closed their prepared show with “Country Picker” but then there was a demand for more so the band played for another 15 minutes, giving us three additional songs. One was “Willin’” with the sing-along line “Weed, Whites and Wine.” All in all, it was a great musical outing.

WRDS is on tour this summer with lots of gigs throughout the Midwest (see whiskeyriverbandmn.com for their schedule) but the closest they will be to us is at Moose Lake for Oktoberfest on Sept. 26.

UPCOMING: Heads up for the Two Harbors Heritage Festival that starts this Friday, July 10 and continues through Sunday, July 12. On Friday Virgil Caine will be playing, beginning at 8 pm. See you there!