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The Mud Puppies at Blacklist. Photos by Jill Fisher.

It was this past Saturday, Aug. 8, when the Mud Puppies made their biggest splash yet at Blacklist Brewing Co.

The impetus for this rowdy party was the release of the group’s second album, Mud 2 Puppies. A capacity crowd of Zoomers seemed to know all the lyrics of the songs on band’s eponymous first album, performed at the beginning of the late evening concert.

These young men, who are either still high school students or have just recently graduated, have a good start in creating their own distinctive sound and with it a loyal following.

Lead singer, Jacob King Downs, playing acoustic and electric guitars, has a mesmerizing presence and, on this evening, gave a no-holds-barred delivery of their own original and other’s tunes.

A surprise treat was seeing primo guitarist Misisipi Mike Wolf join the group on their first few numbers. Together he and Scion Jordan dueled back and forth with their electric guitars to jumpstart this high-test concert.

Not to be outdone, Roland Struckman kept pace with tasty licks throughout the evening on his electric bass guitar and sweet accents with his harmonica on several tunes.

The other electric guitarist was Rusland Johnson, who added depth with his steady rhythm.

As for the drummer, Ben Blazevic-Seibert did yeoman’s work filling in for the absent Lachlan Hartley.
The Mud Puppies’ playlist was extensive, starting at 9 pm on the dot with four original tunes from their debut album—“A Shame,” “Teeth,” “Lake Superior Blues” and “Starry Eyes.”

Several others that have not yet been recorded were in the mix before they played the eight tunes from their newest release. They began with “Polka,” which wasn’t actually a polka. On “Lover” Scion turned his back to the audience, holding his guitar high behind his head as he expertly picked out the chords of the tune.

With “Candy Cigarettes” they all held the faux cigs in their mouths until it was time to sing. (I didn’t realize those candies were even made anymore!)

Each track performed gave proof that this was a group that had something to say and knows how to say it.

“Let’s Just Breathe” is a different sort of love song made more poignant with Roland’s chill harmonica playing.

In addition to playing each of the newly-released CD’s tracks they included a few covers, including the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers,” Erik Koskinen’s “Six Pack of Beer and a Pack of Cigarettes” and wrapped up their show with the Trampled By Turtles’ “Alone.”

The Mud 2 Puppies CD includes a booklet with the lyrics for each of the songs. Since I couldn’t catch all the words during Saturday’s show, reading through them helped me get a clear sense of what matters to these up-and-coming musicians.

As I listened to it (as I have with their first CD), I appreciated how well their live performances have translated to the medium. Not a small accomplishment!

This was my third time hearing the group live within the past six weeks and I am impressed by how quickly they’ve developed.

I’m surmising that these fellas have devoted a lot of rehearsal time to have achieved their sassy sound and vibe. Let’s hope the band stays together and remains in town so we get to hear lots more Mud Puppies music.

Erik Koskinen.

By way of a rewind, the Curmudgeon and I made it up to Silver Bay on Friday, Aug. 7, to hear Erik Koskinen’s band play a free concert at Music in the Park. No, the band didn’t play for free that evening, but donations to Rocky Wall Productions brought them back a third time to this annual summer event, which we were delighted to attend.

Koskinen’s band has undergone a subtle change in the past year with the addition of fiddler Kora Melia.
Also, his usual backing guitarist, Paul Bergen, wasn’t with him this time due to a schedule conflict.

The concert included both old favorites (“Pocket Full of Money,” “Pony To Ride,” “Big Plane,” etc.) as well as a few of his more recent tunes from his 2024 album Down Street/Love Avenue. Those included “I Got You (To Get Me Through) and “Keep My Baby With Me.” I noted that bassist Josh Gravelin was adding some fine harmonies to these tunes. For my money, EK is the top band in the Northland. Erik’s phrasing, choice lyrics, coupled with Richard Medek’s unparalleled drumming, is simply fabulous. I’ll never get enough.

Rockabilly Revue.

For the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten over to Pier B for its Wednesday evening Courtside Concerts. On Aug. 5, Rockabilly Revue played lots of “oldies but goodies” that got folks crowding the dance floor.
Although the C accompanied me, he was appalled by the boomer orgy and escaped when they played “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees and bubble gum songs of that ilk.

He was also along with me the previous week to see Big Wave Dave and The Ripples. And I do mean see! Near the end of its set on July 29, the entire band went shirtless! (Take that Prestige Plumbing!)

Other musical outings experienced during my hiatus from writing included a private afternoon party on Thursday, July 30, at which songstress Colleen Myhre (AKA Boss Mama) and Erin Aldridge teamed up to entertain a group of some 30 or so invitees.

Colleen Myhre (AKA Boss Mama) and Erin Aldridge.

This was a magical duo that demonstrated how the songs we have come to know  and love (Boss Mama’s) can be transformed and enhanced with a slightly different instrumentation provided by Erin’s gypsy-aura fiddling.

Later that evening, the C and I made it over to Average Joe’s Pub in Superior for another solid Boxcar gig. This outdoor venue is perfect for enjoying music and dancing on a warm summer evening.

Boxcar.

The only downside was missing guitarist Andrew Lipke from this gig due to his having collided with a deer on his motorcycle. I am sorry to report that he ended up with a badly broken leg and I (among many others) am thankful that he wasn’t killed in the encounter. 

The excuse I had for taking a week off from writing this column was my desire to attend the Vintage Band Festival in Northfield, Minn.

This was a four-day festival that included bands from around the United States and even some from overseas (Austria and Germany). Nearly all were playing in the historic genre and wearing era-appropriate costumes.

The C and I managed to take in only two days of the event — Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 1 and 2 — which meant we missed seeing the McNasty Brass Band of St. Paul for a second time as they played on the first day, Thursday, July 30. (I gave a glowing review of the McNasty Brass Band in the April 30 issue of the Reader.)

We arrived by noon on Saturday in time to experience the “Battle of the Bands” that took place on opposite banks of the Cannon River, which runs through downtown Northfield.

Five bands re-enacted musical contests that reputedly took place during the American Civil War. As explained to us, proximate encampments of opposing armies (typically on different sides of a river) would eschew fighting for a time in order to alternate playing tunes back and forth. Thus the tunes we heard on this date were generally from that mid-19th century time period.

The five bands participating this year were the Dodworth Saxhorn Band of Ann Arbor, Michigan; the 1st Brigade band of Wisconsin; the Newberry’s Victorian Cornet band of South Carolina; the Independent Silver Band of Mt. Vernon, Illinois; and the Doughboy Foundation’s American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Band of Washington, DC. Whew!

This was an amusing event taking place on a very hot afternoon.

With two stages in use throughout the festival, it was impossible to see every one of the bands playing on the two days we were there. But we managed to hear the all-volunteer Minnesota State Band during that Saturday afternoon, which played an expanded repertoire that included not only military numbers but some more recent tunes such as George and Ira Gershwin’s “Someone To Watch Over Me,” complete with a female vocalist.

We got to hear the 1st Brigade Band a second time later that day playing an all-Civil War era repertoire, including “Near the Lake” and a Stephen Foster tune.

A terrific piccolo performance in a medley of military tunes was by a member of the Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band later in the afternoon. Then there was a second chance to hear the Independent Silver Band play a variety of vintage tunes with vocals on several on several of them by “Big Mike” a rotund costumed singer. They included “Marching Through Georgia” along with some Ragtime numbers.

On the following day, Sunday, Aug. 2, we heard several bands with varying repertoires. The Bavarian Musikmeisters, based in the Twin Cities played polkas and schottisches for dancing couples. The Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band was one I was anxious to see as it featured bagpipers from St. Paul. That sound always thrills me.

As the festival wound down we were apprised of another enticing brass band event: “Tuba Christmas.” It is scheduled for Dec. 5 and will take place at Carlton College’s Skinner Chapel.
I suspect this will be a very fun holiday event that some readers of this column might enjoy. Check it out at vintageband.org.

I guess this type of music isn’t for everyone (the C grudgingly joined me on this outing) though the crowds were significant, but as for me, I’d like to attend this event again sometime in the future.
It was explained to me that the Vintage Band Festival isn’t this extensive every year, just every three or four years, with more modest offerings in the interim years. If you’re interested, check out upcoming festivals at the above-noted website.

UPCOMING: It’s time for the three-day Bayfront Blues Festival beginning this Friday, Aug. 14, so that’s where I’ll be this weekend.
You’ll read all about it in next week’s Reader. See you out there!