AWE GUSTS
Coming up this Friday AUGUST 23 THE MINIMALISTS, born as JEFF MASON & PERRY BAIRD, will be on stage after a 23 year hiatus.
Perry Baird’s strong and smooth baritone vocals draw you in to his songs, an eclectic mix of contemporary and traditional styles. He occasionally performs solo, accompanying himself on 6- and 12-string guitar, and he’s more frequently on stage with a folk trio known as the Buzzards, which includes Madison’s Mike and Patty McDougal.
Jeff Mason accompanies Perry on guitar and vocals, combining finger-style and flat-picking counterpoint…with a bit of soloing thrown in. Jeff also does a solo act (with his looper), performs with the locally infamous Merry Horde, also occasionally as the newly hatched Jeff Mason Trio. Now this. Nobody (including Jeff) is quite sure where—or with whom—he will end up next.
You don’t want to wait another quarter-century before these guys get together again, so catch them while you can (and they’re able).
Saturday AUGUST 24 is Fort’s annual city festival, Rhythm on the River, a block from the Carpe. There is enough music coming from there, so we are not holding any musical events here that night. We are open and hopin’ for regular business, though.
OFFSITE, OUT OF YOUR MIND
Some of you may have heard of singer-songwriter BILL CAMPLIN. On FRIDAY AUGUST 23 & SATURDAY AUGUST 24 he and members of this band from the 70’s, now known as the Cardboard Botox band, will be recording in a barn on Hwy CI east of Fort Atkinson, northeast of Palmyra, and 1 1/2 miles west of the almost invisible Oak Hill (which is the intersection of CI and Hwy E), reached from the east from Hwy 67. Check out details on our website and the Bill Camplin band Facebook page.
NEXT WEEK & THE BEYOND
If you miss the barnstorming, or just can’t get enough of BILL CAMPLIN, you’ll have your chance on Friday August 30.
On SATURDAY AUGUST 31 we thought we had booked the marvelous BIRDS OF CHICAGO (Allison Russell & JT NERO). We were wrong- they seem to be playing at the High Noon Saloon, and the thought of a shootout at high noon to settle this seems unpleasant. I’m sure they will be back sometime.
BEYOND next week, more fineness with the debut appearance of ZOE MUTH and the LOST HIGH ROLLERS- catch them now before they move away from small stages, the BLUEGRASS BOYS (Bill Monroe’s band) REUNION, and no slouch PETER MULVEY.