April 2013

Hey All!

Any one ready for spring yet? I am really tired of this winter. A year ago at the time of this writing we could sit outside and soak up some rays, Crocus, Daffs & Tulips were up and blooming in the garden. Oh, well, I guess that was more the aberration than this endless winter.

The Jonestones lit up the Universalist “stage” this last week and they were definitely a warm breath of spring. The Sue Orfield Band will be getting us on our feet and dancing on April 9th. Music starts at 6:30. Tuesday Night Blues Unplugged is on the second Tuesday of each month through May. It’s held at the Unitarian Universalist church, a great venue with plenty of parking and easy access to downtown Eau Claire eateries. 421 S. Farwell in Eau Claire is easy to find, just a block east of Barstow.

April 16th   the Sue Orfield Band keeps things jumping and rolling with their special blend of tunes

May 14th   Code Blue w/Catya & Sue is the finale for the unplugged series; they are always smoldering, ready to burst into flames!

The 2013 Northwoods Blues Festival is going to be May 25th & 26th in Trego, WI at the Heartwood Conference Center & Retreat. The lineup is looking really hot! Friday it’s Howard Luedtke & Blue Max, Reverend Raven & The Chain Smoking Altar Boys with Westside Andy, Chris Beard, then Joe Louis Walker. Wow! Saturday starts off with The Rhythm Roosters, Mojo Lemon, Kenny Neal, and finishes with Ana Popovic. That is an awesome lineup. Go to www.northwoodsbluesfest.com for ticket, camping and lodging info.

The 5th season of Tuesday Night Blues at Owen Park begins Tuesday May 30th with Howard “Guitar” Luedtke & Blue Max, followed by another 13 Tuesday nights of great music. We have two Grammy nominated artist on the schedule this year! The 2nd week of the season TNB will feature Bryan Lee. A New Orleans legend Bryan will grace our stage with his band on his way to play at Buddy Guy’s Legends club in Chicago the following Friday night. Find out more about this awesome performer at http://www.braillebluesdaddy.com . According to Duke Robillard “Whether he’s wailing a Freddy King inspired blues ballad, stomping out low down and dirty blues, or getting down with a super funky New Orleans groove, Bryan Lee is gonna grab your soul and squeeze it till you scream in blues ecstasy.”

Returning to the TNB venue at the band shell in August will be Ellen Whyte appearing again with the Sue Orfield Band. This will be Ellen’s 3rd appearance at TNB. Coming all the way from Portland, Oregon, Ellen has been a real Tuesday Night Blues favorite, Ellen is known for her astonishing vocals, as she gracefully moves among genres from blues to jazz to funk and ballads, working the crowd and putting smiles on the peoples faces. You can find out more at  http://www.ellenwhyte.com .

Every week TNB will present great bands presenting blues stylings mixed with a little rock, funk, soul, and maybe even some country or reggae here and there.  The best of the valley will once again be present mixed with some of the best in the region. We have excellent local talent that is often better known in Europe or even other parts of the country than in our own backyard of western Wisconsin. They and we appreciate your support! The entertainment calendar is on our home page (bands be sure to send us your schedules), and there are links to many of the bands (and there scheduled events) at the Chippewa Valley Blues Society website www.chippewavalleyblues.com and the Tuesday Night Blues Facebook page www.facebook.com/tnblues for more info.

We really can use more sponsors to keep Tuesday Night Blues going. If you’re interested, or maybe work for a company that wants to be presented to 500 – 1000 people every week throughout the summer, contact us at the website. There are new links for membership, mailing lists and even sponsor information for Tuesday Night Blues.

Blues On The Chippewa will continue to bring us amazing talent from around the country and Midwest as well. I hope to bring you word about that schedule soon. If you are interested and want to volunteer or contribute go to http://www.bluesonthechippewa.org/

Word about these unique musical events is beginning to leak out to the world. There are many great musical events that are available, but very few have such high quality and are essentially FREE. Hard to beat that, even with a stick!

The Chippewa Valley Blues Society recently joined The Blues Foundation as an affiliate member. This organization coordinates nationwide events and has an annual international competition for the best blues band. The Blues Foundation also maintains and coordinates the Blues Hall Of Fame. We hope to send a representative from here to that competition soon.

Don’t forget to tune in to WHYS 96.3 Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. for Snapshot’s blues show.

Thanks for lending me an ear! We’ll be seein’ ya around.

March 2013

Hey All!

Howard “Guitar” Luedke and his sweetheart “Magic” Deb Klossner put everyone in the mood for a good time on Feb.12th at TNB Unplugged at the Unitarian in Eau Claire. In addition to their awesome musical talent they invited Ben Harder of the True Heat band to sit in for a couple tunes, then had Mike Kelly add some twang with his Jaw harp virtuosity to mix it up a bit. Howard gave us a little change of pace with his excellent rendition of The Who’s My Generation. It was another great evening of midwinter blues warmth. If you’d like a taste of what’s happening here, go to the Tuesday Night Blues Facebook page or the Chippewa Valley Blues Society’s web page http://www.chippewavalleyblues.com/. Tuesday Night Blues Unplugged is on the second Tuesday of each month through May. It’s held at the Unitarian Universalist church, a great venue with plenty of parking and easy access to downtown Eau Claire eateries. 421 S. Farwell in Eau Claire is easy to find, just a block east of Barstow. Music starts at 6:30 p.m.

March 12th  Davey J & The Jones Tones will get us rocking our way in to spring with their Texas style

April 16th   the Sue Orfield Band keeps things jumping and rolling with their special blend of tunes

May 14th   Code Blue w/Catya & Sue is the finale for the unplugged series; they are always smoldering, ready to burst into flames!

Put these dates on your calendar and come join us the 2nd Tuesday of every month from now until May when the summer season takes off!

The 2013 Northwoods Blues Festival is going to be May 25th & 26th in Trego, WI at the Heartwood Conference Center & Retreat. The lineup is looking really hot! Friday it’s Howard Luedtke & Blue Max, Reverend Raven & The Chain Smoking Altar Boys with Westside Andy, Chris Beard, then Joe Louis Walker. Wow! Saturday starts off with The Rhythm Roosters, Mojo Lemon, Kenny Neal, and finishes with Ana Popovic. That is an awesome lineup. Go to www.northwoodsbluesfest.com for ticket, camping and lodging info.

The 5th season of Tuesday Night Blues at Owen Park is pretty well set at the time of this writing and the schedule should be posted by the time this goes to print. Opening night will be Tuesday May 30th. We really can use more sponsors to keep this thing going. If you’re interested, or maybe work for a company that wants to be presented to 500 – 1000 people every week throughout the summer, contact us at the website. There are new links for membership, mailing lists and even sponsor information for Tuesday Night Blues. The entertainment calendar is on the home page (bands be sure to send us your schedules), and there are links to many of the bands (and there scheduled events) at the Chippewa Valley Blues Society website www.chippewavalleyblues.com and the Tuesday Night Blues Facebook page www.facebook.com/tnblues for more info.

The survey section on the website has been being used a good bit to give us your feedback, and it is appreciated. We want to hear from you! It is important to us to know what we can do better. Unfortunately, we are financially limited and while we’d like to bring in some huge national bands to Tuesday Night Blues it’s probably not going to happen. We have excellent local talent that is often better known in Europe or even other parts of the country than in our own backyard of western Wisconsin. They and we really appreciate your support!

That being said, this years Tuesday Night Blues lineup will include at least two performers that have been nominated for Grammy’s, and numerous other awards. Sultry voiced Ellen Whyte will be returning to our beloved band shell this season from her home in Oregon, and legendary New Orleans bluesman Bryan Lee is scheduled to join us for the first time this summer. Blues On The Chippewa will continue to bring us amazing talent from around the country and Midwest as well. Word about these unique musical events is beginning to leak out to the world. There are many great musical events that are available, but very few have such high quality and are essentially FREE. Hard to beat that, even with a stick!

Don’t forget to tune in to WHYS 96.3 Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. for Snapshot’s blues show.

Thanks for lending me an ear! We’ll be seein’ ya around.

February 2013

Hey All!

Just a couple updates this month. Left Wing Bourbon opened the 2013 portion of Tuesday Night Blues with a bang. They had the crowd in the pews clapping and weaving and rockin’ and bouncing in the seats with their funky and soulful offerings. An excellent turnout for early January left only a little room in the comfortable confines of the Unitarian house of Blues and Soul. Didn’t hear any hallelujahs, but there probably could have been if people weren’t so busy cheering on this great band from Durand, WI. Comin’ up just before Valentine’s day is the venerable Howard “Guitar” Luedke and his very own sweetheart “Magic” Deb Klossner. They always put everyone in the mood for a good time. Don’t miss it. If you’d like a taste of what’s happening here, go to the Tuesday Night Blues Facebook page or the Chippewa Valley Blues Society’s web page http://www.chippewavalleyblues.com/

Good stuff! Tuesday Night Blues Unplugged will be on the second Tuesday of each month through May. You don’t want to miss it at the Unitarian Universalist church, it is a great venue for these acoustic style concerts. There is plenty of parking there with two public parking lots across both streets and easy access to downtown Eau Claire eateries. The “church” is located on the corner of 421 S. Farwell in Eau Claire and is easy to find, just a block east of Barstow.

As usual, the music will start at 6:30 p.m. and will go for a couple of hours.

February 12th   will feature those blues sweethearts Howard “Guitar” Luedtke & “Magic” Deb Klossner

March 12th  Davey J & The Jones Tones will get us rocking our way in to spring with their Texas style

April 16th   the Sue Orfield Band keeps things jumping and rolling with their special blend of tunes

May 14th   Code Blue w/Catya & Sue will be the finale for the unplugged series and get us warmed up and ready for a summer full of blues and boogie!

So, be sure to put these dates on your calendar and come join us the 2nd Tuesday of every month from now until May when the summer season takes off!

The Annual (6th) meeting of the Chippewa Valley Blues Society will be held on February 19th. I was hoping to have the location for this column, but it will be solidified later this week and will be posted at the website. If you would like to get involved with the CVBS and the events we put on or support, or are just interested in hearing more about us please come on and attend. We will be voting in the officers for this year, making changes to our by-laws, discussing and voting on issues and events and listening to some good tunes offered by The Pumps, Buck Barrickman, Jason Kiesler & whatever friends may join them. There will be good food, good folks and some fun to be had.

We are currently getting ready for the 5th season of Tuesday Night Blues at Owen Park. We are always looking for help for the planning, preparation and presentation of this great event. We really can use some more sponsors to keep this thing going, so if you are interested or maybe work for a company that might want to be presented to 500 – 1000 people every week throughout the summer please contact us at the website.

The website has been undergoing some changes lately. We have added the survey section and feedback can be provided. There are also new links for membership, mailing lists and even sponsor information for Tuesday Night Blues. We have the entertainment calendar on the home page and there are links to many of the bands (and there scheduled events) at the Chippewa Valley Blues Society website www.chippewavalleyblues.com and the Tuesday Night Blues Facebook page www.facebook.com/tnblues for more info. Don’t forget to tune in to WHYS 96.3 Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. for Snapshot’s blues show.

Give me some feedback about what you’d like to see more of in this column. Drop us a card or letter to:

Blues Notes
c/o GNP Report
PO Box 473
Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

Or go to ChippewaValleyBlues.com

Click on the “send a note to the webmaster” link at the bottom of the page. I’m not the webmaster, but we’re good friends, and I’m pretty sure he’ll let me know what you had to say. While you’re there, check out the survey on the Tuesday Night Blues page and let us know what bands you think we should make sure to have next year, or what we can do to make it an even better event. We appreciate your comments!

Thanks for lending me an ear! We’ll be seein’ ya around. Happy Valentine’s Day!