Last chance for summer (music):

– If you have not yet heard the duo JazzSpring play its wide range of tunes on the Pudge’s Bar patio, this weekend maybe your last chance for the summer. The pair of musicians and their multiple instruments of all classifications have been on at Pudge’s since June and have planned to continue their gigs through the end of August. That means their last sessions of the season are Thursday starting at 7:30 p.m. and Friday beginning at 8 p.m.

– The group Practical Goods will play at Dick’s Bar and Grill at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, to begin the Labor Day holiday weekend that is considered the last gasp of summer. The married couple, from right here in Hudson, plays all kinds of venues including wine bars and fairs and festivals all around the St. Croix Valley and Twin Cities metro area — and even in Austin, Texas. That if fitting because the duo featuring original music by Sarah VanValkenburg also plays red dirt Texas country as well as other country music styles, and mixes in Americana and some rock.

– Soulful singer Ali Washington and her band were one of the last groups to perform at the weekly summer music series each Wednesday night at Dick’s. Washington was joking that she had met star Viking running back Adrian Peterson and that the hunk had autographed her microphone, which she displayed to the crowd. Washington then issued a shoutout to bring singer/bartender Amanda to come on stage. However, the songstress was busy and declined, but not before giving a bow to the stage.

It’s all that jazz, and more, being performed:
– Pudges Bar is fast becoming the jazz headquarters of Hudson, as the trio Quasimofo will play there on Saturday night and mix in some funk and punk. The trio, made up of the musically inclined Ashwood family, plays almost all originals, which is very original in itself, and hits on all styles of jazz, including lesser heard forms such as bebop. When you listen to them, you will hear the influence of jazz stalwarts such as Miles Davis and Benny Goodman. Quasimofo will often ratchet up the tempo to a killer pace, then shortly after that tone it down for a different vibe. They will play from 8 to 11 p.m. at Pudges. You can also catch the local trio at a St. Paul Saints home game on Friday.
– JazzSpring’s weekly selections at Pudge’s Bar, starting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays and 8 p.m. on Fridays, are branching out as much as the late summer flora and fauna on the patio.
“Lately we have gotten into playing the traditional song, ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic,’ because it has such a bluesy, 6/8 gospel feel,” said Melissa Stoudt, flutist and saxophonist for the duo JazzSpring.
A couple of other signature tunes on their set list are ‘Well You Needn’t’ by Theolonius Monk and ‘Tico Tico’ by Zequinha Abreu. “JazzSpring’s pianist, Ann Marie McIntire, created a pretty funny arrangement for Tico Tico with a dramatic tango type interlude and a ‘swingle singer-esque’ chrous. You gotta hear it,” Stoudt said.
– A newer addition to the Pepperfest music lineup was Saturday night’s Jug, to go with bands you’ve seen and will continue to see locally, 8 Foot 4 on Friday and of course The Dweebs on Sunday. While Jug was juggling songs that were a range of country and pop, and everything in between, here is what could be seen: For big black boots, there were many styles, but the most noteworthy was on a young woman with nothing but fluff from the ankle to a half-foot up the leg. For other headware, there were the flashing neon glasses frames of a woman with a sweatshirt announcing her as Grandma, and the smallest baseball hat I’ve ever seen, held onto the very top of a young man’s head with a plastic band around his chin. For the sublime, there was the carnival game warning that had the last word as far as typos, “No standing, leaning or knelling,” and of course the Pepperfest logo with a misformed letter that looked like it said “Pepperfeat.” And maybe the most interesting thing of the evening was a volunteer security guard who had lived all over the country and was an expert at mouthing dialects from, well, all over the country.

They’re coming to Hudson to see entertainment from several states, or even countries, that are far afield.
– A man from many states away — known simply as The Fiddler — will again bring his act, which incorporates not only that instrument but also scores of other musical styles mixed with outrageous comedy that skewers The Establishment, to Dick’s Bar and Grill on Thursday, Aug. 15. The Sun Country Fiddler, the full nickname of the man born as Dick Solberg, and his rather large band, will fill the stage from 8-11 p.m. in this, their annual intimate-venue excursion to Dick’s.
– The Ricks, an acoustic duo with local ties, have been music veterans for so many years they can cover longtime favorites like Bad Moon Risin’ and Spirit in the Sky. They again “draw on those roots” for a “variety of great listening music that will have you tapping your toes and singing along,” in this case at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Friday, Aug. 16. The duo plays country, rock, blues, southern rock, originals and oldies, and their song list is heavy on Skynyrd, Clapton and Vaughn.
– Also coming to the Willow River Saloon, on Saturday, Aug. 17, is another veritable longtime band, SNS, short for Saturday Night Special, which has more than a dozen Skynyrd songs on its list, going as deep as Workin’ For the MCA. How often do you see an opportunity, at the same venue on consecutive nights, to hear The Ballad of Curtis Lowe? The talents that made up Full Tilt and Chain Lightning and now are SNS do classic, southern and contemporary rock that spans the decades and even includes rarely covered gems like Godzilla by Blue Oyster Cult, as dual lead guitarists Steve Wilking and Al Green do their stuff. Lead vocalist Mark Anthony even does some originals.
– The three-day hip-hop music fest in Somerset, the largest of a continuing summer series, was a hit, as all weekend it was hard to find a motel room all the way over here in Hudson. And in both The Hill area and downtown, there were a lot of young adults who looked, how should I say this, rather “out there.” One of them even left a skateboard balancing precariously on a small ledge between Dick’s and the Agave Kitchen. For information on upcoming concerts being scheduled, visit www.somersetfestival.com.
– The British Invasion, or The British Are Coming! Last weekend’s Britfest car show was an apparent success, as more than 100 classic autos originating from The Continent graced Walnut Street. If the T-shirts of a style that you would not normally see in Cheesehead country, rather than the Queen’s country, were any indication, a lot of those folks stayed into the evening to party at Dick’s. Speaking of queens, I just had to tease a few people I know, who work or play downtown, and named Brittany if the fest was titled after them.
– The JazzSpring duo will again play Pudge’s patio this weekend, and I am issuing a challenge on their behalf. Where else can you see this many musical instruments — strings, winds, brass, percussion and keyboard — propped up and ready for playing in an area that’s not even as big as one of those British cars? The sheer number reminds me of my initial Doobie Brothers concert, where scores of instruments were in the capable hands of about a dozen musicians. But back to JazzSpring, they will perform from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, and 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday.
– Various venues are hosting NFL “draft parties” later this month, where you can win a free party with appetizers, beverages and “signing bonuses” for you and your friends as you make your selections. Much better to pour down some drafts while you are acting like a pro-sports mogul.

Dubstep, moombahton and glitch-hop, and jazz, too.
– A huge music festival, with dozens of acts, comes to the Somerset amphitheater and will go virtually all weekend from Aug. 9-11 when factoring in camping and afterparties. It will feature all kinds of music for the young crowd, with diverse styles that include things called dubstep, moombahton and glitch-hop, often presented in a complex way, and even stuff an older rocker such as myself would recognize, such as The Wailers of Bob Marley fame, and the Indie rock group Passion Pit. Pages of information can be found online for set schedule, camping, tickets, afterparty stuff and much, much more (literally) by going to somersetfestival.com.
– This weekend, of course, will also feature another JazzSpring performance at Pudge’s Bar on their patio, and now that they are established locally, its time to recall favorite performances. I liked the smooth, flowing melody that came as part of a sax solo when I first saw them in June. To determine your favorite memory, check them out for yourself on Thursday starting at 7:30 p.m. or Friday at 8 p.m.
– Amanda and her duo A & W played their first of what will likely be many performances locally at Dick’s Bar and Grill, fitting since she bartends there. Amanda provided the percussion by both sitting on, and pounding with her hands, a rigged-up crate that was done in much the style as Saving Starz in their duos. A & W with Amanda on vocals did some songs that steered far from the usual classic rock, beyond the covers typically chosen by a female singer.
– Much the same from Christy Sperling, who is fast becoming an ongoing local presence, when she covered Who Will Save Your Soul by Jewel in a solo performance at the Village Inn in North Hudson to help celebrate the birthdays of stalwarts Diane (her 50th) and Joey (his 30th) last weekend.
– Lastly of note, when River Falls Days was held earlier in the summer, there were the usual bands in the usual venues, but Johnnie’s Bar also got in on the act by having three bands in three days, Chimney Fish, Old School and Dave Snyder.

Music lights up the night in more ways than one:
– The JazzSpring shows that have been taking place on the patio at Pudge’s Bar have been garnering attention that’s being talked about by music lovers in nightspots all the way to North Hudson. A regular downtown Hudson patron walked into the Village Inn in North Hudson, took a seat at the bar and immediately described with vigor what he’d seen just minutes earlier driving down the main drag a few miles to the south. There was something really musically different going on at Pudge’s, he told the bartender and other patrons, and since he had the windows rolled down could soon tell it was “funky jazz.”
That music, as well as other forms of jazz, is provided by the duo JazzSpring at Pudge’s each Thursday in summer starting at 7:30 p.m. and Friday beginning at 8 p.m.
– The blackout night at Dick’s Bar and Grill again had a full house dancing in the dark, with black tarp covering the windows and doors and only glow sticks and black lights providing any illumination — with an exception this time around: The till, which was kept busy, shown a brief blue hue when it was rung up. Also, the bouquets of a bachlorette party were glowing, as they were stuck with the sticks. If you missed the semi-annual event, check it out this winter.
– On Wednesday night at Dick’s, country guitarist Mark Stary added some plucky twang to his solos during the last two songs of his first set, the last number of which was Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, as he reached into his vault of tunes to play rock, blues, oldies and originals, as well. Some of each of these styles can be found on his soon-to-be-released new record, as Stary has been a full-time musician for almost a decade. You can catch Stary and his bass player, Brian Johnson, again soon since they play Dick’s once every month or so.