Bringing home the bacon musically at the Bacon Bash in River Falls this weekend are these veteran bands, playing music that often spans decades, and frequently having various singers who can be of both sexes.
In addition to Chris Silver on Friday evening’s opening event, the lineup on Saturday, Sept. 17, is Sunday’s Regret from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., The Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League from 1:30-4:30 p.m., and Kyle Koliha from 5-8 p.m. Playing Sunday are Wade and Ella from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and Everett Smithson from 1:30-4 p.m.
This is what they play:
– Sunday’s Regret is a five-member band with male and female lead singers. Angie Brinkman also serves as general manager, as well as dishing out the vocals, and she teams with Dustin Moenter, Josh Inkrott, Joseph Boecker and Brandon Stechschulte. Set lists are more up to date then many, and they include classic and current rock songs, each with their own unique twist, they say. Having lead singers of both sexes plays into that.
– Drawing their influences from almost a century of American music, The Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League combines elegant composition, and raucous enthusiasm and playing to provide ambiance for any social event, from the Bacon Bash to comfortable dive bars to chic weddings, members say. They play a lot of swing and gypsy jazz influenced pop songs. Each of the members have scores of other varied interests, and that experience is brought to the table in their songs.
– Kyle Kohila is known for his energetic fingerpicking on the guitar, which leads to original stylings on several old standards, and he told me he’s been working on some new songs and also originals, and has plans to add to the mix a bit of “additional instrumentation,” possibly all as soon as the Bacon Bash. Kyle can be quite talkative between songs, to which he often adds additional flourishes — such as an extended, non-electric version of the guitar solo to the classic Free Bird, or may feature some quick staccato, same-note picking.
– Wade and Ella have for several years been stalwarts on the area entertainment scene, playing light rock and country at a number of venues and developing a following. They give unique treatment to duets and are noted for their powerful harmonies and smooth harmonica playing, performing music since 2013. After meeting at an open mic session in Wade’s hometown of River Falls, they began singing as a duo at a few shows, then performing around the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin, in many formats. Wade and Ella have a soft spot for the 90s, showing killer vocals and acoustic rock n’ roll and country, thus allowing their shows to be a mix of genres and harmonies.
– The Everett Smithson Band plays New Orleans-French Quarter musical varieties that include zydeco, blues, rockin’ roots, hillbilly hoedowns, gospel and more. The song list is unpredictable with numbers from Fats Domino, Johnny Cash, Howlin Wolf, Rosie Ledet, Wanda Jackson and Allison Krause — music from 1900 to the present day. These guys have played nationally and internationally with big name acts such as Bo Diddley, Lynwood Slim, Big George Jackson and Gary Primich. They have played together for such a long time that they tear it up with their solid rhythms and hot instrumentals, they say.
Their band leader spent 15 years with the Alley Katz playing throughout the Upper Midwest, and accordingly, their other lead singer has been performing professionally since the 90s, as accordion playing runs in her family. The group frequents numerous blues festivals, including the Bayfront Blues Fest. With a combo of male and female vocals, harmonica, accordion, standup bass and even harp, it has a different visual appeal than patrons are used to seeing.