Hop on the stagecoach for fun this weekend, bearing beer, and even karaoke and the jukebox:
— The group Stagecoach will play the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt for the first time in months on Friday night, May 13. Vintage art work to accompany the band’s gear includes stagecoaches and horses outside of old country billiard halls, full of skull imagery, often with a cowboy hat. Many of the songs fit into that decor: Harley, Son of the South, Iron Horse, Cherokee Princess, Outlaw Woman, Luchenbach Texas, Folsom Prison Blues and simply, The Ride.
— Karaoke is not dead in the area. The Village Inn in North Hudson is hosting it on the second Saturday evening of every month, and coming with it is a $2 Miller Lite special.
— And across the road at Kozy Korner, you can get the same beer via a slightly different special; they are calling there’s a Blue Yummy. And while there, cast your vote for the North Hudson Man of the Year, as the ongoing ballots that are tallied on weekends move toward the finals.
— Prince is gone, but his memory lives on via frequent jukebox airplay that remains. For example, the box at Buffalo Wild Wings recently pumped out four of five consecutive songs from The Purple One.

— The Northern Invasion heavy metal show in Somerset expands to two days, this Saturday and Sunday, and kicks off with a bonfire music party on Friday night. The sounds of the about 30 bands on the bill, from those at the north end main stage of the Northern Invasion, will spill hundreds of yards over the bowl-shaped natural amphitheater on Somerset’s west side. Headliners come from different ends of the musical spectrum: Rob Zombie and Shinedown on Saturday and Disturbed and Korn on Sunday. Tickets for the fest, which features both the nationally known and the somewhat obscure, are on-sale on the show’s web site.