Steel yourself for music on the patio, leading the way of music offerings during the Memorial Day entry-of-summer holiday:
— The Country Outlaws will play the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Friday evening, May 27, showcasing songs going back as far as the ’60s. They have a female singer, so they can cover tunes sung by both genders. The band even has some of the stuff from back a time, such as the old Merle Haggard, and are heavy on steel guitar, which band member and Hudsonite Paul Gavic took the patience to make a mission of and learn starting about six years ago.
— There is also a new offering at the Smilin’ Moose, music on the patio that was added late last year, going all three days of the holiday. There’s Todd Douglas on May 27, Brian Dickenson (no Iron Maiden singer relation) on May 28 and (Hudson’s own) Chris Lawrence on May 29. The first two shows are from 5-8 p.m. and the final one from 2-5 p.m.
— It’s much the same at Mallard’s in Bayport over the holiday weekend, just going a bit longer: Tim Butler on May 27 and Tommy Bentz on May 28 from 6:30-9:30 p.m., and Marcus Lere on May 29 from 2-6 p.m. The latter two also have a strong Hudson-River Falls presence and also will perform on the deck.
— They may be local, but the married couple and musical duo of Sarah and Eric VanValkenburg sometimes trek a distance to play in the St. Croix Valley, such as their Thursday evening gig at Season’s Tavern in North Hudson that can help you get an early start to your Memorial Day weekend. The acoustic duo goes under the band name Practical Goods, and features original music written by Sarah. The Americana/country duo plays not only around the St. Croix River Valley, but also Minneapolis and St. Paul — and as far away as Austin, Texas. They play at a whole variety of wine bars, pubs, restaurants, fairs and festivals around the community. Their wide range of rock, country and songwriter genres makes for a fun evening, they say. They most enjoy playing old country, and ‘red dirt’ Texas, Americana style music. You might hear some Rolling Stones, (much like the house band Thirsty Camel), Elvis or Ray Wylie Hubbard and originals at their shows.
— You can spin a wheel as a countdown to Country Jam in Eau Claire at — wait a minute — Dick’s Bar and Grill on May 27 from 6-7:30 p.m. There will be prizes, and tickets to the concert on July 21-23.