The terms that describe the musical acts at the Bayport BBQ, another area establishment that spins quality tunes, are as varied as its sound.
This club in an unlikely locale is self-proclaimed as a deep blues juke joint, although the City Pages out of Minneapolis-St. Paul also has done some proclaiming, dubbing it the area’s best blues venue in 2012.
That the kind of high praise you may see around the area for themed establishments, and in Hudson they include San Pedro with their trademark Caribbean food, and just down the block the Winzer Stube with its more-authentic-than-usual German cuisine.
But back at the Bayport BBQ, they feature national acts that play live when they come through the area, and are on stage various nights of the week, depending on their travel schedule, although usually its on a Friday or Saturday night. There usually is music twice a week, featuring blues played as an outsider, with alternative twists that might be considered obscure by those who don’t know the bands, owner Chris Johnson said. They are influenced by the northern Mississippi sound, and roots music. If you also like Americana, folk, bluegrass and rock, this might be your club.
“The bands are influenced by this raw kind of music,” Johnson said.
The club held their second anniversary in mid-October, with a 1980s rockabilly artist, Tav Falco’s Panther Burns. “Among those who know him he’s legendary, although with others he’s rather obscure,” Johnson said. The band, which has been led by vocalist and multi-media artist Falco since 1979, also features a psychedelic twist.
Other noteworthy players who have performed at Bayport BBQ include Alwin Youngblood Hart, who is a Grammy Award winner, and Kenny Brown, a slide guitarist who has played with well-known bands.
Then there’s the Rev. John Wilkins, a Gospel musician, whose father — also a reverend — originally did “Prodigal son,” which was covered by the Rolling Stones on their classic album “Beggar’s Banquet.”
The establishment was a fancy French restaurant, the Bayport Cookery, but then sat empty for about a year at its location just east of the main drag on Fifth Avenue North in Bayport. Now reinvented as the Bayport BBQ, the building has a multi-faceted storefront and interior, with more than one patio amongst its several distinct rooms, complete with large fireplace for ambiance. It is an intimate setting, with 60 seats available indoors, and more outside. A wall along the hall leading back toward the kitchen is adorned with dozens of photographs of artists who have performed at Bayport BBQ.
Johnson said the bands that play here are all the music that interests him, and he knows hundreds of artists, adding that each year he hosts a deep blues festival.
This may also be a case of come for the food, then stay for the band. The establishment has BBQ Texas style, made in the manner of dry rub with sauce on the side. It’s their own specially made sauce, placed on oak log smoked meat.
They also make their own bread fresh each day, stemming from the fact that Johnson was a baker as a young man, and the quality of the sandwiches is well-known, he said.
Meals are served Wednesday through Saturday, and this is not a late-night place, as they serve until 8 p.m. and music usually is on from 8-10 p.m.
For information, call (715) 410-1116, or (651) 955-6337.