Contact us
Back to All Posts

With nine decades-diverse bands, Booster Days will strike a chord with everyone

Hudson Booster Days has a little bit of every sound, and is certain to strike a chord with virtually every listener, in its diverse nine-band musical lineup that will be the heart and soul of the annual festival.
The fest’s music, from the rock of the ’80s to many other genres, runs from July 2-4 at the Lakefront Park band shell.
These are bios, in order of appearance, of the Booster Days acts:
— Jeff Loven bills himself as Minnesota’s top “one man band” and has backed up that claim by winning two prominent international guitar competitions, inserting extra fills into even the toughest solos, a skill that gained him an almost successful bid by fans to get him on stage with Eddie Van Halen. He also has a voice that seems to match up with every tune he sings. Loven said that for this show, what the heck, he might even continue his practice of giving away classic Matchbox cars as part of his trademark name-that-tune contest. But don’t expect his usual guest appearances by other singers,
— Devon Worley is a Minneapolis country singer in her late teens with a huge voice and stage presence, and even auditioned for The Voice. She is backed by veteran musicians in this seven-or-so piece band who have had connections with some big names, from widely differing genres. It only took until the band’s second album, which came out a while back, to solidify their reputation as one of the Midwest’s top country acts.
— 23rd Hour, a female rock and soul duo, says online that they are “authentically fearless” in their “naked vulnerability of sound and soul” that lets them leave everything on stage and move beyond being a multi-member band and just being a standard acoustic duo.
— Alive, taking time away from their Moondance Jam gig, does as a tribute band what is called the “entire catalog” of Pearl Jam hit songs and re-creates the in-concert experience of the seminal grunge-era band.
— A Rock Brigade web site urges that when listeners are not seeing them perform, be sure to check out Arch Allies. Which makes sense, since they play back-to-back at Booster Days. Rock Brigade has some of the same tunes, and their 64-song set list features diverse numbers such as Everybody Wants You, Immigrant Song and even a couple from Lita Ford. And harkening back to the days when Tommy Tutone used to perform in Hudson, there is also on the list his classic, Jenny 867-5309.
— Arch Allies, a tribute band to Styx, Journey and REO Speedwagon, has a history of playing prominent local festivals around St. Croix County. They are one of the Friday bands that pay tribute to the Old School ’80s rock scene, complete with the soaring guitar riffs and vocals, and of course the big hair! The band members invite listeners to triple their pleasure with the trio of bands covered, as they from an early age have been honing their skills, which have been on display in gigs not only across the country, but all of North America.
— The Armadillo Jump band will play their cranked up, rockin’ blues and the band shell will be alive with Texas-style attitude, according to the band’s web site. The five-piece group is a mix of men and women even features a sax player.
— Ponzi Scheme cranks out tunes from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s and vows to “bring back horn section” music with a six-piece lineup that includes two keyboardists, and trumpet and trombone.
— Uncle Chunk has long been regarded as one of the best cover bands coming out of the Twin Cities area, and they have a prominent and storied history of playing in Hudson, usually drawing a big crowd. They give quality, spot-on treatment to lots of broadbased pop, mainstream rock and country songs, and churn out hit after hit, redefining what a cover band should be about. Uncle Chunk has on YouTube their video renditions of Enter Sandman by Metallica and Rockstar by Nickelback.
Sponsors include the Hudson Boosters (two bands), Uncle Mike’s Em Pour E-Yum, Luther Hudson Chevrolet GMC (one of the headliner bands), Chad Carlson as a financial representative, Hudson Ford (a headliner), Pita Pit, Family Fresh Market, and Croix Gear and Machining (a headliner). There is no cover charge for any of the bands, including headliners.
For a day-by-day breakdown of the festival lineup:
— On Thursday, it’s the guitar wizardry of Jeff Loven from 5:30-8:15 p.m., and teen country phenom Devon Worley from 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
— Friday brings more of the rock sound with Alive, a Pearl Jam tribute band, playing from 3:30-6 p.m., Rock Brigade from 6:30-8:30 p.m., and Arch Allies as a three-act tribute band from 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Opening up on Friday is 23rd Hour, a female duo, from 1-3 p.m.
— On Saturday, it’s a bit more diverse, with Armadillo Jump from 1:30-4:30 p.m., Ponzi Scheme from 5:15-8:15 p.m., and popular mainstream rockers Uncle Chunk from 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

Share the Post:

Related Posts

  • I’ll be brief and punchy with this headline notation, as we transition to giving you more and sometimes shorter choices. And you may notice some of that as you beckon forward. It’s circular. Like a flush. Be careful what you mix, heads vs. text, drinks vs. food, and all kinds of potions — that may go bump in the night. —– Punchy, potentially, but I digress or progress with a new patriotic addition.
My mom has told me not to be a potty mouth when I write, as she certainly would not appreciate hardly any of the standup humor on say, Comedy Central Radio. SNL maybe. But after 11:30 p.m. … But there comes a time where a man must make a stand. And for this jokester, it was now when he had to choose whether to pass on the opportunity that would otherwise bite him in the butt, for in front of and behind him is the Mother Lode. Or should I say load. Or “Mothers” of Invention. Heh heh, heh heh, Butthead, look...
Read More
  • This coulda been Vanna White’s next Big gig In The Sky, if the scaffolding was not so high. So this is how the project went, by the letters and numbers, of get Trump’s name erased from the Kennedy Center. The $250 bill might be tougher. Sad but true. So, What are there more of going on right now, wars or Trump pet construction projects?
So the wall is down. Of letters, that is. Not down by Mexico. Cemented into the concrete. Of the Kennedy Center. Where music has sat. (Near where a now defunct wrestling arena rusts in peace. Or a bloodied White House lawn. With leftover paper cups and plates, more likely bowls and small utensils, anyone?) Or more ornate than inside? A tarp the size of Pennsylvania, the predominant battle state, covers workers as they chip. So geez, how big are the letters? Four times 50 living workers high? But now none remain, or so we are told by flunkies. Or is...
Read More
  • Stressed out as a caregiver? She’s back at yah. This is a rare case of a husband and wife being joint caregivers — for each other — aided and abbetted by the fact that they have a lot of the same disabling conditions. So she shovels snow using a walker/scooter, while he cooks gingerly using a microwave and offers her a plate when she sits down, in an easy chair, in a reversal and new take on traditional roles. Whatever it takes. Necessity is the mother of invention. —– In a new add, Towns and the champion Knicks got kicked around but still got their kicks in the long run … As do Norwegian dancers.
A few years back, I wrote an article about Hudson Deacon Tom Kroll and how he did so many extra dutiful tasks, his living out the Gospels tirelessly, when his wife was ill, in addition to his regular job. I was inspired at the time to pen this, about my own lovely, disabled wife — we were separated briefly but now back together with our 40th anniversary this month, as wholehearted caregiving has many strains — and how an atypical view of standard roles, out of necessity, made things work, as far as our approach to work and home that’s...
Read More
  • He says, and goes fishing with the boys. She says, then goes to the middle of Texas, inviting her mates to a ranch/villa built for the ages. The bachelor and bachelorette parties were on the same night, but though very different, they had some things in common … like the snakes, at least three kinds, to avoid. (None with exotic dancer.) But while away, they did not avoid each other, completely. He made a phone call. —– Just added, last call included a Carolina cowpoke.
What do fishing, maybe in the dark, thus a Texas ranch, snakes of various types and do they come or stay out after dusk, eating either and only fine food or snacks, and a game of cards — likely just one each — have in common. And no strippers or Chippendales. And an only half or quarter, not full Monty. (Who is Monty anyway?) Or cowboy or cowgirl hats. Although there was some dress-up. More Barbie than boots on, I think. It’s an easy answer, connected and conflicting, but not in all or dirty ways, bachelor and bachelorette parties. One of each...
Read More
  • Full metal jacket? Hey, I wasn’t exactly to the point of going Rob Halford. But tastes aside, there must be some reason why after 26 years I was shunned, like going Bob Daisley by Ozzy at his reunion? OK, I know, my style may not have fit with the packed crowd. And the last couple of times for this, I tried to do too much with ad-libbing. So yeah, I get that this time around, I was the somewhat unusual choice to be the one left off the set list, with singers clamoring to get up there. But seriously, just being analytical of strengths and weaknesses as a singer here, no hard feelings. I’m not Dio. (Or Traveling Wilburys, a when jumping inside, inside joke.)
It was clear to me at the most recent Jeff Loven music show in Hudson, for Memorial Day weekend, that there has been a changing of the guard. The sword has been passed. New blood, like Yungblud, has been brought in. And, I must say, loyalty — amongst the devotees who travel frequently and all across the two-state area to virtually all of Jeff’s shows — has been rewarded. They are the royalty, in what just makes good business sense that I can appreciate. In a significant but not unprecedented altering of course, I was not one of those asked...
Read More
  • Songs by Napalm Death? A fire swept down my very street today, where the babies were burned. (But alas, a new A/C unit is on its way up the freeway.) The Stones did not leave these themes unturned, either, or should I say unrolled. Oh wait, this all was my cooker of an apartment, and we are not talking the kitchen. But all these matters will become more pressing, a pressure point, as the new normal especially in southern climes is temp well into the triple digits. It is these people, the third world, and their heat stroke not mine, that most concern me. (Another example of hellfire temps just added. Sin after Sin.)
Trial by fire. My broiling heart in my efficiency flat still beats a bit, in concern over those boiling over in worse apartments in a Chicago tenancy, or on an ocean island instantly-burn-your-feet beach or dessert, or forced to endure ice baths just to keep cool — or simply be offered no way to maintain an ice-dripping body other than also read a non-cookbook at the library, or select not a big steak you can’t afford but a 73/27 burger from a freezer and slap it on your forehead. Just not too hard. All these things are ones where you especially today either burn or...
Read More
Scroll to Top