Three days of Booster Days music reveal three different themes:
— When I met up by chance with Booster Days stalwart Holly Schultz last fall, she reveled in all the possibilities that might be offered by fresh new bands as part of their lineups.
The following is what the Boosters came up with for music in Lakefront Park during their three-day, 2017 run starting on Friday:
June 30 — There is a superhero theme with “Licensed to Thrill” from 5-8:15 p.m. and dressed for the part, “Rock Godz” from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
July 1 — It’s all new blood with diversity, including “Hillbilly Science Show” at 1 p.m., then “Karmacide unplugged with Rick Brix” from 2:15-5:45 p.m., “100 watt jones” from 6:15-8:30 p.m., and “70’s Magic Sunshine Band” from 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
July 2 — Its back to tried and true music, steering toward classic rock and country, with “The Chubs” from 1:30-4:30 p.m., “Wicked Garden” from 5:15-8:15 p.m. and “Uncle Chunk” from 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
For more information, visit hudsonboosters.org and click on the Booster Days tab or look for Hudson Booster Days on Facebook.
— The chef’s special, offered every midweek at the Village Inn in North Hudson, this past week featured the epitome of summer picnic food, which means it just might come around again soon, (or simply to keep people guessing, would that be called chef’s surprise?): Two specialty brats, BBQ baked beans, brown sugar sauerkraut and the staff recommended beer cheese soup plus brat.

Bands and drinks both come as a Two For One, and in the case of a guitar-heavy group at The Willow, much larger song numbers to sink your teeth into:
— It’s been a long time since you’ve heard live in the Hudson area the likes of Danzig, Motorhead, UFO and Judas Priest, but those metal bands are among those listed under “artists we also like” by the Bad Weather Band, which will play the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Saturday evening, June 24. Also mixed into those diverse offerings are AC/DC, Imelda May, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Susan Tedeschi, Motley Crue, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blondie, Bad Company, Janis Joplin, Bon Jovi, Alanis Morrissette, and especially Dio with Holy Diver and Ozzy with Crazy Train. There is also a bit of rockabilly and blues, 90s alternative and some 80s faves. “We are very used to hearing, ‘OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS SONG,’ from pleasantly surprised patrons, they say.
— This is a new twist on acoustic shows on the patio at the Smilin’ Moose, which allows you to double your fun. The combo of a band known as Two For One, offering both a male and female presence, played Friday from 5-9 p.m. Then on its heels, Joel Kachel performed at the same time frame on Saturday and the omnipresent Tim Sigler from 2-6 p.m. on Sunday.
— This special is really a tall order, coming from a venue that’s always offering such liquid amenities. After 10 p.m. at Broz in River Falls, you can get two PBR Tall Boys and an order of pizza fries, all for an even dozen dollars.

Since dad is into manly stuff, here are four possibilities to treat him for a change, two square meals and some music and even a Guinness, Irish or not.
— What’s new locally as a place to take dad for Father’s Day? How about the new Pudge’s, with two bar/lounge options, the adjoining Club 304 for American and other food, and if you hang around for a bit, even the chance to shoot some pool, with little waiting because of their four tables.
— Dad likes manly food, so among the 20 categories of items in the brunch at Green Mill are these: An Assortment of Bars, Cream Puffs or Cookies; Award-Winning Pizza; Award-Winning Wings; BBQ Ribs; Bacon; Breakfast Pizza; Chef Carved Prime Rib; Corned Beef Hash; Desert Fire Pasta; French Toast or Four-Cheese Scrambled Eggs; Grilled Chicken Diablo; Jumbo Sausage Links; Muffins or Donuts; and Sliced Short Ribs with Onion Jam.
— Dad can be set in his ways, so he’d probably appreciate these longtime, tried and true bands that play the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt over the upcoming Father’s Day weekend. On Friday night its the Zebra Mussels, followed on Saturday night with Still Runnin’.
— It’s that time of the month, and in this case it’s a good thing. Dick’s Bar and Grill is carrying St. Patrick’s Day forward through the rest of 2017 by offering, on the 17th of each month, bottles of Guinness for only $3. That’s something to get your Irish up 12 times a year.

She’ll hit the Village Inn in North Hudson for a several songs, then make her way to Nashville, and other weekend musical offerings will also have you going north, not south.
— A relatively new young singer on the scene, although from a family that has deep local musical roots, Chaunte Shayne, will perform a number of cover numbers along with hit originals, and offer a question and answer session as part of a concert on Friday night, June 9, at the Village Inn, starting at 8 p.m. She sings country, rock and pop and speaks from a women’s point of view (sass included), members of her musical family say. Chaunte then will leave for Nashville on Wednesday to meet with writing companies on Thursday and Friday. She will do a sing-songwriters showcase at Opry Mills, Nashville Mall, on Sunday, June 16, as well as a songwriters round on Thursday, June 15 at Bobby’s Idle Hour.
— This band name reminds me of that for a popular nightclub on the other end of Wisconsin, Cruisin’ Chubbies. Anyway, the band The Chubs will play the Willow River Saloon on Friday evening, June 9. Groups they emulate include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tom Petty, The Beatles, ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jefferson Airplane, Sublime, The Black Keys, The White Stripes, Johnny Cash and of course, their Prince Purple Rain tribute.
— If you’re heading that direction, you might want to take in Pea Soup Days in Somerset. On Friday night is Paisan & The Family Brass, a ten-piece band playing five decades of songs and featuring male and female vocalists, dueling lead guitarists, and a high-energy horn section. On Saturday at 7 p.m., youth is served with the hard rock of Contraband, followed at 8 p.m. by Sunday’s Regret, which is known for its minimal break time.
— The three solo musicans on the Smilin’ Moose patio this weekend all share the same look, right down to facial hair and head hair. Matt McAllister and Roger Huerta also share the similarity of the same time slot, 5-9 p.m., on Friday and Saturday respectably. Tim Howe rounds out the mix on Sunday from 2-6 p.m.

As seen on You Tube, and all along Rural Route 5, is this country act you can see in person:
— It seems that after being away for awhile, and now playing on Friday night, June 9, at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt, the New Richmond country group Rural Route 5 has in a relatively short time obtained the You Tube fifth dimension — they have a full five songs posted including their versions of faves I Feel Lucky, Mountain Music and Blue on Black, more than those by most bands who just dabble, and you can see some of these played this weekend.
— The main musical trust of Good Neighbor Days, held in Roberts all this weekend, is under a big tent in the parking lot of Bobtown Brewhouse on the west side of the main drag. Featured acts include those relatively new to being regulars in the immediate area and also old favorites: Friday at 7 p.m. is Maiden Dixie, 6 p.m. on Saturday is Fourth Degree, 7 p.m. that day in The Drop and at 9 p.m. is Rock Godz, followed on Sunday afternoon by Thorns and Roses.
Add to this the show by Dave Snyder at Sidetrack that will take place about an hour after the parade finishes on Sunday.
— On Friday through Sunday at the Smilin’ Moose are these acts, in order of day, adding even more late sunshine to the upper patio of the two at the venue: Steve Daly, Dan Switch and Justin Haley.

Seems like you would jump at the chance to have both food and musical fixings as part of the coming three-day, Memorial Day weekend:
— The Armadillo Jump band on Friday night at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt is the perfect way to kick-off the all-things-picnicking three-day holiday. They have taken their cracked-up rockin’ blues, described as fresh and crispy, slathered with “moppin’ sauce and a generous splash of the hot stuff,” to create a tasty recipe of a Texas show that’s unmistakably jumpin’. Isn’t this party-style flavor what you go to the cabin for?
— Speaking of that, new around town is the Tasty brand spiked and sparkling fruit juice, which could be seen as watered down, since it is low carb and calorie and non-gluten, but they’ve kept the good stuff, namely the 5 percent alcohol.
Bundle this, for the official start of summer holiday weekend, with the Tiki brand liquor that’s advertised complete with tropical torch-style artwork, and you have a party to start the season. And that’s not to mention the Tilted Tiki bar, with its “tidbits” and cocktails and four days of early-evening music (late afternoon to wrap it up on Sunday) on Main Street in Stillwater …
— And now, with Memorial Day around the corner and the on-the-patio, pre-nightfall music officially here, we recommend Mallard’s resort in Bayport and their gigs with Jose James on Saturday and longtime local fixture Dave Burkhardt on Sunday. They’ll reprise their acts on those days all summer long.

We’re definitely open to all kinds of song, and service styles, in coming days.
— The longtime open mic tradition at Dick’s Bar and Grill has been carried forward for several weeks now — every Thursday night — with local musician Eric VanValkenburg providing the lead. The sessions have come to be known for their musical diversity, incorporating many hard-to-come-by styles for open mic, as was shown on a recent Thursday when a stand-in performer did Queens of the Stone Age on acoustic guitar.
— Also at Dick’s next Wednesday, May 24, is something that will fill the middle room with a different kind of table. Its their ping pong tournament, starting at 6 p.m. and having a $5 entry fee. At that time, after dinner is done being served, will be serves of another kind, complete with a free drink to be served to all the competitors.
— Cut the rug with the band Running With Scissors at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Saturday night.
— At least there won’t be hoards trying to be heard, like in the Republican presidential debates. There will, however, be three candidates squaring off at 2 p.m. Sunday at Kozy Korner for the North Hudson Man of the Year crown. But with the nature of the office, I’m guessing they will have much the same “platform,” such as it is.

This mother’s day, bring mom the beef, and other meaty offerings that might include some music.
— This is indeed the mother of all buffets, as advertised, featuring a total of 11 different kinds of meat — as mom loves this stuff just as much as dad — among many other items. So to indulge in the Mother’s Day buffet at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt, you could get there as early as 8 a.m., only seven hours after the band from the previous night, Johnny No-Cash, had done their encore. So mom, if the order of the activities were flip-flopped, and you had taken both in, you could have tossed your free carnation at the lead singer (we’re kidding, you wouldn’t do that). But back to mom’s not-so-rock-star-fantasy celebration, her stellar day’s breakfast runs from 8-10 a.m., and the brunch from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. And you don’t have to pay a rock star price. But reservations are recommended, by calling (715) 386-5885.
— The ad pitch says that this “is not your father’s root beer,” and its not the Dad’s brand either. But it was on special at the Village Inn in North Hudson for a time, as they had an extra supply, and I’m sure there still are “float”-ing around some root beer bottles. At this point, their beer at the great special price has been replaced by the Dos Equis brand that probably was left over from Cinco de Mayo. But back to mother’s day, in a newspaper flyer seen at The Village, a beauty product ad struck my eye that seems along these same lines. It’s called “not your mother’s” Beach Babe soft waves sea salt spray.
— Also at The Village, as a dinner special especially each Friday, is the side option of “party potatos” to go with the walleye fish fry, rather than just plain fries. That just seems fitting for a bar and grill. Across the street, Kozy Korner had a sign that welcomed some new transplants and made the claim that their pizza could stack up against any from NYC, (as I believe that first letter on the sign was an N rather than an M).
— The annual, or more so, cribbage tournament is on again at Dick’s Bar and Grill. To participate on Saturday, see your bartender, maybe while taking in some tunes. Things get going at 1 p.m. and include a free drink for participants. That’s one of the things that go with the $10 entry fee.

Cut the Fat with photographing McPhae, as Cinco de Mayo may be the May holiday to celebrate this weekend:

— Garret McPhae will play at Dick’s Bar and Grill from 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 5, but three days earlier, on Tuesday, the local musician was wondering about updating his flyer photo, which was posted on a nearby pole. In a roundabout way, I told him that I’d done much such photography back in the days before selfies and could take some shots of him at the Friday gig to replace his year-old likeness. Hey this is how I could celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but just minutes earlier I thought I’d missed out. The jukebox ad was hawking songs of that theme, but at 1 a.m. it seemed to stop reoccurring in the cycle. I thought about the skewing effect of the other time zones (Eastern, Mountain, Pacific), and wondered if I’d missed Cinco de Mayo completely! Alas, said the bartender, that was not so, and if anything I’d been thinking about Fat Tuesday. That’s the holiday where you know, women had tended to collect beads and flash their breasts, but all that went out the window with the advent of internet postings, much to the chagrin of the imaginary drummer referenced in the-one-man-band’s act. But you never know, come the Friday holiday and my camera …
— These days, unless as was noted by multiple local bar managers, you’re in a place like West St. Paul, Cinco de Mayo has become mostly a non-event. But there are places like the Green Mill in Hudson, where the venue has multiple specials for both food and drink all day — including siesta time — each with a Mexican theme, such as taco pizza and three types of their brews.
— You could also celebrate that day and the next in a country way at Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt, with the bands Rizer on Friday night and The Strangers on Saturday night. They might hail from a different land then Mexico, but it seems to me there is still a synergy, although my friend Matt hates that word! And to further extend the variety of ethnicity, consider indulging in the group Sushi Roll at the Smilin’ Moose on Friday night.

He’s new to the musical scene locally, but well known in Nashville:
— The singer and guitarist who plays the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt this Friday evening, April 7, shows that youth is indeed served, along with some seasoning.
In 2015, Levi Pelzer traveled to Nashville to work with some of the top producers, engineers, studio musicians and songwriters that Music City has to offer. On his 21st birthday, he released his debut single, “I Can Love You with my Eyes Closed,” to iTunes. After returning from Nashville, Levi began searching for musicians to play live in support of his upcoming album. The current lineup consists of both veteran musicians and rookies to the music scene.
Levi and his band played their debut show in June, 2015 to a sold-out crowd. Less than a year later the band is capturing the attention of fans and venues across the country. In January, 2016, Levi released his self-titled album to iTunes and digital download. That very month the band started their first regional tour, with shows in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Tennessee.
The longtime country rock band Lady Luck is on Saturday evening.
— Consider this the caper of the Halloween hopper. You can now get a special-prized New Glarus beer(s) in a hopper at the Village Inn in North Hudson, but I think the ad sign got the time of year wrong, saying it was a Halloween special. Or maybe what was meant, being that it’s now April, is a half-Halloween special, you know, like those half-birthday offerings from bar and grill e-clubs. Could be a bonanza if your B-day is celebrated on Oct. 31.