Blues rock, rockabilly and trop rock, Hudson has it all:
— Some interesting acts have a musical effect on Empty Arms, a traditional and Texas blues, and rock and rockabilly trio, that will play The Willow River Saloon on Saturday night, April 2. Bassist Steve has a diverse background and does some lead vocals, but what stand out are his backup harmonies ala Michael Anthony of Van Halen, the band says. Drummer Mark has played many different instruments and styles that even include brass and Latin. Southern-influenced vocals predominate for lead singer and guitarist Roger, who started on that path by taking in a Stevie Ray Vaughn concert in 1990. At times all three take part in the harmonies, and their song list takes a different than usual twist by incorporating the Stray Cats.
— Just announced Friday (or was it): The opening act for trop-rocker Jambo Jones on April 1 would be none other than Jimmy Buffett, and with every paid admission came a complimentary margarita!
OK, April Fools. But Jambo did indeed play Dick’s Bar and Grill that evening. There was no opening act; it was all genuine Jambo and he has plenty of material, and by all accounts showcased it well in front of a crowd that lingered, trop-rock style. As far as margaritas, you were on your own.
— Running during the exact same time frame as Jambo, from 6-9 p.m., at Perkins was the 22-pound massive muffin challenge, as promoted via their email club. OK, this too falls under the heading of April Fools Day, the people at Perkins are quick to point out, as they have no 22-pound muffin at all, just 22 percent off your bill during that three-hour period. Sorry about the tardiness of reporting these April 1 offers, as it took a while to verify their authenticity, or lack of it, and see if they actually took place. Also, their were computer issues (and that’s no April Fool’s).
— You also might want to check out, for real, date night on Wednesdays at Urban Olive and Vine, which includes things such as playing nostalgic board games, which are on continually displayed on counters that constitute the walls. The first opportunity would be April 6, and that would place it well beyond April Fool’s Day, in case telling fibs is the nature of the board game you’d be playing. And the day before and usually the day after that, Tuesdays and Thursdays, is the famous date night, often with stellar burgers, at Agave Kitchen, just down the street and to the left.
— As March Madness pulls toward a close, the people at Buffalo Wild Wings remind you to “say good-bye to your responsibilities” and pay closer attention to the NCAA basketball finals. I might suggest, however, that checking how your selected teams’ brackets are doing could be considered a responsibility.

Drawing inspiration from the road. Just don’t hit a coyote:
— You’ll get a variety of song stuff from James Zackary of Cottage Grove, Minn. when he plays at the Willow River Saloon on Friday evening, March 25. These are the formative facets concert-goers can expect to see played out, in Zackary’s own words, and despite his description, he is more than just a sideman: “First and foremost I am a songwriter. I have written and recorded hundreds of songs. When I am on stage I have a five-string bass in my hands and a wireless system for both my instrument and my head set. When I write you can find me behind the piano or at the kitchen table with an old acoustic in my hands. A great deal of my songs start out in the car. If I don’t have my voice recorder with me I would call home to my machine and sing away. Now I have a phone with the voice recorder feature on it,” he said. Patrons can find 30-or-so of those songs online.
“I am currently touring with a bunch of guys in a totally unrelated genre then my original stuff, and these guys are so cool that I love being their sideman,” Zackary said.
— After several weeks drawing from the standard core of bands, the Smilin’ Moose is having one we haven’t seen for a while, Coyote Wild, on Friday night. The group has seven members which allows them to have a lengthy song list, 110 to be exact.
— As you might guess, beer of the month picks at local bars continue to be Irish driven, at least until March 31. Selections stemming from St. Patrick’s Day include Finnegan’s at the Village Inn in North Hudson and Mickey’s at Dick’s Bar and Grill. Incidentally, at the Village, their signs spelled the Irish beer using two differing vowels in the middle, so maybe they should back off a wee bit on the quality control, if you know what I mean.

— Ambergeddon Amber Ale may be the triple A of tough brews, even though you might not expect that from amber beer. The recent presence of this on the market, available at places such as Dick’s and the Village Inn, is billed as meaning “death” to typically weak, lame amber beers, for whom “extinction is imminent.” To counter those, Ambergeddon “brings not just the malt, but also the hops.” Try one yourself to see, if you survive … Likewise with the edgy death theme and skull art to go with, a brand of tequila know as Exotico, and the sometimes floral-themed tattooed skull that makes up its logo, sells for $4 shots at Dick’s. Just to max out, the flyer says “RIP a shot.”
— Speaking of lame, its March Madness time again, and not all the college basketball teams are top-notch seeds, although a wide variety of the contests can be seen at local sports bars. One of them, on Friday evening, features Wisconsin taking on Notre Dame, or as Kozy Korner in North Hudson has said on its sign for several days, Notre Lame. The winner will face the winner of the North Carolina and Indiana game, and hope for an upset, in Sunday’s regional finals.

— The Easter brunch and breakfast at Seasons Tavern carves out a lot of territory, with prime rib carved just for you as you pass through, in what is becoming a less and less common restaurant offering, (and would you want it any other way?) Kind of like taking in that especially good band the night before. And along with the prime rib are lots of other items, such as scrambled eggs, bacon, eggs, cheesy hash browns, French toast, fresh fruit, home fried potatoes, sausage and pastries.

St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean you have to stand pat with this weekend’s entertainment:

— Leisha Gust, originally from Durand, Wis., rather than the typically based lead singers from the Twin Cities, fills that role for the band Lady Luck, which plays the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Friday, March 18. She also is the former Mrs. Minnesota International from back in 2008 and features long dark locks and even darker, lacy garb on stage, and on top of that, the group’s signature symbol is an Ace of Spades.

— The latest special of Irish eats and drinks goes on for the remainder of the month of March, not just St. Patrick’s Day: A Reuben sandwich and McGuiness beer for just $10.95.
— And to incorporate another timely spring event that is marching in, there are lunchtime tokens at Dick’s from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during March Madness. And up on The Hill, Green Mill and also Buffalo Wild Wings, historically, are billing themselves as Hudson’s headquarters for March Madness basketball and at-your-house bracketing parties, offering special deals that are heavier on food, such as family size offerings on things such as Buffalo wings and pizza for the price of a Benjamin. But like any sport, there are rules to follow.

There are lots of ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and they are both traditional and newfangled, so don’t get your Irish up.
Lots of places offer corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, to the point where its sometimes less than noteworthy, but there are some such as the Green Mill and Season’s Tavern in North Hudson that take Irish food to a new level, and that’s no blarney. It’s also true that you might have the luck of the Irish across the St. Croix and get serenaded by a Sinatra songster.
But enter the blarney burger at Seasons, which has a seven-ounce hamburger patty (not paddy), plus corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and 1000 Island dressing, on an egg-washed bun. That means lots of two kinds of meat, despite the lingering presence of Lenten Fridays, and with all those other ingredients, it’s great tasting, Season’s owner Brad says.
But in back to the basics, Season’s last year sold 80 dishes of the obligatory corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, but they expect that this year the sales could be up by 50 percent, to 120, as word about it gets around. Rueben soup rounds out the mix.
Brad says he is not a believer in the cliche green beer and other such drink specials, especially when it comes to holidays, although all the usual varieties popular for St. Patrick’s Day are available for purchase. He rather chooses to stick with what they do well, and not rely on what could be seen as a onetime gimmick. He says that many venues have plenty of beverage sales where an idea is forced, but when it comes to follow-through is not effective.
— On the flipside of a similar note, Dick’s Bar and Grill and other area venues are promoting Miller Lite for St. Patrick’s Day, but the beer mug photos shown in the ads display it as regular light brown in color, not the notorious green beer. However, this option is billed as appropriate since it is of a pilsner variety, and to boot, Miller Lite is the beer of this month, which obviously contains St. Patrick’s Day, at Buffalo Wild Wings. At least one other bar says that they’ve tapped a full kegger of green beer in recent St. Patrick’s Days, but it hasn’t gone over too well with patrons as far as orders.
— In the best tradition of St. Patrick’s Day, things get hopping early for specials at the Bungalow Restaurant and Bar in Lakeland at 11 a.m. (until its gone) with their corned beef and cabbage, and Irish beer and whiskey. A wee bit later, its both singer and deejay Gary LaRue and his Rat Pack Band from 7-11 p.m. LaRue plays the best of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nate King Cole, Chet Baker and more, for an evening of “dining, dancing and romancing.” LaRue was named best unique entertainer of 2015 by a publication just up the highway, White Bear Lake Magazine.

— Green Mill is again going totally green on not only St. Patrick’s Day, but from March 16-19. There is traditional mulligan stew with special seasonings and beef and four kinds of vegies, cream based Rueben soup, Rueben sandwiches and of course, corned beef and cabbage, and that’s just the eats. There also will be leprechaun jello shots, Jameson shooters, and three specialty drinks, Irish Flag, Irish Gold and Shamrock-Tini, which are heavy on Irish ingredients that include Baileys. The Shamrock-Tini even features a chocolate-rimmed martini glass. Add to that karaoke and a costume contest on the night itself and you have a party, the 17th annual St. Patrick’s Day one, no less.

— Paddy Ryan’s in the town of Hudson has all the standard fare that you would expect of an Irish pub, and in the evening of St. Patrick’s Day they add the vocal stylings of The O’Briens, a family group from Hudson that is big into Irish music.
— If you want to get your Irish up prior to St. Patrick’s Day, options for other kinds of music include Rough House and Country Outlaws, on Friday and Saturday nights respectively at Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt, Whiskey Stone at the Smilin’ Moose on Friday night, and Ella and Wade at Dick’s in an early Friday performance, starting around 6 p.m.

This weekend, drink some new brews while you march to old standards:

— Want to be, or drink, Like Mike? For those who enjoy craft beer sampling of new brews, consider the MKE Tap Takeover at Stone Tap on Friday, March 4. (It actually stands for the Milwaukee Brewing Company, that being the city of the archrivals of Michael Jordan). Things get going at 4 p.m., then there is a meet and greet at 8 p.m.

— They’re again marching through western Wisconsin to get to Twin Cities tournament action, where the Badgers will try to be Like Mike. The University of Wisconsin band that will spur them on will also stop at the Village Inn in North Hudson on Saturday at around 10 a.m.

— They are new, having been around since the New Year; that being the American not the Mexican version of the changeover to 2016. Ellie’s on Main has settled on a menu format, and its all things Mexican, with the addition of 24 ounce brews of that style for $3.50. The logo for Dos Equis is all over the sign that’s announcing the relatively new food and drink emphasis.
— On the Seventh, you can be in Seventh Heaven for yet another beer sampling. Tickets go on sale March 7 for the cave beer fest of Historic Casanova Liquors, which will take place April 30. The opposite side of that sign says that there are job openings for beer nerds and wine dorks. I guess those would be the people who will serve you in the cave.

— On the first Friday of each month, such as March 4, Soulful Tryst will literally be in the house at Maverick’s Corner Saloon on downtown River Falls offering its grooves. Their self-described genre is house, tech house, deep house and bassline house.

Rise up and listen … about just how that big head arose on that beer:
— Rizer, a classic rock and blues band that will play the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Friday evening, Feb. 26, has a long history that dates back to a group called Wire that formed in 1969 in Hastings, although it also has members who are more local. Through the years the name changed from Wire to Storm to Sunrise, and finally to Rizer, to make Hastings in recent times the Land of the Rising Sun, so to speak. Regardless of the name, the band has rocked thousands of weddings, clubs and other events over the years to the delight of tons of fans — maybe as many as the entire population of Hastings. Rizer’s talented musicians still bring a great show wherever they play, and you might recognize some of their local names from this and other bands, namely Paul Gavic on guitar and vocals and Charles Huntley on keyboards and vocals.
— Have fun, drink beer and learn all about it during The History Happy Hour, which is part of the Wisconsin History Tour, an effort criss-crossing the state and spending a fair amount of time in Hudson. Join author and State Historic Preservation Officer Jim Draeger at Dick’s Bar and Grill at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25. Yak it up over a Wisconsin-made brew, decorate your own beer labels and learn something new about Wisconsin’s beer history. Signed copies of Draeger’s best-selling book, “Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin’s Historic Bars and Breweries,” will be available for purchase. Wisconsin Historical Society Members get a free drink.
— Mel Travolta may not be as wellknown as his namesake, in part because he has not played nearly as much in Hudson as lots of other bands, and his act appears to be to a large degree an unknown even amongst the staffers at Dick’s, where he will play Friday evening, Feb. 26. All of this does really make you want to check it out and see what it’s all about. I joked with one of the servers, who craves heavy metal bands, that maybe he has opened for his beloved Slayer? (Seems unlikely, too acoustic). Then with another, that maybe the jukebox was at that moment rolling out some Mel Travolta? (It actually was a group called Yelawolf).

They turn up the heat in events this weekend, whether cooking chili or after selling it at the store.
— He knows his grocery produce and also provides the meat to help produce classic, contemporary and southern rock for the Hudson band Buck Tucker. That’s Dana Glade of County Market management that is on the guitar and vocals. You have seen him in the canned goods aisle, now see him live on stage. The band plays the Willow River Saloon on Saturday evening, Feb. 20.
— Kids love chili too, but this is now a full-fledged adult cooking contest. The event at Emma’s in downtown River Falls is now in its 21st year, and a sticky note alongside the announcement notes with tongue-in-cheek that it is now, finally, fully legal. As of Wednesday, there were 17 entrants, and if that equates to one per calendar year, it’s only one digit off the age of majority at the time the contest started. A bartender boldly predicted — like Namath did in a Super Bowl that was much more entertaining than last week’s — that he’s a lock to win the Saturday, Feb. 20 contest, even though his recipe is fully vegetarian. Patrons can sample the chili and that will tell the tale. Everything gets going at 1 p.m. Fee is $5.
— This is again, not once but twice, the case where a name says it all as far as the type of entertainment you’ll see: At Juniors in downtown River Falls, the River Falls Community Theater will conduct One Acts & Apps the next two Fridays, with 7 and 9 p.m. slots each night, featuring first Mike Munson and then Mike Gunther and Gabe Roy.
— Here is a chance for twice in two days, and at the same times, to show what’s in one of the cases some Badger State hospitality to a brew with connections to both Border Battle states. Barley John’s product will be served at the Village Liquor store in North Hudson on Friday, Feb. 19 from 4-6 p.m. Exactly 24 hours beforehand, at the next door down, Kozy Korner will offer a free wine tasting. Barley John’s has a brewery in New Brighton, but recently moved many operations to New Richmond, which was met with a howl “over there.”

Even Cupid could agree that there are other ways to mark Valentine’s Day then putting an arrow — or dart — through her poodle-sweatered heart.
— For something different and even non-traditional on the weekend of Valentine’s Day, consider the back to the ’50s party being thrown on Saturday night at the Village Inn in North Hudson, suggests the stalwart bartender who will be on duty and has invited friends from the Twin Cities. In fitting with that theme, poodle skirts and leather jackets are encouraged but not mandatory. There will be karaoke (bring on your best Elvis), milkshakes, burger specials, Best Damn rootbeer floats and $2 Budweiser and Bud Light cans.
— Cupid is not necessarily the only one to put an arrow through your heart on this Valentine’s Day. Okay, it’s actually a dart and actually is on Saturday, the day beforehand. Dick’s Bar and Grill is offering a Sweethearts darts tournament for couples on the 13th, with things getting rolling around 1 p.m. There is a $10 entry fee. With Valentine’s Day being on a Sunday, many offerings are being held the day before, but Dick’s is among those to have another festivity, their crab leg feast, on both Saturday AND Sunday during kitchen hours.
— The Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt ups the ante and has a trifecta, a fish fry on Friday and then on both Saturday and Sunday, featuring steak and lobster tails or jumbo shrimp along with a complimentary bottle of champagne, dessert and (being a largely country venue) “all the fixin’s,” all for $89 per couple. Call (715) 386-5885 for reservations. Then work off that meal by dancing to the varied tunes of Armadillo Jump on Friday night and East River Rock on Saturday.
— While at Dick’s you might want to consider getting ASAP an Upper Peninsula Ale (UPA), rather than a India Pale Ale (IPA), which is said to be an American Pale Ale (APA) brewed just for the north(woods). It is curious though that its flavor is described as, in part, like citrus. I didn’t know they had that kind of fruit grown way up north.
— Longtime luminary GB Leighton makes his way back to Hudson with a winter tent party on Saturday night, to cheer on ten years of business at Pier 500, rockin’ the First Street end of the downtown in the nextdoor municipal lot.

— They are notably new to Negret tonight! Twin City Lights is a multi-cultural, multi-instrumental group of musicians living in Minnesota, and currently performing their acoustic, folk rock around the Twin Cities. They will be making perhaps their first Hudson area performance tonight at the Negret Wine Company from 7:30-8:30 p.m. One of the noted musicians in the band, Mateo, is the son of Vincent Negret, winemaker and founder of the establishment. Another band will also perform, in addition to Twin Cities Lights.

You can guess that a restaurant that specializes in all different kinds of walleye would be a go-to place for the soon-to-be celebrated Friday fish fry, carrying on a North Hudson tradition at the same venue that dates back to the 1950s.
The fish fry at Seasons Tavern is perhaps the highest rated in this area online — indeed, under that heading one woman raved about the walleye and scrambled eggs with tavern fries, and lamented not ordering a Bloody Mary to go with it, (yes, Seasons does even have walleye options for breakfast). All for what was listed as a midrange price.
Only North Hudson as a whole was given a slightly higher, five-star rating for fish fry, and Seasons no doubt contributed to that score.
“As for the reviewers… YES! We are proud to be viewed as the top fish fry in the area,” owner Brad said. “We are motivated by the support that we have received and are challenged to continue to live up to expectations that people have for Seasons Tavern.”
The restaurants at the site at Monroe and Sixth Streets North, under several different names and owners, go back several decades. With the Italian/Catholic roots, both in the North Hudson community and the restaurant, they were among the first in the area, or even the Cities, to offer fish on Fridays. All this clamor started with the first predecessor to Seasons, (Sam’s for several years), at the same venue from decades back, which had a renowned fish fry for only $3.95.
“It wasn’t talked about much like let’s go to a Friday fish fry,” said Dorothy, a longtime North Hudsonite who was working in the Cities at that time, but did go to Sam’s because at that time the village was smaller in population, everybody know everybody, and they were well acquainted with the staff. “It was great food and it was friendly and comfortable, and we knew the servers.”
So that is a tough act to follow, or replicate, but Seasons might be the ones to pull it off. Brad has been in the business of providing fish fries for 25 years, first at other restaurants and now at Seasons for the past several years, so he has the expertise that comes with experience, and has honed those skills.
“I am proud to be the new ‘torchbearer’ of the location…. Although I have a long way to to receive that honor (in my book anyway),” Brad said. “I look forward to being able to occupy this location for a long time to come.”
And continue to help put North Hudson on the culinary map, even as far as the Twin Cities are concerned.
“My personal experience of serving a Lenten Friday fish dinner, whether it be walleye or a fish fry, has shown me how much people like fish! I will always strive to put a better piece of fish on the plate, and share that passion with my employees,” Brad said.
Seasons serves cod for the fish fry. “The choices are broiled or deep fried in a beer batter,” Brad said. “As for the walleye…. We serve it in many different ways (breakfast and dinner) and will continue to be creative with the dishes it is prepared with.”
He says another requirement for being successful with fish fries is being adaptable, and changing things up in short order when it will help meet customer needs.
The best fry is an all-you-can-eat event, including battered and deep-fried cod or pollock with fries and/or cole slaw, a Twin Cities food columnist suggested. Memory brings her back to the restaurant in North Hudson, Wisconsin, years ago, she wrote online. (It is interesting she felt it necessary to put Wisconsin at the end of her statement, since the Twin Cities media not only seems to include the Hudson area as a part of the metro, they seem preoccupied with it in a Border Battle sense).
And so, the presence of the best food is included in that tug of war. “I couldn’t wait to go with my Mom and Dad to the Friday Night Fish Fry,” the columnist said.