He’s not been legal age long, so he’s not been on the local music scene long, but Nashville still came calling for his musical talents.
— Levi Pelzer is an up-and-coming very young musician born in central Minnesota, who is trekking to Burkhardt to play the Willow River Saloon on Friday night. After playing in bar bands since age 15, he has embarked on a solo career that was kickstarted by an offer from a producer in Nashville to record his debut album. In 2015, Levi traveled down to Nashville to work with some of the top producers, engineers, studio musicians and song writers that Music City has to offer. On Feb. 27, 2015, Levi’s 21st birthday, he released his debut single, “I Can Love You with my Eyes Closed,” to iTunes. After returning from Nashville, Levi put together a lineup consisting of both veteran musicians and rookies to the music scene. Levi and his band played their debut show on June 26, 2015, to a sold-out crowd. A year later, the band is capturing the attention of fans and venues across the country, with a high level of energy and captivating performances that showcase his guitar playing skills. In January, Levi released his self titled album to iTunes and digital download, and the band embarked on their first regional tour, trekking across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee and of course Wisconsin.
— You can avoid the crowds and stay in on fight night, except to go grab some takeout, as for the upcoming weekend of the big bout of the moment, Buffalo Wild Wings will let you “do it right.” From July 8-10 there is the come-and-get-it food special of 60 wings and more, with a Mexican twist.
These days, there have been more and more people coming across the length of the establishment to pick-up their takeout wings and such, and bellying up to the bar temporarily as the server went to the kitchen to get it. On one recent fight night, the man next to me was weighing in on the different styles of martial arts, and which was most expedient for a particular opponent. He looked like a young James Spader, (a future Blacklist star talking about Black Belts?)
— The Village Inn in North Hudson again has its karaoke night, as has been done on the second Saturday of every month since late winter, and you can be crowned the king of such an offering, as some of the drink specials are Crown Royal and Crown Apple. I’d like to coronate the second to last duo that sang last month, a boisterous version of Proud Mary that was fueled by a guy who stepped in partway through and rolled out backup vocal support “on bass.”
— A sign above the bar at Dick’s Bar and Grill, meant to look like a street sign, reads “Jack Daniels Rd., drink responsibly,” which I’m assuming would mean not actually drinking Jack Daniels while driving down the road that it’s named after.