Michael Perry's Blog, page 19
October 7, 2023
This Week’s Tent Show Radio – “In Spite of Ourselves: The Music of John Prine & Nanci Griffith”
Check out Mike (Facebook / Instagram / Twitter) hosting Tent Show Radio (Twitter: @BigBlueTent). This week’s episode features the Blue Canvas Orchestra and their performance of “In Spite of Ourselves: The Music of John Prine & Nanci Griffith.”
Led by Molly Otis & Ed Willett, the Blue Canvas Orchestra take on the work of John Prine and Nanci Griffith in this Big Top original show. John Prine and Nanci Griffith were both humble masters of the story. They dug deep into the places where we were afraid to go. Emotional depth, keen observations and wry humor brought their music to life and hit an emotional bone. These are the writers who gave us “Angel from Montgomery,” “Sam Stone,” “Love at the Five & Dime,” “Trouble in These Fields, and many more. It’s the Blue Canvas Orchestra’s great honor to present a tribute to our lost songsmiths.
This episode features Blue Canvas Orchestra members Ed Willett, Molly Otis, Severin Behnen, Phil Anich, Tom Mitchell, Jack Gunderson, Billy Knoblauch, Danielle Diamond, Betty Ferris, and Scott Kirby.
During intermission Michael Perry shares a humorous or heartfelt (or both) story drawn from his beloved books and offbeat life experiences.
Follow this link for all the available viewing options.
Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.
Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/.
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September 30, 2023
This Week’s Tent Show Radio features Joyann Parker: The Music of Patsy Cline
Check out Mike (Facebook / Instagram / Twitter) hosting Tent Show Radio (Twitter: @BigBlueTent). This week’s episode features Joyann Parker (Twittter: @joyannparker).
Enjoy a nostalgic trip back in time as Joyann Parker beautifully weaves the stories of Patsy Cline’s life and career in and out of the music you know and love. In this powerful tribute performance, Parker and her seasoned band showcase the most popular and best loved of Pasty’s songs. Vintage costumes and ambiance enhance Joyann’s uncanny and authentic channeling of Cline’s classic vocals. Hear Patsy’s iconic songs like “Crazy,” “Walking After Midnight,” “Sweet Dreams,” “Faded Love,” “Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray,” “She’s Got You” and many more!
A northern Wisconsin native, Joyann Parker, like many artists, discovered her love of music at a very young age. While the multifaceted and versatile performer found her authentic voice later in life, she has created her inimitable blend of roots music that fuses soul, gospel, R&B, and traditional blues – combined with a voice that is booming and soulful – Joyann Parker is establishing herself as a masterclass performer. Steadily a rising star on the Midwest music scene, with two critically acclaimed studio albums under her belt, 2018’s Hard to Love, and 2021’s Out of the Dark, numerous award nominations, and opening for award-winning artists like Robert Cray and Elvin Bishop, Parker is now bringing her full range of talent as an accomplished singer, pianist, guitarist and songwriter to national and international stages.
This episode features recordings for Joyann Parker’s 2022 performance under the tent.
During intermission Michael Perry shares a humorous or heartfelt (or both) story drawn from his beloved books and offbeat life experiences.
Follow this link for all the available viewing options.
Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.
Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/.
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September 28, 2023
SPECIAL OFFER: Michael Perry’s Voice Mail
FROM MIKE:
In this episode I read a passage from my next book manuscript (the long overdue one about dads and daughters). I’m on track to turn in the draft next month—here’s hopin,’ and here’s typin’.
The section I’ve chosen relays the story of the conversation I had with the very first young man to ever drive my daughter out the driveway on a date. I hope you find it entertaining, and I hope you hear my heart in it.
This episode’s marginalia is from another book about dads and daughters, A Man Walks Into a Barn, by Chad Oldfather. (Also available through BookShop, supporting independent booksellers.)
For my books (including Forty Acres Deep), music, live humor recordings, T-shirts, and other tchotchkes, please visit the Sneezing Cow store.
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September 26, 2023
“Somewhere South of Sunday” Live at The Stoughton Opera House
Back in 2022 Mike and the Long Beds rambled down to The Stoughton Opera house to share Mike’s songs (described as “roughneck ballads and freight train rockers”) and hilarious off-the-cuff tales of a Wisconsin farm kid turned cowboy turned nurse turned best selling author and humorist (as featured on the recent PBS special Michael Perry: On the Road).
The great folks in Stoughton filmed the show, including this rendition of Mike’s tune “Somewhere South of Sunday.” As you’ll see, the band always has fun with this one–especially when Mike sings about crying in his beer (he’s never had a beer), the “MAN ALIVE!” bit (which was not in the original lyrics but grew out of a chance holler), and that showdown at the end to see who can hold the final note the longest.
Both Mike and the band return to the Opera House in 2024. You can enjoy Mike’s solo humor show Thursday, February 22, 2024 at 7:30 PM (grab your tickets here) and then see the Long Beds on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 7:30 PM (grab your tickets here). If you’ve never experienced a show at The Stoughton Opera House, it definitely needs to be on your list of classic Wisconsin theaters (a highlight of Mike’s year was explaining to a Hollywood producer over Zoom that, yes, we have opera houses in Wisconsin).
If you want to catch the band sooner than next year, roll on up to Minneapolis for their November 12th show at Icehouse MPLS (event details can be found here).
To be in the know any time Mike performs solo, with the band, or when a new book comes out, please join the Sneezing Cow Mailing List found here. To follow Mike on YouTube, click here.
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September 23, 2023
This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Madison Cunningham and The Foxgloves
Check out Mike (Facebook / Instagram / Twitter) hosting Tent Show Radio (Twitter: @BigBlueTent). This week’s episode features Madison Cunningham (Twittter: @madicunningham) and The Foxgloves\.
Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Madison Cunningham takes a literate, harmonically nuanced approach to folk and pop music. She first grabbed attention with the release of her debut EP, Love, Lose, Remember in 2017. Expanding upon her textured, sometimes jazz-inflected indie folk, her first full-length, Who Are You Now, arrived in 2019 and her sophomore album, 2022’s Revealer earned Cunningham her first Grammy award for Best Folk Album. Rolling Stone describes Cunningham’s sound as “a new spin on West Coast folk-rock, with classical tendencies, electric guitars, jazz-school chord changes and alt-rock strut all living beneath the same roof.” Her unique melodies, elastic voice, honest storytelling, and deft approach to the electric guitar, quickly earned her a dedicated fan base and saw her open shows for notable artists like Harry Styles, Punch Brothers, and Lake Street Dive.
The Foxgloves are an all-female Americana band from the Twin Cities featuring Maura Dunst (Vocals/Fiddles/Mandolin), Liz DeYoe (Guitar), Steph Snow (Vocals/Ukulele/Banjo), Nikki Lemire (Vocals/Harp), Sara Tinklenberg (Vocals/Percussion), and Nyssa Krause (Bass). With songs you won’t be able to stop humming. Their engaging presence, rich instrumentation, compelling storytelling songwriting, four-part harmonies, and creatively reimagined covers render them a force to be reckoned with. This powerful band is making moves you’ll want to witness. A little bit of country, a little bit of folk, a little bit of classical, and a whole lot of heart — your toes will tap of their own accord.
This episode features recordings from The Foxgloves’ July 2022 performance and Madison Cunningham’s August 2022 performance under the tent.
During intermission Michael Perry shares a humorous or heartfelt (or both) story drawn from his beloved books and offbeat life experiences.
Follow this link for all the available viewing options.
Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.
Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/.
The post This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Madison Cunningham and The Foxgloves appeared first on SneezingCow.com.
September 22, 2023
La Crosse Sellout
NOTE FROM SNEEZING COW UPPER MANAGEMENT: Tonight’s show at the Pump House in La Crosse is SOLD OUT. Meanwhile, here’s a picture of Mike at an English wedding in the 1980s.
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September 20, 2023
Free Episode: Voice Mail #177 “St. Jude and Drew and Me”
There he is.
Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 177. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click this link to listen, see all the other photos, and video of me doing “open mic” in front of 20,000 people.
Episode includes me revealing why little ol’ agnostic me is a St. Jude fan, why I find poetry in words like supplication, how chance encounters and friendships echo long beyond the moment at hand, and how the simple gift of a journal led to words shared with thousands. And above all, how grateful I am to be allowed this erratic knockabout reflective life.
Thanks to the whole bunch of you. This episode’s essay is from Million Billion. For all the books and whatnot, please visit the Sneezing Cow store. See y’down the road, Mike
For subscription options to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, click here (it says “Subscribe” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm).
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September 18, 2023
Seat That Bead
Wound up having to dismount it for the fix, but every now and then yer softhanded writer boy wins one.
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September 15, 2023
This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Gaelic Storm
Check out Mike (Facebook / Instagram / Twitter) hosting Tent Show Radio (Twitter: @BigBlueTent). This week’s episode features Gaelic Storm (Twittter: @GaelicStorm).
It’s hard to imagine Gaelic Storm coming into its own after 20 years of success, but that’s precisely what makes the group a true anomaly. Founded in 1996, the band’s first major career breakthrough arrived before they had even recorded their first album. Appearing as the “steerage band” entertaining passengers with “An Irish Party in Third Class” in James Cameron’s massive 1997 blockbuster Titanic, Gaelic Storm were widely embraced by audiences when they released their self-titled debut album a year later.
Led by founding members Patrick Murphy and Steve Twigger, the acclaimed multi-national Celtic juggernaut grows stronger with each live performance, and as you can imagine, after two decades and over 2000 shows (13 of which have been on the Big Top stage), it is a true force to be reckoned with. With their energetic mix of Irish and Scottish traditional fare, drinking songs, and playful original material they have developed a fanatic and well-diversified fan base. Country Music fans adore their storytelling, Bluegrass fans love the instrumentals, Celtic fans love their devotion to tradition, and rock fans simply relish the passion they have for their instruments.
Throughout their multi-decade career, Gaelic Storm has amassed more than 250 million streams, racked up numerous Top 10 spots on the Billboard World Charts, and released 13 studio albums including How Are We Getting Home?, Bring Yer Wellies, and What’s The Rumpus. With their most recent release Go Climb A Tree, their music has never sounded more representative of themselves as musicians and as live performers. In addition to Murphy and Twigger, the band features percussionist Ryan Lacey, piper Peter Purvis, and fiddle player Natalya Kay.
This episode features recordings from Gaelic Storm’s July 2022 performance under the tent.
During intermission Michael Perry shares a humorous or heartfelt (or both) story drawn from his beloved books and offbeat life experiences.
Follow this link for all the available viewing options.
Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.
Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/.
The post This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Gaelic Storm appeared first on SneezingCow.com.
September 14, 2023
Audiobooks from Mike
Just a reminder while Mike is hunkered down working on the next one (he has made some editorial promises), MOST of his books are available on audio (not all of them, but we’re workin’ on that in between the typing). The link here is for the Audible version of Hunker, but they’re also available on nearly all other platforms including indie and library outlets. Best bet is to go to the Sneezing Cow store page and follow the links, or just search your favorite platform. Thank you! P.S. All but The Scavengers are read by Mike himself.
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