Radio Waves Music Festival Weekend

by Joan Farnam on September 8, 2016

First Fall Colors by Thomas Spence.

We’re crazy for music and art in September, as well as endless vistas of stupendous fall colors. Reds are just starting to appear on the maples, and we are all looking forward to the first fall music extravaganza this weekend–the Radio Waves Music Festival, Sept. 9-11.

The Radio Waves Music Festival features three days of music at Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Rec Park.

This is the ninth year that WTIP Community Radio has hosted this 3-day event, which is held at Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Rec Park. It’s family friendly and community friendly and features a great mix of local and regional music acts.

Festival-goers can look forward to seeing several new bands this year, as well as returning favorites. The weekend will feature more than 20 local acts, as well as regional bands, including Dusty Heart, the Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, Bowers & Gillman, Sam Miltich and the Clearwater Hot Club, and Rich Mattson and the Northstars.

Germaine Getterling and Rich Matson at Radio Waves. Photo by Carah Thomas-Maskell.

Germaine Gemberling and Rich Matson at Radio Waves a few years ago. Photo by Carah Thomas-Maskell.

For this festival, there are two stages under the Big Tent, plus a generous dance floor. And there’s on-site food, a children’s tent and activities, as well as camping. Tickets, available at the gate, are $10 per day or $20 for the whole weekend, and free to children 12 and under.

Radio Waves is always a great community event that kicks off the fall season.

Barb LaVigne and Yvonne Mills, two members of the band, Lake Effect, which plays on Sunday at 5 p.m.

Radio Waves starts at 4 p.m. on Friday with the North Shore Community Band and concludes on Sunday with Angel Hair Rasta taking the stage at 6 p.m.

Here’s the complete music schedule:

Friday

4 p.m. The North Shore Community Swing Band
5 p.m. Frozen Britches
5:30 p.m. Plucked Up String Band
6:15 p.m. Mark Zierath
6:30 p.m. Shoot from the Hipsters
7:20 p.m. Dusty Heart
8:30 p.m. Earth Wind and Todd

Saturday

10 a.m. The Sky Blue Trio
 11 a.m. The Curry Family Band
12 p.m. Briand & Friends 
1 p.m. Portage 
2 p.m. Shaky Ground 
2:30 p.m. Bend
 3 p.m. The Fish Heads
 4 p.m. Scotty’s Coast Connection Band 
5 p.m. The Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers 
6 p.m. Rich Mattson and the Northstars
7 p.m. Sam. Miltich and the Clearwater Hot Club
8 p.m. Cook County’s Most Wanted

Sunday

10 a.m. Gospel music featuring Gordon Thorne & friends
11 a.m. Dlutkowskis
11:50 a.m. Jim & Michele Miller 
12:30 p.m. Dat Dere Jazz
1:20 p.m. Bowers & Gillman 
2:10 p.m. Heck Yeah Holler String Band 
3 p.m. Michael Monroe 
4 p.m. Oversize Load
5 p.m. Lake Effect 
6 p.m. Angel Hair Rasta

See you there!

The Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Plein Air 2016 Competition and Exhibition begins on Friday, too, when artists from all over the region will fan out across Cook County to paint its beauty for the next week. This year, 70 artists have signed up for the event.

A plein air painter on Artist Point during the Quick Paint Competition a few years ago.

A plein air painter on Artist Point paints during the Quick Paint Competition a few years ago. The Art Colony’s Plein Air 2016 starts on Friday with the Quick Paint set for Thursday, Sept. 15. It is open to the public.

There are several organized public events for Plein Air this year, including a Paint Out at Lutsen Mountains from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10; the Quick Paint at Artist’s Point from 4-5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, a Juror Lecture with Dan Wiemer at the Art Colony on Friday, Sept. 16 at 11 a.m. and the Opening Reception for the exhibition at the Johnson Heritage Post from 5-7 p.m. that Friday evening. Weimer will give a Fireside Chat at Sivertson Gallery at 6 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 17. Stay tuned for details.

Truth be told–there’s a lot happening this weekend.

Dusty Heart will be on WTIP’s The Roadhouse on Friday night to talk about their music and sing a few songs. The show airs from 5-7 p.m. Dusty Heart performs at the Radio Waves Music Festival at 7:20 p.m. on Friday.

At 6 p.m. Friday, The Sutter Brothers, musician Ross Sutter and Duluth poet Bart Sutter, will present “North Country Characters” at the Grand Marais Public Library.

Duluth poet, Bart Sutter and his brother, musician Ross Sutter, will perform at the Grand Marais Public Library at 6 p.m. Friday.

Duluth poet, Bart Sutter (left) and his brother, musician Ross Sutter, will perform at the Grand Marais Public Library at 6 p.m. Friday.

For 30 years, The Sutter Brothers have presented lively programs that emphasize their rural, small-town roots and Scandinavian heritage. In 2014, The Sutter Brothers won a highly competitive Arts Tour Minnesota Grant, which allowed them to take their show statewide. They recently performed in Sweden and have been featured in the film series “Pretty Much 100% Scandinavian.”

Join them in the free program at the library as they present the landscape, critters, and quirky characters of northern Minnesota through songs and stories, poetry and music.

On Saturday, the Cook County Farm & Craft Market starts out the day in the Senior Center parking lot, offering lots of arts and crafts, baked goods and more from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

At the Cross River Heritage Center in Schroeder, Trish Hunter will teach a watercolor class from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The cost is $45 per person. To register in advance, call the Heritage Center at 218-663-7706.

And at 11 a.m., Dr. Roger MacDonald will sign his latest book, “Babe” at the Heritage Center.

Dr. Roger MacDonald will sign his latest book at the Cross River Heritage Center at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Dr. MacDonald was a physician in Cook County for years and has penned other books, including “The Country Doctor’s Casebook: Tales from the Northwoods.”

The North Shore Winery, 202 Ski Hill Road in Lutsen, will celebrate the installation of three outdoor sculptures by Tom Christiansen as well as the display of paintings in the facility on Saturday.

Tom Christiansen’s horse sculptures have been installed at the North Shore Winery.

The tasting room in the winery will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.. There will be barbecue from 4-7 p.m. with live music from Jon Kallberg on the harp guitar. There will also be a plein air painting demonstration by Kristin Blomberg from 5 – 7 p.m.

And, at 4 p.m., there will be bronze pour at Last Chance Gallery in Lutsen. Free. All invited.

And finally, (and not to be missed), Lucie Amundson, author of “Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry Changing Egg Farm from Scratch” will give a presentation at Drury Lane Books at 5 p.m. on Saturday as part of the bookstore’s Writer’s Salon series.

Lucie Amundsen of “Locally Laid” will be at Drury Lane Books on Saturday.

Amundsen will share a multi-media presentation on her farm and stories from her entertaining and thought-provoking book. Come learn about chickens and the egg business! All invited.

This is the last weekend to see the wonderful exhibit of portraits and landscapes by Gene Ritchie Monahan at the Johnson Heritage Post. The retrospective includes more than 70 works.

“Ernest Oberholtzer, wilderness preservationist” by Gene Ritchie Monahan.

Canadian Artist Norval Morriseau by Gene Ritchie Monahan.

The exhibit is quite extraordinary. One visitor described it as walking into a room and learning the stories and secrets of a community, but nobody says a word. The Johnson Heritage Post will be open Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. It will be closed next week in preparation for the Plein Air 2016 opening Sept. 16.

On Monday, the Grand Marais Writer’s Guild will meet at the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op at 6 p.m. The writing theme will be “Dialogue.” All writers welcome.

In Thunder Bay, the Thunder Bay Potter’s Guild opens an exhibition at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery on Friday, with the opening reception at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) Sept. 15.

The Potter’s Guild exhibit includes both functional and sculptural works. It continues through Nov. 6.

The Baggage Building Art Centre at Prince Arthur’s Landing in Thunder Bay is currently showing work by Marilyn A. Boyle.

Painting by Marilyn A. Boyle.

Upcoming

Unplugged XV: the Northern Harvest, featuring two concerts, workshops, demonstrations and more, will be at North House Folk School next weekend, Sept. 15-18. The Friday concert features Tom Paxton, Lisa Brokopl, Pat Alger and Gretchen Peters with special guest Jonathan Brown. The Saturday concert includes Jon Vezner, Don Henry, Amy Speace and Kim Richey with special guest Jonathan Brown. For tickets and more information, see www.northhouse.org

The Lake Superior 20/20 Studio Art Tour, featuring artists in and around the Two Harbors area will be Sept. 23-25 this year. For more info, click here.

The Crossing Borders Studio Tour & Sale will be Sept 23-Oct. 2. The tour features art studios from just outside Two Harbors to Grand Portage.

The Crossing Borders Studio Tour & Sale starts Sept. 23.

The Crossing Borders Studio Tour starts Sept. 23.

This is the last year for Crossing Borders, so don’t miss it! Featured this year: stone sculpture, Ojibwe art work, pottery, weaving, glass, print making, wood turning, metal works, jewelry, bead work, fiber art and leather. For more info and maps, click here. And stay tuned for details!

In other art news:

The Arrowhead Sketchers have closed up shop for the season. Here’s an example of the sketches they did at their last session at Voyageur’s Brewing Co. in Grand Marais.

Arrowhead Sketchers by David Morris.

But sketchers are invited to keep up the practice at “Life Drawing Lives,” 311 West 4th Ave. at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, hosted by Jeff Niesen.

The Outdoor Painters of Minnesota spent last week painting at Tettegouche State Park. Their paintings are now on exhibit in the Great Hall there.

This painting by Sandi Pillsbury-Gredzens is on display at Tettegouche State Park.

Here is an interesting display at Betsy Bowen’s Studio Gallery: a combo of an early print of hers and porcelain pottery inspired by the Chinese tradition.