Signal Fires - MUDSONG

Grant.Owen Rad!o

A mix of songs you can sing along to you've never heard quite like this (think Soundgarden, Marvin Gaye, or System of a Down) and originals you hope to hear again and again. Your personal fav of a radio mix. Atop a pulsing, visual sense of rhythm & soul.

photo credit @nicholasjackson and @thefervidmind

Foxby

Bemidji's Alt/Indie, Jazzy, 70's Brit Rock. Hear their stellar music below.

Scott Jasmin

Raised on a warm, 70s analog sound rambling around Ventura Highways, Scott Jasmin offers a heartland mix of heartland, Americana with his originals and covers in venues around the region.

photo credit @thefervidmind

Sonny Johnson

Bluesy rock n roller, Sonny Johnson plants us between hard-rhythm rock and the longing from which it spawned.

photo credit @photographybynikkilee

Tiny Town

Bemidji, MN cover band (Ethically Sourced and Free Range). Styles ranging from Pop 2 Folk 2 Jazz. Funk on demand. Soul by request.Listen to Tiny Town's take on classic soul in the clips below.

Bumps on a Log

Specializing in cover songs you forgot you loved, Bumps on a Log keeps the room bumping throughout the night. Some siblings traffic in blood harmony, these brothers traffic in blood rhythm and funk.

photo credit @thefervidmind

Teddy Arunski

Teddy Arunski, a rock-n-roller to his core, has a double-life as both hard core, metal and acoustic. It’s one of the reasons Jethro Tull is one of his favorite bands, because of the expansive way they play the spectrum of all kinds of songs.

It’s a common experience at Teddy’s shows to see people singing along to songs they haven’t been able to jam out to in a while, and putting in special requests to celebrate the night with their friends.

Racheal Ianiro

Rachael is a rising country and Americana singer/songwriter from the Detroit Lakes area.

Liam Larson

Playing a mix of folk, rock and blues, and soloing on his harmonica the night through.

Mamma Wags & Boomer

Mamma Wags & Boomer, aka Kathy Wagner and Larry Kimball, met through Kathy’s son Charley Wagner, where Kathy joined Charley and Larry busking around Walker MN. That musical seed bloomed into MW&B when they got together to work on Kathy’s vocal rehabilitation following surgery, sharing music they lived and loved over the decades.

Forgetting lyrics since 1969, these two play music from the 70s. (not the decade, that’s just how old they are!) Medically cleared to play tempos up to and including 160 bpm, Mamma Wags sings to Boomer’s acoustic guitar accompaniment and harmony. Hailing from Longville and Walker, these two greatly appreciate every day they can share music and good vibrations!

About...

On any given weekend in glades and glens carved into stands of pines, upon a nearby shore, someone is singing. Often from the heart. Usually accompanied by some virtuosic twizzle of a bandmate's guitar, fiddle, keyboard, or loop station. Many times, people are listening, singing along, shimmying their shoulders and letting their hips declaratively wiggle while their feet can't help but tap.

A few years ago, I learned music as we know it is only possible here on Earth. Music, as it soundtracks our moments of days, like water, is a sign of planetary life. It only happens here, on this Pale Blue Dot. What we hear each weekend in our bars, restaurants, and concert halls isn't possible in The Big Quiet beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Since knowing this fact, I haven't been able to unknow it.

This website is an attempt to link the Signal Fires of live music, of life, that buzz, hum, and wiggle the strings weaving us together in community in these Northwoods. If you need a place to listen to music, or an artist to listen to, hopefully you'll find something here to celebrate what it means being Earthlings with your neighbors.

Take care,

Mary O.

P.S. If you are one of these venues or artists and want to update your info, drop me a line. If you want to be added, also drop me a line.

Why not just stay informed via Instagram or Facebook?

Those systems are designed to monetize our personal connections. I’m hoping you’ll join me, in a quiet act of resistance, in the email space to preserve a more authentic, intentional connection that compose our community of music lovers. The connections we share when we melt our faces, close our eyes, or raise our hands high as grateful listeners.