The Fretliners perform at Earth Rider. Photos by Jill Fisher.

Leave it to Tim Nelson to find a band that’s a natural opener for Charlie Parr. I am referring to the Fretliners, a bluegrass band from Lyons, Colorado (16 miles north of Boulder).

It was this past Friday evening, Aug. 28, when the Earth Rider festival grounds filled up with Parr fans, of which I am one. We were in for an unexpected treat as we listened to these four young men play their music.

The four gents that comprise the Fretliners are Tom Knowlton (acoustic guitar, vocals), Sam Parks (mandolin, vocals), Grayson Wickel (fiddle, vocals), and Taylor Shuck (bull fiddle). I learned from Taylor that in bluegrass circles, the standup bass is referred to as the bull fiddle.

There was unanimous agreement that these guys were really good (even the Curmudgeon said so, especially since no banjo was involved!) They played wonderful original tunes — “Hole in the Sky” and “The Stone” were the only two I was able to note since their tunes had me dancing throughout their set.

Most compelling were their three-part harmonies on most songs, with some nice falsetto too. Sweet!

Reinforcing our assessment of the group is the fact that they’ve won New Artist awards in Colorado’s Telluride and RockyGrass events.

The Fretliners’ promotional material explains: “This isn’t revival. It’s renewal.” In other words, it’s my kind of bluegrass.

The next day the Fretliners were headed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to participate in the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival, which is held annually near the towns of Silver City and Ontonagon. I was sorely tempted to travel up there the next day to hear them again.

Had I been able to attend the entire festival I would have gotten to see our local favorites as well: Danny Frank & the Smoky Gold, Boss Mama & the Jebberhooch and PK Mayo, not to mention another favorite of mine, The Steel Wheels. (This latter group is scheduled to play for the West Theatre this coming Dec.; stay tuned for that!)

But returning to the Fretliners, their present tour will conclude in Nashville. Hopefully they will get back this way one of these years!

Of course, Charlie Parr was the reason we went to Earth Rider. He was joined by friends Mikkel Beckmen (washboard) and Dave Hundreiser (harmonica). Those two are frequent collaborators with Parr and rightly so since they provide distinctive percussion and the appropriate wail of a blues harp.

It was a concert appreciated by many since the crowd grew as the night went on, including a significant number of younger fans. As for me, I got to hear several of my favorite Parr originals: “817 Oakland Avenue,” “Cheap Wine” and “Boombox.”

The next evening the C and I made it over to Blacklist Brewing Co. to take in the show by Indecent Proposal. It was a great time, with interesting covers played, though I was surprised that more original compositions weren’t performed. Another surprise was seeing band leader Josh Brown so covered up; normally we get to see a fair amount of his flesh. On this evening he had on a tee-shirt, a sweatshirt, sweatpants and even socks! Since the overhead doors were open, perhaps he was reacting to the somewhat cool temps that evening.

It was good to see and dance to this tight band once again.

Since there’s so much good music to experience hereabouts, you may wonder why I felt the need to check out bands playing during this year’s Minnesota State Fair.

Well, once I found out Bonnie Raitt would be performing on the Grandstand stage on the first day of the fair, there was no question about me getting down to see her. I’ve been a fan since the early 70s and in the summer of 1977 got to see her perform at a small club in Oslo, Norway.

She singlehandedly turned me onto all sorts of old blues singers—Sippy Wallace in particular—as well as Minneapolis legend Spider John Koerner.

The bonus was to spend the day checking out the other bands playing at the various stages throughout the fairgrounds.

I arrived early enough to see Cornbread Harris at the AFL-CIO fair headquarters, who was scheduled for a 9 am performance. (I reviewed his concert at Sacred Heart in the April 2, 2026 issue of the Reader.) Sadly, Cornbread was not in great form. He was soloing with his keyboard on a very small temporary stage. His roadie was there to help him, but there didn’t seem to be a playlist and many small issues prevented him from getting started.

On the way to that venue, I passed by the Luther Auto Bandshell where the rock band Vertical Horizon was playing. The electric guitars were very loud, so I wasn’t feeling the desire to spend much time there. However, I did enjoy the lead singer’s vocals.

As I wandered around in search of more free music gigs, I happened to pass the University of Minnesota booth and got to hear a few songs by the U of M Alumni Band. As an alumnae myself, I recall enjoying the U’s marching band performances long ago. When they performed “The Minnesota Rouser,” I sang along with.

My next stop was at the Café Caribe where Chris Lawrence was soloing. I stayed around to hear his covers of “My Girl,” “Stand By Me” and “Layla,” which were decent renditions, though not enticing enough to stay for his entire set, which may not be a justified assessment of him.

The 11-member band “California Dreamin’” appeared on the Luther Auto Stage to perform the songs of musicians associated with the famous Laurel Canyon neighborhood in Los Angeles, including “Doctor My Eyes,” “What’s Going On,” “Ventura Highway,” “Happy Together,” etc. In honor of Bonnie Raitt’s headlining the Grandstand concert that evening, they included her hit, “You’ve Been In Love Too Long.”

They were quite good, though tribute/cover bands are not my favorite. Despite their name, the group seems to be based in Florida and its members from all over.

The next gig was Pam Linton and The Cotton Kings on the Pryes Stage at the Shilling Amphitheater. They began by singing Carter Family tunes, followed by other country favorites. Linton is a Minnesota native (with a southern accent!) who married country music artist Sherwin Linton.

Although I generally like country music I was not particularly impressed with this group and so I high-tailed it out of there after just a few numbers.

I’ve since discovered I missed their concert up in Silver Bay in the summer of 2025. Had I seen it I might have had a different reaction to this group.

Sunny Sweeney.

By 1:15 pm I made it back to the Luther Auto Bandshell, where Sunny Sweeney and her band was booked. They too played in the country genre, but what a difference. They rocked and their first song, “As Long As There’s a Honky Tonk” put me in the mood to dance.

Besides some classic country numbers their set included original compositions. Sweeney announced that they had played 84 shows at the Grand Ole Opry and it showed. I greatly appreciated their energy and originality.

Mark Joseph and The American Soul.

After the 2 pm parade through the fairgrounds (a daily occurrence), during which I heard several high school marching bands play, I headed back over to Café Caribe to hear Mark Joseph and The American Soul. It was at this venue at the fair where I first heard Joseph and company.

He mentioned that it’s been 20 years now that he’s been playing  Having since seen him perform several times around the Northland, I’ve become a devoted fan, so I was happy to hear him again. He plays a mix of original tunes and covers such as “Walk To The Water” (original) and “Deep Ellum Blues” (traditional). He also gave us an excellent rendition of Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue.”

His backup band was different than the one he had with him last year, but they were tight. Once his state fair gig is up, he’ll hit the road around Minnesota in September and October before heading south to Florida and Alabama in November.

The last group I saw before heading over to the grandstand for Bonnie’s show, was at the DNR stage where the band Ecuador Manta was playing. This was the kind of South American flute-forward music I have come to greatly appreciate. It was both listenable and danceable and I was sorry to have to leave before its set was over. Since it is based in Minnesota I hope to have a chance to see them again.

Then came the grandstand show I’d been waiting for.

Since that first time seeing Bonnie perform, I’ve only been to a couple other of her concerts, making this my fourth one.

Before she came on, the New Orleans-based band, Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen opened the show. They were an unexpected delight. It was a short 40-minute set, but they rocked every minute of it, making me think they had some “jump blues” influences. I was thinking Cleary was a kind of cross between Dr. John and Randy Newman (two more of my favorites). You can be sure next time I get down to NOLA, I will be tracking them down.

When Bonnie came on at 8 pm sharp, she received a tremendous welcome with prolonged applause. She was dazzling in a multi-gem-colored sparkling top over slim black pants and her red hair aglow in the lights. Her first number was one I was not familiar with: “Tangled and Dark.” She followed it up with “Thing Called Love” and from there she showed us just how great she is, especially on slide guitar.

She dedicated the concert to the memory of the recently deceased Dolly Parton, praising her as a beacon of the kind of person we should all strive to be.

Bonnie, when introducing keyboardist Glenn Patscha, exclaimed “he is from — not the damn 51st state — Canada!” She reminded us that her first album was recorded in Minnesota (at a Minnetonka studio recommended by Spider John Koerner) and emphasized how proud she was of Minneapolis for standing up for justice. It was a mutual love fest!

Bonnie’s setlist was wonderfully broad, including both covers and originals, slow ballads and real rockers. Her rendition of Dylan’s “Standing in the Doorway” nearly brought me to tears, then her 2022 Grammy award-winning song “Just Like That” actually did.

A cover of Gerry Rafferty’s “Right Down the Line” was righteous, as was a cover of Annie Lenox’s “Little Bird.” Other hits performed were: “Something To Talk About,” “Three Time Loser,” “In The Nick of Time,” and John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery.” The crowd was so vocal in its appreciation of her, that she responded with four encore numbers. Wow, it was a concert I’ll never forget. And I must also add that there were no special effects employed or needed; no smoke, no distracting lighting displays, just a gorgeous natural lake scene as backdrop.    

UPCOMING: Don’t miss Laurie BoeDee’s presentation of Note Worthy Kids with special guests at Ursa Minor Friday, Sept. 4, from 7-9 pm. I think you will be amazed.

Also, the regular “Second Sunday Blues Jam” starts up on Sunday, Sept. 13. The location has been changed from R.T. Quinlan’s to Pizza Luce and will take place from 4 to 7 pm. Musicians are invited to bring their instruments or their whole band along to participate. Blues lovers will be able to enjoy the music while hanging out with friends along with some great food.