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Tent Show Radio is a weekly variety series showcasing live performances from Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua. Featuring author, humorist Michael Perry, and nationally and regionally renowned performers, Tent Show Radio is heard every week on listener-supported radio stations across the country, and the world on the Internet. Each week features a different live performance from Big Top Chautauqua’s summer season of concerts and musical productions.

Tent Show Radio is a weekly variety series showcasing live performances from Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua. Featuring author, humorist Michael Perry, and nationally and regionally renowned performers, Tent Show Radio is heard every week on listener-supported radio stations across the country, and the world on the Internet. Each week features a different live performance from Big Top Chautauqua’s summer season of concerts and musical productions.
More Information

Location:

Washburn, WI

Description:

Tent Show Radio is a weekly variety series showcasing live performances from Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua. Featuring author, humorist Michael Perry, and nationally and regionally renowned performers, Tent Show Radio is heard every week on listener-supported radio stations across the country, and the world on the Internet. Each week features a different live performance from Big Top Chautauqua’s summer season of concerts and musical productions.

Language:

English

Contact:

Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua PO Box 455 101 West Bayfield Street - Washburn, WI 54891 715-373-5552

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Episodes

Episode 18-40: Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra with the Blue Canvas Orchestra

10/4/2018
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About This Episode In 2016 Big Top Chautauqua celebrated its 30th season in operation. It was a special evening when members of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra joined Big Top's house band The Blue Canvas Orchestra and played an interesting and entertaining evening of music led by Ed Willet. The collaborative group played a range from classic Big Top songs, original and traditional works, and light classical selections. The whole show was illuminated by images on the big screen by...

Duration:00:59:00

Episode 18-39: Dead Horses

9/28/2018
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About This Episode At fifteen, Dead Horses frontwoman Sarah Vos’ world turned upside down. Raised in a strict, fundamentalist home, Vos lost everything when she and her family were expelled from the rural Wisconsin church where her father had long served as pastor. “My older brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and my twin had mental illnesses and cognitive disabilities,” explains Vos. “When the church kicked us out, they basically told my dad, ‘If you can’t lead your family, how can...

Duration:00:59:00

Episode 18-35: Andrew Bird

8/31/2018
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About This Episode Andrew Bird has been called a Musical innovator who winds together his trademark violin technique with xylophone, vocals and sophisticated electronic looping. Add in his uncanny ability to whistle anything, and he becomes a riveting one-man orchestra. He was initially known through his work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers before forming Bowl of Fire, and is now best known as a solo musician. He wrote “The Whistling Caruso” for The Muppets and performed the whistling...

Duration:00:59:02

Episode 18-34: The Big Wu

8/24/2018
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About This Episode A jam band with a unique style and presence, the Big Wu combines strong, free flowing improvisation and vocal harmonies, with finely crafted songs for all tastes. The story goes that “the Wu,” bound for rock stardom, sold their souls for a case of Old Style beer one thirsty night long ago. The legend and the band live on. Still rocking their powerful, moving, and energizing music for the fans, we were pleased to welcome them back in our 2017 show season for their 2nd...

Duration:00:58:58

Episode 18-33: Riders in the Sky

8/17/2018
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About This Episode For thirty-five years Riders in the Sky have been keepers of the flame passed on by the Sons of the Pioneers, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. While remaining true to the integrity of Western music, they have themselves become modern-day icons by branding the genre with their own legendary wacky humor and way-out Western wit, and all along encouraging buckaroos and buckarettes to live life ‘The Cowboy Way!’ In addition to being inducted into the Grand Ol’ Opry, and too many...

Duration:00:58:59

Episode 18-32: The Secret Sisters

8/10/2018
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About This Episode There are two ways of handling a dangerous, raging river: you can surrender and let it carry you away, or you can swim against the flow. For The Secret Sisters, there was a point after the release of their last record when they could have chosen to do neither – instead, sinking to the bottom as the weight of the world washed away their dreams. They went from touring with Bob Dylan to losing their label, purging their team, filing bankruptcy and almost permanently...

Duration:00:58:59

Episode 18-28: Josh Ritter and Michael Perry and the Long Beds

7/12/2018
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About This Episode Big Top gave a warm welcome to Indie songwriter Josh Ritter to the tent. The New York Times says: “The literary-minded songwriter Josh Ritter…recharges his music on his eighth studio album, Sermon on the Rocks…Harking back to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and maybe a little Mark Knopfler, Mr. Ritter has always been a slinger of serious ideas and high-flown imagery.” And, “A guileless, boy-next-door voice belies the depth and ambition of Josh Ritter’s songs, whether he is...

Duration:01:00:01

Episode 18-27: Asleep at the Wheel with Dale Watson

7/7/2018
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About This Episode Formed in 1970 in Paw Paw, West Virginia and now based in Austin, Texas, Asleep at the Wheel has been the most instrumental force in keeping Western swing music alive. In their career, they have released more than twenty studio albums, have charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard country charts, and earned nine Grammy Awards. The band continues to introduce Western swing to new generations on tour and takes audiences on the ride of a lifetime with their...

Duration:00:59:58

Episode 18-26: Roma Di Luna

6/29/2018
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About This Episode Minneapolis favorites Roma di Luna conjure elements of traditional Americana filtered through a modern lens, ethereal uncertainty, and an underlying passion throughout. Reuniting in 2017 after a 6 year hiatus, they paid a visit to the Big Top for a performance to remember. About Michael Perry Michael Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist and radio show host from New Auburn, Wisconsin. Perry’s bestselling memoirs include Population 485, Truck: A Love...

Duration:00:58:59

Episode 18-25: Terrence Simien

6/22/2018
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About This Episode Terrance Simien is an American zydeco musician, vocalist and songwriter. Simien is an eighth generation Creole from one of the earliest Creole families documented to have settled in the Mallet area of St. Landry Parish. While in his teens, he taught himself to play accordion and formed his first band Terrance Simien & The Mallet Playboys, and began to play the regional zydeco club and church hall circuit. In the early 1980s, Simien was in his early 20's and one of only...

Duration:00:58:59

Episode 18-24: Corey Carlson

6/15/2018
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About This Episode What do you get when you grow up in a house right next to the ticket gate of Big Top Chautauqua? Corey Carlson, of course. Weaned on all the legendary performers gracing the Big Top stage from childhood on up, and now a regular play with our own Blue Canvas Orchestra, Carlson is a prolific songwriter and exceptional musician whose charismatic stage presence, amazingly versatile voice, and rock solid instrumentation make him a perennial favorite. Corey performs his...

Duration:00:58:59

Episode 18-23: Superior!

6/8/2018
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About This Episode Jan Lee and Severin Behnen led the Blue Canvas Orchestra in a new show in 2017 about the queen of all the Great Lakes - Lake Superior. Celebrate the power, majesty, history, and natural wonder of Gitche Gumee through original songs and stories. Jan Lee is the founder of StageNorth in Washburn and a regular performer on the Big Top Stage. Severin Behnen is Big Top’s Musical Director during the summer and a teacher and professional musician in Los Angeles in the...

Duration:00:58:59

Episode 18-22: Wild Woods and Waters

5/31/2018
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About This Episode Celebrate the wild side of our nation’s waters and landscapes with our Blue Canvas Orchestra and Singers, in a performance of Wild Woods and Waters recorded live in 2017. From the rivers to the Great Lakes, and from the wetlands to the forests, this show features the stories, songs, and images of our own flora, fauna, and greatest natural resources. It is a celebration of these gifts and a renewed call to keep them safe for future generations. About Michael...

Duration:00:58:59

Episode 18-21: Blackberry Smoke

5/25/2018
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About This Episode Blackberry Smoke has evolved from rough-edged club act to arena-ready rock 'n' roll juggernauts, while steadily extending and expanding the Southern rock tradition. Since the group’s formation in 2000, the band has never shied away from hard work, playing more than 250 shows a year and building an ever-expanding audience on the strength of its live shows. In addition to winning fans and friends throughout the United States, they've toured Europe multiple times and...

Duration:00:58:59

Episode 18-20: Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy

5/18/2018
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About This Episode In 2014 two of the world’s most celebrated fiddlers came together at the Big Top in an evening of traditional fusion, combining the best of French, Celtic and Cajun styles. While electrifying Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster has collaborated and performed with Alison Krauss, the Chieftans, Paul Simon, Pavarotti and Yo-Yo Ma, Donnell gained a reputation as the spirited and athletic leader of Leahy, the Ontario-based, eight-piece family band bearing his surname. When...

Duration:00:59:00

Episode 18-19: Arlo Guthrie

5/10/2018
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About This Episode Arlo Guthrie is known across generations as a songwriter, social commentator, master storyteller, actor, and activist. The son of America’s beloved singer/writer/ philosopher/artist Woody Guthrie, Arlo is an iconic folk music figure in his own right with a distinguished career spanning over fifty years. He is known for the songs “The Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” and “The City of New Orleans.” This episode also features Larry Long from his 2015 appearance at the tent,...

Duration:00:59:00

Episode 18-18: Dale Watson

5/4/2018
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About This Episode Texas musical icon Dale Watson joined a date with Asleep at the Wheel at the Big Blue Tent in June of 2017. Watson is a country singer, guitarist, and songwriter based in Austin. He champions "Ameripolitan" as a new genre of original music and has positioned himself as a tattooed, stubbornly independent and slightly irreverent outsider who is interested in authentic country music. This episode also features the Molly Danger Band, picked right from Big Top's own back yard...

Duration:00:59:00

18-17: Big Top Opry 2: The Outlaw Years

4/27/2018
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First radio air date: April 27, 2018 About This Episode When Big Top's house band The Blue Canvas Orchestra pays homage to the Grand Ole Opry what you get is one bang-up show: Big Top Opry. In 2014 the dynamic team of Severin Behnen and Corey Carlson put together our first Opry show which celebrated the best of the Grand Ole Opry from the 30s, 40s and 50s. The live show was so popular that they continued in 2017 with Big Top Opry 2: The Outlaw Years. That next installment of great country...

Duration:00:59:00

Episode 18-16: Ziggy Marley and Ladysmith Black Mambazo

4/20/2018
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About This Episode Ziggy Marley has performed at Big Top Chautauqua twice now. The first was his wildly popular show in 2014, and the second was his fantastic 2017 performance which you'll hear on this episode of Tent Show Radio. Ziggy Marley, an eight-time Grammy winner, Emmy winner, humanitarian, singer, songwriter, and producer, continually progresses at every turn. Ziggy’s musical history dates back to ten-years-old when he sat in on recording sessions with his father, Bob Marley. His...

Duration:00:59:00

18-15: Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers, and The Mavericks

4/12/2018
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About This Episode Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers brought quite a show to the Big Blue Tent in 2017. The band's perfect mix of top-notch songwriting and adventurous, virtuosic, and just plain fun improvisation kept the whole tent spellbound from note one. Bruce Hornsby has built one of the most diverse, collaborative and adventurous careers in contemporary music. Drawing from a vast wellspring of American musical traditions, the singer/pianist/composer/bandleader has created a large and...

Duration:00:59:00

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