Monthly Archives: October 2018

Big Top Opry: The Outlaw Years

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Radio air date: October 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 and western music took us from the mid-60s through the early 80s with music from Opry icons like Willie & Waylon, Dolly & Loretta, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Charley Pride and Tammy Wynette.

Hear the the Outlaw Years show in this episode of Tent Show Radio. This show features the Blue Canvas Orchestra with Corey Carlson and special guests Andy Dee, Randy Sabien, Joe Savage, Danielle Diamond, Emily Belanger and Lizzie Herriott.

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 Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom, and his latest, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy. His first book for young readers, The Scavengers, was published in 2014 and first novel for adult readers, The Jesus Cow, was published in May of 2015.

Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wandered into writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an intermittent pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated “Tent Show Radio,” performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues.

Learn more about Michael and where to get his publications at www.sneezingcow.com.

Follow Michael Perry

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Ziggy Marley and Ladysmith Black Mambazo

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Radio air date: October 20, 2018

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 eight-album catalog with the Melody Makers encompasses three GRAMMY Awards, countless sold out shows, and anthems including “Look Who’s Dancing,” “Tomorrow People,” and “Conscious Party.” Since making his solo debut in 2003, he received the Grammy for “Best Reggae Album” in 2006, 2012, and 2015 in addition to the Award for “Best Children’s Album” in 2011.

As he embarks on a world tour in support of Ziggy Marley, he brings his message directly to the people.

“Everything happens when it’s meant to happen,” he says. “That’s how my career has been since the beginning.”

You’ll also be treated on this episode to some selections from Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s 2013 appearance at Big Top. Ladysmith Black Mambazo was founded by Joseph Shabalala in South Africa in the early 1960s. The group sings a traditional style called isicathamiya (is-cot-a-ME-Ya), developed in the mines of South Africa. Called South Africa’s Cultural Ambassadors to the World by Nelson Mandela, they became known to mainstream audiences through their collaboration with Paul Simon on the Graceland album.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo is poised to become a second-timer at Big Top as well, scheduled to perform in the Big Blue Tent on August 2, 2018. We look forward to the performance as it is sure to be an especially magic-filled evening.

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 Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom, and his latest, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy. His first book for young readers, The Scavengers, was published in 2014 and first novel for adult readers, The Jesus Cow, was published in May of 2015.

Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wandered into writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an intermittent pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated “Tent Show Radio,” performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues.

Learn more about Michael and where to get his publications at www.sneezingcow.com.

Follow Michael Perry

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Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers

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Radio air date: October 13, 2018

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 accomplished body of work and employed a vast array of stylistic approaches. Throughout this period, Hornsby has maintained the integrity, virtuosity and artistic curiosity that have been hallmarks of his work from the start.

Hornsby and his band The Range’s first album The Way It Is (1986) was steadily and slowly building in popularity in the U.S. when in August the title track exploded on BBC Radio One in England, then Europe, the rest of the world and finally in the United States. The record went on to sell three million records, the band played Saturday Night Live and opened for Steve Winwood, John Fogerty, Huey Lewis, the Grateful Dead and the Eurythmics before becoming headliners on their own tour supported by Crowded House.

Soon Hornsby was being approached regularly to collaborate with a broad range of musicians and writers, a demand that continues to this day. Over the years Hornsby has successfully ventured into bluegrass, jazz, classical, and even electronica. His three Grammy wins (along with his ten Grammy losses!) typify the diversity of his career: Best New Artist (1986) as leader of Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Best Bluegrass Recording (1989) for a version of his old Range hit “The Valley Road” that appeared on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will The Circle Be Unbroken Volume Two, and a shared award with Branford Marsalis in 1993 for Best Pop Instrumental for “Barcelona Mona”, a song written and performed for the 1992 Olympic Games. The sales stats and breadth of his collaborations (including being sampled many times by rap/hip-hop artists) speak volumes about Hornsby’s unique fusion of mainstream appeal and wild musical diversity. His albums have sold over eleven million copies worldwide.

Indeed, Bruce Hornsby’s restless musical spirit continues to spontaneously push him forward into exciting new musical pursuits. Three decades after Bruce Hornsby established his global name as the creator of pop hits that defined “the sound of grace on the radio,” as a Rolling Stone reviewer once wrote, such projects continue and are consistent with his lifelong pursuit of musical transcendence. “It’s always been about staying inspired, broadening my reach and range of abilities and influences, and exploring new areas”, Hornsby says. “I’m very fortunate to be able to do that, to be a lifelong student, and to continue to pursue a wide-ranging musical life.”

This episode of Tent Show Radio also features songs from a past performance from The Mavericks, and also from the Blue Canvas Orchestra’s Big Top Does the Beatles show. And if you like the magic flowing out of your radio on these performances, swing on over to BigTop.org and buy some tickets, because both The Mavericks and Big Top Does the Beatles are returning to the tent in 2018.

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 Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom, and his latest, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy. His first book for young readers, The Scavengers, was published in 2014 and first novel for adult readers, The Jesus Cow, was published in May of 2015.

Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wandered into writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an intermittent pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated “Tent Show Radio,” performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues.

Learn more about Michael and where to get his publications at www.sneezingcow.com.

Follow Michael Perry

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Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra with the Blue Canvas Orchestra

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Radio air date: October 6, 2018

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 Betty Ferris.

It was a special celebratory night to be at the tent. Listen in for this episode and feel the classic Big Top magic beaming through the airwaves.

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 Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom, and his latest, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy. His first book for young readers, The Scavengers, was published in 2014 and first novel for adult readers, The Jesus Cow, was published in May of 2015.

Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wandered into writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an intermittent pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated “Tent Show Radio,” performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues.

Learn more about Michael and where to get his publications at www.sneezingcow.com.

Follow Michael Perry

Other Ways to Stream