By John Pluntze
Well, the current air quality here in the Wood River Valley may still be a bit on the dismal side, but there's absolutely nothing "dismal" about this week's music offerings -- which kick off tonight, in Hailey, with the Santa Cruz, California-based Cali-billy/folk-grass/folk rock band, Tater Famine.
Playing at 8 p.m. at the Sun Valley Brewery (202 N. Main Street/ 788-0805), Tater Famine may be performing either in front of or inside that venerable Hailey eatery/watering hole -- last week, CakeFaceJane was forced indoors, because the smoke in Hailey was so bad -- so you may want to call ahead to find out if tonight's concert will be outdoor/"block party"-style, or otherwise. (Oh, and speaking of the SV Brewery, another reminder that advance tickets are on sale now for that premier L.A.-based blues band, The 44s, who'll be performing at the Brewery this coming Friday and Saturday night; $10 for one night, $15 for both nights).
On Tuesday (Aug. 21), live music will start early -- at 2:30 to be exact (until 6) -- at the Ketchum Farmers Market ( http://www.wrfarmersmarket.org ), when Dan Freeman performs there. (The Chip Booth-Fletcher Brock duo, Spare Change, performs at the Hailey Farmers Market on Thursday, from 2:30-6:30).
Also on Tuesday, the second-to-last "Ketch'em Alive!" concert of the summer takes place at Forest Service Park (around the corner from the Magic Lantern Cinemas), from 7-9:15 p.m. or so. This week Austin phenom George Devore opens for Old Death Whisper ( http://www.OldDeathWhisper.net ) -- the latter of whom totally rocked the house last Wednesday (along with Up a Creek), during that hootenanny at Grumpy's that also served as a birthday party for Grumpy's owner Pete Prekeges.
On Wednesday evening, live music starts at 6 p.m. -- up at Redfish Lodge ( http://www.RedfishLake.com ), where Doug Cameron will be performing outside ... as will Lee Penn Sky (on Friday evening at the Lodge), and Ned Evett on Sunday evening there. Profuse thanks to Lodge manager Jeff Clegg for booking sooo many terrific and eclectic musical acts there again this summer!!
In Hailey on Wednesday evening, another one of those hugely-popular, family-friendly "Back Alley Party" concerts takes place at The Wicked Spud (305 N. Main Street), from 6-9:30 p.m. or so, with proceeds from the wine, beer and raffle ticket sales benefiting Wood River Fire & Rescue. Hat Trick opens for Up a Creek this week.
As part of its ongoing Thursday evening "Happy Hour" concert series, The Silver Dollar (101 S. Main St./ 788-2900) will feature The Swamp Cats from 5-7 p.m., while George Marsh will perform at The Silver Dollar on Friday, from 9:15 on or so. By the way, The Silver Dollar on the weekends operates a six-person, free van shuttle service to and from Bellevue to various addresses throughout the Valley for patrons who maybe need a little help getting home safely. Call 720-3171 for details.
In the North Valley on Thursday, another family-friendly "Ketchum Town Square" concert (right next to Starbucks) takes place (from 6-8:15 p.m. or so) -- this one featuring the folk-a-billy band, Up a Creek.
Friday evenings always offer a wide array of music -- and this week is no different, with Hillfolk Noir ( http://www.MySpace.com/HillfolkNoir ) playing at Whiskey's ( http://www.WhiskeyJacques.com / 251 N. Main St./726-5297), from around 9 p.m., on. And on Saturday evening at Whiskey's, that killer funk/soul band from Austin, T Bird & The Breaks, will be the featured musical offering at Whiskey's (T-Bird will DJ the first part of the night with various soul-funk offerings to get the party rockin' there). Also on THURSDAY night of this week at Whiskey's, there will be a concert featuring Triple Nixon. $5 cover. Music likewise stars around 9 p.m.
The final outdoor/poolside concert of the season takes place on Friday at the Zenergy Health Club & Spa (245 Raven Road/ 725-0595), from 5-8 p.m., when The Rebecca Scott Decision takes the stage there. Big thanks, as always, to Jim Lee for once again booking the various musical acts that came to Zenergy this summer, and also to Thundersprings manager Derek Agnew for adroitly overseeing all of them. (Concerts open to Zenergy members and also member guests -- so ingratiate yourself accordingly!!)
And if you happen to find yourself in Twin Falls on Friday evening, you may want to stop by that terrific bar-restaurant, Elevation 486 ( http://www.Elevation486.com ), because Dewey Picket & Hoe will be performing there.
On Saturday evening, at Lefty's here in Ketchum (231 6th Street E./ 726-2744 -- just down the street from Globus and across the street from Tranquility), there'll be live music as well, with that always-rollicking Hat Trick band performing on the superbly-expanded and re-finished deck of theirs from 6-9 p.m. or so. Sunday's musical offering at Lefty's is Clean Dog Head (Jay Rath), 6-9 p.m.
And on a final note, for the first time in its history, "American Idol" this year will be taking online-audition submissions, so if you and/or the band you happen to be performing with at the moment think you have what it takes to make the grade there at "A.I.", you won't have to drive (or fly) to a distant city in order to audition now. Got to http://www.AmericanIdol.com for more info.
And that's just some of the musical fun that awaits eager Wood River Valley residents and visitors alike this week. Enjoy!!! :)
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Questions or comments regarding this "Harmonic Convergence" (local music scene-oriented) column can be sent to John, at: lovesbiking2001@yahoo.com. And to read any of John's previous "HC" columns -- which include raves on local faves Paul Tillotson, Sheryll Mae Grace, Molly Venter, Josiah Venter, Bruce Innes, Gayle Chapman, Steve Eaton,Cow Says Mooo, CakeFaceJane, All-Night Diner, and FOX's award-winning musical-dramedy, "Glee" -- simply type "Harmonic Convergence" (and/or "John Pluntze") into the SVO search engine here.
