Minnesota Bluegrass Magazine – Archive

Showman & Coole

Through twenty-five years and thousands of shows together in bands such as The Foggy Hogtown Boys and The Lonesome Ace Stringband, John Showman and Chris Coole have developed a deep and instinctual musical bond. Their music lurks in a truly unique space that is somewhere on the outskirts of old-time, bluegrass, and folk. The songs of John Hartford, Hank Williams, Dock Boggs, and The Band share space with the fiddle tunes of Eck Robertson and Ed Haley. The duo’s original songs and tunes take in all these vistas and paint something both personal and timely. 

They have performed across North America and Europe at festivals such as Merlefest, Rockygrass, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Mariposa, Wintergrass, Gooikroots, and The John Hartford Memorial Festival. In 2022, the duo released two albums; “ Afield” a collection of old-time fiddle tunes, and  “Much Further Out than Inevitable – A Tribute to Some Music of John Hartford.” 

“John Showman has made his mark as “one of the very best and most influential fiddle players in Canada” (Steve Pritchard, CIUT 89.5 FM).

“Renowned for his clawhammer banjo picking, Coole now establishes himself as a gripping songwriter.”
(Roddy Campbell, Penguin Eggs Magazine)

Po’ Ramblin’ Boys

In 10 years as a band, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have covered a lot of miles. Their love of bluegrass — playing it, sharing it, growing it — has been the fuel for their remarkable journey through every corner of America and into the hearts of fans drawn to their hard-charging, true-blue sound. “We live what we play and sing about,” says bandleader C.J. Lewandowski.

Indeed, the band has weathered their fair share of the highs and lows that bluegrass songs are known for (except for the murders, of course). They’ve been road-weary, longing for home. They’ve felt the heartbreak of band members leaving and embraced the joy of welcoming new ones. They’ve worked hard to see their dreams come true, playing on some of music’s most celebrated stages. And they’ve been nominated for a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album (2019’s Toil, Tears & Trouble) and for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award.

Amid all their travels, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have seen every nook and cranny of the country, met people from all walks of life, and kept a keen eye toward the truth, which rings out loud and clear in the songs they write. “Wanderers Like Me,” the title track from their most recent album and the band’s first No. 1 song on the Bluegrass Unlimited chart, shoots straight from the heart: “Wanderers like me don’t settle down for no one / don’t mind being lonesome, chasing dreams is all I ever need.”

Lately, they’ve been chasing their dreams in a new configuration, one that expands the band’s age span and geographical roots. Guitarist John Gooding from California and fiddle player Max Silverstein from “the great bluegrass state of Maine,” as the band likes to say during onstage introductions, are the newest additions, both in their 20s. They join Lewandowski on mandolin, Jereme Brown on banjo, and Jasper Lorentzen on bass, relative elders in their 30s.

The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have always been known for barreling bluegrass forward, and as they move into their second decade as a band, they’re maintaining that momentum, both onstage and in the studio. 

T.H.U.G.

The Two Harbors Ukulele Group, affectionately known as T.H.U.G., was formed by Al Anderson in 2010. It has grown from five members to a performance group of sixteen and features soprano, concert, tenor, baritone and bass ukuleles, backed up by harmonica, melodica, drums and horns. The group plays a wide variety of music from 1920’s classics to ’60’s rock and roll to country music…yes, even some Frank Zappa music. Our group has played throughout Minnesota from Lanesboro to Grand Portage and will play almost 50 performances in 2023. We also host the Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival in Two Harbors which is attended by over 300 ukulele players from over fifteen states and three provinces.