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Hello from this season of wet leaves, 


October has become a month of one time opportunities and memorable concerts. Which ones will you savor? I suggest starting things off this Friday in Bemidji to listen to Sonny Johnson do so much more of this at the Headwaters Open Mic & Coffeehouse.


Enjoy!

Mary O.


Surf the category menus for more on our vibrant live music scene, including multiple Open Mics. Confirm dates & times if you're fixin' to travel. Things change so quick in the world of alive music. 

October 

Here's where else I know it could feel great to be this month... 

  • Sonny Johnson plants us between a hard-rhythm rock and the longing from which it spawned at the Headwaters Open Mic & Coffeehouse. Bemidji. Oct 2
  • Wayward brings the one-man-ness of his band back to Bemidji with his wandering, annual stop at Bridgid's. Bemidji. Oct 3 
  • The Bemidji Bogtrotters set a rousing, festive mood at Bemidji Brewing's Oktoberfest. Bemidji Brewing. Bemidji. Oct 3
  • The Oxbows sling their afternoon, straw-bale and pumpkin, string-band thing at Carter's Farm Festival. Park Rapids. Oct 10
  • The Acoust Hicks & a Chick bring their 🎶old-time rock-n-roll🎶 to soothe our souls at 
  • Bobber Bar. Cass Lake. Oct 10
  • Turtle River Chophouse. Bemidji. Oct 15
  • Pike Hole Bar & Grill. Cass Lake. Oct 17
  • Annie Humphrey offers the voices of her ancestors, the rhythms of the seasons and more. Aurora Center for the Arts. Fosston. Oct 13
  • Scott Jasmin paints pictures of 70s-scaped Ventura Highways. Barrell & Vine. Hackensack. Oct 17
  • In Stereo demands we shake our thangs with their upbeat Rock n Roll. Revel Brewing. Park Rapids. Oct 17
  • Corey Medina and Bros stir the six bluesy strings of our souls. The Armory. Park Rapids. Oct 17
  • Kellogg Duo marinate us in soulful folk, both tunes they wrote themselves and The Beatles like you haven't heard in a while. Barrell & Vine. Hackensack. Oct 24

Halloween weekend!

  • Empty Cooler Band. Popple Bar. Laporte. Oct 30
  • Fam Damily Band. The Woodshed. Laporte. Oct 30
  • Corey Medina & Bros. The Loft. Bemidji. Oct 31
  • Acoust Hicks & a Chick. Bobber Bar. Cass Lake. Oct 31
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October's newsletter soundtracked by Foxby's newest album. Give it a listen, below.

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Organized by day of the week, here are what I could find of both the seasonal and year-round Open Mics hosted in the region. ​

Rendezvous Brewing in Hackensack hosts live music summertime Saturday nights, on their patio. During the fall and winter, their music schedule isn't as frequent, but definitely still lively throughout the seasons. See their calendar for current music events.

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A mix of songs you can sing along to you've never heard quite like this (think Soundgarden, Marvin Gaye, or System of a Down) and originals you hope to hear again and again. Your personal fav of a radio mix. Atop a pulsing, visual sense of rhythm & soul. 


photo credit @nicholasjackson and @thefervidmind

Bemidji's ​Alt/Indie, Jazzy, 70's Brit Rock. Hear their stellar music below.

High energy 4 piece Rock 'n' Roll cover band! Zeppelin to Weezer, Pat Benatar to No Doubt, Metallica to The Black Keys and everything in between. 

Raised on a warm, 70s analog sound rambling around Ventura Highways, Scott Jasmin offers a heartland mix of heartland, Americana with his originals and covers in venues around the region.

photo credit @thefervidmind

Becida Bar & Grill, about 15 mins southwest of Bemidji, hosts music, including dancing nights, several times each month on Saturday nights. Call for their monthly line up. (218) 854-7400

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The Blue Oyster in downtown Bemidji hosts a live guitarist most Thursday nights throughout the year. Featured musicians include Brock Beaulieu, Lou Samsa, and Maro Guiterrez. 

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Bluesy rock n roller, Sonny Johnson plants us between hard-rhythm rock and the longing from which it spawned.

photo credit @photographybynikkilee

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About...

On any given weekend in glades and glens carved into stands of pines, upon a nearby shore, someone is singing. Often from the heart. Usually accompanied by some virtuosic twizzle of a bandmate's guitar, fiddle, keyboard, or loop station. Many times, people are listening, singing along, shimmying their shoulders and letting their hips declaratively wiggle while their feet can't help but tap.  


A few years ago, I learned music as we know it is only possible here on Earth. Music, as it soundtracks our moments of days, like water, is a sign of planetary life. It only happens here, on this Pale Blue Dot. What we hear each weekend in our bars, restaurants, and concert halls isn't possible in The Big Quiet beyond Earth's atmosphere. 


Since knowing this fact, I haven't been able to unknow it.


This website is an attempt to link the Signal Fires of live music, of life, that buzz, hum, and wiggle the strings weaving us together in community in these Northwoods. If you need a place to listen to music, or an artist to listen to, hopefully you'll find something here to celebrate what it means being Earthlings with your neighbors.


Take care, 

Mary O.


P.S. ​If you are one of these venues or artists and want to update your info, drop me a line. If you want to be added, also drop me a line.

Why not just stay informed via Instagram or Facebook?

Those systems are designed to monetize our personal connections. I’m hoping you’ll join me, in a quiet act of resistance, in the email space to preserve a more authentic, intentional connection that compose our community of music lovers. The connections we share when we melt our faces, close our eyes, or raise our hands high as grateful listeners.