The Oxbow Hotel

LIVE MUSIC: JP3
2025-03-01 19:00 - 22:00 (America/Chicago)
The Jim Phillips Trio – or “JP3” – performs jazzy interpretations of folk rock, Americana, and alternative pop covers, as well as original songs from “Phase I” – the debut album from the Jim Phillips Project. The sound is a mix of upbeat and introspective, with crisp vocals, and their songs often punctuated with laid back-yet-innovative improvisational segments.

FUNDRAISER: Memorial High School Forensics Team
2025-03-05 17:00 - 19:00
Mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 5, from 5-7pm and invite your friends and family to come out for drinks, dinner, and a show! The Eau Claire Memorial Forensics Team will be hosting its first fundraiser at the Lakely with students performing their pieces! 10% of sales will go towards the Forensics Team! Help us welcome, cheer on, and support community youth!

Open Mic Night
2025-03-05 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-03-12 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-03-19 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-03-26 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-04-02 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-04-09 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-04-16 19:00 - 22:00
Join us each week on Wednesday for Open Mic Night hosted by Philville Records!
With a plethora of entertainment and experiences, from singer/songwriters and instrumentals to poetry and spoken word — anything goes, and you never know what (or who!) you might see or hear! Both established and emerging artists in the Chippewa Valley are encouraged to perform!
🎙️ PERFORMING AT OPEN MIC?
All performers get BOGO beers (21+) and no-proof drinks!
🎙️ EVENT DETAILS:
Artists will perform on The Lakely Stage
Showtime is at 7:00 pm
Everyone is welcome, and the show is free to attend (but please come thirsty!)
🎙️ PERFORMER DETAILS:
Artists will perform on The Lakely Stage
Sign-ups begin at 6:30 pm
(must be present to sign up – no phone calls, no friend sign up, etc.)
Sign-up is first come, first served
Each musician gets two songs
Each performer doing a spoken piece (visual arts, magic, poetry, etc.) gets five minutes.
PLEASE NOTE: The Lakely reserves the right to stop someone’s performance if they make racist, sexist, transphobic, or homophobic comments. Profanity is not welcome. The Lakely is a venue based on inclusivity for all, and we expect all performers to respect that.
Showtime is at 7:00 pm
Whether this is your first live performance or you’ve been around the block a few times, we welcome you to share your gift!

TH!NK & DR!NK Trivia Night!
2025-03-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-20 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-04-03 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-04-17 19:00 - 21:00
Think you’re smarter than your bartender? There’s only one way to find out!
Join us every first & third Thursday for a fast-paced, cocktail-fueled trivia showdown, with trivia questions from a wide variety of categories, hosted by our very own Quizmaster, David!
🥃 Craft cocktails + delicious eats = peak brain power
📱 Big-screen trivia, played straight from your phone
💰 Prizes for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place (bar tabs, gift cards & more!)
Grab your team, grab a drink, and get ready to battle it out for trivia glory! Doors open at 5PM, game begins at 7PM! Who’s in?

LIVE MUSIC: The Double Stops
2025-03-07 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-04-04 19:00 - 22:00
Based in Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley, The Double Stops perform a relaxing blend of guitar-centric pop, classic rock, 90s alternative, and vocal jazz. The duo consists of Emily Watkins (guitar/vocals) and Dustin DeGolier (guitar/vocals), both freelance musicians and educators in western WI. Individually, they frequently perform with various ensembles, exploring jazz, rock, country, funk, blues, and original music. Emily and Dustin both serve on the faculty at the Shell Lake Arts Center summer camps.

LIVE MUSIC: Kat Sherman & Paul Hecht
2025-03-08 19:00 - 22:00
Vocalist Kat Sherman has been on the Eau Claire music scene for more than two decades, performing in a wide variety of styles and venues, and maintaining an active teaching studio in piano and voice. Having formed the successful jazz trio, Kat and the Hats, she continues her exploration of the jazz idiom in a duo with Paul Hecht.
Paul Hecht brings a wide musical curiosity and a commitment to jazz traditions in the piano/keyboard trio format. Hecht trained with musicians from Detroit and Chicago and now divides his time between Chicago and Eau Claire.

"DRAG ME TO BRUNCH" at The Lakely
2025-03-09 10:00 - 13:00
Drama, flair, and a whole lot of fabulousness—look out Eau Claire, “Drag Me to Brunch” is BACK at The Lakely on Sunday, March 9th! We’re serving up fierce performances, a brand-new brunch menu, and—wait for it—BOTTOMLESS MIMOSAS. You know the drill: gather your crew, grab those dollar bills, and prepare for a Sunday full of sass, style, and sizzle (we’re talking hot fits, and fiery, fresh breakfast). Doors open at 10am, and the show starts at 11am! Tickets are only $20, and guests must be 18+. Seats go fast—reserve yours now!
EVENT DETAILS:
Doors open at 10am
Show starts at 11am
Show lasts approximately an hour and fifteen minutes
Hang out after the show and snap a photo of your favorite Queen or King
EVENT RULES:
This event is 18+, must have ID present at time of arrival.
Tickets are $20 per person, plus taxes and fees
Ticket sales are non-refundable, non-transferrable
Tables will be assigned by Lakely staff – please email events@theoxbowhotel.com for special requests/accommodations.
GET TICKETS >>>

DRAG BINGO with Khloe Wold
2025-03-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-27 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-04-10 19:00 - 21:00
Get ready for an evening of fun at Drag Bingo! From the first call to the final round, it’s all about great drinks, tasty food, and lively games. Bring your friends, grab a seat, and get ready to have fun! Every guest gets two free bingo cards, and our drinks and full menu will keep the good vibes going all night. It all starts at 7 PM, and everyone is welcome. No reservations needed—just come as you are and enjoy a night of games and great times!

LIVE MUSIC: Gilmore Family Band
2025-03-14 19:00 - 22:00
A romance depicted through the Art of Music
In 2000, Shannon and Jason Gilmore embarked on their musical journey, sharing the stage with The Old Dog Band in Colorado Springs. Their friendship was forged through Shannon’s vocals and Jason’s mastery of the guitar and mandolin. Despite Shannon relocating to California in 2005, their connection endured, while Jason continued to explore his musical path, contributing to various bands in the Colorado Springs area. By 2016, Shannon returned, engaging in the local music scene and taking ownership of a significant music venue. More than a decade later, Shannon and Jason rekindled their musical partnership, spanning multiple genres and evolving their friendship into something deeper. This evolution led to the birth of The Gilmore Family Band in 2019. After a brief stint in Boulder, CO, the Gilmore’s ventured north to Wisconsin’s driftless plains in October of 2023, embracing a new musical chapter and unveiling their debut album, MESS THAT WE MADE. Marking another exciting turn in their ongoing adventures.

LIVE MUSIC: Tyler Lustek
2025-03-15 19:00 - 22:00
Tyler Lustek is a pianist, composer, arranger and educator from Eau Claire, WI. Tyler is involved with a variety of musical projects around the Chippewa Valley including his own quintet the Tyler Lustek Confluence, avant-garde jazz duet Lustek / Granros, piano/cello duet Duo Vivace, and the Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra. Tyler is also co-director of the jazz combo program at UW-Eau Claire.

LIVE MUSIC: Sara & Kenny
2025-03-21 19:00 - 22:00
Italy meets Wisconsin, classical meets jazz, exploring songwriting as a couple.

When Italian Sara d’Ippolito met American Kenny Reichert in Milwaukee, WI, they immediately realized they shared more than their love of music. After falling in love, the now married couple started writing songs together. Based in Chicago, Sara and Kenny are composers, educators and multi-instrumentalists. Their music is a unique blend of intricate harmonies, jazz, folk, classical, electronic and world music. Sara and Kenny both play guitar and sing, but in a way you have never heard before.

LIVE MUSIC: Between Howls
2025-03-22 19:00 - 22:00
Between Howls are dynamic vocalist/violinist Ren Cooper Howl & guitarist/singer-songwriter Nick Muska Howl. The two perform a blend of folk, rock and blues featuring a distinctive take on the catalogs of artists past & present alongside their own original material.

LIVE MUSIC: Josh Gallagher Group
2025-03-28 19:00 - 22:00
Josh Gallagher attended the Berklee College of Music on a full ride scholarship and played in the Brubeck Institute Jazz Sextet. After living in New York City, he returned to Eau Claire. Catch this masterful and swinging pianist in action.

LIVE MUSIC: Luke Callen
2025-03-29 19:00 - 22:00
In an age of quick fixes, flashing screens, and pop ‘songs’ that are more formula than art, an album that takes its sweet time is a radical act. “Also Going Nowhere”, Luke Callen’s third full-length effort is just that – a collection of songs that spread out through time and space, dripping with honest Midwest charm and a mischievous glint. It’s music that you can relax into, paired with lyrics you’ll want to chew on and savor, that ask something of their listener. These songs are proof and reminder: you don’t actually have to go anywhere at all to, you know, get somewhere.

That’s not to say the subject matters within this work are by any means easy or expected. Clementine follows a gun-totting mother up near the Taconite mines of Northern Minnesota. Deals go horribly wrong on the street corner in Lake Street Hustle. The cosmic, primordial soup mixes with wildflower seeds in Some Reason. These epic tales swirl alongside summertime swimming holes, interstate drives, fishing trips with Dad, and unlikely marriage proposals. All of it, grounded and cohesive in the hands of a locked-in rhythm section (Chris Grey on drums and Lauren Anderson on bass) playful lead guitar (producer Erik Koskinen) the warm hum of an organ (Frankie Moscow), and of course, Luke Callen’s confident finger-picking and weathered vocal delivery.

This no-frills arrangement style is like a drink of water for those of us who crave something real and honest to listen to. The sonic palette pays homage to a whole plethora of elements endemic to the American music tradition without feeling derivative or landing too hard on any one side of the genre question. Sure, fans of John Prine, The Band, or Randy Newman will undoubtedly hear traces of Callen’s biggest influences, but there’s a modern assessment within the music that is the distinct voice of an artist coming into his own and sharing stages with fellow pickers and balladeers like Charlie Parr and Margo Cilker.
This album is Callen’s strongest recorded work yet – but even so, his work isn’t the type to get puffed up or ahead of itself. “The highway begins where it always ends/on the same goddamned street” he sings, a throwback to the title of the thing, which seems to be said with a wink and wiley understanding of the world in which we live today. Ultimately, Callen never strays from this central theme: our ordinary lives are noteworthy, and that miraculous, strange, beautiful things are happening around us all the time. We just need to take a seat, stay a while, and insist on using our attention for good. The album lands in the streams on February 2nd, 2024.

LIVE MUSIC: Jeremy Boettcher Group
2025-04-05 19:00 - 22:00
Renowned bassist Jeremy Boettcher swiftly rose to prominence, captivating audiences nationwide with his remarkable versatility and musical prowess. In recent years, he has graced the global stage, touring extensively with icons like Sean Carey and Richard Johnson. Notably, his exceptional talents have been showcased in prestigious venues such as Jazz At Lincoln Center Doha and Jazz At Lincoln Center Shanghai.

EAU CLAIRE JAZZ FEST: Jazz Crawl
2025-04-11 19:00 - 22:00
Jazz Crawl is the transformation of downtown Eau Claire into a New York jazz scene. Here, you can explore over 40 exceptional music groups at 17 different venues (all-ages and 21+). This year, our groups will be featuring a variety of music styles including ragtime, blues, acoustic, and big band. Join over 3,000 people and enjoy this once a year celebration!
PURCHASE TICKETS

LIVE MUSIC: Songa Duo with Sue Orfield
2025-04-12 19:00 - 22:00
Come and enjoy an inspiring performance of original music with Songa, joined by local favorite, Sue Orfield.
Singer-songwriters and lifelong musicians, Mario and Sherry Friedel will take you on a journey with their unique instrumental sound and vocal blend.
Mario was produced and published by Buzz Cason, Creative Workshop Studio, Nashville, TN and signed to Universal Records in 1971 as a member of White Duck, Jimmy Buffet’s first Coral Reefer Band, along with legendary Americana artist John Hiatt.
Sherry is a lifelong music educator and church music director.

LIVE MUSIC: Maiden King
2025-04-18 19:00 - 22:00
Maiden King is the solo effort of Jake Hawrylak, a Santa Fe bred/Chicago made singer songwriter. The band is a vessel for exploring how to make deeply intricate and introspective music sound fun and exciting. These songs revel in the complexities and nuances of very simple seeds and relish in the unfolding of a story that never ends. Energetic and questioning rock music with flourishes of americana, cinematic orchestrations and textured ambient music. The self produced debut “Who Else Were We Supposed to Become?” is out now.
The LP was written to mythologize a number of wandering memories that kept floating into focus during the early months of the pandemic. The first moment of derealization as a young man; a rambunctious tale of arson in the shadow of a bigger fight with a dear friend; escaping the mire of one’s self esteem; and finally a moment (or two) of quiet acceptance. Though seemingly disparate, the coalescence of all of these began to paint a clearer picture. The title is completely rhetorical, a kind of matter of fact reckoning with the person you were always going to become and the peace that can finally settle when you stop fighting it.
