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FIRESIDE TUNES with Bob Pecor

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Fireside Tunes is meant to capture the essence of some of our most-loved experiences – spending the evening with folks we care about, listening to live music in a down-to-earth, low-key (but high-vibe) atmosphere, sipping craft drinks, and sharing a love of music – all around our stone-cut fire pits (weather permitting) or inside The Lakely’s cozy lounge.

Bob Pecor found music as a retirement hobby when his daughter asked him to play in her Ukulele Club group in Minneapolis. As a lifetime guitar player, it was an easy transition to Uke and the beginning of a new passion. On his way home from one of those events, he wrote his first song, “Four Words of Happiness” He has performed with the Eau Claire Ukulele club group and formed a trio, “Blue Sky” to do gigs around the area. The 2022 Songwriters conference at MOBATMA kicked his writing ambitions into gear. Now some 50 songs later, he is Bob Pecor Music with a focus on original tunes as a solo or partnered with other performers.

FIRESIDE TUNES with Tim Case

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Tim Case is a folk-inspired, country-adjacent singer/songwriter from Wisconsin. Born and raised in Beloit to a public school teacher mother and factory foreman by day/Pentecostal minister by night father, his original songs – whether tender personal narrative, classic story-song, or good old fashioned barroom lament – are rooted in a perspective that is uniquely his own. As a songwriter he takes inspiration from the subtle complexities of everyday life, with artful lyrics that probe heavy topics – family, fatherhood, love, and loss – with a light, often humorous touch.

His musical development began with a move to Madison after college, where he was a co-founding guitarist of alt-country outfit Ghost Town Council, sharing stages with some of the region’s finest Americana acts during his time with the band. Love and graduate school eventually brought him to the Chippewa Valley, where after a decade away from music he released the “Great Big Moon” EP, a five-song collection praised by Aldora Britain Records as, “A prime example of colorful and extraordinary Americana music in the modern world.”

Since the release of the EP he has been honored to share the stage with Erik Koskinen, Martha Scanlan & Jon Neufeld, The Lone Canary, Michael Gay, Andie Wyne, and many other artists from around the upper Midwest and beyond. Featuring finger-picked acoustic guitar, heartfelt vocals, and a down-to-earth stage presence, he has earned a reputation as a charming and compelling live performer. He lives in Eau Claire with his wife and daughter.

FIRESIDE TUNES: Amanda Grace

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Amanda is a Minnesota native singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, releasing music drifting between folk, alt- pop/rock and Americana. With roots as a pianist her writing is thematically varied with an emphasis on melody; with ballads wrapped in warm vocals. In 2016 she received a Front Of The Line Pass from The Voice and her seventh album, “Please Dear Sun,” was nominated for Blues & Roots Radio Album Of The Year. Amanda just released her eighth album called Give Me Away, and “As she hops from one genre to another, she doesn’t try to change, tweak, alter, or reinvent them. She simply owns them. And that is the secret of making yourself stand apart from the pack.” – Dave Franklin, Big Takeover

FIRESIDE TUNES with Matt Hannah

Monday, July 8, 2024

Matt Hannah is a Minneapolis-based folk Americana singer-songwriter. His sophomore album Dreamland (2017) was noted by the Star Tribune and City Pages and called “inspired” by BABYSUE. His third full-length studio album House of Illusion (March 2022) charted on NACC 200 and was lauded as a “standout album” by WVIA Host George Graham. His music faithfully blends his love of Americana songwriters with a passion for the riff-based intensity of 90s rock.


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