February 24, 2024

At the intersection of Harry Smith’s Old Weird America – the songs of heartworn highways – and the tumult of today you can find the music of Luke Callen.  The songs – equal parts tragic comedy and hopeless reverie – paint a picture of the places and people that make up his earthly home.  A poet – a player – a folk singer – Luke has traversed his country unraveling tall tales – short tunes and all that’s hidden underneath.

Originally from the river town of La Crosse, Wisconsin – the heart of the Driftless Region on the Mississippi River – and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota by way of Colorado, Luke brings his humble sense of humor and humanity wherever he may go.  Luke’s second studio effort Also Going Nowhere is set to be released in the late winter/early spring of 2024.  Produced by Erik Koskinen and tracked at his studio – Real Phonic Records in Cleveland, MN – it features Lauren Anderson (Bass), Chris Gray (Drums) – Franky Moscow (Keys) and Erik Koskinen (additional guitars).  This 11 song effort shows a maturity in Luke’s songwriting – a new sense of groove – and what all great records have…a little love, a little pain, a little laughter and few tracks for to dance.

Luke has played hundreds of shows spanning both coasts, the American west, south and heartland.  He has had the opportunity to provide support for Dom Flemons, Dead Horses, The Dustbowl Revival, Kacy & Clayton, James McMurtry, Whiskey Shivers, Charlie Parr, The Lowest Pair, The Last Revel, Lilly Hiatt, Chicago Farmer, and Robbie Fulks among others – You can follow his travels on Facebook – Instagram or in real actual life.

“He’s Good” – Charlie Parr

“You know I don’t ever do this…but let me get that glass of whiskey for ya – you’re good” – Storied First Avenue Bartender

“You’re like…legit” – Eau Claire Sound Engineer

The reviews are in folkx – Luke Callen is a fine songwriter – singer – and player.

Long Mama’s music blisters with the heart and grit of someone who has lost hard, loved harder, and licked her burns until they stung then silvered. In a drafty attic just west of the Milwaukee River she grew up on, you’ll find songwriter Kat Wodtke (Wood-key) raking through notebooks in search of a salve: words, stories, and sounds to temper the dumpster fires we never mean to light. Flickering behind each song is Wodtke’s lived insight into our human faults & fissures – the moments in life when we can slip and lose our footing, or claw our way out…better people on the other side of the blaze.

Wodtke coined the name Long Mama (after a prickly, shade-loving cactus) and teamed up with guitarist Andrew Koenig and drummer Nick Lang, a pair whose chemistry adds dusky afterglow to Wodtke’s musical landscapes. Upright bass ace Samual Odin came aboard soon after, along with regular collaborator Eva Nimmer, whose backing vocals blend so elegantly with Wodtke’s that one could mistake them for blood harmonies.

Joe Wais (The MilBillies, Sugar Bush), Laura Bomber (Laura Bomber, Bomber and Red), and Tori Yocum make up Valley Fox, a new Americana project out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin that combines gritty string music with haunting, stripped down harmonies for a fresh take on modern folk music.

Doors at 7pm, Music at 8pm, $10