Scenic Route

Tony Petersen is a Minneapolis-based musician originally from Duluth, known for playing with the Social Animals and Boss Mama Colleen Myhre. His latest moniker is Ditchbird - a solo project with new original songs and an EP called Real Enough now available on streaming platforms. He chats with Will Moore about making the record, songwriting, and the pandemic cutting his band's European tour short.

Jimi Cooper and Suzy Ludwig of Dance Attic are back with their second album of 2020, a holiday EP called "At Christmas Time" presented in the most unique of formats, a Christmas card! They have also turned one of their songs into a children's book "Livin' With a Bear". Will Moore chats with them about their new originals and humorous covers of classic holiday songs. 

David Lindstrom is not a person, but a whole musical group led by Matt Nelson in St. Joseph, MN. With a sprawling and atmospheric sound, their new album "Another Year" tells stories and relives memories of places across Minnesota. Will Moore is joined by Nelson, the guitarist, along with bassist Josh Pfohl and percussionist Devin Tomczik to talk about the new record.

More information about David Lindstrom is at Bandcamp.

Ben Brandt grew up in Cook County and played in North Shore bands like Curbside. Now he's a music pastor and musician in the Twin Cities area. He has a new EP coming out in November called "Since the Sunlight". He talks with host Will Moore about the upcoming release and his creative inspirations on The Scenic Route.

Minneapolis ska band Space Monkey Mafia looks forward to their annual Halloween gig every year. In 2020 though, the band along with five other Twin Cities and Pacific Northwest acts, put together a special Halloween livestream called Punk Rock Halloween. Guitarist Blake Foster, bassist Joe Barron, and drummer/event organizer Zach Spicer join Will Moore to talk about it.

This segment originally aired on Sidetracks on 10/30/20.

Sara Softich is an Iron Range-born fiddler, who after years playing on the road and in the Southwest, has found a rekindled music community in Northern Minnesota. She talks about her musical journey and the release of her new album "Heart in the Moonlight".

Dylan Hicks is a longtime musician and novelist from the Twin Cities, who is teaming up with John Munson of New Standards and Semisonic fame for a new project, Munson Hicks Party Supplies. Their self-titled debut was released at the end of September. Hicks joins Will Moore to talk about making the record, how many songs precipitated out of a plan for a musical, and his writing style.

Eli Gardiner is a songwriter from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, now making music in the Twin Cities. His latest album is called "The Fire and the Medicine", and dives into the significance of that title and several of the new songs in an interview with Will Moore on Scenic Route.

New Salty Dog is a Duluth based band that defies definitions, expectations, and perhaps even the laws of physics. Their extremely creative and jammy sound stems from singer and guitarist Jacob Mahon, his brother Owen on drums, and an array of friends. They join Will Moore on Scenic Route as a six-piece band from a living room in Duluth via the magic of the internet. 

Aaron Tinjum has bounced between Texas, Washington D.C., and Minnesota on his musical journey as a songwriter. He joins host Will Moore via the internet from his home in St. Paul to perform some new songs from his latest record "Zinger".