Music

Music Quick Hits | April 2018

V1 Staff |

Announced last week, get ready for a new full length record from Chippewa Valley native Phil Cook. On June 1, Cook plans to kick off summer with People Are My Drug, a record about “celebrating the community of musicians and inspiring souls” surrounding Cook and the ones that preceded him. Billboard is currently streaming the first single “Steampowered Blues” at billboard.com, and fans can preorder the new record at smarturl.it/peoplearemydrug.


The Blue Ox Music Festival is coming up fast on June 14-16 in Eau Claire, but it wouldn’t be Blue Ox without an awesome Eau Claire pre-party – as has become customary the last few years. On May 5, the festival is hosting two Midwestern acts from their star-studded lineup – Charlie Parr and Eau Claire’s own Them Coulee Boys – at The Metro for a lively sampling of what’s to come at the fest. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door, and the show kicks off at 9pm. To snag your advance tickets, go to www.volumeonetickets.org


In its final concert of this year’s season, the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra will be performing under the theme of “Folk Roots” at 7:30pm Saturday, April 21, at Grace Lutheran Church, 202 W. Grand Ave. The orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Frank A. Watkins, will perform four works: First, Symphony No. 3 in C Minor by Florence Price, the first African-American female composer to earn national recognition. The work was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration Federal Music Project during the height of the Great Depression in the early 1930s. Second is “Starburst” by Jessie Montgomery, who is a native New York violinist, composer, and music educator. Only three minutes long, “Starburst” depicts an exploding cascade of fireworks. Next is Serenade No. 2 in A major, Opus 16 by Johannes Brahms, who wrote this piece during 1857-1860. And finally, the fourth piece is Slavonic Dances Opus 46 and 72 by Antonin Dvorak, who was inspired by Brahms’ “Hungarian Dances” and was originally written as piano duets. Tickets are $23 for adults, $20 for senior citizens, and $8 for students. They can be purchased at Neff’s Piano Shop, 510 Water St., or at eccochambermusic.org. –Barbara Arnold