Volume One Contributors

Jul. 14, 2020

Chippewa Valley Arts Groups Get COVID-19 Relief Funds from Arts Board

V1 Staff, photos by Lee Butterworth

Several Chippewa Valley arts organizers are among the recipients of half a million dollars worth of coronavirus relief grants announced recently by the Wisconsin Arts Board. The board ...

Mar. 19, 2020

How Can We Support Artists and Venues?

with widespread event cancellations, artists and venues are hurting; here’s some ideas how you can help

Eric Christenson, photos by Lee Butterworth

Art, in all its iterations, thrives on interaction. With concerts canceled, tours postponed, ad all kinds of gatherings shut down, artists are losing work quickly and venues’ business is dropping fast ...

Feb. 21, 2020

The Stage Is Set: Middlesworth talks vision as he starts programming the Pablo

Eric Christenson, photos by Lee Butterworth

After a national search with over 45 applicants, the Pablo Center at the Confluence found its new director of artistic programming right here at home. Evan Middlesworth now takes on ...

Oct. 15, 2019

Catching a Drift

new programming gets locals on the Pablo stage

Bonni Knight, photos by Lee Butterworth

What do homegrown acts The Ben Shaw Band, LASKA, and Pit Wagon have in common? In terms of musical genres, not much. After all, one brings a gritty, yet folksy, Americana, another features ...

Sep. 20, 2019

Long Beds on the Long Road

for Perry, writing lyrics brings him close to his first literary love: poetry

Ken Szymanski, photos by Lee Butterworth

Michael Perry has never sounded more at home in a song. “Long Road to You,” the title track of the new EP by Michael Perry and the Long Beds, plays like ...

Jul. 25, 2019

Without Eaux Claires, OXBEAUX III Goes Big in Downtown Eau Claire

Rebecca Mennecke, photos by Lee Butterworth

If you’re looking for a “unique outdoor music experience in the heart of the city,” look no further than the Oxbeaux III at the Oxbow Hotel on Aug. 9-10. There will be beer, cocktails, soda, lots of food, and ...

Jul. 11, 2019

You’ll Wanna Rock and Roll and Party Every Day at the 26th Annual Rock Fest

Rebecca Mennecke, photos by Lee Butterworth

Featuring rock music icons including Five Finger Death Punch, Skillet, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Mastodon, Three Days Grace, Evanescence, Starset, and Of Mice & Men, music fans and festival-lovers alike will ...

Jun. 12, 2019

PHOTO FEATURE: 24 hours. Six photographers. One day of life in the Chippewa Valley.

photos by Andrea Paulseth, Branden Nall, Luong Huynh, Taylor Smith, Timothy Mather, Lee Butterworth

On Friday, May 31, we sent a team of photographers out into the many nooks and crannies of the Chippewa Valley to document one full day – from midnight to midnight – with help from our friends at CoLab. Through snapshots of local life, we hope this feature communicates the people and places of this area ...

Feb. 20, 2019

Four Decadent Decades: Decadent Cabaret turns 40

Measha Vieth, photos by Lee Butterworth

It’s time to dig out your fishnets, because Decadent Cabaret is taking the stage for its 40th year! This is a festival unlike any other in the Chippewa Valley, as it brings together people of various ages ...

Jan. 9, 2019

Opening Shot | Jan. 9, 2019

photos by Lee Butterworth

Downtown Eau Claire rang in 2019 with its annual New Year’s Eve celebration, complete activities for all ages all evening long, including the “Dragons of the North” lantern parade, live music at multiple venues, a party at The Lismore Hotel (above), and a midnight fireworks display ...

Oct. 31, 2018

Gentle Men: After an 8-year gap, the Gentle Guest drops new LP

Eric Christenson, photos by Lee Butterworth

It’s been a long and dry eight years since The Gentle Guest dropped their classic LP Cast Off Your Human Form. That 2010 record by the self-described “whiskey-fueled blasphemy machine” was a pristine collection ...

Aug. 22, 2018

Opening Shot | Aug. 22, 2018

photos by Lee Butterworth

A CASE OF THE BASS. Area musician Jill Heinke Moen played with Shane Leonard on Friday, Aug. 17 at the Pine Hollow recording studio outside of Eau Claire. Leonard and company opened the night for Milwaukee band Buffalo Gospel.

Aug. 9, 2018

FEATURE: The Life and Death and Life of the State Theatre

Once a shuttered movie palace, the State Theatre became a beloved arts center and a key element of Eau Claire's artistic renaissance.

Tom Giffey, design by Eric Christenson, photos by Andrea Paulseth, Luong Huynh, Lee Butterworth, Timothy Mather, Caitlyn Berlin, Brandon Jenness, Frank H. Robinson, Kelsey Smith

Jun. 14, 2018

Music Quick Hits | June 2018

Eric Christenson, photos by Lee Butterworth

Upon the release of his forthcoming record People Are My Drug (which is streaming now), Phil Cook will make his way home to the Chippewa Valley to perform on Oct. 20 in the Jamf Theater ...

Apr. 4, 2018

The Finest on the Vine

the top three local wineries from our 2018 Best of the Chippewa Valley Reader Poll

Emilee Wentland, photos by Lee Butterworth

Whether you’re a wine expert or more of a novice, each of these winemakers are sure to have something you’ll be interested in. These wineries were voted the Best of the Chippewa Valley in Volume One’s 2018 ...

Mar. 9, 2018

Opening Shot | March 7, 2018

photos by Lee Butterworth

AIR TIME. The Torch Sisters had room to stretch out at downtown Eau Claire’s The Metro on March 2, the second night of Decadent Cabaret 39 – the city’s largest annual celebration of local musicians.

Mar. 6, 2018

Music Quick Hits | March 2018

V1 Staff, photos by Lee Butterworth

English folk trio The Staves recently dropped a digital-only EP of six songs recorded at local studio Pine Hollow as they kick off a tour of Australia and New Zealand. The collection is simply called Pine Hollow and consists ...

Mar. 6, 2018

Get Fit and Fundraise: Momentum partners with Delong in fundraiser effort

Samantha Kobs, photos by Lee Butterworth

The middle school years, by their very definition, are chock-full of awkwardness and uncontrollable or undesirable bodily changes. We’re talking voice cracks, parents driving us on dates, and trying to keep those tiny towels ...

Feb. 27, 2018

Opening Shot | Feb. 21, 2018

photos by Lee Butterworth

BACK TO IT. To celebrate the 10th-anniversary re-release of Justin Vernon’s debut Bon Iver album – For Emma, Forever Ago – the band staged a special concert at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Eau Claire native and his full Bon Iver crew covered the album for fifteen thousand fans, at times reverting back to the original band’s turning group, including only Vernon and fellow Chippewa Vallians Mike Noyce and Sean Carey.

Dec. 29, 2017

Recording & Red Tape: Recording studio draws code violations; now they want to affect some change

Eric Christenson, photos by Lee Butterworth

This summer marked the first anniversary of Toy Car Studios. Of course, the story of how the recording studio came to be has been pretty well-documented, but it goes like this: Justin Green and his family moved ...

Jul. 12, 2017

FEATURE: A Look Back at the House of Rock (and Then Forward)

Over the last 17 years, the House of Rock united an eclectic Eau Claire music scene

Eric Christenson, photos by Lee Butterworth, Luong Huynh, Mike O'Brien, Kelsey Smith, Frank H. Robinson, SpinVision 

Jun. 1, 2017

Artistic Evolution

Eaux Claires Troix’s art program is focused on interaction

Eric Christenson, photos by Lee Butterworth, Luong Huynh

In the last two iterations of the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, the bands were good. OK, they were great. But what truly made the whole shebang unique and magical was the artists ...

May. 17, 2017

Rock No More

The House of Rock will shut its doors in July

Eric Christenson, photos by Kelsey Smith, Lee Butterworth

One of Eau Claire’s longest running music venues, the House of Rock, is closing this summer, its owner announced in early May. The Water Street rock club’s owner, Steve Geitz ...

May. 17, 2017

Organ Transplant: Eaux Claires sculpture will be installed in EC park

Hannah Mumm, photos by Lee Butterworth

If you stopped by the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival last summer, you might have noticed the wire cathedral complete with dramatic arches and false pipes housing organ performances between ...