Top: Playing banjo, cello, and harmonica, Jeff Gilkinson was one of five musicians who performed under the Big Top at North House Folk School in Grand Marais on Saturday, September 25, 2010. Above left: John Vezner, founder of the Unplugged – the Northern Harvest concert, played keyboard and guitar and sang original songs along with Pat Alger (above right) and Cheryl Wheeler (left). The musicians entertained not only with expert musicianship but with masterful storytelling as well.
With a big round moon over the Grand Marais harbor and a campfire blazing along the shore, the ninth annual Unplugged
concert began under a giant tent at North House Folk School Saturday, September 25, 2010.
Outside temperatures dipped into the 30s that night, but inside, 450 souls were warmed by the stories and tunes of five gifted musicians— Jon Vezner, Cheryl Wheeler, Pat Alger, Jeff Gilkinson and Pat Fredrick singing and playing guitar, keyboard, cello, harmonica, banjo, and violin. All of them were famous in their own right. None of them were paid to come.
These were not just songwriters— they were storytellers. Vezner, Wheeler, and Alger prefaced many of their songs with stories about what had prompted them. Vezner sang a song warning a friend who was tempted to cheat on his wife that he might end up without either lust or love.
Wheeler told all kinds of stories—silly and otherwise. One song described a rollicking birthday party for Penrod, her Maine Coon cat. Another song satirized the pairing of classic melodies—such as Fur Elise,
the William Tell
Overture,
and Ode to Joy—
with cell phone ringtones. While out walking in the woods one day, Williams composed a song about potatoes—to the tune of The Mexican Hat Dance—
for which she made up a rule that the entire chorus would repeat the word “potato” over and over again and end on the last syllable of the word.
Alger, like Vezner, lives in Nashville. He said when Vezner asked him to travel to Grand Marais, he didn’t tell him how far the drive would be. “I’ve gotten from Nashville to Dublin, Ireland faster,” he said, but he added, “I can see what the attraction is.”
Alger sang about a sailor who never went to sea but who taught a young boy about sailing—with toy boats in a bathtub. It was a song based on his uncles’ love of flying toy airplanes. Another sailing song went, “Be ready to sail. Cast your fate upon the water, catch a big wave by the tail, and when a good wind blows your way, be ready to sail.”
Alger told a story about seeing his high school girlfriend at his 45-year class reunion. He is now happily married to someone else and she is married to the friend he had introduced her to. He wrote a song about it that says, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Another song referred to “the Man Upstairs.” Alger sang, “Just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.”
The tent became quite chilly as the night wore on. Wheeler kept commenting on how cold she was but at one point joked that she was grateful for the hot flash she’d just had. Heaters were turned on in the tent before the concert and during intermission but were turned off during the concert because of their noise. North House Executive Director Greg Wright said the event would probably be scheduled for one week earlier next year to increase the chances of a warmer weekend. Quieter heating methods are being discussed as well.
Enjoying Unplugged
for the eighth time was a woman named Alice, who sat in the front row. Alice is 97. The three-day fundraiser,
Unplugged – The Northern
Harvest, raised approximately
$8,000 for North House’s
endowment fund. The event was
sponsored by Cobblestone Cove
Villas, Terrace Point, and Como
Oil & Propane. In celebration
of its 10th anniversary next
year, Unplugged’s founder, Jon
Vezner, hopes to offer two nights
of music and bring back some
of the people who have played
there before.
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