TSR16-03 Blue Canvas Orchestra In Concert & Tin Can Gin

Tonight's show begins with the familiar sounds of Big Top Chautauqua's very own Blue Canvas Orchestra along with special musical guests Corey Carlson, Danielle Nepstad, Randy Savage and Randy Sabien!

Closing out the show in tonight's second half are local favorites Tin Can Gin! Born and brewed upon the shores of Lake Superior near Duluth by childhood pals Harrison Olk and Trevor Marrin. Along with mandolinist Bryan Nelson, the trio created the trademark TCG tunes that are fan favorites to this very day. In the autumn of 2011 the group was summoned to the stage at their first gig as “Tin Can Gin”. As time passed the band added fiddle virtuoso Nori Perrine and Neil Krause on stand-up bass to round out the sound! Tonight we welcome them back!

In this episode’s monologue – delivered from the backstage dressing room with the one lonely little lightbulb burnin' – Mike talks about why he prefers a yellow firefighter's helmet over a red firefighter's helmet.

Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua (www.bigtop.org) is a non-profit performing arts organization. Culture under canvas on the south shore sands of Lake Superior near Bayfield, Wisconsin. 

Tent Show Radio is a weekly one-hour variety series showcasing live performances from Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua. It has aired continuously since 1994, is available for free and hosted by best-selling author, humorist and pig farmer, Michael Perry. Tent Show Radio features regional and national acts with regular contributions by the Big Top’s Blue Canvas Orchestra.

Tent Show Radio host Michael Perry is a author and humorist, singer/songwriter, intermittent pig farmer and New York Times best-selling author. His works include Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time, Coop, Truck, the essay collection, Off Main Street, and From The Big Top; a collection of Tent Show Radio essays. Perry has written for Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Outside, Backpacker, Orion and Salon.com, and is a contributing editor to Men’s Health. His essays have been heard on NPR’s All Things Considered and he has performed and produced three live audience recordings (I Got It From the Cows and Never Stand Behind a Sneezing Cow, Live From Big Top). Perry lives in rural Wisconsin, where he remains active as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical responder. He can be found online at www.sneezingcow.com.