Mar 2, 2024
On this episode of Tent Show Radio, host & New York Times
best-selling author Michael Perry and his band The Long Beds hit
the Big Top stage.
Michael Perry 's original songs are a direct reflection of his life
experiences. Raised in rural Wisconsin by farmers, preachers, and
tough country women, his songs reflect "certain wisdoms" available
only from whistlers, frauds, and sinners. Ranging from straight-up
twang to churchly harmonies and populated by characters drawn
straight from rural and small-town America, they launch from places
like the overpass outside Perry’s beloved hometown of New Auburn,
Wisconsin (population currently 562), a gospel service in a
granary, and the kitchen floor of a woman about to drop a world of
hurt on her drunken husband.
Raised in a church so austere that hymns were sung with no choir,
no accompaniment, and no church (the congregation met in a
farmhouse and sat on straight-backed wooden chairs,) Perry and his
brother learned to sit side-by-side and work out harmonies on the
fly. Those Sunday mornings instilled in Perry a love of singing
“clear and pure” that can be heard throughout all of his
recordings.
Perry began writing music in the early 1990s as a way to break up
all-night typing sessions when he was struggling to survive on
prose. Eventually, a musician friend invited him to play a coffee
shop gig. Since then, Michael has released 4 albums, several
singles, and toured - backed by a collection of renowned musicians
who have performed on numerous stages throughout the world
(including The Tonight Show, Austin City Limits, and Eaux Claires
festival) and worked with a host of artists, including Bon Iver, S.
Carey, The Staves, Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Field Report, The Tallest
Man on Earth, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and many more.
Every Long Beds show is built on roughneck ballads and freight
train rockers interspersed with hilarious off-the-cuff tales from
Mike’s diverse experience as a Wisconsin farm kid turned cowboy
turned nurse turned best-selling author.
EPISODE CREDITS
Michael Perry - Host
Phillip Anich - Announcer
Keenan McIntyre - Engineer
Gina Nagro - Marketing Support
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FOLLOW HOST MICHAEL PERRY
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2024 TENT SHOW RADIO SPONSORS
Ashland Area
Chamber of Commerce - https://www.visitashland.com/
Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bureau - https://www.bayfield.org/
Bayfield County Tourism - https://www.bayfieldcounty.wi.gov/150/Tourism
The Bayfield Inn - https://bayfieldinn.com/
Cable Area Chamber of Commerce - https://www.cable4fun.com/
Kylmala Truss - https://www.kylmalatruss.com/
SPECIAL THANKS
Wisconsin Public Radio
- https://www.wpr.org/