The members of Kind of Blues include from left, Phil Lynch, John Beck, Craig Recla, Greg Hunt. They perform at Out to Lunch in Iron Mountain Thursday.
IRON MOUNTAIN — For the first time all summer, the Out to Lunch program utilized the Braumart Theatre for its fifth concert of the year.
The skies rained water down on the hot town of Iron Mountain early in the morning, and while the precipitation had stopped come 11:30 a.m., the clouds threatened rain and the humidity could turn any curly head of hair into a bees nest. Thus, MOJO, the popular duo consisting of Bill Morrison and Scott Johnson, played their tunes as energetically as ever on the stage of one of the most staple pieces of history in the area.
While the smaller audience of about 175 enjoyed the folk songs of the ’70s, Crispigna’s provided food for those in attendance, and the show indeed did go on. “We’re so lucky to have the Braumart as an option for rainy days,” said OTL organizers. “It’s a beautiful venue and it’s full of stories from our town, and we’re really thankful.”
This week, Kind of Blues will be performing the sixth concert for the popular Out to Lunch program. For over 15 years, audiences have responded to the jazz stylings of the U.P.’s “Phil Lynch Quartet.”
Over the past several summers, the group has begun to introduce other popular genres and music into their performances, and while they still focus primarily on jazz, those in attendance will be able to hear many originals from light pop and Broadway artists.
Throughout this past winter, during the freezing cold days and heavy snow falls, the band made further changes that they felt benefited their group and those that came to listen to them. This year, “Kind of Blues” will now bring in the vocal talents of Iron Mountain School’s Director of Bands, Craig Recla, as their lead singer, along with keyboard specialist Phil Lynch from Escanaba High School. Lynch plays the blues organ and helps out with vocals.
Newly retired bassist and vocalist John Beck will also be accompanying the band, along with drummer Greg Hunt. The group will present mainly blues music made famous by many of the classic greats such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and many more, but they do often throw in a curve ball to add some variety.
At last week’s raffle, the half pot prize winner took home over $100, and other winners were gifted a basket from weekly vendor Crispigna’s, a $10 gift certificate to Antonio’s, and one free classified ad from the Advertiser.
This week, audience members will once again have the opportunity to participate in the raffle and win prizes of their own, as well as the grand “half pot” prize. Weather permitting, Crispigna’s, Fred I.M., and Organic Grounds will continue to serve amazing food to those who come and enjoy the OTL program. Audience members can bring their own lunches
Thanks to the generosity of weekly sponsors as well as season sponsor Jim’s Music, concerts have been free to the public for 17 years and will continue to be. This week’s concert is sponsored by First Bank, formerly known as Northern Michigan Bank and Trust.
The OTL program runs from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 each Thursday, and the MITP program is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Stress Test, a group who performed earlier on in the season at OTL, will be performing at Music in the Park on July 25.
For more information or if you’re interested in volunteering your time with the Out to Lunch program, please call Amber Pipp at 906-774-8534, or Isaac Micheau, secretary, at 774-8530. For more info, please either visit the Out to Lunch Facebook page or the website at www.DowntownIronMountain.com/Out-To-Lunch.