On Sunday, October 26 at 2 p.m., some of Door County’s most popular musicians will gather to raise funds for the Scandia Village Partners in Compassion campaign with the second annual “Play It Forward” benefit concert at Door Community Auditorium.

This year’s lineup includes Found The Lost, Julian Hagen, Deathfolk (Jess Holland and Nick Hoover), One Voice (Lynn Gudmundsen, David Hatch, and Lloyd Michalsen), Ben Larsen, poet Ralph Murre, Madisen Lutz, Dirty Deuce, Elliot Goettelman, Small Forest (Jeanne Kuhns, Marybeth Mattson, and Patrick Palmer), Last Man Standing, Larry “Thor” Thoreson, Matt Burress, and Mighty Mouth. In addition to maintaining loyal local fan bases, many of these artists tour regionally or nationally. Their music ranges from sultry R&B to classic rock to old-timey folk.

Proceeds from this year’s Play It Forward concert will benefit Partners in Compassion, a capital campaign to fund construction and remodeling work at Scandia Village, a large senior living community in Sister Bay. The campaign seeks to meet specific needs of residents and better serve the greater community by adding on to the Scandia Village campus and remodeling existing spaces. The Partners in Compassion campaign will help expand the exceptional care for which Scandia Village is known.

This year, Play it Forward is sponsored by Ministry Door County Medical Center.

Play it Forward will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 26. There is no charge for tickets, but freewill donations to the Partners in Compassion campaign are encouraged. With questions, contact the DCA box office, located at 3926 Highway 42 in Fish Creek. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. More information is also available on the phone at (920) 868-2728 or online at www.dcauditorium.org.

On Sunday, September 14, six of Door County’s favorite musicians will take the Door Community Auditorium (DCA) stage to play a one-night-only concert of their musical revue Buckets of Rain: The Songs of Bob Dylan. The Buckets of Rain team has played to enthusiastic (and often sellout) crowds at Woodwalk Gallery and Door Community Auditorium for each of the past three years. This year at DCA, Memphis multi-instrumentalist Eric Lewis, California string player Chris Irwin, local folk crooners Katie Dahl and Jeanne Kuhns, and bassist-percussionists Rich Higdon and Patrick Palmer will reunite in this one-night-only tribute to one of America’s most iconic songwriters.

Each possessed of considerable vocal and instrumental skills, the Buckets of Rain crew breathes new life into some of Dylan’s best-known songs, summoning the power of such driving anthems as “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and making classic ballads like “Blowin’ in the Wind” spark and crackle. This year’s performance will contain favorite selections from past Buckets of Rain shows, as well as a few Dylan tunes the troupe hasn’t yet covered. The six Buckets of Rain musicians will play in a variety of different configurations, backing each other up with fine vocals, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, electric guitar, dobro, harmonica, bass, and percussion.

Bob Dylan is arguably one of America’s most important songwriters, influencing countless musicians and writing dozens of hits in his long tenure on the music scene. His songs range from straight-ahead folk to classic rock-and-roll, from modern jazz to traditional blues. The depth and breadth of Dylan’s songwriting make him an ideal subject for the wide-ranging talents of the Buckets of Rain ensemble.

Multi-instrumentalists Eric Lewis and Chris Irwin are well-known on the Door County music scene for their astounding musical wizardry on a multitude of stringed instruments. Lewis has won the Premier Player Award for Strings by the Memphis Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Lewis (based in Memphis, TN) and Irwin (based in Los Angeles, CA) have worked locally with American Folklore Theatre and a plethora of local Door County musicians.

Katie Dahl is a Door County resident and national touring artist who is known for her work as an American Folklore Theatre playwright, as well as for her solo music shows. Her rich alto voice and lively performances have earned her many accolades, including 2010 Big Top Chautauqua Songwriter of the Year. Jeanne Kuhns is a singer-songwriter who weaves themes of blues and jazz into her own unique blend of progressive folk. Kuhns (who also owns Lost Moth Gallery and is a member of the band Small Forest) sings with a versatile voice that is both powerful and intimate. In 2008, Kuhns was voted “Best Female Musician” in Door County Magazine.

Rich Higdon is a bassist and percussionist who regularly performs with a variety of Door County artists, including Katie Dahl and Julian Hagen. Higdon is also a well-known Door County potter. Patrick Palmer, a member of the band Small Forest, accompanies musicians across the peninsula with his skills on both electric and upright bass. He also works as an audio engineer through his company Wired for Sound.

Buckets of Rain is sponsored by Door County Land Trust, Ecology Sports / Base Camp Coffee Shop, and Main Street Market.

The Buckets of Rain ensemble will perform at DCA on Sunday, September 14 at 7:00 PM. Tickets for the concert range from $16 to $22. Advance reservations are recommended and can be made through the DCA box office, located at 3926 Highway 42 in Fish Creek. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in person, on the phone at (920) 868-2728, or online at www.dcauditorium.org.

On Monday, September 1, young bluegrass sensations Della Mae will electrify the stage of Door Community Auditorium (DCA). Nominated for a Grammy this year, the five young women who make up Della Mae combine centuries’ worth of musical influences with a fresh, acoustically gritty sensibility. Armed with classical training and bluegrass smarts, the members of Della Mae showcase their considerable technical talent with Texas-style fiddling and vocal abilities beyond their years.

“Move over, bluegrass boys,” writes American Songwriter magazine. “Della Mae’s newest album…[is] proof that Americana ain’t a man’s world any longer.”

In just a few short years, Boston-based Della Mae has become a sensation in the world of contemporary bluegrass. With vocal, instrumental, and songwriting talent to spare, these five young women revitalize time-honored musical traditions to create a bluegrass sound that’s unmistakably modern. Their most recent album, The World Oft Can Be, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2014. In demand at festivals across the country even before their Grammy nod, Della Mae imbues their live performances with a captivating chemistry, finesse, and vivacity.

Each of Della Mae’s members brings an impressive musical pedigree to bear on the band’s music. Band founder Kimber Ludiker hand-picked the musicians of Della Mae from all over the United States: singer Celia Woodsmith comes from a blues/rock background, guitarist Courtney Hartman studied at Berklee College of Music, bassist Shelby Means played with various bands in Nashville, and mandolin player Jenni Lyn Gardner was well versed in traditional bluegrass.

The Boston Globe says, “The five young women who make up the group all possess instrumental virtuosity that coheres in vintage bluegrass fashion while giving lively support to the throaty sibilance of lead singer and principal songwriter Celia Woodsmith. This World marks Della Mae as an emerging bluegrass force.”

Della Mae is sponsored by Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant and Butik, Door County Advocate, Main Street Market, White Gull Inn, Parkwood Lodge, Signature Pieces of Egg Harbor, and Wild Tomato.

Della Mae will perform at DCA at 7 p.m. on Monday, September 1. Tickets for the concert range from $18 to $32. Advance reservations are recommended and can be made through the DCA box office, located at 3926 Highway 42 in Fish Creek. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in person, on the phone at (920) 868-2728, or online at www.dcauditorium.org.

On Friday, August 1, southern singer-songwriter Jason Isbell will bring his cutting-edge alt-folk to the stage of Door Community Auditorium (DCA). Isbell, who originally gained fame as a member of the alt-country band Drive-By Truckers, has met with enormous success as a solo artist, with his 2013 album Southeastern landing him on hundreds of top-ten lists across the country. The New York Times calls Isbell “one of America’s thoroughbred songwriters, with a knack for rueful melodies and the kind of grainy blue-collar detail that pins a song in your mind.”

Rolling Stone, NPR, and American Songwriter are just three of the many news outlets that named Jason Isbell’s record Southeastern as one of the best albums of 2013. The album delivers stark and poignant story songs against an alt-country and blues backdrop, weaving in powerful characters in a southern gothic vein. His fourth solo outing and his first since getting sober after a long and public struggle with alcoholism, Southeastern explores themes of struggle, loss, and redemption.

The record led Spin magazine to name Isbell as “one of the finest lyricists working today, excelling at wordplay in the purest sense of the term, finding the music in language, how it sounds and flows and fits within the surrounding sounds.” The Boston Globe says Isbell writes “lyrics that could break hearts.”

Alabama native Isbell embarked on a solo career after six years of playing with Drive-By Truckers, with whom Isbell gained a reputation as a skilled guitarist and incisive songwriter. After setting out on his own, Isbell first funneled his songwriting talents into Sirens of the Ditch, a bluesy, punk-influenced album infused with guitar tones and Southern swagger. Backed by a new band dubbed the 400 Unit, Isbell took his songs on the road and soon released two more solo albums. His latest album, Southeastern, marks the latest chapter in a career that is still very much on the rise.

Jason Isbell’s performance is sponsored by Main Street Market, Peninsula Pulse and Door Country FM 97.7.

Jason Isbell will perform at DCA at 8 p.m. on Friday, August 1. Tickets for the concert range from $22 to $38. Advance reservations are recommended and can be made through the DCA box office, located at 3926 Highway 42 in Fish Creek. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in person, on the phone at (920) 868-2728, or online at www.dcauditorium.org.

Carrie Rodriguez and Luke Jacobs will perform at Door Community Auditorium (DCA) on Saturday, July 26, presenting an evening of music that will range from red-hot country to noir rock to plaintive folk. Musical maverick Rodriguez uses her sultry contralto voice and fiery fiddle playing (along with Luke Jacobs’ remarkable guitar picking) to create music that is both alluring and defiant. Together, Rodriguez and Jacobs can’t be pinned down, shifting easily between a desert swing and an urban strut. The Boston Globe hails Rodriguez and Jacobs as “one of the most compelling new voices on the roots-rock scene.”

Texas native Carrie Rodriguez came to national attention a decade ago when she began performing with singer-songwriter Chip Taylor (Wild Thing, Angel of the Morning) and has since established an impressive roster of touring, recording, and co-writing affiliations, including Lucinda Williams, Rickie Lee Jones, John Prine, Mary Gauthier, Alejandro Escovedo, and guitarist Bill Frisell, among others. Rodriguez’ latest album, Give Me All You Got, establishes her musical identity more powerfully than ever before, featuring songs that she wrote, co-wrote, or handpicked from the repertoires of her longtime collaborators.

Luke Jacobs is a native Minnesotan whom The Guardian has called “an impressive exponent of acoustic, electric and lap steel guitar and harmonica.” Currently based in Austin, Texas, Jacobs adds sophistication and texture to Rodriguez’ distinctive style.

A Washington Post review of a recent Rodriguez-Jacobs performance raved, “Trained at such elite institutions as the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Berklee College of Music, Rodriguez, with her by turns fluttery and dissonant trills, is a formidable soloist, seemingly equally at ease with classical European melodies and rural American ones…. Jacobs, it should be noted, proved a compelling presence in his own right.”

Carrie Rodriguez and Luke Jacobs are sponsored by Wild Tomato.

Carrie Rodriguez and Luke Jacobs will perform at DCA at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 26. Tickets for the concert range from $18 to $25. Advance reservations are recommended and can be made through the DCA box office, located at 3926 Highway 42 in Fish Creek. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in person, on the phone at (920) 868-2728, or online at www.dcauditorium.org.

On Saturday, July 19, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will bring their modern, high-energy brand of big band swing to Door Community Auditorium (DCA). This nine-man ensemble has forged a one-of-a-kind musical fusion from jazz, swing, Dixieland, and big band music, building its own songbook of infectious original dance tunes. With appearances that range from the Swingers soundtrack to the Super Bowl, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has become an American fan favorite.

Since 1993, when they electrified the Los Angeles music scene with a now-legendary residency at the Brown Derby nightclub, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s irresistible performance style and aggressive musical innovation have distinguished them from the large pack of bands that launched the swing music revival of the 1990s. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch calls Big Bad Voodoo Daddy “house-rocking ambassadors of hip nostalgia.”

Although music by other composers has been featured on each of the band’s albums, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has always focused on original music, producing an impressively diverse repertoire of original hits. The band’s originals rocketed the group into its first phase of stardom when You and Me and the Bottle Makes Three (Tonight) and Go Daddy-O were featured in the 1996 landmark indie film Swingers.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was co-founded in California by lead singer Scotty Morris and drummer Kurt Sodergren and has made a career of mixing classic American sounds with the energy and spirit of contemporary culture. The band, whose core lineup has remained constant since 1995, includes vocals, guitar, drums, double bass, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and piano.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has cultivated its career through relentless touring and a discography that includes the platinum-selling Americana Deluxe, as well as follow-ups This Beautiful Life, Save My Soul, and Everything You Want For Christmas. Their music has appeared in countless films in addition to Swingers and has been widely used for television broadcasts of sporting events, including NFL, NBA, MLB and PGA broadcasts.

The Big Bad Voodoo Daddy performance is sponsored by Alexander’s Restaurant, On Deck Clothing Company, Green Bay 7 Up, and the Cordon Family Foundation.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will perform at DCA at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 19. Tickets for the concert range from $22 to $44. Advance reservations are recommended and can be made through the DCA box office, located at 3926 Highway 42 in Fish Creek. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in person, on the phone at (920) 868-2728, or online at www.dcauditorium.org.

On Monday, July 14, The Oak Ridge Boys will bring their legendary brand of rollicking country-rock to Door Community Auditorium (DCA). The Oaks’ impossibly tight four-part harmonies have spawned dozens of country and pop hits, earned them Grammy, Dove, CMA, and ACM awards, and garnered a host of other industry and fan accolades. In their captivating live performances, The Oak Ridge Boys present catchy new material as well as drawing from their fifty-year repertoire of hand-clapping hits and charted singles, including Elvira, Dream On, Bobby Sue, Fancy Free, and American Made.

The Louisville Courier-Journal calls The Oak Ridge Boys “part of the fabric of Americana…a marvel: utterly relaxed, supremely confident, vocally superb, and so supremely energetic.”

It is the trademark high energy of their stage shows that has allowed The Oak Ridge Boys—Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, Richard Sterban, and William Lee Golden—to maintain their successful career for more than half a century. The Oaks are famous for keeping their much-fabled live performances fresh, infusing them with new material in addition to megahits like Elvira.

“We’re not willing to rest on our laurels,” says William Lee Golden. “That gets boring. As a group, we do things constantly to challenge ourselves, to try to do something different or better than the last time we did it.” Indeed, Billboard calls The Oak Ridge Boys “as crisp and sharp as ever.”

The Oak Ridge Boys were founded as The Oak Ridge Quartet in Knoxville, Tennessee during World War II. They began making regular appearances at the Grand Ole Opry in 1945, launching a career that has remained diverse and vibrant ever since. They changed their name to The Oak Ridge Boys in the 1960s and have maintained the same four-man roster since 1973. This year, The Oaks celebrated a new milestone—41 million records sold—by signing a record deal with Los Angeles-based Cleopatra Records. They recently teamed with Cleopatra to release Boys Night Out, their first-ever live record of country hits.

The Oak Ridge Boys concert is underwritten by A Friend of the Auditorium and sponsored by Don and Carol Kress, Baylake Bank, and The Cordon Family Foundation.

The Oak Ridge Boys will perform at DCA at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 14. Tickets for the concert range from $48 to $75. Advance reservations are recommended and can be made through the DCA box office, located at 3926 Highway 42 in Fish Creek. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in person, on the phone at (920) 868-2728, or online at www.dcauditorium.org.

Rossol is an award winning fine art photographer that has exhibited extensively around Door County. When he retired from a successful sales and marketing career eleven years ago, his passion for photography intensified as he found more time to devote to his lifetime hobby. Since switching from film to digital in 2007, he has completed numerous photography classes. He continues to refine his capture workflow and strives to make images rather than just take pictures. Rossol feels that color is sometimes an unnecessary distraction and prefers printing in black and white because it emphasizes form, shape, patterns, and contrast but makes vivid and luminous color prints when the image is appropriate.

Rossol’s photography will be on display in the Link Gallery at Door Community Auditorium through August 1 and can be seen M-F from noon until 5PM and show days from noon until show’s end.

His sample portfolio can be seen at www.jimrossol.artistwebsites.com and his book can be previewed at www.blurb.com/b/4623686-county-fair-flavor.

Also featured in the Link Gallery, Reformations by John Whitney, DC Studios, Sister Bay.