Jeff Ray & The Stakes + The Pistol Whippin’ Party Penguins

“In The Fire” Album Release Party

UNDER THE CANOPY at the Hook and Ladder

Join us for an awesome night of roots music as we celebrate the release of In The Fire, the highly-anticipated new album by Jeff Ray & The Stakes. Twin Cities party favorites The Pistol Whippin’ Party Penguins kick off the festivities.

Musicians from the Midwest have a knack for reinventing tradition and Jeff Ray & The Stakes are no exception. Go to any of their performances and you’ll hear fans say the same thing, “his music sounds old and new at the same time.” Their first gig was on MPR’s Radio Heartland and the band has been turning heads and opening ears ever since.

The musical oddity of this band becomes clear when you realize how much rhythm is pounded out with every note played: Mikkel Beckmen’s one-of-a-kind syncopated washboard foot-stomp combo, joined with Nick Salisbury’s homemade foot shaker contraption on 60’s soul-style bass, Hurricane Harold Tremblay’s pulsing style harmonica, all combined with Jeff Ray’s thumb-thumping alternate tuning east-meets-west fingerstyle resonator slide guitar. The band is definitely an earful and a true roots and blues musical oddity

Don’t let the name fool you! The Pistol Whippin’ Party Penguins are not a violent group of flightless aquatic birds looking for a party – rather they’re 5 self-proclaimed gentlemen with 2 guitars, a mandolin, a bucket of fiddles, an upright bass, a banjo, and 4-part vocal harmony, combining folk, rock, blues, bluegrass, and some fully-loaded stage banter. Their combination of folk, rock, blues, bluegrass, and stage banter creates an experience that everyone can enjoy!