30th Anniversary Tour

Storyhill is the miraculous weaving together of two voices into one, much like the Everly Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, Indigo Girls or Gary Louris & Mark Olson of The Jayhawks.

After a dozen DIY albums over the years, Storyhill signed with the esteemed Minnesota-based roots label Red House Records and enlisted the help of Grammy-winning musician and producer Dan Wilson (Semisonic; Trip Shakespeare). The resulting album, Storyhill, brought the duo to national attention and a slot in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival Songwriters Contest, in which they took first place. Appearances on national radio programs like NPR's Mountain Stage and A Prairie Home Companion greatly expanded their fanbase. Wilson was tapped again to produce the duo's 2010 follow-up Red House release, Shade of the Trees.

The duo recently released Stages, a collection of live recordings spanning 2003 to 2015. It's available in double gatefold vinyl, CD and digital formats through Compass Records and the store on Storyhill's website, www.storyhill.com.

Tickets are $20, available in advance online at www.WOJB.org or by calling WOJB during normal business hours at (715) 634-2100. Students 18 years of age and younger get in for $5.

In 2014, Blacklock’s hands and face were badly burned in a sauna fire. Realizing that the cold water of his normal subject, Lake Superior, might be painful to his still-tender hands, Blacklock’s friend, Mark Kozlak told Craig, “The St. Croix River needs a Blacklock book”. The summer after his accident, Craig, his wife Honey, and their daughter Charis made an exploratory photography/paddling trip on the upper St.Croix River. The water was so low they had to walk their canoe and kayak much of the time, but Craig felt the subject worthy of a full-scale book project.

He soon connected with the folks at the St. Croix River Association (SCRA) and learned that 2018 would be the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, co-sponsored by Wisconsin’s Senator Gaylord Nelson and Minnesota’s Senator Walter F. Mondale. That act gave federal protection to the Namekagon and much of the St. Croix, and created the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, a national park.

SCRA adopted Blacklock’s book as one of their signature initiatives to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act and the creation of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Blacklock donated all images made for the book to the SCRA and the National Park Service. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from book sales go towards benefitting the SCRA.

During 2016, Craig paddled every mile of both the Namekagon and St. Croix Rivers, returning to many areas throughout the seasons with his friend and colleague, Jon Smithers to photograph the rivers from Jon’s drone. Craig continued to make photographs for the project through the fall of 2017. The book will be on press in January, for an April, 2018 release.

The SCRA adopted Craig’s sub-title from the book, The Enduring Gift, as the theme for the entire 50th anniversary celebrations. A listing of these events will be found at the SCRA web site, www.stcroixriverassociation.com.

Vice President Walter F. Mondale wrote the opening essay for the book. Many staffers and volunteers at the SCRA and at Xcel Energy (formerly Northern States Power, which donated much of the now protected land) helped contribute research towards the project. Stillwater, MN-based singer-songwriter Peter Mayer wrote and performed original music for a video made up of hundreds of Craig’s still images from the project, and will perform live for the multi-media presentation August 31 at The Park.

Besides the books, a photography exhibition of selected images toured throughout the region in 2018 and 2019. This project and tour is partially funded through grants from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, the McKnight Foundation and the Minnesota State Legislature’s general and arts and cultural heritage funds.

Craig’s photographs are also extensively used in John Kaul’s video, Saving the St. Croix, broadcasting on Minnesota and Wisconsin Public Television stations.

Singer-songwriter and musician Peter Mayer has been performing full-time for over 20 years, performing in venues across the United States and beyond. He writes songs for a small planet, songs about inter-connectedness and the human journey, songs about life on earth and the mysterious and wondrous fact of our existence. Mayer has eleven albums to his credit, and has sold over 100,000 of them. He lives in Stillwater, Minnesota with his wife and two daughters.

Admission is $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Students 18 and under are admitted for $5.

Tickets are available in advance at Art Beat of Hayward, 15845 W. 2nd Street (Cash or Check Only) or may be purchased ONLINE.