Big River Theatre

Hiroya Tsukamoto
2025-11-21 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
We welcome back Hiroya Tsukamoto Friday, November 21st at 7pm. If you’ve never had the treat of hearing Hiroya perform live, don’t miss your chance at not just an incredible musical performance, but an experience. He will also offer a fingerstyle guitar masterclass prior to the show at 3pm. All skill levels and experience are welcome to attend!
Hiroya Tsukamoto//Fingerstyle guitar/storyteller
Ticket Cost:
Adult: $20 advance/$25 day of show
Youth 11-17: 1/2 price
Kids 10&under ALWAYS FREE
Meet Hiroya:
Hiroya is a one-of-a-kind composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter from Kyoto, Japan. He began playing the five-string banjo when he was thirteen, and took up the guitar shortly after.
In 2000, Hiroya received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and came to the United States. He formed his own group in Boston “INTEROCEANICO (inter-oceanic)” which consists of unique musicians from different continents including Latin Grammy Colombian singer Marta Gomez. The group released three acclaimed records (“The Other Side of the World”, “Confluencia” and “Where the River Shines”). Hiroya has released five solo albums.
Hiroya has been leading concerts internationally including several appearances at Blue Note(NYC), United Nations and Japanese National Television(NHK). Hiroya is a two time 2nd place winner of International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in 2018 and 2022.
“…chops, passion and warmth. Zealously recommended!” -Jazz Review.com
“HiroyaTsukamoto takes us to an impressionistic journey ” -Boston Herald
Listen here: https://youtu.be/E2bdm-13RmQ?si=_eJI_DUoOguTCsRc

Guitar Workshop with Hiroya Tsukamoto
2025-11-21 15:00 - 16:30 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Hiroya is a distinguished and award-winning fingerstyle guitarist, whose music has been described as “soulful” and “transcendent”.
He will host a 75-minute guitar workshop at 3pm (prior to his performance at 7pm), demonstrating fingerstyle techniques including chords and basic theory, breaking down elements such as tone and rhythm, and giving tips on how to apply them to a practice routine. This is an incredible opportunity. ALL levels of experience and ability are welcome! If you’re a guitar player looking to level up, don’t miss this opportunity!!

Friday, November 21 • 7pm
Cost: $35

Kelly Hunt & Kelley Smith
2025-11-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
We are excited to welcome back the Kell(e)ys!
Saturday, November 8th • 7pm
Doors: 6:30pm
Tickets: $15/$20

Meet Kelly Hunt:
The daughter of an opera singer and a saxophonist, Hunt was raised in Memphis, TN amidst a motley mélange of musical influences ranging from Rachmaninov to Joni Mitchell to Mississippi John Hurt. She grew up singing in choirs, poring over poetry books, and writing her own music as a matter of course, first on piano then 5-string banjo. After being introduced to the banjo in college while studying French and visual arts, Hunt began to develop her own improvised style of playing, combining old-time picking styles with the percussive origins of the instrument. After college, Hunt embarked on a rambling path through career pursuits in farming, French breadmaking, and visual arts, ultimately landing in Kansas City, where she would go on to write and record her debut album, Even the Sparrow.
While reminiscent of modern traditionalists such as Gillian Welch, Even The Sparrow reveals an ineffable quality that hovers beyond the constraints of genre, à la Anais Mitchell and Patty Griffin. Over the span of a dozen songs, Hunt’s penchant for storytelling and intriguing arrangement cast a spell which No Depression describes as “the musical equivalent of a book you can’t put down, one you’ll want to revisit again and again to catch every nuance and turn of phrase.”
In “Men of Blue & Grey,” what begins as a Reconstruction-era ballad about the repurposing of Civil War glass plate negatives in a greenhouse roof soon becomes a meditation on the hope that growth and life may one day be able to emerge from the ruins of suffering and haunting of violence. “Across The Great Divide” turns an otherwise traditional accounting of spurned love into a philosophical epic of the ethics of forgiveness and freedom, evoking the ideas of Søren Kierkegaard and Walt Whitman.
As for the original owner of Kelly Hunt’s mysterious tenor banjo, not much is known. “I’ve never been able to find anything about Ira Tamm,” she says, “I think he just had a humble little traveling show.” What’s clear is that the itinerant performer laid down his banjo at the height of the Great Depression, almost eighty years before it would be picked up by Hunt. “That banjo has stories. I wish I knew them all,” says Hunt, though the banjo’s most intriguing story may just be beginning with Even The Sparrow. “The marks of Ira’s hands are still in the calfskin head, so I can see where he played and left his mark,” she says. “Now my own marks are there too, in different places, like a kind of portrait.”
Kelly’s sophomore album “Ozark Symphony,” (produced by Dirk Powell at his Cypress House studio in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana), was released on Compass Records in October, 2023.

Meet Kelley Smith:
Folksinger/songwriter Kelley Smith is a hopeless romantic who fancies old poetry and grandpa sweaters. All at once whimsical and haunting, Smith delivers deeply affecting lyrics with wry charm and a time traveler’s voice. Prone to melancholy and daydreaming, Kelley spent her childhood roaming the woods of Minnesota and singing to forest animals. To this day, her longing for that landscape runs deep and seems to find its way into her songs in one way or another.
Raised by musicians, Smith always had music in her bones, but it wasn’t until she was 40 and a mother of four that her first record, Moon Child (2022), came to be. As an insomniac, she wrote this first batch of songs by moonlight. They evoke a sense of belonging, juxtaposed with escapism, as she croons about long-term love, grief, and her draw to the night sky.
Since 2022, Kelley has had the honor of sharing stages with folks such as Charlie Parr, Kelly Hunt, Wild Horses, Dave Simonett, Alan Sparhawk, Stephen Wilson Jr., and many others. Most often performing solo or as a duo, Smith interprets old folk songs on guitar and banjo, in addition to her original music.

La Leyenda de la Nahuala
2025-11-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
The Day of the Dead is on November 2nd, so we will be watching this animated film from 2007, “La Leyenda de La Nahuala”. The film will be in Spanish with English subtitles.
Monday, November 3 • 7pm
The year is 1807 in the city of Puebla de los Ángeles, New Spain. Leo San Juan, an insecure nine-year-old boy, is eternally scared by the horror stories told to him by his older brother, Nando. Among these stories is the legend of La Nahuala, According to which, an old abandoned house is possessed by the spirit of an evil witch known as La Nahuala, who is waiting to sacrifice the soul of an innocent child to resurrect and gain absolute power. The legend becomes reality when the spirit of La Nahuala kidnaps Nando before Leo’s eyes.

The Invisible Mammal
2025-10-29 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
This just in – we will be showing “The Invisible Mammal”, a documentary about bats, Wednesday, October 29th at 7pm – Just in time for Halloween!

If possible, please purchase your tickets using the link below. If that’s not possible for you, don’t worry! Come on down and we will make it work.
We are showing this film through a platform called Kinema, and that is the easiest way for us to get the ticket sales directly to the independent filmmakers who made it!

About the film: An all-woman team of biologists set out to save bats from a deadly fungal disease, but when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupts their work, they are sent down a path of discovery that illuminates the connections between bat conservation and the spread of infectious disease.
All around us, roosting in trees or crevices, or silently migrating through our neighborhoods, bats go unseen. And now, at a time when bats have been blamed for causing a global pandemic, a new documentary about bat conservation will dispel myths about how pandemics are caused and spread, while also illustrating how bats’ super-immunity may hold a key to our own survival, but only if we can save them from a disease threatening their very existence.

Joe & Vicki Price
2025-10-18 19:00 - 21:00 | WI
Joe & Vicki are BACK! We are thrilled to welcome these two bluesey lovebirds to the Big River Theater stage once more Saturday, October 18, at 7pm.

Saturday, October 18th
Doors: 7pm
Show: 6:30pm
Tickets: $15 advance/$20 day of show

Meet Joe & Vicki:
In a world where words like “legend” get thrown around entirely too lightly, it’s good to know that there are a few people still worthy of the word’s original intent. And when it comes to music in Iowa, Joe Price stands as one of the art’s legendary practitioners.
Armed with a joyous, disarming demeanor and the ability to play the doors off most anyone else in the room, Price has opened for the likes of Iris Dement and John Lee Hooker, while Iowa’s own Greg Brown calls Price “the Buddha.” Brown isn’t alone in his praise, as a litany of Iowa musicians list Price as one of their influences.
Price’s reputation was cemented in the 1970’s, when he spent the latter half of the decade as part of Mother Blues, one of the greatest and most heavily influential Iowa blues bands of all time. It was a time when Price was playing nearly non-stop, and developed the style that has made him such a memorable performer.
And make no mistake, Price certainly is memorable. Head down while he plays, big ball cap covering his eyes from the crowd while he plies his trade, feet tapping out the time as his hands work those six strings like their on autopilot. Price isn’t the kind of artist you “think” you’ve seen play; once you’ve been taken to church by that slide, it stays with you.
But no man lives by bread alone, and Price has two great loves in his life. It’s the rare man that gets to mix two passions together and make a life out of it, but Vicki Price makes that easy. The pair married in 1987, but Vicki had been holding her own in the wilds of small-town Iowa before then. Her guitar playing has more structure to it than Joe’s, while her voice provides a good deal of their songs fire.
Bold and brassy when she wants to be, Vicki’s voice has elicited visions of Loretta Lynn or June Carter, but she’s able to get far bluesier than any of her most obvious comparisons. This duo is far more than the sum of their impressive parts: it is when these two take the stage together that the genuine magic happens.
Joe’s deep love and admiration for his wife is obvious from the moment she joins him on stage—something that can happen at any point during a set; he beckons her with “You Are My Sunshine”—and the amount of fun they clearly have performing with one another elevates their performances, transforming them from something that blues purists and guitar fans can appreciate, into something that everyone with ears and a love of life can understand and tap along to.
Joe and Vicki are both members of the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame. Their 2009 album “Rain or Shine” won the Independent Music Award for best Blues CD of the year. Joe is also a member of the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was a finalist in the International Blues Challenge.
The couple released a slew of solo CD’s on seminal Iowa label Trailer Records, including “25 Below” (Joe, 1996), “Mississippi Summer” (Vicki, 1998), “Request” (Joe, 1999), “Designated Drive” (Joe, 2000) and “Looking for Love” (Vicki, 2005). After Trailer closed up shop, the pair released 2008’s “A Brand New Place” and 2009’s “Rain or Shine” independently. The latter two albums were both lavished with critical praise, but the pair may have just saved their best work for their most recent album, “Night Owls.” Featuring both Joe and Vicki throughout, “Night Owls” is the Price’s music at its fullest, most memorable and most fun.
Whether you are seeing them for the first time or the 100th, whether it’s live or via one of their albums, experiencing Joe and Vicki Price is an experience worth having, worth sharing, and easy to love.

The Phantom of the Opera: Silent Film with Original Score by Philip Shorey
2025-10-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Come for a unique experience watching the 1925 silent film: The Phantom of the Opera to the original music from Minneapolis composer Philip Shorey! Audio will be a recorded track, but it will be a sneak peak into the LIVE production, featuring a 60-some piece orchestra that will be performing Halloween night, October 31st, at the Ted Mann Theater in Minneapolis. Weirdly intriguing! Film will be followed by short Q&A with composer Philip Shorey.
Friday, October 17th • 7pm
Tickets: $7/$10

Cate Fierro & Joshua Stigen
2025-10-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Change of plans! We are SO lucky to be joined by the talented vocalist Cate Fierro, accompanied by long time guitar extraordinaire, Josh Stigen.

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm
Meet Cate:
Cate Fierro has one of the strongest voices and magnetic personalities to hit the Twin Cities music scene. Starting her career as one of the lead singers in THE IRRESISTIBLES, a soul R&B Band led by legendary and award winning frontman, Mick Sterling and co-lead Katie Gearty and Shalo Lee, she has continued to perform with Mick in his shows including EltonSongs, Born To Run among many, as well as producing and fronting her own shows.
You won’t want to miss it!!!

Kevin Gamble Quartet
2025-09-26 19:00 - 21:00 | WI
We are thrilled to welcome the Kevin Gamble Quartet to Big River Theatre Friday, September 26th at 7pm!

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7pm
Tickets: $15/$20

Meet Kevin:
Kevin Gamble is not just a piano player; he is a passionate and dedicated musician who fills each composition with his unique energy and creativity. With a love for both creating original music and collaborating with other exceptionally talented musicians in his local community, Kevin has solidified his place as a respected figure in the music industry.
From a young age, Kevin found solace in the enchanting rhythm and melodies that flowed through the piano keys. His natural talent blossomed, and he soon began crafting his own compositions, drawing inspiration from a myriad of genres that fueled his imagination. Kevin’s original music reflects the depth of his musicality, intertwining classical elegance with modern nuances, resulting in a sound that is distinctly his own.
While Kevin cherishes his solo performances, his true passion lies in the process of collaboration – a magical journey where the fusion of diverse talents and perspectives yields extraordinary musical experiences. Kevin thrives on working with fellow musicians, seamlessly blending their talents to create something greater than the sum of its parts. His ability to connect with other artists, empathize with their visions, and communicate effectively has earned him a reputation as a sought-after collaborator.
It is this spirit of collaboration that has led Kevin to establish strong bonds with other talented musicians in his local community. Whether it be jam sessions, live performances, or studio recordings, Kevin consistently seeks opportunities to work alongside his peers, incorporating their expertise and unique musical styles into his compositions. By embracing this collaborative mindset and nurturing a supportive environment, Kevin ensures that the final product is always enriched by the collective creative effort.
Recognized for his exceptional artistry, Kevin has received numerous accolades and honors throughout his career. His compositions have been featured on various platforms, captivating audiences and earning him a devoted following. Kevin’s music has a way of resonating deeply with listeners, evoking emotions, and sparking connections that transcend language and cultural boundaries.
As Kevin Gamble continues on his musical journey, he remains committed to pushing boundaries, exploring new sonic territories, and encapsulating emotions through his music. His unwavering passion and dedication to his craft fuel both his personal growth and his desire to collaborate with other exceptional.

Steam Machine
2025-09-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Steam Machine of Minneapolis joins us Sunday, September 14th at 7pm!

Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7pm
Tickets: $15 advance/$20 day of show

Meet the band:
Steam Machine is an old time/bluegrass project fronted by award winning fiddler AJ Srubas and Twin Cities old time music & dance instigator Rina Rossi on guitar. A shortlist of spectacular musicians perform with the band on banjo and bass. Originally formed in Minneapolis in 2017, Steam Machine brought to the national stage a midwest influenced string band aesthetic that didn’t draw such hard lines between bluegrass and old time music. Two time Appalachian String Band Music Festival (Clifftop) Traditional Band Contest finalists and Folk Alliance Midwest Official Showcase Artists, since 2018 they have been performing at diverse venues from roots music hubs to bluegrass and Americana festivals, and teaching workshops at traditional music epicenters across the country from the Augusta Heritage Center (WV) to Festival of American Fiddle Tunes (WA), collecting ribbons along the way. At home in Minneapolis, they are heavily involved as organizers in many of the local community old time and bluegrass institutions. While not purists, Steam Machine does listen closely to the “old stuff” and strives to capture the essence of what makes these tunes and songs special, as they hear it. The project continues to be an evolving vehicle for playing music they love and honoring the brilliance left behind by musical heroes like Lyman Enloe, Cyril Stinnett and more. In 2018 they released their first album, self-titled Steam Machine. In spring 2023, AJ and Rina released a duo project, Sweet Bunch of Daisies. Both releases are available on bandcamp. A new full band record is in the works.
“simply put, Steam Machine is a supergroup, one with intertwined musical relationships that create a chemistry so much more profound than four disparate musicians coming together. Steam Machine’s renditions seem faithful and classic, so it’s hard to explain how they’re playing feels bright and fresh. You can step back and be impressed by their artistry, but you might instead wind up just swept away in enjoyment because they make it seem effortless and look like they’re having so much fun.” – Adventures in Americana

Check ’em out!

Jason Dea West & The Siskiyou Crest
2025-08-17 19:00 - 21:00 | WI
Jason Dea West & the Siskiyou Crest joins us at Big River Theatre Sunday, August 17th at 7pm!

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm
Tickets: $15 advance/$20

Meet Jason:
Residing in the remote Applegate Valley in the Siskiyou mountain range of Oregon, Jason Dea West is an American troubadour who sings what he lives and lives what he sings. His poignant lyrics are brilliantly blended with vintage country, folk and blues, and timely sensibilities. From epic guitar and harmonica instrumentals to humorous song as story, he never strays far from the anarchic punk-folk roots of his beloved former band Barefoot Surrender –with Benjamin Tod of Lost Dog Street Band and more – and his celebrated current band, Intuitive Compass. West’s younger days as a busker and freight train hopper fostered his keen sense of road-inspired American musical history. He toured extensively with guest musicians and bands throughout the lower forty-eight states and Alaska, appearing in barn dances and taverns, theaters and music festivals, the circus and vaudeville circuits, on radio and in film. He has shared the stage with the likes of Larry and His Flask, Lost Dog Street Band, Hot Damn Scandal, Lucas Hicks, The Crux, Carl Kummerlei, and countless others.
Dea West has worked with several renowned recording engineers, including Scot Hackwith, Dennis Dragon, and Steven Hart, producing six studio albums, each of which has its own strange story and style. He belongs to the wild lands and what is left of the American countryside.

Check out some music here:

Anana Kaye
2025-08-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
The talented Anana Kaye and her husband Irakli join us AGAIN at Big River Theatre Thursday, August 7th at 7pm!

Doors: 6:30
Show: 7:00pm
Tickets: $15 advance/$18 day of show

Meet Anana:
Anana Kaye is a Nashville based Indie Alt-Americana Duo. Hailing from Georgia, the other one, where Argonauts sailed to steal The Golden Fleece and where wine was invented 8000 years ago, Anana Kaye and Irakli Gabriel deliver a unique sound we rarely experience in such potent doses today. With influences including Kate Bush, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, and David Bowie their music is a genre bending musical experience akin to twisting kaleidoscope.
Huffington Post calls them “rich, strong, tender, translucent, and dynamic. The luminous vibrancy simply embraces the listener, enfolding you into sumptuousness.” Anana’s voice brings their ambient sound back to reality with it’s luxuriously earthy tone and husky timbre.
Anana and Irakli currently live in Nashville TN where they also own and operate Duende Vision, a professional photo and video production company. They pride themselves on bringing a musical perspective to visual work with stylistic influences wide ranging in time period and geography. Their detailed, patient, meticulous and enthusiastic approach has been carefully bringing New York and Nashville artist’s vision to life in a unique fashion.

The Rough & Tumble//The Honey Badgers
2025-07-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Oooooh, we are excited for the return of The Rough & Tumble and their friends The Honey Badgers!
Wednesday, July 30th
Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7pm
Tickets: $17 advance/$20 day of show

Ticket link: https://ticketscandy.com/e/the-rough-tumble-w-special-guests-the-honey-badgers-7951

Meet the bands:

The Rough & Tumble are a folk/Americana duo, consisting of Mallory Graham & Scott Tyler. Forming in 2011, they spent 8 years full time in a 16ft camper with two big dogs, playing roughly 150 shows a year. At home at festivals, listening rooms, and house concerts across the country, their commanding stage presence, engaging performances and affecting songwriting won them official showcases at Folk Alliance International, NERFA, SERFA and the Independent Music Awards Americana Song of the Year for their song “The Hardest Part. In 2023 they received recognition for their work in New England as recipients of Club Passim’s Iguana Music Fund. Only This Far, the band’s most notable work, was released in 2023 and has been described as “quality songs, well written, well played, well sung and arranged, and a pleasure from start to end.” In November 2024, The Rough & Tumble released Hymns For My Atheist Sister and Her Friends To Sing Along To, a collection of deeply personal, unifying and uplifting, humanist gospel songs.

——–

The Honey Badgers are a contemporary folk duo bringing their sincere Americana sound to stages across the country. The married duo is known for their intense, sparkling harmonies, their honest lyrics and melodies, and their undeniable chemistry on and off stage. Weaving their voices together with Michael’s driving guitar and Erin’s wistful violin, The Honey Badgers spin stories and songs about finding yourself, finding each other, and finding your way in the world. They were recently voted #1 “Most Wanted” at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase 2023 and were winners of the 2024 Susquehanna Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase. Their new album, “The Earth Turns and So Do We,” is currently charting on folk radio.

Links:
https://www.honeybadgerfolk.com/
https://www.instagram.com/honeybadgerfolk/
https://www.facebook.com/honeybadgerfolk
https://www.youtube.com/honeybadgerfolk
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4c6mUxUGx7NB4W5v1AbC8K?si=Imo11Z0MRGK-HyVpZ2263A

Heavy Diamond Ring
2025-07-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Come join us for a super cool night of music with Heavy Diamond Ring, a 5 piece female fronted band from Denver and Santa Fe!
Wednesday, July 16 • 7pm
tickets: $15 advance/$20 day of show
Big River Theater
121 S Main St.
Alma, WI 54610

Meet Heavy Diamond Ring:
Some things are just meant to last. When Sarah Anderson and Paul DeHaven met and began playing together in 2004, they had no idea just how deep the well of their musical partnership would prove to be. After the disbanding of indie-folk sweethearts Paper Bird, the duo founded Heavy Diamond Ring and never looked back.
HDR is the culmination (thus far) of their signature sound, a fountain of open-hearted, folk-rock, steeped in vocal harmony and group synergy. Led by Anderson’s smooth-as-honey vocals and DeHaven’s rugged guitar chops, the band has been described as “open-road, long drive music”, having “a little bit of twang, and a whole lot of beef”, and their live show as “infectious and contagious”. The band is rounded out by veteran knockouts Blake Stepan (bass), Mike Lang (keys), and Orion Tate Ignelzi (drums).
Their second full-length LP, “All Out of Angels”, out this fall, was produced by Ben Wysocki (the Fray) and Mark Anderson and features a duet with Nathaniel Rateliff. Out November 17 on Cowboy Cowabunga Recordings.
“Heavy Diamond Ring creates a sound that feels as classic as rolling down the windows in the summer – a super highway to a new frontier.” -303 Magazine
“…a helping of contemporary indie-folk that goes down easy, augmented by some subtle, snaky guitar work, walls of harmony vocals and Anderson’s attention-grabbing vocals.” -CS Indy

Chris Munch Comedy: Bleshings Tour
2025-06-28 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
We’ve got comedy down at Big River Theater! It’s Chris Munch joined by Adam Bush Saturday, June 28th at 7pm.
tickets: $25 advance/$30 day of show
Meet Chris
Chris is a multi-talented actor, comedian, and writer. For over 20 years he has been performing in front of cameras and live audiences alike. He’s the creator of the unsettling, yet hilarious, personas “Stephen Stephens” and “MLM Chad”, as well as the good hearted southern minister “Pastor Bobby”. His characters have millions of views and over 300k followers on social media.
For The ‘Bleshings’ Tour, Chris is joined by fellow comedian Adam Bush. Adam is a preacher turned comedian, is fresh off Preacher Lawson’s Best Day Ever tour and has a Dry Bar comedy special now streaming!

Forrest McCurren
2025-06-24 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
We’ve got Forrest &Margaret McCurren rolling through Tuesday, June 24 at 7pm!
Meet Forrest:
Forrest McCurren comes from the heart of the heartland, where the foothills of the Ozarks meet the Big Muddy: The Middle-of-Missouri. Blazing his own trail while stylistically tipping his hat to the songwriting giants of the past, McCurren wields the magic of lyricism to cast a light on the many intricacies of everyday life set against vignettes of Middle America. Tackling topics such as: wise words from waitresses, heartbroken high school football standouts, and tattooed trailer park lovers, McCurren writes songs for good people that got bad grades in school, are drunk on dreams, and still trying to figure out if life is sour or sweet.
Tuesday, June 24 • 7pm
Tickets: $15 advance/$18 day of show
Doors: 6:30
Show: 7pm

Alma Library Presents: Inside Out
2025-06-13 13:00 - 15:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
We are partnering with The Alma Library to watch Inside Out as a part of their summer program. This is a FREE event, all ages are welcome!
Inside Out
Friday, June 13 • 1pm
free admission!

Sturtz
2025-06-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
We are thrilled to welcome Colorado based four-piece folk band Sturtz to the Big River Theatre stage – Saturday, June 7th at 7pm.

Meet Sturtz:
Sturtz’s music stands out for its distinctive, soothing instrumental and vocal harmonies. NPR’s All Songs Considered described the band as “a reassuring breath of fresh air that pulls me back to simpler times.” The acoustic quartet – Andrew Sturtz [vocals, guitar], Courtlyn Carpenter [cello, harmonies], Will Kuepper [bass, harmonies], and Jim Herlihy [banjo, harmonies] – is serene and folksy, with melodic vocals soaring over the lower string instrumentals. Sturtz released their debut album You’ve Done this Before in August 2021, and now they are hard at work recording a second album that is set to release in September 2024. When they’re not playing music, you’ll probably find them milling flour, farming, laying in a creek, or eating native foliage.

Listen to Sturtz here:

Live Video (My My My): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA4wkkzerKM&ab_channel=Sturtz

Southern Night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQeFOWNHfYk&t=7s&ab_channel=Sturtz
Matty’s Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV8EEvwJgxU&ab_channel=Sturtz

Saturday Morning Cartoons
2025-06-07 09:00 - 11:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Saturday Morning Cartoons!
Every first Saturday of the month, 9-11am.
$2 entry

Yabba Dabba doo!!

The Brothers Burn Mountain
2025-05-29 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Duluth’s Brothers The Burn Mountain joins us at Big River Theatre Thursday, May 29th for an incredible, one of a kind performance!

Thursday, May 29 • 7pm
Tickets: $15 advance/$18 day of show
Indie-Rock//Experimental
Meet Brothers Burn Mountain:
They may be a blur of motion when they perform live, but on their new release, “When You Crave a Sweetness,” The Brothers Burn Mountain show that they’re also inventive songwriters whose musical panorama extends beyond simple, athletic energy.
Recorded [in part] at Sparta Sound Studios in Sparta, Minn., with Rich Mattson at the helm, the new disc shows it’s impossible to pin this duo – brothers Jesse and Ryan Dermody – down to any definitive sound or style, as they simply career from track to track with the abandon of a rabid dog in a vigorous mash-up of sensibilities.
Even the word eclectic comes up short describing the brothers Dermody.
Unlike most discs, “When You Crave a Sweetness” seems divided like those big, black round plastic things of days gone by, into an A-side and a B-side.
Side A has the more sensitive tunes with verse-chorus structure and a lighter vibe, while side B sounds like Honeyboy Edwards, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Page and Jack White thrown into a high-speed blender that elicits a blues-based brew that explodes like a nail-filled pipe bomb.
Side A includes “My Crazy Daisy,” which mingles jug-stompin’ old piedmont blues with laconic 1960’s pop harmonies, hand-clappin’ and sticks on the drum shell clackin’ into a hazy daydream about Daisy, “my fine wine; my drink in the park by the trees.
Little Song Bird” has a sonic juju intro that would do Robert Quine of Richard Hell and the Voidoids proud, in a falsetto extravaganza that paints a portrait of a feathered creature fluttering on the window sill and Aquarius rising.
“The Banging” bubbles up like something from The Band, circa 1972. I almost can hear Levon Helm and Rick Danko harmonizing on this one.
Side B features “A Study of the Thieves,” a blast-furnace blues that owes more to Robert Johnson, via Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown than anything more recent.
“Sharpen My Knife on the Edge of My Mind” has a ka-thunka rhythm that sounds like a Ford Pinto with a flat tire going down the road at slow speed. Austin bluesmen actually call it a “flat-tire shuffle” or a backward shuffle.
“Tickin’ Time Bomb” has the insistent driving feel of Muddy’s “Two Trains Runnin'” that Roy Alstad arranged years ago, and intones time slippin’ through my hands.
That The Brothers Burn Mountain have energy is without debate.
What “When You Crave a Sweetness” brings to light is that they’re talented musicians whose palette of aural shades and hues is so varied that they really are unclassifiable.” – John Ziegler, The Duluth News Tribune

Video Links:
• “I Won’t Wait For a Ride”
• “When We Play Music”
• “Dishonest”

Sofia Talvik
2025-05-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Join us for a night of music by Sofia Talvik Wednesday, May 21st at 7pm! We are excited to welcome her BACK after her show was canceled in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7pm
$17 advance/$20 day of show

Meet Sofia:
Sofia Talvik – Americana / Folk with Swedish Roots
Sofia Talvik is a rare artist and an avid storyteller with a voice comparable to giants like Joni Mitchell, or as the Folk/Americana Magazine NoDepression said it ”A singer/songwriter who is able to evoke the essence of Laurel Canyon circa the ‘60s as expressed in the work of Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Buffy Sainte-Marie and others who were able to paint beautiful tapestries from words and music.”.
Prepare yourself for a unique and intimate evening, not unlike the 70’s coffeehouses and speakeasy’s. You will be up close and personal with a world class act that has played big festivals like Lollapalooza and SxSW and opened for artists like Maria McKee and David Duchovny (X-files, Californication). It is in this kind of setting where she can casually joke and communicate with the audience that her strength as a performer shines the most.
Her delicate songs are performed in an intimate way, showing off Sofia’s angelic voice enhanced only by a tasteful mix of harmonies and delays, accompanied by the steady picking of her acoustic guitar and the rhythm section consisting of her own two feet, bells and a stomp box.
She’s an experienced international touring artist who has toured through 48 U.S states, many of the countries in Europe and far away places like New Zealand.
Her latest album “Center of the Universe” was released in 2023. Throughout the 10 songs on the album, there is a broad range of topics of some of life’s most earnest moments, ranging from the Ukraine War, American women’s rights, the thousands of missing children in the US and the torment of domestic violence survivors across the world. The album went straight into top 20 on the Folk Radio Charts USA in August 2023, with the first single charting in the top 10. The album was considered for a Grammy nomination for “Best Folk album” 2023.
”Swedish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist Sofia Talvik has been making fine albums for many years now, but this self-produced latest entry may be her best to date. Her angelic vocals, which sound redolent of early Marianne Faithfull, remain a major asset, as are her original songs, which combine lilting melodies with frequently profound lyrics. Too few artists today offer protest material, but Talvik seems to have picked up the mantle from singer/songwriters like Joan Baez, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Pete Seeger.” – Americana Highways
“The roots music Talvik develops is of a similar tapestry to Joni Mitchell, tapping into that same knack for soul-stirring clarity and resonance. Between, however, is something of a different nature. Open-air production sets the scene for an evocative and atmospheric release from the Swedish folk artist, coming in the form of an upcoming album, Paws of a Bear.” – PopMatters

Monthly Mindful Drumming
2025-05-15 18:00 - 19:00 | WI
Join us for a relaxing and meditative drum circle, hosted by Alma’s Cheri Bunker. No experience needed. Every third Thursday of the month. All are welcome!
$10 entry.

World Migratory Bird Day: Winged Migration
2025-05-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
WORLD MIGRATORY BIRD DAY is May 10th, 2025!

This year we are partnering with Wings Over Alma to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day. We will be showing the 2001 French film, Winged Migration!

Saturday, May 10 • 7pm
FREE admission
Donations highly cherished

Full day lineup:

1:00 Wings of Change: Protecting Pollinators for the Future presented by Dr. Danielle Vogler-Bos, ND @ Wings Over Alma (WOA)
2:00 Peregrine Falcon Restoration Project update, provided by by Ben Campbell, Environmental Biologist with Dairyland Power @ WOA
3:00 Wings Over Alma sponsored Amateur Photography show, featuring wildlife, birds, landscapes and pollinators. Enjoy a snack!
Door prize drawing! @ WOA
4:00 Chimney Swift news from Grant Schuth @ WOA
5:00 Live Raptor demonstration from River Valley Raptors @ WOA
7:00 Big River Theater presents, “Winged Migration” film @ Big River Theatre

Dean Magraw & BluLuna Live Recording
2025-05-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Join us for a LIVE recording of BluLuna, made up of Minneapolis legends Dean Magraw, Rick Carlson, Steve Pikal, and Jay Epstein right here at Big River Theatre Friday May 9th at 7pm!

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm
Tickets: $15 advance/$20 day of show

Dean Magraw: guitar
Rick Carlson: piano
Steve Pikal: bass
Jay Epstein: drums

BluLuna was formed by four veteran musicians out of their love for myriad genres of the jazz idiom without restraining themselves to one specific branch of the music. By focusing on familiar melodic compositions, this bias-free approach has allowed them to concentrate on playing very fresh and sparkling ideas honoring the wide range of America’s 1st original sonic art. The result is a startlingly warm delivery of a strong yet hyper-sensitive mélange of enchanting moments.

Dean Magraw studied at the University of Minnesota and Berklee College of Music in Boston. He spent five years in Beantown, playing professionally and teaching. After returning to his hometown St. Paul, he’s had a life of music – playing, composing, arranging, producing, & recording. Magraw’s music is impossible to pigeonhole. For 15 years, he was half of a duo with mandolinist Peter Ostroushko. He has collaborated with Masahiro Nitta, who plays the traditional Japanese shamisen; with Nigel Kennedy, Britain’s bad boy of the classical violin; with Nirmala Rajasekar, South Indian vocalist and player of the vina; with the singers Bruce Henry, Ruth MacKenzie, and Claudia Schmidt; with the Irish supergroup Altan. As a jazz cat, he leads his own trio, performs with Chris Bates & Jay Epstein as Red Planet since 2002, and more recently has formed BluLuna.

Rick Carlson has been the pianist for the Wolverines Big Band since 1980. He has performed on concert stages from London to New York City, and has appeared with Count Basie drummer Butch Miles, horn stars Warren Vaché, Delfeayo Marsalis, Evan Christopher and Wycliffe Gordon. His credits as musical director, arranger and pianist include the Guthrie Theater presentation of “Coward’s Women”, the Capri Theater “Legends Series” and in various concert and cabaret presentations internationally. He once opened for Rosemary Clooney, has accompanied Kathryn Crosby in cabaret shows, and counts Madeleine Peyroux among his many unwitting fans.

Steve Pikal is highly regarded as a first call bass player from the Minnesota jazz scene. He has had the pleasure of backing shows with legendary performers such as Cab Calloway, Bob Hope, and Margaret Whiting. Some of his additional playing credits include the Jim Cullum Jazz band, Butch Miles, Artie Shaw Orchestra, the Barbary Coast Dixieland Show band, Dick Hyman, Delfeayo Marsalis, Jon Weber, Danny Coots, Brian Holland, the Wolverines Big band, Butch Thompson, Hal Smith, John Cocuzzi, Jeff Barnhart, The Midiri Brothers, and the Bill Evans New Orleans Jazz band.

Jazz drummer Jay Epstein has an extensive career as a performer, recording and touring artist. He’s been on seven European tours with pianists Bill Carrothers & Giacomo Aula. Some of the notable artists he has performed with include the rock band Gypsy, and jazz artists Barney Kessel, Richie Cole, Manfredo Fest, Sheila Jordan, Karrin Allyson, Kenny Werner, Howard Levy, Toots Thielemans, Bob Dorough and Sarah Vaughan. His CDs featuring bassist Anthony Cox and pianist Bill Carrothers, have garnered luminous reviews in the international press. Current bands include Red Planet, Framework, StableMates, Firebell, Gypsy Mania, and BluLuna.

“I can only imagine that the Billy Strayhorns and Matt Dennis’s of songwriter world would consider it a good day when these gentleman bring their paper to life. “BluLuna”. Find them and see them.” 🎶 – Judi Vinar.

“With four of our favorite musicians comprising BluLuna, we were prepared for a great night of improv. They even exceeded our expectations, as was evidenced by the great audience response!” – Mike Wolsted.

“Dean Magraw’s music transcends, transports and lifts the soul to a higher level as he weaves, cajoles, and entices every note from his instrument . . . at one with one’s art” –Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh

Pistol Whippin' Party Penguins
2025-05-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
It’s time for a party!! Just in time for the 100-mile garage sale, the Pistol Whippin’ Party Penguins are coming for a good ol’time.
Friday, May 2nd
Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7pm
Tickets: $15 advance/$20 day of show
Meet the PPWP:
Straight from the great Mill City comes the Pistol Whippin Party Penguins. Don’t let the name fool you! This is not a violent group of flightless aquatic birds looking for a party, but rather 6 self proclaimed gentlemen, 2 guitars, a mandolin, a bucket of fiddles, bass, wheatstick drums, and a 4 part vocal harmony that will make a grown man cry. As they celebrate their 4th studio album, this group from Minneapolis strives to maintain the original spirit of traditional american music while continuing to play new original music and creative cover songs. The combination of folk, rock, blues, bluegrass, and the occasional stage banter will create an experience that anyone can enjoy!

Cassie and Maggie
2025-04-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Sunday, April 27 we are excited to host the traditional and contemporary Celtic duo – Cassie and Maggie!
SUNDAY, April 27
Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm
Nova Scotian sisters Cassie and Maggie have been lighting up the world with their unique blend of traditional and contemporary Celtic instrumentals and vocals. Appearing on stages across North America, the UK, and Europe the sisters have enchanted audiences far and wide with lively fiddle, piano and guitar arrangements, stunning sibling vocal harmonies in both English and Gaelic, all complemented by their intricate and percussive stepdancing style.

Live Videos:
“Roses Around the Bend” Live at Celtic Colours
“Let No Man Steal Your Time” Live at Duncan

Tales from the Last River Rat
2025-04-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
This year for Big River Theatre’s B-earth Day Party (every year on Earth Day to celebrate Big River Theatre’s “birthday” on April 22nd) we are thrilled to announce that we will be partnering with the Alma Fire Department to present Kenny Salwey’s masterpiece, “Tales of the Last River Rat”. This film beautifully depicts the natural world surrounding us, giving us a glimpse into the mystery and every day miracles of the Mississippi backwaters.

This is a FREE EVENT, however, 100% of donations will be given to the Alma Fire Department, as per the request of Kenny Salwey.
2 showings: 3pm & 7pm

Kenny requested that all donations received will go to the Alma Fire Department

Both showings will also feature a short musical performance by Mac Cherry and Katie

About the film: The Mississippi is the great river of North America. Sculpted by bitter winters and blistering summers, it is home to a multitude of wildlife and a rare breed of people – the ‘River Rats’. The lives of these people are intricately bound to the ebb and flow of the river. Seen through the eyes of the celebrated last river rat, Kenny Salwey, this film explores the challenge to survive that every animal faces as the Mississippi meanders its way through four extremely defined seasons.

Check out this interview with Kenny Salwey:

Tales from the Last River Rat
2025-04-22 15:00 - 17:00 | WI
This year for Big River Theatre’s B-earth Day Party (every year on Earth Day to celebrate Big River Theatre’s “birthday” on April 22nd) we are thrilled to announce that we will be partnering with the Alma Fire Department to present Kenny Salwey’s masterpiece, “Tales of the Last River Rat”. This film beautifully depicts the natural world surrounding us, giving us a glimpse into the mystery and every day miracles of the Mississippi backwaters.

This is a FREE EVENT, however, 100% of donations will be given to the Alma Fire Department, as per the request of Kenny Salwey.
2 showings: 3pm & 7pm

Kenny requested that all donations received will go to the Alma Fire Department

Both showings will also feature a short musical performance by Mac Cherry and Katie

Hope to see you there!

Big River Theatre121 S. Main StreetAlma, WI 54610

Monthly Mindful Drumming
2025-04-17 18:00 - 19:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States

Dirk Quinn Band
2025-04-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Big River Theatre, Big River Theatre, 121 S. Main Street, Alma, WI, 54610, United States
Celebrate the completion of tax season April 16th at 7pm with Dirk Quinn Band – a funk, jam, jazz group from Philadelphia!
Meet the band:
The American band The Dirk Quinn Band, from Philadelphia, is a dynamic group that specializes at jazz and jazz fusion. With their distinctive fusion of sophisticated melodies, throbbing rhythms, and improvisational skill, this quintet of gifted musicians has mesmerized audiences.
The Dirk Quinn Band, who take their cues from jazz greats like Miles Davis and John Coltrane, give their music a contemporary touch by adding elements of funk, rock, and soul. Masterful solos, syncopated grooves, and fluid transitions that keep the audience on the edge of their seats characterize their explosive performances.
The Dirk Quinn Band produces a sound environment that is both intriguing and invigorating because to their superb musicianship and close-knit chemistry. Audiences are taken by their music to a place where barriers are broken and the jazz spirit is alive and well. These talented musicians play with such passion and heart that every note they play evokes a variety of emotions, from joy and excitement to meditation and contemplation.
The Dirk Quinn Band stands out as a major force in the world of jazz and jazz fusion. Their cutting-edge and alluring sound pushes the limits of the genre and leaves a lasting effect on everyone who has the pleasure of listening to it. The Dirk Quinn Band is the band to turn to if you’re in the mood for a musical journey that will excite your senses and leave you wanting more.
Members: Dirk Quinn (guitar), Michael Borowski (keyboard), Stephen Kurtz (bass), Chris Aschman (trumpet, steel drums), Ken Ulansey (horns), Steve Zegray (drums).
