Dessa with Aviva Jaye and Jelly

Dessa is my longtime musical crush. I've seen her perform at venues as diverse as The Minnesota State Fair, DC's Black Cat, The Minneapolis Women's Club, and with The Minnesota Orchestra. Dessa has a near magical ability to appeal to diverse and seemingly incongruous audiences. Yet I was still blown away by her ability to charm a completely random crowd at Papa Charlie's in Lutsen, Minnesota this Wednesday night along with bandmates Aviva Jaye and Jelly.

Watching Dessa walk purposefully back and forth across the dining room to the stage, the sound booth, the bar, and so on only 10 minutes before show time, I assumed that it might be a more casual show. But Dessa brought the same energy, passion, and professionalism to this Lutsen show as to all of her other performances.

Dessa was the first to say that the crowd was confusing and hodge-podge. "I have no idea why any of you are here," she admitted, adding that she recognized some faces from other Minnesota shows and from previous years at Papa Charlie's. Dessa spoke directly with Table 6 late in the show, applauding them for challenging her assumptions. "That table is going to like songs 4, 6, and 12," she related hypothesizing about the middle-aged white group at Table 6. Instead, one of the women was furiously chair-dancing during all of the fast rap songs. Dessa described the man next to the chair dancer as an enigma wrapped in a hunting jacket, to which he proudly pulled a Superman pose with his hunting jacket.

The dance floor was full of old Doomtree fans, new IDES fans, and one towheaded little girl who out-danced all of us. At some point mid-song, Dessa asked the bar for a shot of whiskey. When an audience member was too slow bringing it up to her, she took matters into her own hands, stopping the song and coming into the crowd to get it herself.

Dessa's set list paid homage to her earlier work, including Dixon's Girl, Call Off Your Ghost, Fighting Fish, and Dear Marie. As always, her lyrics were timely and haunting. The crowd went crazy for I Already Like You, from Dessa's latest release, IDES. By the encore, we were all yelling along to Fire Drills "I think a woman's worth / I think that she deserves / A better line of work / Than motherfucking vigilance / Don't give me vigilance / By definition you can't make a difference / If the big ambition / Is simply standing sentry to your innocence / That's not a way to live / That can't be what a woman is / That gives her nothing to aspire to / What that is / What that is / Is just a life of running fire drills".

By the end of the night, Dessa had the chair dancer and the enigma out on the dance floor standing up to dance. If you missed the show, check out her upcoming shows here. You won't be disappointed.

Dessa Performing in Lutsen 7/13/22

Past Dessa Sightings

Lovely Lutsen

Hello From the North Shore

Little Pringle pup and I are lucky to be traveling in Northern Minnesota this week! We are staying at just the cutest Airbnb in Tofte, MN. I have to say that stays up here get super pricy super fast, so be sure to book well in advance (we booked this cabin with no running water in December to ensure a good deal).

One of my favorite things to do up here is to listen to WTIP, North Shore Community Radio. Not only do they have great shows and local volunteer DJs, but they also keep you in the loop about community events. I'm currently listening to Swing Session, and Polka Time is up next. Honestly, what's not to love?

Pringle and I went for a great hike this morning at Carlton Peak. The pup was a trooper, although he did get the zoomies and run around like a loony toon at unpredictable times. The trail, part of the SHT, was very well maintained and beautiful the whole way out and back. The view from the top was perfection. The only issue was the mosquitos, which I hear are particularly bad this year. Overall, I give it a 9/10, pretty good for our first hike.

We also visited the Grand Marais Arts Festival, and had the pleasure of meeting the one and only Betsy Bowen! Betsy is well known in Minnesota for her woodblock prints and illustrated children's books. I was first exposed to printmaking through her work, and it was incredible to meet the woman behind the press. She inspired me to continue searching for somewhere to make relief prints in the Twin Cities.

I would be remiss if I didn't give Voyageur Brewing a shoutout here as well. Voyageur was where I had my first legal beer in the US back in 2015. Since then, they have expanded and now have a dog-friendly patio with a full menu! Pringle enjoyed trying to eat the deck while I enjoyed a blueberry sour (honestly a little too sweet for my taste, but when in Rome!).

We're excited to be up here all week before we go into the Boundary Waters next Sunday, so if you have any North Shore recommendations, please send them our way!

Happy Trails!

Coastal Maine Food Review

This weekend was my 5th college reunion at Bowdoin College. There’s a lot to unpack from the weekend, but before we do that, let’s do a Maine Food Review.

Let’s start with my old haunt and former employer, Wild Oats Bakery. To say that this bakery is on point would be to vastly undersell it. Their curried tempeh salad is absolutely to die for. The addition of pickled onions to their menu is enlightened. This was the perfect weekend for me to visit, because they were also doing a fundraiser for another of my former employers, Oasis Free Clinics. The ED at Oasis, Anita, is the reason I got my MPH. Cupcakes for a Cause was a success, and I have to say that the buttercream frosting at Wild Oats really puts other frostings to shame.

Next, I have to highlight my longtime heartthrob, The Gelato Fiasco. I truly don’t know how they manage to make their gelato so fresh and vibrant, but it is pure magic. Strawberry balsamic is my long time favorite flavor, and it did not disappoint. They also have a gelato truck which we saw at the Eastern Prom in Portland, which is very fun.

As part of reunion, Bowdoin brought food trucks to campus, and I was excited to try a charcuterie box from The Portland Board. With absolutely delicious and locally sourced components, this board exceeded my already high expectations. I was especially enamored with the crackers, which I believe are from Mill Cove Baking Co.

I also visited the new gluten-free bakery in Brunswick, The Butchers and Bakers. On the old site of Wild Oats, it’s great to have a new cafe and bakery in downtown Brunswick.

Last but not least, I have to give a quick shout-out to Standard Baking Co. in Portland. They have some of the finest gluten-full bread I’ve had anywhere. And of course, Bowdoin Dining pulled out all of the stops for the reunion itself! Thank you for everything, Bowdoin Dining <3

Until next time,

A very full Sarah