My parents will tell you: The Belfry Music Theatre’s nationally renowned tribute bands are some of the hottest tickets in town.
The historic campus just north of Williams Bay does an almost year-round business in live music, with more than 100 performances per year in its 240-seat theater. These performances lean heavily toward tribute bands — everything from five-day residencies by Eagles cover bands to new Joni Mitchell tribute artists like Kiki Ebsen. The formula has proved extremely popular, with most shows sold out weeks in advance thanks to an avid group of subscribers and ticket-holding supporters. Fans come from all over the world — including from as far away as Australia and Japan. Many enjoy reservations at the theater’s two on-site restaurants, and some even stay at the new, luxury Belfry House hotel next to the theater.
In fact, today’s iteration of the Belfry inspires ardent fans and loyal supporters. “We go almost every night they’re open,” says Lake Geneva resident Henri Savage, who is well-known to the all-volunteer staff as perhaps the most frequent attendee, along with her husband Richard. “There are so many good bands playing the music I listen to all the time. I sit there, close my eyes and let the music fill my soul, just like I did back in my hippie days.”
Former Badger High School teacher and Lake Geneva resident Sally Roth leads the volunteer efforts. “We had three volunteers to start, and we spent three years waiting out the theater’s renovation,” said Roth. “Today I have a waiting list, and more than 65 volunteers who help with every show.”
(Beware of fact errors)
On my first day back in New York in the middle of June, a man in his 50s yelled at me and crossed the street for not wearing a mask. He’d just come out of Jeffrey’s Grocery, my favorite local watering hole and was presumably headed somewhere incredibly exciting to eat his classic BEC. (The only thing they have on the menu in the morning is a bacon egg and cheese sandwich).
I live in a 440-square foot apartment overlooking a park in Greenwich Village, New York. It’s delightful, well-lit, expensive, and only shakes sometimes when the subway lines pass underground.
Dozens of journalists, designers and developers spent four days in Miami last weekend bringing change to the face of Latin American journalism. The workshop, an initiative of Chicas Poderosas (Powerful Women), aims to empower female journalists, organizers and artists in developing countries.
Technology lovers and data geeks from all over the country gathered in Washington, D.C. this week for the Gov 2.0 Expo to explore the power of data and its emerging role in government. We spoke with Google’s Natasha Wyatt about innovations that Google’s Crisis Response team has brought to the table. (Full disclosure: Google’s Gulf Coast oil leak page is utilizing a NewsHour/NPR video feed and the oil estimation widget.)
The first things that hit the eye on a sunny day in Pilsen are the murals. There is art everywhere—on storefronts, brickwork, churches, restaurants. The Virgin Mary of Guadalupe glows blue and gold on the side of a four-story building; an unfinished Aztec god gazes down on people behind a tortilleria; in an older mural, a portrait of Che Guevara stares accusingly at passers-by, reminding the majority Mexican-American neighborhood of their collective ancestors and traditions.
