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| Musician Peter Mulvey in it for the 'Long Haul' In a press release touting his "Long Haul Tour, " Milwaukee's Peter Mulvey touts an audience that "stretches from Anchorage to Amsterdam." Mulvey won't be accumulating that many miles during his tour, which began Wednesday in Elkhart Lake and concludes in Madison on Sunday, Oct. 3, but what he is doing certainly qualifies as impressive. During the five days, Mulvey will venture from site-to-site on a bicycle. Songwriter and opening act Brianna Lane will join Mulvey on the adventure, as will a few friends. Making matters even more interesting is that Mulvey and Lane will travel with their gear, sans support vehicles. Think about that feat the next time you drive the car a block to pick up carry out pizza. "No matter what you do, it's worth asking yourself if you can do it differently, if you can do it more sustainably, " Mulvey said. "Can I bike to work? Even if it takes a thousand miles? For me, that's a question that's been challenging and very, very fun to answer. And it's a question each of us owes to future generations to ask." The path Mulvey is taking certainly isn't an easy one, as if one would expect riding to all of his venues would be. He opened Wednesday at the Brown Baer Tavern in Elkhart Lake. Today, he appears at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, followed by a Friday show at Paradigm Coffee & Music in Sheboygan (8 p.m., ticket price $10). Saturday is a doubleheader in Milwaukee at the Urban Ecology Center followed by Linneman's before wrapping up things in Madison at the High Noon Saloon. The total distance Mulvey and his group will travel between the cities is roughly 300 miles over the five days. "This is going to be a riot, " he said. "Traveling over land, under our own power — that's elemental stuff. I'm looking forward to seeing what it does to the songs every night." This is Mulvey's fourth-annual Long Hall Tour, but he's been a presence on the music scene for much longer. He's released 12 albums, including his most recent, "Letters From a Flying Machine, " last year. It's a collection of songs and spoken word records from letters Mulvey has written to his nieces and nephews since they were born. Mulvey has dabbled in a number of styles, including Tin Pan Alley jazz, modern acoustic, poetry, narrative and Americana stylings. He has been relentless touring over the last 20 years, having shared stages with such names as Emmylou Harris, Indigo Girls and Ani diFranco. write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Jazz News :: home page |