I have written a lot about the small, out-of-the way venues you can find in the Eau Claire Area that feature great music, theatre, and other performances.  There are definitely a lot of choices out there, from the Cabin on the UWEC Campus, to the Grand Theatre at the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild.  No doubt, on any given evening, you can find a great experience in a quirky little space.

I have also penned about fantastic shows I’ve seen at The State Theatre, one of the largest spaces for the arts in Eau Claire.  With over 1,000 seats, it features great local as well as regional and national acts.  In recent years, the overall quality of the touring shows they host has gone up significantly.  Steve Martin, The Bodeans, and John Tesh (among others) have all graced the stage there within the past year.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet however is the quality and number of HUGE music events we have in the area.  The Chippewa Valley is host to three large summer music festivals; Country Fest, Rock Fest, and Country Jam.  Every summer, thousands of people flock to the area to see top-notch national acts, spending millions of dollars in our local economy.  This year, I had the opportunity to go to Country Jam (aka “Jam”), held just minutes from the center of Eau Claire just down the road from Fanny Hill.

In the music festival world, there are two main categories of admission to these events, VIP and General Admission.  I have been to Jam once in the past, but was only there in the general admission section.  This year, I was lucky enough to get tickets for the VIP area and I’m afraid to say there is no going back…  The reserved seating close to the stage is great, but the unlimited food and drink is what really sets VIP apart.  The Jam crew really does it right offering a seemingly endless array of choices from a multitude of vendors.  It was great, and I highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t already.  The main act on this night was Blake Shelton.  Now I admit I am not a big country music fan, but I was looking forward to Blake because I had heard of his reputation as a jokester.  Turns out, I knew a lot of the songs he did and he really delivered on stage!  He often introduced the next melody by talking about the story behind it and at times, it felt more like a comedy show than a music concert.  The crowd ate up every joke, and sang along to every catchy refrain.  The bass shook my chest and the lights danced to the music behind the band.  Another great musical experience in the Eau Claire Area, and I’m looking forward to trying it again in 2012.