The Lumberjack Ballads of Minnesota

Minneapolis singer and guitarist Brian Miller was looking for Irish traditional music with a Minnesota connection.  He found it in his own hometown history. 

When most Minnesotans think of modern-day Bemidji, they probably picture the reserved Scandinavian townsfolk and quiet lifestyle of Lake Woebegone. But a century ago, northern Minnesota was overrun with a much rowdier bunch: Lumberjacks—many of them Irish—and they brought with them their penchant for revelry and their rich musical tradition. Brian Miller, a Bemidji-born Irish singer and guitar player, is now breathing new life into those long-forgotten logging camp songs, providing a glimpse of what life was like up north during the late 19th century. 

Miller discovered the treasure trove of Minnesota ballads, which were collected during the 1920s by Franz Rickaby, a midwestern ethnomusicologist. Rickaby hitchhiked around Minnesota, transcribing songs from aging lumbermen in Bayport, Virginia and Bemidji. Swedish and Norwegian farmers were replacing Irish loggers in those days, as the industry moved ever westward. Rickaby managed to track down some of the last remaining singers, preserving a unique window into a forgotten era in Minnesota history. 

Many of the songs have traditional Irish melodies, but the lumberjacks added new lyrics about the hard life working in the north woods. There are songs about tragedies and drownings, but also more playful tunes, like “The Shantyboy and the Farmer’s Son,” which pits the heroic woodsman against the mild-mannered farmer. Other adaptations recast traditional Irish love stories on the rivers of Wisconsin. 

Throughout his career as a nationally respected Irish musician Brian Miller has often endured a bit of ribbing. How did a Minnesotan of German extraction fall in love with all those jigs, reels and Come All Ye’s? Performing songs from the Rickaby collection has given him a way to connect his music to his hometown and to use his deep understanding of the Irish musical tradition to tell the stories of men who shaped the history of his home state.  

In arranging these songs for voice and guitar (and fiddle, when joined by Two Tap Trio fiddler Nathan Gourley) Miller employs a colorful approach inspired by modern Irish musicians such as Paul Brady and Andy Irvine. By musically connecting the songs to Ireland with a modern touch, Miller brings the lumberjacks to life as more than comical Paul Bunyans. His performances portray them as hard working immigrants who carried on a rich tradition of singing that had deep international roots as well as a character specifically linked to their experience in Minnesota.

Listen to Brian's interview and performance on MPR - All Things Considered.

For Bookings Contact Brian Miller at dadgadguy@gmail.com or 651-245-3719