Michael Perry returns to the Jensen Center May 2
Award-winning author and his band to perform
Michael Perry (in red jacket) and the Long Beds. Photo by Lee Butterworth Photography.
The Jensen Community Center in Amherst welcomes author and singer/songwriter Michael Perry back to its stage in the Dallas and Edith Pankowski Theater after a sold-out 2022 show. This time, Perry is bringing his band, the Long Beds, with him. It all comes together May 2 at 7 p.m. A social hour begins at 6 p.m., with small bites from The Landmark and a cash bar featuring Central Waters products — a perfect way to kick off an evening of great music and community.
Michael Perry and the Long Beds feature all-original songs written and sung by Perry, a New York Times bestselling author of such books as Population 485, Truck, The Scavengers, Visiting Tom, Forty Acres Deep, and his newest, Improbable Mentors.
Perry began writing music in the early 1990s as a way to break up all-night typing sessions when he was struggling to survive on prose. Eventually, a musician friend invited him to play a coffee shop gig. “I’m not saying I was nervous, but I cranked out a 60-minute set list in 32 minutes flat,” he said.
Since then Perry has released four albums, several singles, and toured backed by a collection of renowned musicians who have performed on numerous stages throughout the world (including The Tonight Show, Austin City Limits, and Eaux Claires festival) and worked with a host of artists, including Bon Iver, S. Carey, The Staves, Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Field Report, The Tallest Man on Earth, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and many more.
According to their website, “every Long Beds show is built on roughneck ballads and freight train rockers interspersed with hilarious off-the-cuff tales from Mike’s diverse experience as a Wisconsin farm kid turned cowboy turned nurse turned best-selling author and humorist (as featured on the recent PBS special Michael Perry: On the Road).”
Perry resides with his family on a small farm in rural Wisconsin.
Tickets are $35 in advance and are available now at jensencommunitycenter.ticketspice.com/mp. Any unsold tickets will be $40 at the door. For more info, call (715) 824-5202 or email nikki@jensencenter.org.