CEDARBURG CULTURAL CENTER
SATURDAY, JANUARY 24
Thanks for an amazing evening!
last year's campfire sessions
about the artists
Trapper Schoepp
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Darren Garvey
Nick Maas
“…Schoepp is ultimately a storyteller deeply rooted in folk music. His songs connect to the past, yet breathe freshness into the present, reflecting the themes of what it means to be human in a world made of narratives.”
— No Depression
“What’s most important to me is to be a link in the chain of folk singers before and after my time,” Trapper Schoepp says in light of his fifth album, Siren Songs. Recorded at Johnny Cash’s Cash Cabin in Hendersonville, TN, Trapper continues down the trail trod by his musical heroes. In 2019, the Milwaukee singer-songwriter published a long lost song with Bob Dylan called “On, Wisconsin” – making him the youngest musician to share a co-writing credit with the Nobel Prize laureate. The song led to a #1 trending article in Rolling Stone and over a hundred tour dates worldwide.
In fall 2025, Trapper released his rawest work yet titled Osborne, which traces his path through addiction, recovery and chronic pain brought on by BMX accidents in his youth. Osborne lends its name from the unit Trapper was in at a Minnesota rehab facility and is also a nod to the songwriter’s muse Ozzy, who attended the same facility.
Channeling Black Sabbath, Suicide and Springsteen, this 11-track record coming via Blue Elan Records is wildly different than anything Trapper has done. Produced by pop polymath Mike Viola (Andrew Bird, Dawes) and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Jackson Browne), Trapper feels like he’s found an honest voice in song and spirit through Osborne. Recorded in a California church basement, Trapper sings his truth against a backdrop of vintage drum machines, synths and distorted guitars.
After having spent the last decade performing countless live dates and sharing stages with such like-minded Americana mainstays as The Wallflowers, The Jayhawks, Frank Turner and Old 97’s, Trapper will take to the road again with Osborne in 2025. Trapper will tour through Europe in October appearing at the legendary Take Root festival, as well as supporting artists in the USA ranging from punk rocker Laura Jane Grace to 70s hitmakers Three Dog Night. “This kind of music is a living, breathing artform that really comes to life when shared,” Trapper says. “I can’t wait to take these songs to the people.”
Darren Garvey is celebrating the release of his third full-length album "As A Scribble." As a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Darren plays drums and percussion in Colorado sextet Elephant Revival and has backed up Wisconsin bands like Daniel and the Lion, Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons, Courtney Hartman, Dead Horses, Field Report, and the great Trapper Schoepp. Darren's new record "As A Scribble" speaks to an overarching theme in his music - finding positivity in times of unrest.
Nick Maas, a Milwaukee-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, crafts sun-kissed songs characterized by effortless pop melodies and hazy harmonies. Under the moniker Cabin Essence, he released his debut album, “A Place for Playing Games,” in 2016. Recorded primarily at home, the album was entirely self-written and produced. In 2019, he released the single “For Your Love,” which garnered regular airplay on regional radio stations and enhanced his sonic capabilities.
In January 2024, Maas released “House for Two,” his debut single under his own name. The song features simple yet sweet melodies layered over warm acoustic guitars, groovy bass, and drums. In November 2024, he released his second single, “Around Again,” which explores the emotions of revisiting a place one once lived and the new interactions with former acquaintances.
Over the past few years, Maas has performed as an opening act for numerous touring artists, including Minneapolis-based bands Night Moves and Bad Bad Hats, the 1990s power pop group The Posies, and folk/pop songwriter Josh Rouse.
Campfire Sessions
March 1, 2025
