Show Review: The Cactus Blossoms & Jack Klatt at The Historic Auditorium in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
Two Twin Cities acts brought live music to the newly reopened 1916 Wisconsin venue for the first time since its restoration.
The Cactus Blossoms. Photo credit: Ilia Stockert, 2025.
In 2022, developers purchased a dilapidated building in St. Croix Falls, WI. Their intention: to renovate and reopen a promising auditorium that had shuttered soon after opening due to the global pandemic.
No, not that pandemic. This venue, then called the Civic Auditorium, opened its doors in late 1916 and hosted a few vaudeville shows before the influenza pandemic brought much of the world to a screeching halt. The building then served as a field hospital from 1918 to 1920 and, over the next several decades, a wide array of other purposes, from cinema to sewing factory to library, and eventually theater again. The auditorium fell into disrepair in the 2000s and sat abandoned for nearly a decade.
But in early 2025, thanks to a combination of private and public investment, the exquisitely renovated and newly renamed Historic Auditorium reopened its doors. The venue screened a few classic films in the early part of the year and, on May 17, presented its first of several planned nights of live Americana music: Minneapolis’ own The Cactus Blossoms and Jack Klatt. (The next one, on June 7, featured another all-Minnesota bill of Emmy Woods, Sarah Morris, and Laura Hugo.)
The Historic Auditorium exterior and stage, before and after renovation. Photo credit: Ilia Stockert.
The Venue
St. Croix Falls is about an hour’s drive from the Twin Cities that winds northeast through a beautiful Wisconsin landscape of countryside and small towns. Located on the bank of the St. Croix River, the town has all the charm and access to nature you’d expect (plus a surprisingly broad array of restaurants given its population of 2,300).
The Historic Auditorium, which sits a short distance from the river, boasts a vibrant new appearance that’s a mix of historic restoration and modern features. New expansions allowed for the addition of an elevator, restrooms, a loading dock and more dressing room space. Despite these modernizations, the 270-seat theater retains its historical appeal thanks to the preservation of the walk-up box office window, original windows, a projector room added during the silent film era, and the theater seats, which were installed in 1935 as one of Wisconsin’s first WPA projects.
One of the most stunning elements preserved is the drop curtain that graces the back of the stage. Custom made for the auditorium around 1916 by the Twin City Scenic Company (which was located on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis), the painting depicts columns and a rich red curtain framing a landscape of hills, trees and water. This feature was an eye-catching and atmospheric backdrop for the May 17 concert.
The Historic Auditorium drop curtain. Photo credit: Ilia Stockert.
The Show
Minneapolis troubadour Jack Klatt opened the theater’s first night of music since its reopening with a rousing solo set. This singer-songwriter is frequently chosen by The Cactus Blossoms as an opener for local (and sometimes touring) shows; I first encountered him opening for them in 2017. Like them, he started out with a retro sound that has evolved over the years, maturing into a remarkable Americana act whose music is as easy on the ears as his lyrics are thought-provoking. His seemingly gentle ruminations on love, life and the world around us often deliver hard truths and philosophical observations you keep turning over in your head long after the show.
Jack Klatt. Photo credit: Ilia Stockert, 2025.
Armed only with an electric guitar, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Klatt played a selection of lived-in classics from his 2019 album It Ain’t the Same (including personal favorite “Tomorrow”), one from his 2022 EP Edge of the End (the irresistibly bouncy “Any Way the Wind Is Blowin’”), and a few brand-new songs (one new enough to still have a working title!).
I’ve seen Klatt in a number of settings, including the night before in another sort of historic venue—the modernity-resistant 1932-built Minneapolis dive The Terminal Bar—and he’s always great. But the acoustics of The Historic Auditorium served him well in this solo set, his honeyed voice and skillful instrumentation filling the large room with a rich, captivating sound.
Klatt mentioned he’s working on a new album, which was even more music to my ears, especially considering the preview of excellent new songs he’d given us. He’s released a single and EP fairly recently but we haven’t seen a full-length record from him in about six years, so fingers crossed we won’t have to wait much longer!
Next up on the stage was Minneapolis brother band The Cactus Blossoms. “Family band” might be more accurate; the five-piece outfit consists of co-frontmen Jack Torrey and Page Burkum, who are brothers; their cousin Phillip Hicks on bass; and Jacob and Jeremy Hanson on lead guitar and drums, respectively, who happen to be brothers (though not related to the Burkum clan).
The Cactus Blossoms. Photo credit: Ilia Stockert, 2025.
I started hearing about this act in 2012 and first saw them in 2013. Twelve years later I’m a massive fan who will drop anything to see them play (yes, I once left my own party I was hosting when I learned they were playing nearby). I’ve seen them play in fields and dive bars and listening rooms and breweries, in tiny rooms and big theaters and everything in between. The only thing I’ve never seen from them is a bad show, so I recommend them regardless of venue.
But if you really want to savor their otherworldly harmonies, their carefully crafted and road-tested arrangements, their lyrical mastery that traverses a broad territory of storytelling from the personal to the universal, you can’t beat seeing them in a sit-down theater with pristine acoustics and an attentive listening audience. That’s what the sold-out crowd at The Historic Auditorium got to experience.
For this set, The Cactus Blossoms chose to showcase many of the songs off their most recent album, Every Time I Think About You. Although their first label album (third record if you count two earlier indie releases) You’re Dreaming (2016) will always hold a place of honor as the one that got me hooked, this latest record is possibly their best. Their retro sound has progressed from 1950s style country and rockabilly to an amalgamation of 1960s and 70s pop, rock, folk and country, blended into a sound as unique and unmistakable as their spine-tingling blood harmonies. The influences and references are all clear and present in their music, yet The Cactus Blossoms only sound like The Cactus Blossoms.
While anchored by their incredible voices, their sound owes a lot to their band as well. Bass and drum are both rock-solid drivers of every song, but both get chances to sprinkle in creative touches that enhance the dynamics of the show. Instrumentally speaking, Jacob Hanson’s guitar work is the undeniable scene-stealer. In a moment that’s been a regular part of most sets for the past couple years, toward the end of “I’m Calling You,” he puts down his guitar mid-song and plugs in another one while the rest of the band keeps playing without missing a beat. He rejoins that song at the end, then leads them seamlessly into the next (a cover of Waylon Jennings’ “Ain’t No God in Mexico”).
The long musical interlude in the extended version of “Change Your Ways or Die” is always a show highlight. Torrey and Hanson trade guitar licks that start sparse and experimental and slowly build until Hanson takes over entirely, ripping an insane solo that builds to a finger-blurring speed. It’s never the same from show to show but it’s always a showstopper.
From the cheers that erupted for “Stoplight Kisses” (a set staple even before it appeared on their 2016 album) and “Hey Baby” (from their 2022 record One Day), it was clear that many in the crowd had followed The Cactus Blossoms’ music for years, so it’s no surprise that the band included several older songs in their setlist that night.
Their two-song encore (after a standing ovation) was a nod to their long trajectory: First they played the title song from their new album, a wistful heartbreaker that gained new resonance in the space, and then they closed with one of their oldest tunes, “Adios Maria,” a classic country-style waltz they still start soft but have built out with a swelling, extended outro that sweeps the audience up and leaves us breathless in its expansive sound. They incorporated a new element I’d never seen before, adding their voices to this hypnotizing crescendo. It was a subtle but telling nod to their ever-evolving sound, one of many reasons their fans keep coming back for more.
The Cactus Blossoms. Photo credit: Ilia Stockert, 2025.
Upcoming Historic Auditorium Shows
If you missed this premiere concert, you’re in luck: The Historic has a couple more Americana shows on the calendar featuring familiar names and highly recommended acts:
The Resonant Rogues with Emmy Woods
Thursday, August 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Charlie Parr with Samantha Grimes
Sunday, August 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Photo Gallery: The Cactus Blossoms & Jack Klatt at the Historic Auditorium, St. Croix Falls WI (all photos by Ilia Stockert)
“Every Time I Think About You” (The Cactus Blossoms)
“Any Way the Wind Is Blowin’” (Jack Klatt)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Adventures in Americana co-founder Carol Roth is a novelist who publishes both under her name and the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley in a range of genres, from horror to thriller to YA. She loves to play guitar and sing and occasionally write songs. Her wide-ranging passions also include vegan cooking, personal finance, watching queer romance TV/movies and learning to speak Thai. By day she’s a marketing writer/brand strategist.
Ilia Stockert.
Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ilia Stockert has traveled the world filming documentary, music and event-based projects, with clients ranging from CBC Canada, CTV News Media and HealthPartners International, producing material featured by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. When not shooting commercially, you can find Ilia’s portrait and lifestyle work at Wildflower Photo + Cinema.
