Description
Event Details:
Date: Â Friday, June 5th, 2026
Time: Â 8PM
Venue: Â MUSE Sturgeon Bay
Directions: 330 Jefferson Street, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 54235. On the corner of Third Avenue and Jefferson Street in downtown Sturgeon Bay.
Phone: 920-333-2859
Email: tickets@musesturgeonbay.com
About Billy Peterson:
Billy Peterson is one of the most celebrated bass players in the world. His uncompromising talents as a performer have brought him widespread recognition, as well as credits as a composer, arranger and producer. During his extensive musical career, he has worked with many internationally famous artists, among them: Carlos Santana, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Prince, Les Paul or Steve Miller, just to name a few.
At 16, Peterson joined The Righteous Brothers, during their peak period of success—a summer tour in 1967. He also went on a tour with the prominent Lawrence Welk show All-Stars. Throughout his high school years, Peterson continued to play bass and drums in a variety of local orchestras, combos, R&B bands and big bands including bands of his father Willie Peterson, who was a prominent band-leader and Minnesotan jazz pianist. After graduation, Peterson started playing bass with Billy Wallace, pianist of trumpet-legend Clifford Brown, until 1973.
In 1974, Peterson began to work with Leo Kottke—the great folk guitarist—performing on Kottke’s three albums for Capitol and Chrysalis Records. In 1975, Peterson played electric and upright bassist on Bob Dylan’s legendary multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album “Blood On The Tracks” for Columbia Records. One year later, in 1976, he was invited to join the Gibson guitar staff; so Peterson went on to record and perform with guitar legends such as BB King, Johnny Smith, Les Paul, Lenny Breau, and Howard Roberts. In the late 70’s, Peterson first met Ben Sidran, at the time keyboardist and producer of the Steve Miller Band and keyboardist of The Rolling Stones.
In 1986, and for the next 23 years, Peterson became a full member of the Steve Miller Band, alternating between touring with them during the spring and summer months, and touring with Ben Sidran in the fall and winter months.
Since then, Peterson has continued to work with Leo Kottke, arranged strings fro Prince, composed music for Donny Osmond, performed with Neil Young and Carlos Santana, recorded with Pete Seeger, and worked as the musical director for the international independent production company Megabien Entertainment.
Listen to Billy Peterson:
About Devin Drobka and Anthony Deutsch:
Devin Drobka is one of the most in-demand and creative musicians in the midwest for the past 15 years. Audiences around the world have been enthralled with his wide sonic palette and limitless rhythmic possibilities on the drums. A deep love of jazz, metal, folk, hip-hop, ambient, idm, and classical music has helped shaped Devin’s unique voice and vision on the drums both as a leader and as a sideman. His highly personal and creative drumming can be heard within the realm of jazz having performed with Greg Osby, Jerry Bergonzi, Dayna Stephens, and Joe Lovano as well as indie- folk bands like Field Report and indie rappers R.A.P. Ferreira and Serengeti. Devin can be heard on over 50 albums of genre bending, original music for which he is an advocate for. Devin currently composes music for his newest group, The Devin Drobka Trio, which draws upon his love of contemporary classical music and minimalism and his multi horn group, Bell Dance Songs, which is a response to his love of Albert Ayler, Paul Motian, and Ornette Coleman. Devin’s music has been described as “sounding like nothing else in midwestern jazz” and “gorgerous, innovative.”
“Devin was a former student of mine at Berklee and one of my best. He was and remains, a serious, inquisitive, committed student, firmly grounded in the tradition, but open to what might be possible as the tradition evolves and changes with each generation… not only is Devin a catalyst of that change… he is ” the next generation…” Jon Hazilla – Drum Professor at the Berklee College of Music.
Milwaukee-based pianist/vocalist/composer Anthony Deutsch has been studying piano since 2000 and cultivating a professional career since in 2010. With the intent of embodying beauty and honesty in his work, Deutsch is enamored by the art of improvisation and it’s relationship to the human experience. Deutsch has worked alongside artists including: Kenny Reichert (Kevin Hayden Band, Sara & Kenny, Kenny Reichert Band), Russ Johnson (Russ Johnson’s “Meeting Point”, Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz, Aretha Franklin), Billy Peterson (Bill Evans, Dave King, Bob Dylan, Steve Miller Band) and regularly performs with his trio featuring Devin Drobka (Hanging Hearts, Jerry Bergonzi, Lesser Lakes Trio, Peter Schlamb) and John Christensen (Allison Magaret, Lesser Lakes Trio, Johannes Wallmann). The pianist cites Claude Debussy, Nina Simone, Brad Mehldau, Art Tatum and Paul McCartney as some major influences, however he notes: “Some of the most brilliant music I have ever heard came from birds in the park. It is simply too arduous a task to define what influences an artist and what does not.”
Deutsch graduated from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in December of 2015 with a B.S. in Anthropology where he has worked as an accompanist in the Dance Department for both undergraduate and masters level instruction. Presently, Deutsch is a freelance performer, but continues to compose music for his original lyric-song project, “Father Sky”, debuting in June of 2017. From June to September of 2017, Deutsch performed solo piano for Rashid Johnson’s “Antoine’s Organ” as part of the larger installation “Hail We Now Sing Joy” at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
