Chris Silver Band playing at Oak Center

An eclectic weekend of entertainment — acoustic music one night, a “river rat” film the next — is on tap next weekend at Oak Center General Store, located on Highway 63 southwest of Lake City.

The Chris Silver Band performs originals, bluegrass, folk, and classic ‘70s music at 8 p.m. Nov. 7.

Silver is known as a bluegrass flat-picking virtuoso. Two of his CDs, “Souls and Spirits” and “Over Time,” were nominated for Minnesota Music Awards, and in 2008 he won the Minnesota Flatpick Guitar Championship at the Minnesota State Fair.

Recognized for his work with the acclaimed band Stoney Lonesome, Silver has performed across the globe and has been heard on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” radio program.

His band, formed in 2003, consists of Pete Mathison on bass, Jeff Rogers on drums, Wayne Beezley on mandolin, and Lance Rhicard on banjo. New to the band is vocalist Erin Govrik, who has been performing folk and bluegrass music across America and Mexico for nearly 20 years.

The BBC film “The Last River Rat” will be shown by the man whose story is told in it, Kenny Salwey, at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 8. A potluck dinner will follow at 6 p.m.

Salwey is an author, river guide and veteran woodsman. The Emmy Award-winning film “Mississippi: Tales of the Last River Rat” depicts Salwey, an Alma, Wis., native who has lived his life close to the land, getting by as a river guide, trapper, fisherman, hunter, woodsman and root and herb collector along the Mississippi River.

The environmental documentary was based on two books: “The Last River Rat: Kenny Salwey’s Life in the Wild” and “Kenny Salwey’s Tales of a River Rat.” It captures the Upper Mississippi backwaters and bluff country, and sees the seasonal ebbs and flows of the plant and animal life through Salwey’s eyes.

Presentations at Oak Center are $5 to $15, based on ability to pay. Call (507) 753-2080.

Tags: arts and entertainment, lifestyle, oak, center