As the base on the "mountain" in Lutsen grows, so thickens the music calendar at Papa Charlie's, the coolest ski-in rock venue in Minnesota -- not that Buck Hill or Afton Alps provide much competition. Next week sees the bar's biggest event of the winter, Snowball, featuring a lot of favorites from the Cabooze/West Bank music scene. Here are the lineup highlights:

THURSDAY: Pert Near Sandstone, Useful Jenkins / FRIDAY: Jon Wayne & the Pain, Soap, the Limns / SATURDAY: WookieFoot, Heatbox

Papa Charlie's is also bringing in some impressive names for the other Saturdays this month, including DJ Abilities this weekend and Dessa with A. Wolf & Her Claws on Jan. 19. It is also now hosting a weekly comedy night on Fridays as well as a songwriter series on Mondays (when rooms at the neighboring Eagle's Ridge resort are cheaper). Some of the participating tunesmiths include the Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank next week, Chris Koza of Rogue Valley on Jan. 14 and Ben Kyle of Romantica on Jan. 21.

If you don't know, Lutsen is about a 4½-hour drive from the Twin Cities along the North Shore.