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Behind First Avenue’s Stars: Eyedea & Abilities

by Madie Ley

November 04, 2015

First Avenue and the 7th Street Entry were always important to Eyedea & Abilities. Larsen also played the venue with other projects, and many friends' last memories of Eyedea were from a show at the Entry shortly before his death, when he stopped by to see Abilities perform with Pigeon John. Eyedea & Abilities were honored with their own star in 2010, and friends and fans gathered in the Mainroom that November to honor Eyedea in a touching celebration.

Eyedea will again be celebrated in the Mainroom on Nov. 9, on what would have been his 34th birthday. He'll also surely be in the thoughts of his Rhymesayers family when the label celebrates its 20th anniversary on Dec. 4, just across the street at Target Center.

Larsen may also be the only person to have stars both on First Avenue and in the sky: in 2013, a special gift was made to Eyedea’s mother, Kathy Averill. A star, located in the Pictor constellation in the southern sky, was named for Eyedea through the Online Star Register. The registration document includes lyric’s from Eyedea’s song, “Music Music”:

The core of our spirit is naked The form of its lyrics are sacred Blanketed by the original sound of the inner vibrations I'm floating on the soft clouds of positive creation

Madie Ley is studying journalism and art history at the University of St. Thomas. She writes about music and art. Luke Taylor contributed reporting to this article.

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.