Driving down Central Avenue in Minneapolis one summer, Mary Tjosvold and Larry Dunsmore decided to take a chance on a dream. They noticed that the familiar Shorewood Bar and Grill was a little too quiet that night and, after finding out that the venue had shut its doors, they made an offer on the property. […]
Thirty minutes after her scheduled set time, following a half-hour of increasingly urgent electronic music, FKA twigs floated in front of the velvet curtain of the Palace Theatre on Thursday night. Her eyes were covered in ruby red crystals and she wore a massive volume of lavish fabrics that made it impossible to tell where […]
The loudest moment of Angel Olsen’s Tuesday night show at First Avenue came a few songs into her set at the end of “Lark.” The tune concluded with Olsen’s husky vocals echoing the phrase “dream on” over a sparse drum beat and a bass line that resembled a heartbeat. It was impossible to hear the […]
Minneapolis singer-songwriter Andy Cook shares an account of his recent adventure in New York City. Making music and running a marathon have a lot in common, it turns out. Immense amounts of time and effort put into preparation; the ebbs and flows of anxiety and excitement along the way; and then the moment it all […]
From 1920 to 1933, Prohibition outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol — but Minnesotans found other ways to enjoy their spirits. St. Paul’s bootlegging business was booming and the city’s bands provided the soundtrack. When the Volstead Act went into effect in 1919, saloons and beer parlors closed up shop and new establishments […]
The original demo for “Wanted Man,” a song from Johnny Cash’s 1969 live album At San Quentin, has emerged from the archives of Bob Dylan’s music vault. Originally written by Dylan for Cash in the late 1960s, the song is featured on the upcoming box set Bob Dylan (Featuring Johnny Cash) — Travelin’ Thru, 1967-1969: […]
The countdown for the annual Record Store Day Black Friday sale continues to count down with little over a month left, and some familiar names are on the list of vinyl exclusives: including Lizzo, J.S. Ondara, Hippo Campus, Paul Westerberg/Grandpaboy, and the Hold Steady. Record Store Day proper happens in the spring, but the vinyl-forward […]
Trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson is a rising name in the Twin Cities music community. A student of mentors like local jazz musicians Kevin Washington and Solomon Parham, the twentysomething has been influenced by the past, but goes his own way as an artist. After spending two years studying music at the University of Manitoba, Jackson returned […]
Big Thief played a sold-out show at First Avenue last night with special guest Palehound. Before the foursome took the stage, a loop of mounting synths pulsated throughout the club while smoke machines filled the room. The audience jostled and whooped occasionally, but there was a palpable feeling of tense anticipation in the air as […]
Last night at the Turf Club, Starcrawler’s set literally started with a bang as a sudden strum of the electric guitar made everyone jump in their bar stools. That’s all it took to get the party going. Frontwoman Arrow de Wilde took the mic dressed like a zombified ice skater in a blood-stained, sheer white […]
