DJ Fundo, MAKR, Keith Millions, and Aaron Baum (Night Moves; Pornonono) have all known each other for at least five years. In fact, if you pooled their experience working in Twin Cities music, you’d have decades on your hands. This year, the four of them started what might be one of the coolest projects they’ve […]
It’s easy enough to sound sweet. Beautiful voices grace an inventory of folk projects, especially those fronted by women; you’ll see adjectives like “dulcet” and “mellifluous” used to describe their voices, with sugar baked right into the words. But sweetness sounds best up against a snarl — some complexity and tension. Lena Elizabeth, part of […]
Thomas Abban is in full make-up when he arrives for our interview. It’s 9:30 in the morning at an Uptown coffee shop, and none of the other customers look ready to step on a stage — but there he is, wearing black and white, thin lines and question marks painted on his hands. Under his […]
If you ever get a chance to spend time with Laura Schultz, do it. She’s the co-frontperson of Local Show Artists to Watch Good Night Gold Dust, an indie pop band based in Mankato, Minn. She’s an intelligent, thoughtful person who pursues growth. This year, she’s making her own space as a solo artist with her […]
You know the music that you don’t understand but you think might understand you? The lyrics that hit your brain in a Rorschach-test splatter? If not, listen to emerging artist Dua, and you will. Dua (who uses they/them pronouns) is a poet, actor, and artist who never thought they could sing. But through practice and […]
If there was such a thing as Performer of the Summer, Nick Jordan would be a Twin Cities shoo-in. Everyone from Billboard to Newsweek to New York Times podcast Still Processing is debating the candidates for this year’s Song of the Summer (which could be Calvin Harris’s “Slide,” DJ Khaled’s “I’m The One,” or any of the new Lorde singles), and each feature notes that […]
Some people had no idea who Dwynell Roland was when they bought tickets for Rock the Garden 2017. Some people may have heard his name in passing. But those who follow local hip-hop would’ve inched their cursor that much closer to the “Buy Tickets” button, and with good reason; Roland’s shows are pure energy. Born […]
I didn’t expect a band who count Coldplay as one of their biggest influences to charm me with their piano pop/rock. But that’s an indictment of my attitude and music culture, because while I took a listen to Kaleidoscope Effect (Jordan Goldberger on lead vocals/piano/guitar, Zack Sieger on lead guitar, Jessie Erickson on vocals/ guitar/piano, […]
Taylor Harris is Lady Lark, a pop/soul artist making her Entry debut on Monday. Her music is bouncy, playful, and slinky, cut out for the roller rink or a Mayer Hawthorne fan’s playlist; Harris is playful, too, but as Lady Lark, she ups the ante, becoming a compelling, commanding bandleader. She and her fellow songwriters, […]
You know those people you connect with immediately? You meet, you start talking, and soon, you’re laughing non-stop. You have so much in common it seems like you might’ve been following the same paths for years. That’s how I feel when I meet Nyasia. Her full name is Nyasia Arredondo, but she goes by the […]
