This is the last edition of Friday Five in its current iteration. Moving forward it will be replaced by a longer, biweekly post about one music video including conversations with the artists behind both the music and the videos. Continue to send submissions to fridayfive [at] mpr.org for consideration! UPRISING – “A.Y.R.D.” An all-star list […]
“It takes me ten minutes to drive to school, right?” said André Cymone, referring to the approximate amount of time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck. “That’s how my kids understand, how I understand it. Ten minutes to get in the car, start to drive, get on the freeway, drive […]
This week’s Friday Five revisits some of the most memorable musical moments from the Minnesota State Fair. Rap verses are thrown down on the Sky Ride, local music heroes visit the MPR booth, and a Current host teams up with one of soul’s greatest singers for a classic Fair ride. André Cymone live on The […]
Normally musicians want to take you higher, but Thursday night on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, Jimmy Jam set a different goal. “I just looked at my phone,” he said from the stage around 6:45, “and it’s three degrees! Goin’ to two…let’s see if we can get to zero before the night is over!” Even the […]
What a stupid grin I have on my face. I keep picturing moments from the show at the Fitzgerald Theater last night, a vibrant event called “The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound” after the subtitle of Andrea Swensson’s new book Got to be Something Here. It served as a book launch; a history lesson; and most […]
Minneapolis music great André Cymone is booked to play a much-anticipated solo show this Friday, July 28 at the Turf Club. He’s now added another weekend performance: a free show at the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl. Cymone’s performance will take place at 5:45 p.m. this Saturday, July 29 at North High Field, 1801 Fremont Ave. […]
And exhale. Celebration, the four-day event at Paisley Park, came to an weighty close yesterday in front of approximately 2,000 fans (1,000 people in each track). Sunday’s program capped a long weekend of storytelling, jamming, mourning, and of course, dancing in Minneapolis, all centered around the one-year anniversary of Prince’s death. From the panels to […]
“You could have been anywhere tonight,” said André Cymone onstage at Lady Bird Lake. “There’s a lot going on. But y’all are here, and we’re gonna have some f—ing fun!” To say there were a few other things happening was an understatement: it was Friday night at SXSW, one of the biggest annual music events in the […]
According to Billboard, Prince’s ’90s band the New Power Generation are headed out on tour after they play Celebration 2017 at Paisley Park. André Cymone wasn’t asked to perform with the Revolution (at Celebration or on their own tour), but the NPG’s Morris Hayes invited him to sing at Paisley and on the road after that. So far, […]
And here I thought five hours of music would be enough. Last night’s Prince tribute at the Xcel Energy Center blew me away. Mixed bag or no, any concert where Luke James, Judith Hill, and Stevie Wonder can make me shiver is one for the history books; 3RDEYEGIRL slayed, the hits kept coming, and it […]
