Festival and mix shine light on robust Duluth music community

Local music notes from the week of April 9-13

The Duluth quintet has been steadily expanding its fan-base for the past decade, and the release of their fifth record "Palomino" undeniably helped propel them into greater mass appeal. It reached #1 on the US Bluegrass charts and stayed in the top 10 for over a year. It should come as no surprise then that the year which followed the release proved to be Trampled By Turtles' most important year yet, solidifying their role as one of the major players of Minnesota music making an impact nationally and abroad.

Mayors from both cities joining together to recognize the popular band

Duluth's Trampled by Turtles made a new goal while writing and recording their latest album "Stars and Satellites." They wanted to make an album that "breathes." What does that mean? From the band's standpoint, they were able to step out of their musical comfort zones and create an album as a whole rather than several segmented pieces that feel like a live show.

Duluth native Alan Sparhawk has proven that volume doesn't have a limit. His assembled team under the guise of Retribution Gospel Choir provides a striking stylistic departure from the songs he has helped compose as a member of Low. Driving guitars wash over slow-churning rock anthems - it's the perfect way to decompress after a long day.

In addition for being the inspiration for Jeremy Messersmith’s morbid-chic pop album The Reluctant Graveyard back in 2010, the Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery in South Minneapolis is also one of Minnesota’s 10 Most Endangered Places. Messersmith himself performed a benefit concert for the cemetery last summer with Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles, and the…

McNally Smith, Vita.mn, and Rock the Cause planning big gigs

  Slowcore pioneers and Minnesota indie icons, the Duluth-based band Low gave a lovely, slow-burning performance during the first night of our birthday party, and even welcomed members of Dead Man Winter onstage for a portion of their set. It was a performance that perfectly captured the intense musical beauty that garnered these local music…

Album-release show will be at First Avenue on April 11