Whether your desk is tiny or gigantic, chances are you may be spending more time at it than ever this summer. As many of the artists who submitted to National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Contest can attest, it’s a great time to have a project, and for some, that meant participating in this year’s contest.…

The White Castle on 32nd and Lyndale is itself part of Minneapolis history. In 1986, the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission worked to protect this then 50-year-old piece of the city’s architectural history by having it saved from demolition and entered into the National Register of Historic Places. The literal white castle will soon house another…

“When it all started happening, I had reached a point — the first time in my life — where I was making a living solely through doing sound and other music projects,” said Ian Sutherland, “and had just kind of come to the realization that I’d finally reached that little goal of mine. And then,…

After a sold-out homecoming show in Minnesota last December following the release of his first album and a long string of tour dates, Ondara told Andrea Swensson, “Looking at my journey and my trajectory, where I’m from is just so far that there’s just no way…I can’t go back. Forward is the only place to…

In a summer that may have otherwise been filled with live music, musicians and audiences alike have been adjusting to socially distanced options. For most, this entails live streams and music videos made from home. For three Minnesota musicians, bassist Liz Draper, fiddler Clancy Ward, and multi-instrumentalist Kyle Ollah, it also involves a pontoon boat.…

“This is not about me. This is not about Cody [Colton Otte]. This is about George Floyd. This is about Ahmaud Arbrey. This is about Elijah McClain. This is about Toyin [Salau]. This is about every Black person who has been murdered because of systematic oppression.” Those are the words of MC Longshot regarding his…

Last Friday, a stream of vehicles rolled into the parking lot outside Burnsville City Hall, parked in spaces marked with chalk, and lowered their windows. Some patrons opened chairs and umbrellas to protect against the heavy afternoon heat, placed dinner trays on laps, and sat alone or in familial clusters waiting for the show to…

TikTok is one of the most magical, surreal, creative apps there is today. Prince was one of the most magical, surreal, creative artists of his time. The two may make a perfect match as Prince’s entire discography is now available for TikTok creators to use legally. Prince was not a fan of his songs appearing…

Sophia Eris, Lady Midnight, and DJ Keezy have launched a $5 million crowdfunding campaign to open what would be the only professional music venue in Minneapolis owned by women of color. The proposed venue’s name: Auntie’s. “With the recent uprising ignited from the murder of George Floyd combined with accusations of abuse in the music…

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…