With 69 points, Nur-D took first place as the Twin Cities’ “best new local artist” in the City Pages annual Picked to Click poll of Minnesota music influentials. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the winner and some of the other artists who made the top 10 are free spirits who can’t be categorized into…

Although it’s a typical day for most of us, Oct. 16 is time stamped for Mayte Garcia, who recognizes its importance every year. The day usually includes dessert, and conversations with her daughter Gia about Gia’s brother Amiir, who would have turned 23 today. At one time, these conversations were difficult for Garcia because of…

Mourning the death of a child, and experiencing the grieving process, can be challenging and create long-term distress. When coping and healing from a traumatic event like stillbirth, music and song lyrics can create connections that often evoke emotional responses. For Richfield couple Elizabeth Ahlin and Sam Golgert, music became an essential part of their…

“We weren’t always this perfect,” said Tegan Quin, dryly, onstage last night at the Fitzgerald Theater. “We weren’t always LGBTQ international icons.” There were a lot of layers to the quip. It got a laugh because although it could read as sarcastic, Tegan and her sister/bandmate Sara Quin have in fact been called “icons” by…

On Saturday night, the air inside the Cedar Cultural Center was still. Hundreds of bodies squeezed in front of the stage to see Lucy Dacus, but a deliberate quiet filled the room. The songwriter from Richmond, Virginia has built a loyal following around her introspective and heartbreakingly honest lyrics, from 2016’s No Burden and 2018’s Historian…

Dua Saleh – “Sugar Mama” Performing “Sugar Mama” from their 2019 EP Nūr, Dua Saleh sings, gazes, and spits into a spinning camera. Of the video, Saleh tells Pigeons & Planes, “The contrastingly bright and dark imagery […] is a nod to the sentiment of the song. It’s playful enough to not take itself too seriously,…

On the side of the 424 building on Washington Avenue in the North Loop neighborhood of downtown Minneapolis, you might have seen the beginnings of yet another mural of Minnesota music icon Prince. You can thank the Floyd’s 99 Barbershop for the commission. Many Floyd’s 99 Barbershops all over the country have murals on the…

For several years, it felt like Minnesota had Lizzo all to ourselves. Now we’re sharing her with the world, but whenever she returns, it feels like a homecoming. Last night, in the first of two shows this week at the Armory in Minneapolis, she was feeling the love with a radiant performance. Photographer Mary Mathis…

Ed Ackerson, the prolific and iconoclastic rocker whose Flowers Studio was a go-to hub for generations of Minnesota artists, died yesterday after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. His wife, Ashley Ackerson, wrote, “He was peaceful and at home with his family and friends. He left this world smiling.” She continued, “Ed never looked…

Gaelynn Lea – “The Long Way Around” Gaelynn Lea unveils a soothing video for “The Long Way Around,” a 2019 single about “the relationships that take work but are worth it in the end.” It features a bit of synth flavor from Jason McGlone as well as several strains of guitar from Alan Sparhawk, Charlie…