This Saturday, May 4, the exhibit First Avenue: Stories of Minnesota’s Mainroom opens at the Minnesota History Center. We were able to take a look inside. Here are a few of the things we learned! There are still many Minnesotans who know First Ave best as a bus station. While many Minnesotans may think of…

A week after Paisley Park’s Celebration 2019, we asked attendees to share their impressions. De Angela L. Duff Traveling to Paisley Park in April has become an annual pilgrimage. This year it was hard to not be at Paisley Park on April 21. I had grown used to being there the past two years. Because…

Sanitation expert and a maintenance engineer Garbage man, a janitor and you my dear A real union flight attendant, my oh my You ain’t nothin’ but a waitress in the sky The lyrics to the Replacements’ “Waitress in the Sky,” a singalong favorite from their 1985 album Tim, are hardly complimentary. What listeners might not realize,…

On recordings, you can sound like anything. It’s one thing to create those sounds in the studio, but bringing them to life is another matter when you have an attentive audience waiting in anticipation in the First Ave Mainroom. Fierce and all-encompassing, Foals have an energy that sucks you in and spits you out, something…

The Revolution now have a star of their own at First Avenue, unveiled on April 28 during Celebration 2019. Although “Prince and the Revolution” was one of First Avenue’s original stars, the star changed to just “Prince” when the building was repainted in 2010. Since Prince’s death, the Revolution have worked hard to continue his…

Lydia Liza – “Gardenia” You may already know Lydia Liza for her work in Bomba de Luz or her “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” remake. But you’ll get to know her in a whole new way as she starts releasing music from Non Compos Mentis, her debut solo album which she expects to release this fall. Before…

Governor Tim Walz has declared Friday, April 26, Del Counts Band Day, as the band celebrate with a 58th anniversary show. The Del Counts, who have been performing since 1961 and are widely considered the longest-running rock group in the state, continue to play shows decades later to nostalgic followers. The Del Counts were started…

Three years to the day since Prince’s passing, “fams” packed the Parkway Theater in South Minneapolis for a screening of the iconic film Purple Rain. Shown in its original 35mm format, the film brought back memories and provided comfort to many of the fans who attended. Even 35 years after its release, the film still managed to…

“Manic Monday.” “The Glamorous Life.” “Nothing Compares 2 U.” “Jungle Love.” All are iconic songs, all were written by Prince, but all were also given by Prince to other artists who turned them into hits. Now, Prince’s own versions of these and 11 other songs will be released on a new album called Originals. The album…

“My wife told me not to complain,” Holly Hansen says at the 331 Club. It’s a crisp Thursday evening in Northeast Minneapolis, just cold enough to call for a jacket. Hansen and I are at the dim bar to discuss the return of her band Zoo Animal and the adolescence of t.e.e., the weekly series…