Part of the fun of holiday music season, for those who celebrate, is hearing endless variations on some of the world’s sturdiest songs. Whether it’s Eric Clapton paying tribute to Avicii (?!) with an EDM “Jingle Bells” or Lydia Liza rewriting “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” there’s never a shortage of new ways to hear a…

Late on a December school night, Maude Lorr, a sophomore at Central High School, found herself onstage at a restaurant in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on St. Paul’s East Side. Lorr wasn’t there to perform with her band, RiGBY, a punk quartet that got their start through School of Rock. Along with the rest of Twin…

Today’s Friday Five is a big deal, for two reasons. First, I had so much fun making last year’s “Best Minnesota music videos of 2018” post that I decided to resurrect the shtick for the end of 2019. These aren’t what I would call “objective” picks; I’m just one person with her own visual and…

As mundane as it can feel to talk about, it’s impossible to separate the culture of the Twin Cities from their frigid winters. Even the toughest born-and-bred Minnesotans can find themselves down in the dumps during cold months. With subzero wind chills and mountains of graying snow, calendars across the cities become dotted with residencies:…

Paisley Park has announced the dates for the fourth annual Celebration, a festival that commemorates the life and legacy of Prince. After three years of April dates, the upcoming Celebration will move to June. The event, which features performances and panels with prominent Prince contributors and associates, will be held from June 4-7, 2020. As…

Donors including many members of the Minnesota music community have contributed nearly $12,000, as of this writing, to support Cedar Cultural Center assistant director of events Michael Lord. According to a GoFundMe campaign organized by Joshua Koepp, “on December 9th, Michael suffered a stroke and was brought to Abbott Northwestern for observation and urgent care.…

Twin Cities hip-hop artist Dua Saleh has released an innovative video for their new single “pretty kitten.” In collaboration with a design team assembled by Minneapolis agency Zeus Jones, Saleh crowdsourced vertical videos to create what they call “the first ever fan-contributed music video entirely made of Instagram face filters.” Speaking recently with Andrea Swensson…

It’s been a big week for Minnesota music, with Lizzo tapped as Time’s Entertainer of the Year, J.S. Ondara playing to a sold-out crowd at First Ave, and The Current announcing the lineup for the 15th Anniversary Party next month. To cap off the week, here are five fresh Minnesota music videos. Lizzo: “Good As…

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul mayor Melvin Carter have both declared today, Dec. 12, to be Blenders Day, according to a press release from the band. Minnesota governor Tim Walz and North Dakota governor Douglas Burgam have also issued “certificates of congratulations” in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Minneapolis-based vocal group…

The Library of Congress announced today that it’s added Purple Rain, the 1984 film that defined the most iconic of Prince’s many images and launched him into the stratosphere of superstardom, to the National Film Registry. 25 films are selected annually for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” important. This year’s selections also include the Loretta…