With a rain-drenched but spirited Art-a-Whirl already receding in the rear view, it’s time to start planning for the vast array of block parties and festivals already announced for summer 2019. Kicking off with the Memory Lanes Block Party over Memorial Day weekend, here is a list of events around the Twin Cities area. At…

Cher and I have so much in common. We both go by one iconic name, we are Twitter legends, and we are both fashion icons. So when I was asked to review her Saturday night show at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, I was like “Sure! It’ll be like looking in a mirror.” My very…

I am tired. I’ve spent the past week putting finishing touches on a new project The Current will debut next week, and it’s only at the end of the day that I’ve found the time to put this post together. But what a nice send-off to the weekend: glorious synth work, lots of indie rock,…

Each year since National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Contest was inaugurated in 2008, thousands of emerging musicians have submitted performances for the chance to be featured in NPR’s popular Tiny Desk series and tour the country with the organization. Past winners, including Duluth’s Gaelynn Lea, have gone on to sign record deals and perform around…

For this year’s variety of free (with Fair admission) concerts, the Minnesota State Fair has booked some ringers. On the recently announced free music lineup, names like Belinda Carlisle and Dessa are at the top. Carlisle, a Go-Go gone solo, will perform one evening for the Fair at the Leinie Lodge on Aug. 23, most…

Joan Osborne has performed and recorded with Bob Dylan, but she doesn’t claim to really “know” him. “I think he’s a very mercurial person,” she said in 2017, shortly after releasing an album of Dylan covers. “So, I think I’m probably just as in the dark as anyone else when taking on his songs, but…

The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) is getting ready to host its 24th annual Art-A-Whirl festival. As the largest open studio tour in the country, Art-A-Whirl will showcase over 800 visual artists this year at more than 60 locations across Northeast Minneapolis. Although the event’s focus is on visual art, many of the area’s bars…

“This is a really bad idea,” said Stephen King, “especially considering that the band that first had a hit with this song came from Minnesota. Anyone remember the Trashmen?” Some of us remembered the Trashmen playing “Surfin’ Bird” on that very stage in First Avenue’s Mainroom. King dropped his guitar and stepped forward for that…

Julia Jacklin doesn’t ease her listeners into the emotional turbulence of her songwriting. Instead, she jolts them out of their seats with startling opening lines. “It might make for good TV/ the grieving process for all to see/ but I don’t want my father’s ashes/ scattered over strangers’ couches,” Jacklin sings on the beginning of…

Friday Five is a little later than expected today, due to a project I jumped on this morning with fellow blogger Jay Gabler. He interviewed Stephen King, Amy Tan, and a half-dozen other members of Rock Bottom Remainders, the author-comprised cover band who sold out their show tonight at First Avenue. We’ll get you that…