Kate Nash first came to Minneapolis almost exactly ten years ago, for a First Avenue show supporting her sensation of a debut album, Made of Bricks. Reviewing the show for the Twin Cities Daily Planet, I described her overall onstage affect as “coy, demure, and slightly prim.” No more. Last night Nash and and her three-piece…

Every Prince fam has an opinion on Celebration, the four-day event hosted at Paisley Park. For better or worse, the Prince extravaganza is back for the second year running, drawing some locals and a few thousand out-of-towners to Prince’s Chanhassen complex. On day one, attendees watched panel after panel and a live performance by Sheila…

There was so much buzz surrounding First Avenue’s foray into Lego culture a few months back that it only feels appropriate to see another Twin Cities music landmark follow suit. The Electric Fetus record store has teamed up with Brickmania, a Minnesota-based group that creates and sells custom Lego sets. Brickmania was founded by designer…

Since 2016, Paisley Park has opened its doors to the public as a museum, allowing Prince fans to catch a glimpse of the icon’s life through exhibits of his personal belongings. Now, Paisley Park is looking to hire someone to maintain their collection of Prince artifacts. The job’s official title is archives supervisor. It is…

This coming Saturday, April 21, is the date for Record Store Day 2018 — and this year marks the tenth anniversary of the international event. As per tradition, there is a whole list of special releases and Record Store Day exclusives from artists both local and non-local. Record stores across the Twin Cities are jumping…

In a surprise that coincides with the kickoff of Celebration 2018 at Paisley Park — and as the world prepares to mark two years since Prince’s sudden death — the original studio recording of Prince’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U” has been released by the icon’s estate. “Nothing Compares 2 U” is best-known in the…

This weekend marks two years since we lost Prince — and Minnesota is coming together to celebrate his life and the legacy that he left behind. Here is a list of some of the Prince-related events happening this weekend. While you’re cruising around town, listen to our new stream Purple Current, which will be all-Prince…

Prince took us to Uptown. He took us to church. And yesterday, he took us to school, drawing several dozen fans and scholars to the University of Minnesota for the second day of their “Prince from Minneapolis” symposium. After a breakfast of starfish (cookies) and coffee, attendees watched a handful of panels, many of which featured…

The story of Prince on keyboards is also the story of how technology routed his music — and all pop music — in the ’80s. Manning a bank of synths in his trademark surgical scrubs, “Dr.” Matt Fink wasn’t Prince’s longest-running keyboardist (Morris Hayes played with the NPG for 20 years), but Fink’s dozen years,…

When you think about the Minneapolis Sound, synths and drum machines probably jump to mind before you think of bass. Possibly the best-known thing Prince ever did regarding bass guitar was to leave it out of one of his most iconic hits: “When Doves Cry.” As BrownMark explains, though, there was a reason that song…