To quote the ever-quotable Toki Wright: when a door closes, a window opens. Just six months after finding out that he would lose his long-running position as Department Head of the Hip Hop Studies program at the now-shuttered McNally College of Music, Toki has announced that he’s relocating to Boston to take an Assistant Chair…

Koko, the gorilla known for mastering her own unique form of sign language and communicating with people, has died at 46 years old. The Gorilla Foundation announced that Koko passed away in her sleep on Tuesday morning. As part of a Stanford University research project to see if humans and gorillas could communicate, Penny Patterson…

Last November, the following statement was made on the Eaux Claires festival’s website and Twitter account: “We’re excited about the names. But we’re gonna drib and drab it out, let it flow like smoke, because we want this festival to fly or fall on feel. It’s not about the bands, it’s about the collection of…

Jazz fans and musicians alike look forward to the Twin Cities Jazz Festival each summer. Founded in 1998, the free festival takes place every June and brings about 30,000 people to Mears Park in Lowertown every year. The 20th annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival will take place from June 21-23. Headliners for this year’s festival…

Today, Sylvan Esso released a music video for “Signal,” a track on their latest release What Now. Directed by Minnesota native Dan Huiting, the video features footage taken on their What Now Tour from last year, and a few iconic Minnesota symbols shine brightly. Just a minute and ten seconds into the video, we see…

The theory of improv hinges on the idea of creating quickly and without judgment. Minnesota motion designer Peter Steineck took that idea and brought it to the world of animation. Steineck is the founder and facilitator of Hellavision Television Animation Show. Hellavision is a series of short animations that animators create the idea of working quickly…

We haven’t heard any new music from Caroline Smith since her tap-dancing 2016 release “Trying Not To Love You,” but yesterday, not only did she announce that she’ll soon release new music, she also officially rolled out her new name: Your Smith. She posted a message on Twitter and Instagram explaining the fresh start. All…

In the heart of the Rondo community, music comes alive at the Walker West Music Academy. Founded in 1988 by musicians Reverend Carl Walker and Grant West, Walker West Music Academy has created a safe space in the community, teaching people of all ages and backgrounds to play music. When the academy moved from its…

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal recently published a list of the largest LGBTQ+ businesses in the area, and three of the top five are prominent entertainment venues. In order to qualify for this list, “businesses must be headquartered in the Twin Cities 24-county metro area and be majority owned by a person who identifies themselves as…

Bananas Foster French Toast These ska sensations will have you skankin’ through the Midway all night long. UpNorth Puff Pasty This Ely rapper will have you nodding your head with his bold lyrics and bouncing beats built on polka samples. Shrimp Ceviche This jazz guitar quartet will wow you with their fleet-fingered renditions of Ritchie…