On Sunday night, LCD Soundsystem reunited for their first show in five years, performing at New York City’s Webster Hall. The show was a warm-up for their upcoming headlining gig at Coachella, as made clear by the Webster Hall marquee which read, “Test in Progress, Please Stand By.” LCD Soundsystem kicked off their 15-song set…

Each week on the Local Show, we’ll meet a new person from the Minnesota music community who has some fresh discoveries to share in a feature called “Ask a Cool Person.” These people will come from all corners of the scene, including record store clerks, recording studio engineers and producers, artists, writers, bookers, photographers, and…

During Saturday night’s concert at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, guitarist James Iha rejoined former Smashing Pumpkins bandmates Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain to perform a handful of songs from their landmark 1993 LP, Siamese Dream. “Yes, it’s James Iha,” Corgan told the stunned crowd. (Rolling Stone) Rolling Stones perform for an estimated 500,000 Cubans in…

That’s right, ’90s R&B stars Boyz II Men are coming to town — specifically, to Orchestra Hall. The trio will join the Minnesota Orchestra for a propitiously timed performance on Feb. 11, 2017. The performance was just announced today as part of the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2016-17 season. For classical music fans, the big news is the return…

Christopher David Hanson Band: “Basket of Bones” This slab of blooze from Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region comes with a cute video by Minneapolis filmmaker Mercies May, who puts a supernatural spin on the idea that opposites attract. The Christopher David Hanson Band play tonight and tomorrow at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen. John David &…

Apple Music and Vice have launched a music documentary series called The Score. The series will explore music across the country, and the first episode, “Reservation Rap,” spotlights Ojibwe hip-hop artists from northern Minnesota. Baby Shel, Tall Paul, Thomas X, and Left Field appear in the two-part documentary, which clocks in at just under 20 minutes and is now streaming…

Last night, Lucius played a sold-out concert at First Avenue’s Mainroom, and they welcomed a local guest onstage: none other than Gaelynn Lea, the Duluth singer-songwriter who recently made national headlines when she won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. Lucius’s Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe were both judges in the contest. “Hers was the one melody…

Christian Erickson remembers the moment he realized he was in a band. Gathered in a practice room, Angela Orluck, Amy Turaney and Janey Winterbauer began crafting harmonies for Erickson’s “Cape Canaveral.” Originally, Erickson had just planned for them to sing in some of the different tracks he had written, but he knew he was witnessing something…

After numerous collaborative efforts since 2012’s For My Mother, producer and composer Big Cats returns with another solo project, though the term is not entirely accurate. The eight-song album What If It Doesn’t Get Better? pulls from a core group of collaborators for additional vocals, instrumentation, and composition — including Lydia Liza, Claire de Lune,…

In the wake of the death of A Tribe Called Quest member Phife Dawg, musicians and fans from around the world have been paying tribute. Onstage in Sydney, Kendrick Lamar asked an arena full of fans, holding their phone lights in the air, to chant the late rapper’s name. Calling Phife Dawg “one of the pioneers of hip-hop,” Lamar…