Drummer JT Bates will help kick off a new concert series, Landmark to Lowertown, over the lunch hour on Friday, Oct. 10 at Bedlam Theatre in St. Paul. He will be joined by Jeremy Ylvisaker and Jim Anton. Nicknamed L2L and sponsored by the American Composers Forum, the series was created to enrich St. Paul’s art scene…

The element of surprise is turning out to be increasingly popular among major artists. Beyoncé dropped her new album out of nowhere last December, U2 gave Songs of Innocence to half a billion iTunes users earlier this month—and now Radiohead’s Thom Yorke has suddenly released a new eight-song album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, via the download service BitTorrent.…

Mostafa Kashe, a 53-year-old California man, claims that he’s suffered “substantial” injuries—including an impaired sense of smell—after being hit in the face with a soccer ball kicked into the crowd by Rod Stewart at a 2012 concert in Las Vegas. Kashe is now suing Stewart for $10,000. This isn’t the first time Stewart’s been sued by a fan…

The Minnesota Music Coalition’s Caravan du Nord is trekking across our great state once again beginning Sept. 26. This traveling showcase of Minnesota musicians will embark on a journey though Austin, Detroit Lakes, Red Wing, Faribault, and Duluth. Historic theaters in each city will host music artists for full-day slates of performances, workshops, and community engagement. The lineup…

“We still need one more hit,” Debbie Harry says of her band Blondie. “I take a lot of vitamins. It helps.” The band are celebrating 40 years together with a New York City art exhibit featuring rare memorabilia as well as photos of Harry by Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibowitz, and more. (Billboard) Meanwhile, the band’s former hangout CBGB…

Celebrating its tenth anniversary as a music festival in Winona, Boats and Bluegrass promises a jam-packed weekend full of bluegrass and folk music, as well as outdoor activities from Sept. 25-28. Held on two stages at the Prairie Island Campground on the Mississippi River, music will begin on Thursday evening at 4:30, with the night…

Together, Daniel Paul Davis and Christopher Nelson, collectively known as Judah, are working to help put Minnesota on the dance-music map. “We don’t want it to be a flyover state,” said Davis. They’ve won thumbs-up from the likes of London Grammar for their remixes—but as they’ve learned, the life of a remix artist is complicated. Davis…

Sherwin Linton made his first guitar out of a yardstick and a cigar box. In 1965, he graduated to building his own double neck guitar out of a Fender Jazzmaster. After 59 years of performing, the precision remains: Linton has never missed a show.  He holds a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not World Record for…

“All you need is love,” reads the Beatles lyric painted on the exterior wall of the Midwest Music Museum, but it looks like more will be required: an eviction summons is currently posted to the exterior door of what was planned to be the new 400 Bar at the Mall of America. According to the Star Tribune,…

It’s been a big year for Canadian music, with lauded albums by artists including Arcade Fire, Mac DeMarco, and Drake. This year’s Polaris Prize for best Canadian album, though, has gone to Tanya Tagaq, an Inuk throat singer known not only for her innovative music but also for promoting the seal products the Inuk economy relies on. She’s…