As one of the Twin Cities’ premier guitar players, Chris Perricelli has earned a reputation for channeling the feedback-drenched squalor of rock ‘n’ roll days gone by. So it’s no surprise that his latest album, Original Face, is bursting with heady riffs and powerhouse choruses that hearken back to the glory days of ’70s rock.…

Last night, New York duo Phantogram played for a sold-out crowd at First Avenue, following the release of their new album Voices. Selling out the Mainroom—and not for the first time—is no small feat for a band with only two studio albums to their credit. Vocalist/keyboardist Sarah Barthel seemed well aware of that, reflecting, “We started…

The weather in April may be unpredictable—here in Minnesota, we barely flinch when the skies dump a foot of snow on us one week and melt it all away with sunny weather the next—but there is one thing we can rely on year in and year out: The announcement of another summer festival season, including…

Plenty of bands take steps to reach out to their fans, but few of them go as far as “interactive dance party” duo Koo Koo Kanga Roo, who hugged literally everyone in attendance after their University of Minnesota—Morris show on March 22. They’re currently touring in anticipation of their upcoming album Whoopty Whoop, out May…

Hot on the heels of the announcement of their inaugural Festival Palomino, which hits Canterbury Park on September 20, Trampled by Turtles are back with more news today: they have a new studio album, Wild Animals, coming out on July 15. Produced by Low’s Alan Sparhawk and recorded at the historic Pachyderm Studios in Cannon…

As a follow-up to their 2009 Music From the North Country compilation and subsequent reunion tour, the Jayhawks have announced that they will reissue more of their albums and reunite once again—this time with their late-’90s, post-Mark Olson, Sound of Lies-era lineup that was led by Gary Louris and featured Tim O’Reagan, Marc Perlman, Karen Groberg,…

Minnesota native Jordis Unga has taken a novel approach to booking her upcoming hometown gig at the Fine Line Music Café. Showkicker is a new platform that aims to allow artists to book their own shows, with upfront pledges from fans who promise to buy tickets if a given performance is scheduled. One of the founders, Carley…

Pert Near Sandstone: The Hardest Part of Leaving Minnesota roots rockers have been a productive bunch as of late, and now, bluegrass big shots Pert Near Sandstone are upon their release of their sixth studio album, The Hardest Part of Leaving, a richly developed follow-up to 2011’s well-received Paradise Hop. For the album, the band have added cajun fiddle, swing piano, and…

Minneapolis Public Schools recently commissioned two local artists, hip-hop artist/writer Dessa and composer Jocelyn Hagen, to collaborate on a work for mass choir and orchestra to be premiered April 28 and 29 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I spoke with both artists about this work in progress. I’m excited about this project for a number…

On Sunday night, just over a year after their most recent performance at First Avenue, Local Natives took to the stage as usual: eternally hip, relatively somber, and genuinely pleased to be there. Had the show been three days earlier—with Minnesota in the grip of an April snowstorm—the mood might not have been quite as…