Late last night, minutes before the clock struck midnight on the East Coast and 11 p.m. here in the Midwest, Beyoncé dropped her fifth studio album and 17 music videos exclusively through iTunes. There was no lead-up to the release—no teaser videos, no press releases warning of its arrival, not even so much as a…

Anyone could tell you Dessa knows serious—but anyone who’s seen her live, or listened carefully to her lyrics, or read her poetry, knows how funny she can also be. Her lyrics, writings, and casual remarks are dense with a unique, clever, and somewhat melancholy brand of wit. “I do like the idea of incorporating humor…

Doomtree kicked off their blowout weekend with an early all-ages show at the Triple Rock on December 12. Waiting in line for the doors to open, it was clear this was not the typical 21+ First Avenue crowd; the show had drawn a lot of kids and parents out to see some live music. As…

If you turned on MTV sometime between November 1989 and whenever the station stopped showing music videos, chances are you’re familiar with the Paula Abdul video “Opposites Attract,” which finds the pop star tap dancing and dueting with a rapping cartoon named MC Skat Kat. What you might now know, however, is that the rapping…

Thursday, December 12 Dustin Thomas 7th St. Entry, Minneapolis 8 p.m., $5, 18+ Globe-trotting soul-folk artist Dustin Thomas returns home after playing to thousands at music festivals in Bali and Australia. (Read an interview with Dustin and see photos from his travels here.) For his Minneapolis show, he’ll be joined by folk-rock band Portage. Duluth…

At partnered higher-learning institutions separated by gender and about six miles, students can find themselves feeling disconnected from their counterparts on the opposite campus. As students at the College of Saint Benedict (for women) and Saint John’s University (for men), we experience this unique atmosphere. We take courses on both campuses, we dine together, and…

I knew Pony Bwoy would be sexy. Based on the track records of the two collaborators, Jeremy Nutzman and Hunter Morley, it had to be sexy. But I didn’t know Pony Bwoy would be beautiful. The new electronic hip-hop R&B duo was only born last spring, in the hazy aftermath of shows that featured both…

Fans of Duluth’s Low won’t want to miss a special one-time performance by more than 25 of the band’s friends and neighbors during an event dubbed “Duluth Does Low” this Thursday at the historic Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth’s central hillside. This tribute to Low is being organized by Sacred Heart Executive Director and…

Cloud Cult have earned a devoted fanbase on the premise of making vulnerable, sincere music and approaching the highs and lows of life from the rawest of places—so it was no surprise that their three shows at the Southern Theater were intimate and revealing. But with the band seated in a row of chairs in…

Har-Di-Har, Hard Parent/Thick Child Har-di-Har, an ethereal, experimental husband-and-wife duo originally hailing from Iowa, have danced their way into the Twin Cities music scene with dreamy singles like “Once Branches” and “Move Over Forward.” They now present their ambitious new EP Hard Parent/Thick Child. Out now, the six-song EP showcases Andrew and Julie Thoreen’s enticing…