In a mere 24 hours, the gates will be open for Rock the Garden and we’ll be standing outside, soaking in the summer sun at one of the largest outdoor festivals of the season. That’s a beautiful thought, isn’t it? And we’ll have plenty to chat about between sets, too, with all of the…

  Duluth has no shortage of love for its most famous son. Already there is Bob Dylan Way, the annual Dylan Days celebration (which spreads all the way up to Hibbing, where Dylan’s family moved after he was born), and the series of Duluth Does Dylan compilations. And soon, if the Dylan By Duluth project…

The Local Radar is getting a little revamp. Each week, we’ll focus on a single new release that we feel deserves a spotlight. Marijuana Deathsquads In what is probably their most straight-forward song yet (besides the great “Top Down” from last year’s Tamper, Disable, Destroy – sidenote, that song could have been a major hit),…

  The West Bank Music Festival, a burgeoning multi-venue gathering that is the Twin Cities’ closest thing to South by Southwest, will return to Cedar-Riverside on Saturday, August 17. Now in its fourth year, the festival seems to be expanding steadily, with the main stage transitioning out of the Nomad Pub’s parking lot last year…

  It’s official: After years of near-misses, teases, and tantalizing hints, the Replacements have just announced that they will, in fact, reunite to play at least three shows. Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson have signed on to headline three different installments of the Riot Fest, which is scheduled to hit Toronto August 24-25, Chicago September…

Wednesday, June 12 Kitten Forever, Prissy Clerks, and Buzzers Kitty Cat Klub, Minneapolis 10 p.m., free, 21+ Need an exit strategy for dealing with this dreary, endlessly rainy week? Get your bones rattled by raucous punk trio Kitten Forever and basement noise duo Buzzers, who will bookmark the pristine melodies of Prissy Clerks. Thursday, June…

  Healthcare has become a huge issue for musicians in Minnesota. Pick up a copy of the weekly paper and scan the concert calendar listings and it seems that there are at least a few benefit concerts happening every weekend, many of which benefit artists who either don’t have insurance or simply can’t afford the…

  The Replacements made headlines this year when they reunited to record their Songs for Slim EP, which features four tracks by frontman Paul Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson, plus cover art and a fifth track recorded by drummer Chris Mars. But the release of the EP was also bittersweet for fans of the ‘Mats,…

Now in its second year, the MN Music-on-a-Stick showcase at the State Fair Grandstand just keeps getting bigger. Rapper P.O.S. and new wave trailblazers the Suburbs—who, coincidentally, just played together in downtown St. Paul at the big “Love is the Law” show in support of same-sex marriage last month—have just been added to a bill…

  With the work week winding down, here’s a handful of the latest Minnesota music video releases to help you usher in your weekend in style… Ian Rans’ One Men series Ian Rans, host of the long-running Drinking With Ian series and a familiar face on the stage of many of the summer block parties,…