Email Author Andrea Swensson

Awards

• 2010 - Page One Contest/Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists

  Year in Music

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2009 Stories by Andrea Swensson

• The Year in Music: The Best Albums of 2009

  published December 16, 2009

  The Pines, Tremolo There's a good reason that we chose to feature folk duo the Pines on the cover of this year's music... More >>

• Brother Ali on Jimmy Fallon tonight

  published Dec 15, 2009

  Brother Ali will join the Roots as a special guest performer on tonight's episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. According to a press release sent out today, it will be a "rare collaboration/jam ses... More >>

• Dave Matthews Band: Larger Than Life 3D movie ticket giveaway

  published Dec 15, 2009

  We're giving away two prize packs for the Larger Than Life 3D movie featuring Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper, and Gogol Bordello, which is in theaters for this week only. In addition to two tickets to... More >>

• Slideshows: Mark Farina, Guante, and Steve Aoki

  published Dec 15, 2009

  Mark Farina, Chuck Love, and Soul Control at Epic by Anna Gulbrandsen. rGuante and Big Cats at the Bedlam: Make your "Big Cat" face by B Fresh Photography.rSteve Aoki at Envy by Tony Nelson.rToo Much ... More >>

• Benefit for Legal Aid

  published December 16, 2009

  >'Tis the season for holiday charity shows, and leading the pack this year is a stellar lineup of local musicians rallying to raise money for... More >>

• The Year in Music: P.O.S., Solid Gold, and Owl City break through

  published December 16, 2009

  A quick scan of the biggest Twin Cities music happenings of 2009 isn't exactly uplifting: Venue after venue was shuttered, while the biggest... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Jayhawks Karen Grotberg, Tim O'Reagan, Marc Perlman make special appearance

  published Dec 14, 2009

  Three-fifths of the Jayhawks -- Karen Grotberg, Tim O'Reagan, and Marc Perlman -- took to the stage at the cozy 318 Cafe & Coffeehouse in Excelsior on Saturday evening, and Steve Cohen was in atte... More >>

• First Avenue's Best New Bands of 2009

  published Dec 14, 2009

  We're a little late in posting this, but First Avenue announced its annual lineup of Best New Bands last week, and the winners will be no big surprise to Gimme Noise readers: Picked to Click winners R... More >>

• No Bird Sing headlines an impeccable lineup at the Turf

  published Dec 14, 2009

  With a music scene as dense as ours, there's opportunities to catch great local music on pretty much any night of the week, but it's rare that a lineup of four groups of varying backgrounds and styles... More >>

• Weekly Charts: Top songs spun on the Current and Radio K

  published Dec 11, 2009

  89.3 The Current's listener-voted top singles for the week preceding 12.10.09:1. Edward Sharpe, "Home"2. Mason Jennings, "The Field" 3. The XX, "Crystalised"The XX at the Triple Rock - Crystalised fro... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Photos from Curtiss A's 30th Annual Lennon tribute show

  published Dec 10, 2009

  Photographer Jenn Barnett was backstage and in the crowd at Tuesday night's 30th Annual John Lennon Tribute Show at First Avenue and shot this fantastic collection of photos of the legendary Curtiss A... More >>

• Doomtree debut new Mictlan video on interactive site

  published Dec 10, 2009

  We're a few days late in posting this new music video by Mike Mictlan and Lazerbeak (it officially debuted at last weekend's Doomtree Blowout), but it was worth the wait -- yesterday, Doomtree launche... More >>

• Bethany Larson's CD-release show includes stellar local lineup

  published Dec 10, 2009

  Tomorrow night's music calendar is all about birds and wolves coexisting peacefully. If you're not heading to St. Mark's Episcopal Church to catch Andrew Bird, the Turf Club is a solid back-up plan: I... More >>

• Curtiss A pays tribute to Bruce Allen during his Lennon show

  published Dec 09, 2009

  As Curtiss A neared the end of his epic, five-hour John Lennon tribute show at First Avenue last night, he paused to reflect on the news of Bruce Allen's death. "You may or may not know that Bruce All... More >>

• Peter Wolf Crier featured on this week's MPLS.TV episode

  published Dec 09, 2009

  Tomorrow night's episode of MPLS.TV will feature local band-on-the-rise Peter Wolf Crier, and you can watch their performance here first. Ryan Warner of MPLS.TV sent us the following information about... More >>

• Gay Witch Abortion, Romantica, Solid Gold added to SXSW roster

  published Dec 09, 2009

  The first snowfall hit last night, which can mean only one thing to a music nerd like me: Time to start fantasizing about sweating my ass off booking it from show to show down in Austin, Texas in Marc... More >>

• Flyer of the Week: Healing MN benefit concert

  published Dec 08, 2009

  This week's flyer promotes the Healing MN benefit concert at the Fine Line this Thursday, which will raise money for the domestic abuse prevention agency Cornerstone. Headliners the New Congress will ... More >>

• Suburbs guitarist Bruce C. Allen dead at 54

  published Dec 08, 2009

  According to the Star Tribune, Suburbs guitarist and all-around local music scene vet Bruce C. Allen passed away last night at the age of 54. In addition to playing in the Suburbs, the Pilgrims, Buzzw... More >>

• Suburbs guitarist Bruce C. Allen to be taken off life support tonight

  published Dec 07, 2009

  Bruce C. Allen, best known as the guitarist for local rock band the Suburbs and as a graphic designer responsible for iconic images like the logo for Twin/Tone records and the album art for the Replac... More >>

• Slideshows: Zero 7, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Get Cryphy

  published Dec 07, 2009

  Atmospheric electro band Zero 7 returned to the Twin Cities on Saturday night to play Epic. Check out Anna Gulbrandsen's slideshow of photos from the evening. rBig band revivalists Big Bad Voodoo Dadd... More >>

• The Swell Season return to a sold-out State Theatre

  published Dec 07, 2009

  The last time Once film stars and musical duo the Swell Season played the State, it was very clear that this was Glen Hansard's band and that his female co-star, Marketa Irglova, was simply along for ... More >>

• Weekly Charts: Top songs spun by Radio K and the Current

  published Dec 04, 2009

  Radio K: Top 7 tracks for the week of 11.30.09:1. El Perro Del Mar, "Change Of Heart"2. Animal Collective, "What Would I Want Sky"3. Kings of Convenience, "Boat Behind"4. Cold Cave, "Life Magazine"5. ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  KaiserCartel, Jeremy Messersmith, and Zoo Animal rock the Entry

  published Dec 04, 2009

  Last night, Brooklyn folk duo KaiserCartel were sandwiched in between two great local bands at the 7th St. Entry: brooding minimalist rockers (and Picked to Click runners-up) Zoo Animal opened the eve... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Grammy nominations: Do we carer

  published Dec 03, 2009

  As I was driving in to work today, I was listening to Current DJ Jill Riley and programming director Jim McGuinn rehash the nominations for this year's Grammy Awards, which were announced last night. ... More >>

• Illuminous 3 offer free mp3, "Thrift Stores and Ls"

  published Dec 03, 2009

  South Minneapolis hip-hop crew Illuminous 3 are getting ready to drop their new album, Thrift Stores and Ls, next week via their website, and to entice fans they've leaked the title track via the Midw... More >>