Email Author Nikki Miller

2013 Stories by Nikki Miller

• FEATURED STORY

  published May 09, 2013

  When you walk into Lee's Liquor Lounge, located on downtown Minneapolis' fringes for over half a century, whether it's your first visit or 40th, the whiff of nostalgia and shiver of magic you feel is ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Country Music Festivals: The good, the bad and the smelly

  published May 02, 2013

  Ohhh, the weather outside is... not as bad as they said it was gonna ber Okay, it still sucks. But soon -- yes, soon... too soon in fact! -- it will be summer, and it will be really stupidly hot, and ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Willie Nelson is 80

  published Apr 30, 2013

  Willie Nelson neither looks nor seems 80 years old. This is an age reserved for, well, old people. The unhip, those not in-the-know, not totally with it. And yet, Willie turns 80 today. What's his s... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  RIP George Jones, country legend (1931-2013)

  published Apr 26, 2013

  To begin a remembrance of George Jones, one need look no further than his song lyrics. "He stopped loving her today, they placed a wreath upon his door." "Yabba Dabba Doo, the King is gone, and so are... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Ricky Skaggs at Dakota Jazz Club, 4/18/13

  published Apr 19, 2013

  Ricky Skaggs With Kentucky Thunder Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis Thursday, April 18, 2013I've seen Ricky Skaggs perform now at three different venues, each as different as the next. He played alongsi... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Ricky Skaggs: Music is a cleansing; it's life

  published Apr 18, 2013

  Ricky Skaggs is not old -- he'll turn 59 in July -- but his actual chronological years belie the elder statesman status he's achieved in country, bluegrass, gospel and neo-traditional music. Rare tal... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Ten country songs for tax day

  published Apr 12, 2013

  It seems odd we'd ever find occasion to offer the following advice: Don't do what Willie did. But as tax day approaches, it's the wisest advice we can offer. Don't leave the management of your finance... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Mother Banjo on the John Prine tribute show at 331 Club

  published Apr 04, 2013

  Many singer-songwriters count the likes of Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan among their favorites, but few writers can brag that Kristofferson and Dylan have said the feeling's mutual. Dylan has calle... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hayes Carll at Cedar Cultural Center, 3/30/13

  published Apr 01, 2013

  Hayes Carll With The Warren Hood Band Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis Saturday, March 30, 2013He's been called a troubadour, a Guy Clark or Townes Van Zandt for the younger generation. Austin-based... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Ten country songs 'bout Jesus

  published Mar 28, 2013

  I've been told a lot of things about Jesus. For one, he evidently looked a lot like Kenny Loggins. Or Kenny Loggins looks a lot like himr Apparently dinosaurs were created and then roamed the earth ar... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Top 13 country songs about whiskey

  published Mar 21, 2013

  Today's a big day in whiskey history. As legend tells it, it was on this day in 1983 that Merle Haggard set a new world record for purchasing the largest round of whiskey, after buying 5,095 shots of ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Jack Greene, Opry stalwart, passes at 83

  published Mar 18, 2013

  A prime example of country music's late-'60s era of mellow and polished crooners, Jack Greene's sound was old, no doubt, but epitomized a style still enjoyed today by countless Opry listeners, who con... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  10 songs of unrequited love for Taylor Swift's discarded fan mail

  published Mar 14, 2013

  It's all too easy to make Taylor Swift play the part of the bitch. From her latest row with America's Sweethearts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, to the string of heartbreak she's left in her wake, the bott... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Nashville Network premiered 30 years ago today... and now it's back

  published Mar 07, 2013

  Thirty years ago today, something big happened in country music. On March 7, 1983, just two years after MTV and the Buggles ushered onto our television sets a consistent -- well, for a time -- rotatio... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Ten country songs to bring on the spring

  published Feb 28, 2013

  March is that time of year when we forget everything we've come to know about the month's wild mood swings. We ignore the weatherman's prognostications, and throw on shorts and short sleeves at the fi... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Cactus Blossoms: We see the Turf Club as our workshop

  published Feb 22, 2013

  A year into their two-steppin' friendly Monday night residency at the Turf Club, the Cactus Blossoms have become a mainstay not only of that St. Paul stage, but of the country and folk scenes here in... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Johnny Cash proposed to June Carter 45 years ago today

  published Feb 22, 2013

  Though they have both passed, today we celebrate what would have been the 45th wedding anniversary of Johnny and June Carter Cash. Following a somewhat rocky and entirely unconventional courtship, it ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Country singer Mindy McCready dead in apparent suicide

  published Feb 18, 2013

  The troubled life of country singer Mindy McCready has come to a close with the Cleburne County, Arkansas, Sheriff's Office stating that officers were dispatched to her home Sunday after neighbors rep... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Top ten country kiss-off songs for Valentine's Day

  published Feb 14, 2013

  Country music has given us some of the sappiest most godawful finest, most touching love songs of the last several decades, but when it comes to break-up songs, that's where the genre truly earns its ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The 12 best country shows in February

  published Feb 08, 2013

  February brings a number of fine options for catching country music at local venues, whether your taste runs singer-songwriter, country rock, Red Dirt or old-time Appalachian-influenced fiddle music.... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Patty Andrews, last remaining Andrews Sister, dead at 94

  published Jan 31, 2013

  At Are You Ready for the Country, there are two things we love: close-harmonizing sibling acts, and tough old broads. And so, we're sad to report that Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of The ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hank Williams' kids to release rare recordings for licensing

  published Jan 24, 2013

  Sixty years ago today, Hank Williams hit Number One with the slightly posthumous, very prophetic song "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," a tune he'd written with Fred Rose just prior to his dea... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Meg Ashling: The voice of nature deserves to be heard

  published Jan 18, 2013

  If you frequent the busking corners of area farmers markets or venues with inclinations toward folk and country, you've no doubt come across the distinctively soulful and honey-toned voice of Meg Ashl... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Loretta and Doolittle Lynn got married 65 years ago today

  published Jan 10, 2013

  Child marriage in coal mining country. Infidelity, alcoholism and gospel music. Loretta Lynn's success as a recording artist seems improbable unless one considers the rich vein of songwriting material... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Patti Page, pop-country crossover sensation, passes away at 85

  published Jan 03, 2013

  Country crossovers didn't begin with Taylor Swift; the genre's embraced its pop side for almost as long as folks have been laying bow to fiddle. And for that reason, today we eulogize Patti Page, the ... More >>