Email Author Nikki Miller

2010 Stories by Nikki Miller

• Dwight Yoakam tickets on sale Friday

  published Dec 30, 2010

  Time to get in line (virtually). It seems Dwight Yoakam is one of the few country dudes every country-hating indie rock dude would pay good money to see gyrate his hips in tight, tight jeans, and so, ... More >>

• 10 country musicians to watch in 2011

  published Dec 30, 2010

  As I culled through lists of new and upcoming releases from new and up-and-coming country artists, I couldn't help but notice a pattern: many were by women, and most of those by women who seemed to be... More >>

• Rocket Club and Lost Highway to ring in New Year at Toby Keith's

  published Dec 30, 2010

  Wanna ring in the New Year country style - and maybe with your first mechanical bull rider Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill is hosting a New Year's Eve Celebration Friday night featuring local ban... More >>

• Rockford Mules wish South Dakota a Merry Christmas

  published Dec 23, 2010

  The other day, we received a message from the guys in Rockford Mules. ...we ended up writing a Christmas song sorta by accident, and we really like the way it turned out, and then we recorded it, an... More >>

• Top 10 most ridiculous country songs of 2010

  published Dec 23, 2010

  We combed the Top 40 to bring you the bad, the badder, and the baddest of country music's biggest hits of 2010. You don't listen to countryr Here's what you've been missing out on. (Quietly, though,... More >>

• Heart at Mystic Lake Casino, 12/18/10

  published Dec 20, 2010

  Heart December 18, 2010 Mystic Lake Casino The power balladeers of my childhood, hard rock queens of my mother's adolescence, Heart weren't just role models for generations of young American women - ... More >>

• Best Country Shows of 2010

  published Dec 16, 2010

  Given our proximity to an abundance of casino venues, the popularity of state and county fairs, big summer festivals in every neck of the woods (and on lakes and in fields), and the recent influx of u... More >>

• Ten Country Christmas songs to try not to hate

  published Dec 16, 2010

  So you haven't finished your holiday shopping. Perhaps, in fact, you haven't even started it. Don't you feel bad about yourselfr Hey, there's still plenty of time to order gift cards, which you know y... More >>

• Best New Bands Showcase lineup announced

  published Dec 10, 2010

  Halloween '91 Storm Redux looming, late this afternoon on "Off the Record" Radio K announced the lineup for this year's "Best New Bands" showcase at First Avenue. In what has become an annual tradit... More >>

• Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson to play Mystic February 27

  published Dec 09, 2010

  Don't let this one slip through your fingers. We blinked, and almost missed that Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson will be making a stop at Mystic Lake Casino in February (Sunday 2/27 7:00, $49-69... More >>

• Faron Young, on this day in country music history

  published Dec 09, 2010

  What becomes of country singers when their glory days are but a distant memoryr The narrative offered by Jeff Bridges tells the tale of a decline into and subsequent ascent from alcoholism paired with... More >>

• John Lennon on the radio, 30 years ago today

  published Dec 08, 2010

  John F. Kennedy, Diana Princess of Wales, Marilyn Monroe - deaths that sent nations, continents even, into a time of mass mourning. But the death that trumps all these (though which, the man himself m... More >>

• Jamey Johnson to play benefit at Fine Line Friday

  published Dec 02, 2010

  So you're a hipster who hates country music but loves Waylon Jennings. Despises Keith Urban and Toby Keith but digs on Cash. Thinks Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift can burn in a pyre of blonde exten... More >>

• Bellamy Brothers (sans Shannen Doherty) to play the Medina tonight

  published Nov 26, 2010

  How many degrees of Kevin Bacon separate an institutionalized Bellamy Brothers and a highly emotive Shannen Dohertyr Two Bacons! That is, the Bacon Brothers. Or rather, one degree. Or...perhaps no ... More >>

• Os Mutantes, Ariel Pink at the Cedar, 11/20/10

  published Nov 22, 2010

  Os Mutantes with Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and Diva Dompe November 20, 2010 Cedar Cultural Center Bands running waaaay behind schedule and the ice storm OF THE CENTURY (er, uh, or of the month) di... More >>

• Rockford Mules team with Mark Har for "Ma, They Broke Me"

  published Nov 18, 2010

  So. This is my weekly country music blog. Question one: Are local band Rockford Mules countryr Well, s'pose just as much as any other Southern Rock outfit - think Marshall Tucker, Skynyrd, Ozark Mount... More >>

• Every Wall Will Fall

  published November 17, 2010

  Expect an amazing bill of local musicians uniting at the Turf as part of a nationwide exhibition of artists against Palestinian apartheid.... More >>

• Patriotic country songs: The good, the bad, the ugly

  published Nov 11, 2010

  Happy Armistice slash Veterans Day! This is the day we're supposed to be patriotic, but without blowing anything up. And so on this day, I'm going to remember that services for veterans are woefully u... More >>

• Crystal Gayle at the O'Shaughnessy, 11/6/10

  published Nov 08, 2010

  Crystal Gayle November 6, 2010 O'Shaughnessy Auditorium There is one issue in this country that has proven more polarizing than any other, in the past 30 years reconstructing party politics, weighing... More >>

• Don Williams, Crystal Gayle to play this weekend

  published Nov 04, 2010

  For my 30th birthday weekend, I plan to do what any 60-year-old worth their weight in mashed potatoes would do. While my friends attend underground shows and record store appearances with the rest of ... More >>

• Willie Nelson at Mystic Lake Casino, 10/29/10

  published Nov 01, 2010

  Willie Nelson October 29, 2010 Mystic Lake Casino Seeing Willie Nelson, whether it's your first time or your tenth, whether you've followed his career for fifty years or five, is like seeing an old f... More >>

• Willie Nelson set to play rescheduled two-night stand at Mystic

  published Oct 28, 2010

  Taking into account his social and political activism, extensive musical catalog, and long and storied life, Willie Nelson - if you ask me, the folks at High Times, and gay cowboys in particular - has... More >>

• Dr. Dog at First Avenue, 10/23/10

  published Oct 25, 2010

  Dr. Dog October 23, 2010 First Avenue My second visit to First Avenue in the week, I walk into the club for Dr. Dog's Saturday night appearance expecting a much tamer crowd than during my first (Hank... More >>

• Hank III and Assjack at First Avenue, 10/20/10

  published Oct 21, 2010

  Hank III and Assjack October 20, 2010 First Avenue Panties are passe. Now, we're passing prosthetic limbs. That is, at least, the case at Hank III/Assjack shows. Legs, to be exact, passed from the en... More >>

• Stanley's Northeast Bar Room grand opening with Gospel Gossip and His Mischief, 10/15/10

  published Oct 18, 2010

  Stanley's Northeast Bar Room's first show featuring Gospel Gossip, His Mischief October 15, 2010 Stanley's, Minneapolis Autobiographical sketch of the writer, 2008: drinks too much, exhibits poor dec... More >>