Email Author Rick Mason

2010 Stories by Rick Mason

• BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet

  published February 10, 2010

  Minnesota is slowly turning more Louisianan all the time, although you couldn't tell by the weather or the food or the drinks or the wildlife or... More >>

• Willy Porter

  published February 10, 2010

  Always adept at crafting fantastical stories, Milwaukeean Willy Porter didn't have to stretch the truth at all on "How to Rob a Bank," the title... More >>

• Dawes

  published February 10, 2010

  Taylor Goldsmith's contemplations of eternity may be a bit precocious for someone in his early 20s, but then he and his similarly youthful... More >>

• Solas

  published February 10, 2010

  Although Solas straddles the Atlantic in terms of personnel and sometimes temperament, its roots are unquestionably Celtic. In fact, Solas often... More >>

• Veteran performer Willie Murphy reflects on his 40-year career

  published February 3, 2010

  As inextricably tied to the Twin Cities scene as any musician in modern times, Willie Murphy has just about done and seen it all in a career... More >>

• Baghdad/Seattle Suite

  published February 3, 2010

  Innovative guitarist and music visionary Bill Frisell returns to the Walker, one of his favorite playgrounds, bringing along his insatiable... More >>

• Roberta Gambarini

  published February 3, 2010

  Although she still flies under the radar of widespread recognition, Roberta Gambarini is a spectacularly talented jazz singer who is regularly... More >>

• Mavis Staples

  published February 3, 2010

  Not only can Mavis Staples stir your soul with the sheer brilliance of her industrial-strength, gospel-soaked vocals—crying and moaning and... More >>

• Rosanne Cash

  published February 3, 2010

  One of 2009's best albums, Rosanne Cash's The List features striking versions of 12 of the 100 classic country songs her father told her... More >>

• Estaire Godinez

  published January 27, 2010

  When Latin fireball Estaire Godinez lived in the Twin Cities, she made sufficiently solid connections among local musicians that when it was time... More >>

• Bettye LaVette

  published January 27, 2010

  How Bettye LaVette remained hidden from the great majority of the music-obsessed public for some 40 years is one of the great mysteries of the... More >>

• Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard

  published January 27, 2010

  It took something extraordinary to get Son Volt's Jay Farrar and Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard together, and his name was Jack Kerouac. Icon... More >>

• David Bromberg and Jorma Kaukonen

  published January 27, 2010

  Both exemplary pickers, David Bromberg and Jorma Kaukonen also have deep roots in the '60s, plus an affinity for roots music that goes a lot... More >>

• Atlantis Quartet: Animal Progress

  published January 20, 2010

  As if emerging from the watery depths concealing their legendary namesake, the Atlantis Quartet surface as a modern jazz band with impressive... More >>

• Roy Hargrove Quintet

  published January 20, 2010

  Since his initial emergence in the late '80s, Roy Hargrove has not only established himself as an inspired player (on both trumpet and... More >>

• Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing

  published January 20, 2010

  The Dakota's four-day festival celebrating the 100th birthday of iconic Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt winds up in grand style with Mark... More >>

• Shawn Colvin

  published January 20, 2010

  Although she burst onto the scene as a leading light of the new folk movement in the 1980s, winning the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk... More >>

• Curtis & Loretta

  published January 20, 2010

  As veteran treasures of the Twin Cities folk scene, Curtis & Loretta don't really have a reputation for covering the hits—until now, though... More >>

• Pert Near Sandstone: Out on a Spree

  published January 13, 2010

  Although Pert Near Sandstone like to call themselves a "new-timey" string band, there's obviously a significant old-timey component to the... More >>

• James Cotton Band

  published January 13, 2010

  The Hopkins Center for the Arts launches its new venture as a venue for national artists with a visit from blues harmonica giant James Cotton. A... More >>

• Django Reinhardt's 100 Birthday Celebration

  published January 13, 2010

  Phenomenal Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt (pictured) was born 100 years ago, and the Dakota is celebrating his centenary with a great mini... More >>

• Bowerbirds

  published January 13, 2010

  Six months ago the Bowerbirds came through town near the start of a tour that has taken them across the country and throughout Europe, so their... More >>

• Lesley Gore

  published January 6, 2010

  In early 1963, a year before the Beatles landed on The Ed Sullivan Show, New Jersey teenager Lesley Gore was on her way home from high... More >>