Email Author Rick Mason

2011 Stories by Rick Mason

• Atlantis Quartet

  published October 26, 2011

  For the fourth Halloween in a row, the Atlantis Quartet, increasingly distinguishing itself locally and nationally as a premier 21st-century jazz... More >>

• They Might Be Giants

  published October 26, 2011

  By their own pretzel logic, They Might Be Giants hail from Brooklyn. But the longtime duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell are fanatic dodgers... More >>

• Warren Haynes Band

  published October 19, 2011

  Certified guitar monster Warren Haynes is all over the place, playing with the Allman Brothers and the Dead, popping up on numerous guest shots,... More >>

• Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

  published October 19, 2011

  The brash phenomenon of Trombone Shorty and his infectious, wildly eclectic, New Orleans-spawned "supafunkrock" (as it's been lately dubbed) rolls... More >>

• Matt Slocum Trio

  published October 19, 2011

  This three-night AQ residency marks the return of New York-based drummer-composer Matt Slocum to his hometown. The St. Paul-born, western... More >>

• Drive-By Truckers

  published October 19, 2011

  Despite early punk influences that had no particular geographical tilt (notably including the distinctly northern Replacements), the Drive-By... More >>

• Willie Murphy

  published October 12, 2011

  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 that... More >>

• Robert Randolph & the Family Band

  published October 12, 2011

  The collision of sacred and secular doesn't get any more explosive (in a good way) than when sacred steel guitar hero Robert Randolph and his... More >>

• Baaba Maal

  published October 12, 2011

  One of the iconic voices of West Africa, Senegalese singer-songwriter-guitarist Baaba Maal long has championed a distinctive style that fuses... More >>

• Aretha Franklin

  published October 5, 2011

  She's still the inimitable Queen of Soul, and at age 69 apparently is hale and hearty a year after mysterious health problems and a... More >>

• Battles

  published October 5, 2011

  Much of Gloss Drop, Battles' second LP, sounds like some extraterrestrial circus dropped into feverish Carnaval on a surrealistic... More >>

• Ziggy Marley

  published October 5, 2011

  Contending with the monumental legacy of his late father apparently hasn't been an enduring issue for eldest son Ziggy Marley, who has embraced... More >>

• Megafaun, Doug Paisley

  published September 28, 2011

  With the release of their eponymous fourth studio album, the North Carolina-based, Eau Claire-bred trio Megafaun have only complicated efforts to... More >>

• Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

  published September 28, 2011

  Arguably the world's premier contemporary jazz orchestra, led by one of the most significant current figures in jazz, Marsalis and the JLCO will... More >>

• St. Vincent

  published September 28, 2011

  Although it's tempting to say St. Vincent is the alter ego as well as the stage name of Annie Clark, the art-pop she creates is so... More >>

• Esperanza Spalding Chamber Music Society

  published September 28, 2011

  For best new artist at this year's Grammy Awards, the academy was widely expected to leave it to Bieber. But confounding widespread cynicism and... More >>

• Bomba Estereo, Joaquin Diaz

  published September 21, 2011

  With the local steam in precipitous transition from ambient to radiant, the time is especially ripe for a double shot of tropical fire, which... More >>

• Faustin Linyekula/ Studios Kabako

  published September 21, 2011

  This is a surviving component of the Walker's mini-festival Despair Be Damned: New Music and Dance from the Congo. The Congolese band Staff Benda... More >>

• Celebration of Lionel Hampton

  published September 21, 2011

  Singer and producer Jacey Falk has put together a stellar group to celebrate the late jazz icon Lionel Hampton, a pioneer and master of jazz... More >>

• John Hiatt & the Combo

  published September 14, 2011

  Ace songwriter John Hiatt has been cranking out memorable songs and great albums so consistently for so long (more than 30 years), it's almost too... More >>

• Ballake Sissoko & Vincent Segal, Sidi Toure

  published September 14, 2011

  The Cedar's annual Global Roots Festival opens with a tasty dose of Malian blues, but with a French twist. Guitarist and singer Sidi Touré... More >>

• James Farm

  published September 14, 2011

  An all-star-caliber collaborative band, James Farm features four outstanding members of jazz's younger generation, each leaders in their own... More >>

• Psychedelic Furs, Tom Tom Club

  published September 7, 2011

  It'll be déjà vu all over again when these two hallmark bands of the new-wave era reconvene at First Avenue. The Furs (pictured)... More >>

• Sena Ehrhardt Band (CD-Release)

  published September 7, 2011

  This gig celebrates the release by the national blues label Blind Pig of Leave the Light On, the debut album from Rochester's Sena... More >>

• Vieux Farka Toure

  published September 7, 2011

  Son of late Malian guitar giant Ali Farka Touré, Vieux may be only three albums into his career but already is creating a new synthesis... More >>