Top Minneapolis Music Stories

Music Features

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  Hollow Boys keep it short
  By Reed Fischer

  It never takes long to know where Ali Jaafar stands on — well, just about anything. And chances are, you won't always agree with him. But in his band, avant rockers Hollow Boys, Jaafar's... More >>

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  Ex Nuns: Fast and furious
  By Jeff Gage

  Ex Nuns frontman Ian Littleson just earned himself a punk-rock badge of honor. It was on the last night of the south Minneapolis four-piece's month-long residency at the downtown Grumpy's Bar... More >>

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  Dan Israel straddles past and future
  By Erik Thompson

  Growing up as a musical Jewish kid with strong family ties to the Iron Range, a young Dan Israel considered Bob Dylan a kindred creative spirit. Since then, the singer-songwriter has forged a... More >>

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  Taj Raj go back to basics
  By Jeff Gage

  Two years ago, Taj Raj were at a crossroads. The band had just released their poppy, country-tinged debut, Your Thief. But then their bassist quit, and not long after, their keyboardist went... More >>

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  Southside Desire revamp their sound
  By Erik Thompson

  A little over a year ago, Marvel Devitt took some vocal tracks recorded on her iPhone and played them for her husband and friends. Even in raw form, the soulful melodies proved striking enough to... More >>

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  A peek behind Soundset 2013
  By Jack Spencer

  Atmosphere and Snoop Dogg have contrasting aesthetics — indie, introspective Midwest stories from the former, and weeded-out G-funk from the latter — but they both fit within the... More >>

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  Heavy Deeds goes for Light Lunch
  By Natalie Gallagher

  Heavy Deeds first formed as a band two years ago. But those two years got loaded with with life changes — jobs, projects, and relationships — that kept recorded material on hold. For... More >>

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  Culture Cry Wolf go organic
  By Jack Spencer

  There's a definite art to finding cohesion between seemingly disconnected pieces. Culture Cry Wolf's core sound has always managed to find the sweet middle ground between hip hop and a rock-genre... More >>

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  Crimes release a dynamic second album
  By Jeff Gage

  For Crimes frontman Andrew Jansen, becoming a father might have been just the thing to help shift his music up a notch. The Milwaukee transplant has long shown a restlessly experimental streak in... More >>

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  Girls Got Rhythm Fest returns
  By Sally Hedberg

  On a Saturday evening last May, Dana Raidt stared across the expanse of Amsterdam Bar & Hall as a '60s legend conjured magic amid a diverse communion of people. Ronnie Spector's voice, velvet and... More >>

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  Har Mar Superstar's star turn
  By Jeff Gage

  Har Mar Superstar. The name itself sounds ridiculous, over the top, evoking suburban shopping malls and knock-off decadence, and the man who inhabits it lives up to the billing. Short and doughy... More >>

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  Lucy Michelle goes solo
  By Jeff Gage

  Over the past half-decade, Lucy Michelle has become synonymous with the loose, freewheeling style of her band, the Velvet Lapelles. There's always been a coming-of-age feel to her songwriting,... More >>

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  Cloud Cult connect with the heart
  By Erik Thompson

  It's abundantly clear that the members of Cloud Cult all care tremendously about every aspect of the band. Each uplifting song displays assiduous attention to detail. The new record, aptly titled... More >>

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  Mid West Music Festival in Winona
  By Erik Thompson

  When it's time to ditch the Cities, the southern Minnesota college town of Winona is a gorgeous getaway with limestone bluffs towering over the mighty Mississippi River. For music enthusiasts,... More >>

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  Off the deep end with Prof
  By Reed Fischer

  Prof knows full well he doesn't need to do this interview. Check out our behind-the-scenes outtakes from Prof's awesome underwater cover shoot. This realization came long before he was a... More >>