Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Vampire Weekend and the accelerated speed of cool

Makes No Sense At All captures the visions, ramblings, and memories of Chris Strouth, a Twin Cities-bred master of music, film, and everything else.Vampire Weekend is an anomaly. A band that's as popular amongst the hipsters as it is the straights. It's one of the only bands that works at both Ame ... More >>

The best Twin Cities concerts: 6/5-6/11

So it's June now. Despite the cloudiness, there are actually things happening outdoors. Saturday, be sure to check out tons of local bands at Rock the Vine. Later in the evening Hollow Boys release their latest record at Kitty Cat Klub. The Minnesota Zoo will also be hosting Richard Thompson an ... More >>

Love Lake: We share a love for old, weird rock music

Love Lake started as a one-man band, with singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Anders Carlson helming the process of producing its 2010 self-titled debut from start to near finish, having just a little help from his friends on drums, ukelele, and mastering. The heart and love of melody present on ... More >>

LL Cool J's Kings of the Mic tour at Target Center, 5/30/13

Kings of the Mic TourWith LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Public Enemy and De La SoulTarget Center, MinneapolisThursday, May 30, 2013LL Cool J is 45 years old, and wearing it well. As he stalked the stage at Target Center as the final performer of the Kings of the Mic Tour, he seemed keenly aware that his powe ... More >>

Bookhouse: Some die-hard Twin Peaks fans will think we're assholes

Since its premature demise 20-some years ago, the television series Twin Peaks has found new fans too young to remember the show's brief broadcast run. Devoted viewers now host festivals and write fan fiction, but one thing that's been relatively static is Angelo Badalamenti's evocative score. From ... More >>

Dan Israel straddles past and future

The musician has it both ways with the release of his new album and his retrospective double-LP

Kings of the Mic Tour

Soundset 2013: A music and photo timeline

Ah, Soundset. The sixth installment of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip-hop festival had a breakout year in terms of attendance -- a reported 28,000 fans came out -- and talent, with a lineup including Snoop Dogg, Mac Miller, Tech N9ne, along with the host artists Atmosphere. Many folks pegged A$AP ... More >>

Proofreader.: This is the most laid-back project we've ever done

Indie singer-songwriter Adam Svec is super brainy. For one thing, aside from the whole music part, Svec is in the final stages of completing a Ph.D. in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, and he regularly slips phrases like "well-vetted" and "why-esque" into normal conversation. Maybe that's what ... More >>

A peek behind Soundset 2013

From Snoop Dogg to Atmosphere, the festival boasts a variety of talent

The best Twin Cities concerts: 5/22-5/28

The music never stops in the Twin Cities. Third Man Records' Pokey LaFarge makes a trip to the Cedar Cultural Center while singer/songwriter Lissie (above) plays a sold out show at the Varsity Theater. Soundset 2013 takes place this Sunday with a pre-party Saturday night at the Triple Rock and an af ... More >>

Fast & Furious & Elegant: Justin Lin and the Vulgar Auteurs

Brian Scolaro

Rodriguez at Fitzgerald Theater, 5/15/13

Rodriguez Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul Wednesday, May 15, 2013This historic week in downtown Saint Paul continued at the Fitzgerald Theater as a sold-out audience paid witness to the first public concert locally from Rodriguez. The now-famous Detroit singer/songwriter finally became a household favo ... More >>

The best Twin Cities concerts: 5/15-5/21

Finally! The weather is starting to catch up with the time of year. Just in time for Northeast's annual celebration, Art-A-Whirl. Featuring creative works from all over Minneapolis, the 331 club will be hosting local favorites such as Gospel Gossip, Carroll, Prissy Clerks, Crimes and more. Minneapol ... More >>

Kool G Rap

Foals

The Thermals

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

Ohhh, the weather outside is... not as bad as they said it was gonna be? Okay, it still sucks. But soon -- yes, soon... too soon in fact! -- it will be summer, and it will be really stupidly hot, and we'll be going to music festivals and become reacquainted with the sweet summer smell of a beer-and- ... More >>

RIP George Jones, country legend (1931-2013)

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 you." Jones died this morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, after being hospitalized the ... More >>

The best Twin Cities concerts: 4/24-4/30

It's the last week of April, and the snow is finally melting away. Wednesday, local favorites Poliça play a show in the First Avenue Mainroom, while songwriter Josh Ritter plays a set the next night. Mill City Nights also welcomes Mindless Self Indulgence as new local band Ginkgo plays a set at the ... More >>

Food Network's Ted Allen talks about Dining Out for Life

This Thursday more than 180 restaurants around the Twin Cities will take part in a national fundraiser to help raise money and awareness for the fight against HIV/AIDS. Dining Out for Life is an annual event in which restaurants from across the country donate a portion of their evening's proceeds to ... More >>

Fleetwood Mac

T.I. at Epic, 4/19/13

T.I. Epic, Minneapolis Friday, April 19, 2013 Some nights you walk into a club wondering if an MC is still relevant. Then you watch a 32-year-old pro blast through more than two dozen songs in a little more than an hour, flaunting a nimble flow and basking comfortably in the familiarity of his hits ... More >>

Bob Dylan unveils tour dates with Wilco and My Morning Jacket -- St. Paul in July

Bob Dylan is now a 71-year-old force to be reckoned with on his own. With Tempest, he proved for the umpteenth time that he's still got the mind and the artistic means to topple anyone in the exclusive club of Americana musicians. And, the guy never stops touring, it seems.After he does some dates f ... More >>

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

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 alongside Little Jimmy Dickens and Eddie Stubbs before an immense theater of country music fans and blastin ... More >>

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

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 talent, a bevy of stories, an enthusiastic attitude and a passion for performing have a lot to do with i ... More >>

GImme Leaks #3: Three Twin Cities hip-hop albums you may have missed

There's a glut of hip-hop coming out of the Twin Cities, and it can be a lot to try to digest. In the spirit of the Gimme Noise Mixtape series that ran on this blog, we now present to you a more focused album roundup, selecting three recently released albums by local rappers that deserve recognition ... More >>

The best Twin Cities concerts: 4/17-4/23

This week marks several musical events in the Twin Cities. Duluth folk-bluegrass stars Trampled by Turtles celebrate ten years with three sold out shows (Wednesday - Friday) at First Avenue/7th Street Entry. Saturday, April 20 marks a very special occasion that is celebrated internationally, that's ... More >>

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

REO Speedwagon, Styx

This Side of Paradise

Prof: If I can justify it and be smart enough, I can say anything

Minneapolis rap troublemaker Prof has pushed all our buttons for over a decade now. A mixture of party-starters, gross-out tales, and personal exploration fills the three volumes of his Kaiser Von Powderhorn mixtape series, his King Gampo album, the Recession Music collaboration with St. Paul Slim, ... More >>

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's six-month lockout to end

For six months, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has had to cancel its concerts, as musicians and management tangled over the terms of a new contract.The labor dispute began when the musicians' old contract expired at the end of September 2012. Three weeks later, musicians were locked out. Now, after ... More >>

80/35 Music Festival 2013 lineup: Wu-Tang Clan, David Byrne & St. Vincent, and more

The sixth annual 80/35 Music Festival lineup is here! The yearly downtown Des Moines music event has hit upon some eclectic notes for headlining talent with New York rap heroes Wu-Tang Clan, and the David Byrne & St. Vincent collaboration leading the way in 2013.The event takes place Friday, Jul ... More >>

Bernie Worrell Orchestra

Paquito D'Rivera & the Assad Brothers

On the Replacements' long shadow, and achin' to be out of it

Makes No Sense At All captures the visions, ramblings, and memories of Chris Strouth, a Twin Cities-bred master of music, film, and everything else.The Catholic Church figured out something during the middle ages: If you build a church to look like a castle, the serfs will feel safe in its massive ... More >>

The Cedar Cultural Center repeats as Best World Music Venue

The Cedar Cultural Center has long been a somewhat unsung musical jewel of the West Bank of Minneapolis. But lately, the venue has been receiving some well-deserved praise for consistently hosting compelling, eclectic performances by genre-bending bands and musicians that run the gamut from indie-ro ... More >>

Top 10 Twin Cities hip-hop venues

It's hard to believe with the reputation it now holds that there was a time when the Twin Cities wasn't booking too many hip-hop acts. Once we were still flyover country to many of the national touring acts, and the local underground scene had yet to rise to prominence and prove the power of homegro ... More >>

Misterman

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

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 country singer/songwriter Hayes Carll's sold-out appearance at the Cedar Saturday night proved he's ... More >>

Lollapalooza 2013 full lineup: The Cure, Nine Inch Nails and more

A bit of the Lollapalooza 2013 lineup trickled out a couple weeks ago, but today this year's offerings got taut, dark, and -- most importantly -- official. Though the plan initially was to drop the full, gargantuan list of bands in two more weeks, the timeline got pushed up when a pre-April Fool's p ... More >>

Lianne La Havas: I would do any kind of anything with Prince

Lianne La Havas is the latest national treasure to pour out of Britain's seemingly endless pool of talented singer-songwriters. She's the girl with the warm, soulful voice, offbeat style (like nerd-girl-hot, with buttoned-up-to-the-collar shirts and a tight bun piled on top of her head and pulled to ... More >>

Flashdance — The Musical

Pitchfork Music Festival releases full 2013 lineup

The Pitchfork Music Festival lands at Chicago's Union Park July 19-21, and after the initial tease of R. Kelly, Björk, and Belle & Sebastian, the full lineup is now here!One of the main curiosities for Twin Cities music fans is how the acts announced might filter into First Avenue's music festi ... More >>

Haphduzn: I've kind of got a lot of experience with struggle

Haphduzn recently dropped his debut album Whittier Alliance, a collaboration with Wide Eyes' producer Dimitry Killstorm, and it sits comfortably in the pantheon of the Rhymesayers artists with whom he recently got off tour. A brutally honest and personal record, the straightforward raps come from a ... More >>

Lollapalooza 2013 lineup: Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend & more

What a difference a year makes when it comes to Lollapalooza, Chicago's destination music festival in Grant Park every summer. The first details of the lineup have emerged, and compared to the rockist-leaning 2012 bill it's looking very much like anything that can loosely fit within the antiquated " ... More >>

Tracy Morgan

LL Cool J unveils Kings of the Mic U.S. tour dates -- Minneapolis in May

Four rap institutions are linking up for the Kings of the Mic tour later this year. Though LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, and De La Soul have wildly different pedigrees and styles (and levels of movie stardom), this is a lineup that just keeps giving. When one ponders the sheer number of hits th ... More >>