More like RAPtober: 5 can't-miss hip-hop shows
Shabazz Palaces (part of Doomtree Zoo) 2 p.m. Oct. 3 • CHS Field • $35-$100 The go-to adjective ascribed to Shabazz Palaces is experimental. But that doesn't even scratch the surface of Ishmael...
View ArticleCycling songman Ben Weaver spread his message around Lake Superior
Ben Weaver has been playing music for a long time. In 2014, he released I Would Rather Be a Buffalo, and when that album got its digital release in July this summer, he took a new approach to touring....
View ArticleHow a Minnesota education helped make Bully an indie-rock force
Sitting a half-hour south of Minneapolis in the Wisconsin-abutting brush of Dakota County, Rosemount, Minnesota, doesn't stir much in terms of imagination. The Twin Cities suburb is home to the largest...
View ArticleThe evolving Tao of NYC psych-rap stars the Underachievers
Somewhere in the philosophical gulf between Timothy Leary and Deepak Chopra, you’ll find AK and Issa Gold. The Brooklyn rappers — together known as the Underachievers — made their name in 2013 with...
View ArticleTwin Cities punk greats Run Westy Run to rock Xmas Day
Christmas is a prime time for reunions and Run Westy Run is in the holiday spirit. Formed in the mid-'80s by brothers Kraig, Kyle, and Kirk Johnson, along with Terry Fisher, the Westies developed a...
View ArticleTickle Torture has 'a lot of weird plans' for NYE homecoming show
Musician Elliott Kozel is a lucky guy. Like any true performance artist he manages to become somebody else on stage. Based on his music, shows and highly stylized videos, you'd think Kozel spends most...
View ArticleThe first non-depressing Kid Dakota article? Sorta!
What I'd like to do is write an article about Kid Dakota where the focus is on something other than depression, where the narrative arc of "finding a light in the darkness" is put out to pasture. I'm...
View ArticleRising Ojibwe rapper Baby Shel wants to be a 'voice for the voiceless'
Minnesota-born Ojibwe rapper Baby Shel is primed for an explosive 2016. Baby Shel leaves a trail of the galvanized behind him. The Red Lake emcee's percussive baritone and metered flow make him an...
View ArticleLocal rapper Manny Phesto's global grind includes Cuba, Mexico
Ask Manny Phesto how he got on the lineup at any given festival. He'll give you a charismatic smile and tell you the first step was to ask. "One of the big things I learned this year is closed mouths...
View ArticleBernifet Sanderfest: Punk rally for 2016's most punk presidential candidate
A handful of local punk-rock bands are pulling together for (comparatively) punk-rock presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. On January 18, those bands will host the bombastically named Bernifet...
View ArticleRetro pop adventurers Lower Dens talk depression, escape, love
Synth-pop group Lower Dens has a decidedly retro aesthetic. Its most recent release, 2015’s Escape from Evil, finds the band sonically lighter but lyrically more intimate than its previous two albums....
View ArticleFletcher Barnhill to kick off new season of 416 Commissions with artful water...
Fletcher Barnhill has fingerprints all over the Twin Cities music scene. His most recent notable projects include the Totally Gross National Product-backed band RONiiA and Fugitive, both projects in...
View ArticleNew Babes in Toyland bassist Clara Salyer: 'I just wanted to do the songs...
When asked to be the new bass player in one of the most important punk bands of the ‘90s, the weight of the rare opportunity didn't escape 23-year-old Clara Salyer. Minneapolis’ own Babes in Toyland...
View ArticleEven cynics can't resist Lizzo's power
Lizzo is a hot commodity. So hot, in fact, that obtaining the interviews necessary to compose this article turned into a task so arduous and pregnant with delays and false starts, it was almost lost to...
View ArticleAll hail KING: The locally rooted trio poised to rule R&B
Twin Cities residents are always pumping out enough garage rock and punk to flood our iTunes libraries for years, but less frequently—if ever—do we see solid R&B music coming from our clubs and...
View ArticleWill In Defence's frontman appear at his own farewell show?
“I, Ben Crew, have formally decided to step away from the band. I figure now is the time to do so.” So begins the statement from vocalist, band founder, and sole remaining member of the original In...
View ArticleEx-Gophers hoops star Mac Irv uses rap to fight for change
When you're six-foot-two with a wingspan to match, you come with a big shadow. Lawrence McKenzie averaged 11 points per game in 2008 as a senior for the University of Minnesota men's basketball team,...
View ArticleMeet the 5 new bands battling in the Strib's Are You Local? contest
Vita.mn died last year, but its parent company, the Star Tribune, salvaged its Are You Local? contest — the annual public call for the Twin Cities' best new bands. Though the Strib didn’t take the...
View ArticleCoheed & Cambria make amends for a decade of reckless fantasy
Coheed and Cambria are dead. The titular characters at the center of Coheed & Cambria’s sprawling sci-fi concept have long since been killed. They were dead before the close of The Second Stage...
View ArticleGloom-pop band Ego Death rallies together for new Daze EP, April residency
The members of Ego Death expect to have a much better time playing their April residency shows at the Kitty Cat Klub than they did on the Chicago stop of their 2015 tour. Day 8 into a 10-day Midwest...
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