Music

​Zero Place: One Band, Two Albums

November 13th, 2024

By John Showalter

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to a stop with the COVID pandemic, the band shows no sign of slowing down with the release of their second album, “Darko,” on the horizon. That should be no surprise, though. Lead vocalist and guitarist Zander Ness is no stranger to making music.

“I’ve…

Read more...


​Never gonna let him go:

October 17th, 2024

North Dakota’s All Star Tribute to John Prine at the Fargo Theatre

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

On November 3, The Radio Stars are rounding up a number of North Dakota’s finest musicians from Watford City to the Red River Valley to pay tribute to the late great John Prine at the Fargo Theatre. They will share the stage with Jessie Veeder, Gina PowersChuck SuchyPat Lenertz, Darrin Wentz, Tom Brousseau, Emily Walter, Tuckered Out and Dan Brekke.

This isn’t the first North…

Read more...


​Radio Free Fargo: Flying Free on Fargo’s Airwaves for 20 Years

September 19th, 2024

By John Showalter

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

Like any metropolitan area, Fargo-Moorhead has a plethora of radio stations representing a variety of musical genres and other content. And like any other playing field in the world of media, there are going to be both the bigger fish (the corporate stations) and the hidden gems. One of those gems in the case of Fargo-Moorhead is Radio Free Fargo KRFF 95.9, which has been providing an outlet for independent radio in some incarnation or another…

Read more...


​Rising from the ‘Ashes’

August 3rd, 2024

Lamb of God celebrates 20th anniversary of a seminal album

by John Showalter

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

Photo by Travis Shinn

When the band Burn the Priest formed in 1994, they likely did not realize the impact that they would have on the metal genre. Thirty years later, the band is still going strong, albeit with a few changes in lineup and their adoption of the much better-known moniker Lamb of God. In that time, they have released eleven studio albums (two of which were under their…

Read more...


​Documenting Atmosphere

July 18th, 2024

HPR chats with Slug of the hip-hop duo Atmosphere

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

When Sean Daley, also known as Slug, the voice of Twin Cities-based hip hop duo Atmosphere and co-founder of rap label Rhymesayers was growing up, he said hip-hop was the “large tool in my toolbox of socializing.” Whether it was breakdancing, graffiti or being a fan of the sound, he knew it was not his parents’ music and it was a movement that he felt belonged solely to those kids. High Plains…

Read more...


​Pour one out for Harold’s fifth anniversary

July 18th, 2024

By John Showalter

In the several years since its owners purchased what was once Main Avenue Auto in Moorhead, Minnesota in 2019, Harold’s on Main has quickly transformed from the new kid on the block to a Moorhead fixture. Not even a pandemic that seemed to put the world on pause was able to drive them off the rails. What started as just a bar now regularly hosts outside concerts, vinyl nights, and karaoke, among other events. On July 27, Harold’s will be celebrating its fifth…

Read more...


Getting down to the real Nitty Gritty

June 20th, 2024

HPR chats with Bob Carpenter of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

When asked if it was fair to consider the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as “the godfathers of contemporary Americana” during our interview, longstanding band member Bob Carpenter chuckled and said, “I think that's for someone else to decide.” Fans can do exactly that during the band’s Farewell Tour, which swings through North Dakota and Minnesota in June.

“I don't know,” Carpenter…

Read more...


Hamming It Up at the Aquarium

May 16th, 2024

By John Showalter

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

Musicians in the Fargo-Moorhead area are often supportive of each other. They will attend each other’s shows, collaborate on projects, play as openers for each other, so on and so forth. However, there is nothing wrong with a bit of friendly competition — and that is why we have Battle of the Hamm’s. A veritable tradition for The Aquarium at this point, Battle of the Hamm’s sees several local bands face off in a battle of the bands…

Read more...


STILL, After All This Time

March 21st, 2024

By John Showalter

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

It is not unheard of for bands to go on hiatus. However, as the old saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” That is why when a local group like STILL comes back to perform it is always cause for excitement. On Saturday, April 13, the long dormant doom noise project will return to the Aquarium co-headlining a show with Timmy Williams of “The Whitest Kids U’ Know” fame, who will be performing stand-up comedy in an…

Read more...


ADVANCE BASE with WALDEMAR, ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE (NEW!), and HOPECHEST

December 5th, 2023

The Aquarium, 226 Broadway North upstairs, Downtown Fargo

Friday, December 8, 7:30-11pm

Doors 7:30 pm // Music 8 pm
21+ // $10 advance // $12 DOS

Over two decades, Christmas songs have appeared throughout Owen Ashworth’s recorded output, from Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s 2016 fan favorite “Cold White Christmas” to Advance Base’s latest Christmas single, “Christmas Steve.” There have been enough Advance Base and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Christmas songs to…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry Abstract Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck1 Tracker Pixel for Entry aquarium Tracker Pixel for Entry 7clans

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…

By Johnathan Campbell history@nd.gov Since Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I’d share three mysterious — and mildly creepy folktales — that have been shared about the Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site,…

Thursday, November 7, 8 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, FargoThe Minneapolis indie rock duo Bad Bad Hats hits the Fargo stage promoting their brand new, self-produced album titled “Bad Bad Hats.” Their name came from a song…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com As a political columnist, I know I should be writing an election preview for the issue of this paper that comes out just a couple weeks before what is being labeled, once again, as “the most…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill We Ever Recover from the Trump Virus of Universal Hate?Just a month ago, the primary doctor of 336 million U.S Americans,U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory on the mental…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Ted Martin, retired educator and western North Dakota native, currently has his art on view at Mind Virus Counter-Culture Books and Media. The exhibition features Martin’s colorful ink drawings…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

Rynn WillgohsJanuary 25, 1972-October 8, 2024 Rynn Azerial Willgohs, age 52, of Vantaa, Finland, died by suicide on October 8, 2024. Rynn became her true-self March 31, 2020. She immediately became a vocal and involved activist…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com Okay, so last month I promised you a woman President of the United States. So much for my predictability quotient. Lesson 1: Never promise something you can’t control. And nobody, not even…