Music

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…

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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…

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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…

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The Ultimate Folk Punk Collaboration

October 10th, 2023

Dropkick Murphys Put Music to the Words of Woody Guthrie

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

Photo by Dave Stauble

With the release of 2022’s “This Machine Still Kills Fascists” and 2023’s “Okemah Rising.” The Dropkick Murphys have been focusing on acoustic shows for the past couple of years. Now they’re plugging back in for their latest tour.

“We've kind of gone back to the electric thing and you know what's been fun about that is a lot of those three songs we played for…

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40 Years of Being Peculiar: The Melvins

August 24th, 2023

By John Showalter

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

The Melvins formed in 1983 Montesano, Washington, founded by singer/guitar player Buzz Osborne. The group is known for its heavy sound mixed with a dose of punk, forming its own subgenre.

In those 40 years, they’ve released 30+ original albums, including live full lengths and countless singles. They've collaborated with Jello Biafra, Mudhoney, and Fantômas for individual releases and toured the world more times than Burgum has gift cards.

We…

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Rock and Blues With Gov’t Mule: HPR Speaks With Warren Hayes

June 20th, 2023

By Sabrina Hornung 

sabrina@hpr1.com

Photo by Shervin Lainez

Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule spoke to HPR about his new albums, collaborations, inspirations and how he found his love of rock and roll.

High Plains Reader: I always think that it's interesting to ask artists about how they spent their 2020 lock downs, Gov’t Mule came out with two…

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​Happy Harry’s RibFest: June 7–10 outdoors at FARGODOME

May 27th, 2023

Event information provided by Morgan Thompson, Marketing and Sales Associate, FARGODOME

MThompson@fargodome.com

It’s the official kickoff of summer, and the return of the best BBQ around and look who’s going to be there!

Getting things started on Wednesday, June 7th is one of country music’s most successful acts, Parmalee. Then on Thursday, June 8th is six-time vocal group of the year & proud Grand Ole Opry members, Diamond Rio. Taking the stage on Friday, June 9th is multi-platinum…

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Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll: Cortés Explains ‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’

May 21st, 2023

By Greg Carlson 

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

Richard Wayne Penniman, known to the world by his stage name Little Richard, died in 2020 from causes related to bone cancer. The popular music legend, often referred to as the “Architect of Rock and Roll,” pioneered sounds and styles that would be idolized and emulated by Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, James Brown,…

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Mares of Thrace: A Duo and a Triple Threat

May 18th, 2023

By Martin Beckmann

beckmanniscool@gmail.com

Mares of Thrace is a Doom Metal duo from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, consisting of Therese Lanz on guitar and vocals and Casey Rodgers on drums. Formed in 2009, the band has been making waves in the metal scene with their unique blend of sludge, doom, and avant-garde metal.

Mares of Thrace's sound is characterized by Lanz's intricate guitar riffs, which seamlessly blend heavy, distorted tones with complex melodic lines, and Rodgers' powerful and…

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​The Bar-Clearing Punk Band You Should Know About

April 29th, 2023

By Martin Beckmann

beckmanniscool@gmail.com

A couple of weeks ago at the Battle of the Hamms, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a spectacular new local punk band with one of the best names, Idiot Man Child. The band consists of Jake Asen on bass and vocals, Chris Holmes on drums, Tristan Barstad on guitar, and Jesse "Riff" Ostlund on guitar. This is a bar-clearing punk band you should know about, so I talked with Jake about the band's origin and supergroups.

High Plains Reader: So your…

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