Music

​Keeping Up with the Barnaby Jones

June 27th, 2018

Barnaby Jones

In the beginning of July our very own KRFF Radio Free Fargo will be having another one of their benefit concerts at The Aquarium. These fun, affordable concerts have been a great way to raise money for the station, to allow local bands and musicians to showcase their talents, and provide a diving board into the Fargo music scene for those who are still unfamiliar with it.

This addition to the series of concerts will be perfect for the hard rockers and metalheads among us, with No…

Read more...


​VINYL Parties in FM

June 6th, 2018

Front Street Taproom has struck up a relation with local record shop, Vinyl Giant. There are two events where turntables are set up and people can play their records. Every Wednesday they host Vinyl Night from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. DJ AP plays a huge role in helping organize the DJs and always lays down a killer set. He is a Minneapolis native, and has been DJing for over 15 years.

“DJs usually do about an hour set and we are always looking for new people who are interested in playing…

Read more...


World Record Wreckers

May 31st, 2018

Design by Raul Gomez

Those who were reading our publication last summer may remember when I wrote about a certain individual named Julian Ruck who played the ukulele for 30+ hours continuously in a bid to break the world record. So naturally, when Ruck came back into town with another musical project in mind, I knew I had to write the story.

Almost a year has gone by and a lot has happened, but Ruck is still a man who devotes a lot of time and energy into bringing people together and inspiring musical…

Read more...


​Blazing her own trail: Nikki Lane

May 17th, 2018

Design by Raul Gomez

Nikki Lane is a trailblazer. Her unique voice could be described as a cross between Wanda Jackson’s grit and Neko Case’s hauntingly smoky vocals. It’s classic and it’s fresh. In 2017 she won an Ameripolitan award in the category of best female outlaw country artist.Though she says this year is a slow year, on average she spends approximately nine months of the year on tour. While on the road she finds time to scour the second hand stores and antique shops. In a past life she was…

Read more...


​A fistful of Anthrax

May 16th, 2018

Anthrax band

When I was 13 the “Big 4” of thrash metal ruled the planet. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax were so cool that my older brother hid their tapes for fear that me becoming a fan would make them instantly uncool.

Charlie Benante is Anthrax’s drummer. I always knew who Charlie was but not really because drummers tend to get relegated to the figurative background as well. When I think of Anthrax, I think of Joey Belladonna and Scott Ian. Joey because he’s the singer and has…

Read more...


​Off the beaten path with Corb Lund

May 16th, 2018

Corb Lund - photograph by by Denise DeBelius

I felt a little silly opening our interview asking Canadian singer songwriter Corb Lund whether he raised cattle or not.

“I’m not home enough to even have a cat,” Lund said. “My family has cows. That’s kind of the irony -- the more I sing Western music the less time I have to actually live that way.

“That’s how I grew up and that’s what my family ancestry is based off of. Both sides of my family came from Utah and Nevada in the late 1800s and then moved up to Canada around…

Read more...


​America comes to Fargo

May 9th, 2018

America

“It’s kind of a fuzzy memory, but basically the fact that we were ‘those American kids’ but also listened to the jukebox at the base cafeteria called the ‘Americana’ and the band Chicago had just come out recently and we thought, well that’s interesting, they named themselves after a city, so what the heck?” Dewey Bunnell said. He was one of the founding members of the 70s folk rock trio America.

“We’ll name ourselves after the whole country,” Bunnell said. “It…

Read more...


​Finger pickin’ good

May 2nd, 2018

John Andrus BAND President

When musician and Bluegrass Association of North Dakota (BAND) President John Andrus checks out live music in the local bars throughout the state he’s happy to see that the spirit of bluegrass music lives on through multiple generations. 

“I’m amazed how many of the people there are musicians checking stuff out," Andrus said. "Young people wanting to check out the music or something like it. It’s not necessarily straight bluegrass, but some of them have music of their own but…

Read more...


​New Brandi Carlile album forgives and you won’t forget

April 25th, 2018

Brandi Carlile - photograph by Cindy NicholsBy Cindy Nichols
cindy.nichols@ndsu.edu

I find myself almost weepy with appreciation, these days, for any small reprieve I can find from chronic sickness-at-heart; any small mercy that either helps me to forget about 45 for an hour, or actually wakes me up again to how many amazingly good people live in this country. Seattle-area vocalist Brandi Carlile is one of those kindnesses, a kind of tonic for the times, along with her sixth and newest album, By the Way, I Forgive You.

I was able…

Read more...


​Viva la vinyl!

April 18th, 2018

Record Store Day is all about music artists and fans celebrating “the culture of the independently owned record store.” A variety of unique and special releases are pressed for Record Store Day and those are only distributed to participating stores. At this moment, Fargo-Moorhead record shops couldn’t be more excited for this event. Vinyl Giant, Orange Records, Mother’s and Phat Kat Antiques & Vintage Vinyl are participating in Record Store Day and stock up all the special lists…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck1 Tracker Pixel for Entry NewSalem1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Gruff1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Hjemkomst Tracker Pixel for Entry aquarium Tracker Pixel for Entry NewSalem2

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…

From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…

June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…

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 After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…

Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The writing/directing partnership of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck has to be one of the most curious cases of crazy connect-the-dots career moves in recent cinema. From short documentaries and…

By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…

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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…