February 21st, 2022
By Sabrina Hornung
Photo by Stephanie Dinsdale
HPR first caught wind of Begonia one hot day at Winnipeg Folk Fest in 2019. Even though we were trying not to wilt from the triple digit temperatures at the outdoor festival, onstage despite the heat, she maintained a coolness and oozed a certain level of sass, confidence and MAN.. what a voice. Once we found out she was coming to Fargo in March 2020, catching her show was a no brainer, little did any of us know this would be…
January 20th, 2022
By John Showalter
john.d.showalter@gmail.com
Over the five years that I have written for High Plains Reader, I have made no secret of the fact that I think that Fargo-Moorhead has its fair share of artistic talent, musical and otherwise. Surprisingly, in all that time I had never gotten around to writing about a mainstay of Fargo music that has been around for over a decade, Baltic to Boardwalk. So…
December 15th, 2021
By Sabrina Hornung
sabrina@hpr1.com
Trudy Wolf is a woman of many hats and has been making waves since she came to Zeeland Public schools in 1993. Zeeland, located in south central North Dakota, had 87 residents according to the 2019 census, and is just a hop, skip, and a jump from the South Dakota border.
Wolf started out as just the music teacher. “Then a few years later, I added librarian to it, and then a number of years later, I added elementary principal, and then secondary…
November 19th, 2021
By Sabrina Hornung
You may recognize Owen Hanson, from seeing him play with any number of folk punk projects throughout the past few years, such as his solo project Owen Broke, Bottle Wound, or Mr. Meaner. His folk punk roots may have just delved deeper into his interest in traditional folk music.
With the encouragement of a good friend, Fargo-based musician Owen Hanson applied for an accordion apprenticeship through the North Dakota Council on the Arts Folk Art and…
October 23rd, 2021
By Sabrina Hornung
sabrina@hpr1.com
Amanda Standalone is a force, in fact one could say she’s an old soul with the Midas touch of musicality. You may have seen her playing any number of instruments with a bluegrass band: a washtub bass with a burlesque troupe, a musical saw with a jugband, or busking on the sidewalk with her violin…and then there’s that voice…
With two albums under her belt,…
October 18th, 2021
By Sabrina Hornung and Jr Lacroix
Prof Comes to Town With a New Album, 'Powderhorn Suites'
Minneapolis-based rapper Prof has undergone a number of changes within a short amount of time. Abruptly dropped from the Rhymesayers label, he went on to release his latest album “Powderhorn Suites.” Prof is best known for his sharp tongue and absurdist lyrics. After listening to his most recent release and comparing it to his breakthrough album “King Gampo,” which was…
October 17th, 2021
By John Showalter
john.d.showalter@gmail.com
To say that John Dyer Baizley is a creative individual would be an understatement. Not only is he the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the critically acclaimed and hard-to-pigeonhole band Baroness, he is the painter of their equally striking album art (and on occasion, the album art of other bands). November 14th marks their first performance in Fargo since 2009. Over that time they have undergone creative and musical evolution but still…
July 14th, 2021
Sabrina Hornung
15 July 2021
“We have a guy that's been involved with the show for many years as a landlord and knew what it was like in the heydays. So he knows where he wants to take it.” says WE Fest General Sales Manager Mark Bjerke.
We Fest was started in 1983, a couple of partners were brought in about 1985. And that ownership group was rock steady through 2014. In 2010, one of those owners bought out his partners’ shares and from 2010 to 2014, WE Fest had a…
July 14th, 2021
Sabrina Horung
sabrina@hpr1.com
15 July 2021
Fargo-based musician Jessica VInes’ music is catchy.. in fact it’s downright infectious. A classically trained jazz vocalist, she’s collaborated with a number of area musicians such as blues rockers The Knotties to the hip hop stylings of Diane Miller.
She recently announced a move to California in September so naturally we had to flag her down to talk about her video “Delicious,” establishing a routine during lockdown and to see where…
June 15th, 2021
by John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.com
The COVID-19 pandemic took a huge toll on the live music industry. Not only concerts but full-blown music festivals were among the casualties over the course of 2020. However, as vaccines continue to roll out and guidelines are loosened, venues have been cautiously reopening their doors to live performances and promoters have been plying their craft.
Among…