March 16th, 2016
Greensky Bluegrass’s Michael Bont talks success and improvisation
By Jamie Hutchinson
jamie@hpr1.com
The success of Greensky Bluegrass in the past few years has led to sold out shows across the country as they’ve shared their love of bluegrass and jam band music, hitting up the summer festival circuit and even headlining at Colorado’s Red Rock Amphitheater.
But while the band plays traditional bluegrass instruments and bluegrass is in the name of the band, don’t refer to them as a…
March 7th, 2016
It’s been five years since guitarist Gary Holt joined Slayer, but their latest album “Repentless” is the first time he’s had the chance to appear on one of their albums and he gave it his all, shredding so hard he blew out his left wrist. Yet even with tendinitis, he kept playing.
“I fought through it ’cause it was hurting when I was doing it, but it felt like I was in the flow and I would just keep going,” says Holt the afternoon before the start of their North American…
February 25th, 2016
Merrill Piepkorn isn’t the biggest Bob Dylan fan. He finds Dylan’s trademark nasally voice difficult to understand and as a harmonica player himself, he dislikes Dylan’s handling of the instrument, which he admits are limited by the harness Dylan wears.
“I always looked at Bob Dylan and his talent from kind of tunnel vision as a harmonica player and it’s not that great,” says Piepkorn, who has played in country western and blues groups since about 1972.
But it was through…
February 22nd, 2016
It’s been almost five years since Minneapolis band Rogue Valley released their last album “False Floors,” which marked the end of a yearlong effort to release four concept albums based on the seasons of the year.
The success of the albums and their live performances can be measured by the number of songs they’ve had featured in television shows and movies, with their song “The Wolves and the Raven” being featured in the Ben Stiller-starring drama “The Secret Life of Walter…
February 19th, 2016
by Ben Rheault
Fargo has a bit of a reputation for noise. Whether it’s the bands of yesteryear like GodheadSilo and Hammerhead or more recent projects such as Manchester Buldge and Monowolf. Still falls in between both extremes. On one end of the spectrum, there is this distorted albeit beautiful music, and on the other a cacophony of noise that threatens to obscure it, but winds up highlighting it. There has never been anything like it here before.
I sat down with Chris Marteny…
February 18th, 2016
By David McCoy
Following their successful showcase in December, Deborah Jenkins’ brainchild The Celebration of Women and their Music, is back for their 19th year of inspiring and entertaining the Fargo community. This year they have three days dedicated to the musical celebration that honors women in the performing arts.
The Celebration of Women and their Music was founded by chef and renowned blues singer, Deborah Jenkins. The show was made to recognize the creative passion and…
February 17th, 2016
Since its inception in 2011, The New Direction has played an important role in the FM music scene. It’s a community-minded, all-ages venue with a strong DIY aesthetic. New Direction Fest started as a way to stay open during a slow month in their inaugural year. Since then the three-day extravaganza gained the moniker New Direction Fest. HPR had the opportunity to speak with Jack Stenerson, the man behind the venue. High Plains Reader: How did the New Direction come to be and how has it… |
February 16th, 2016
Since their first recording in 2009, drone band Wrekmeister Harmonies has offered an ever-growing collaboration between musicians from numerous bands. Their latest release, “Night of Your Ascension,” has a cast of over 30 musicians with members coming from bands such as Indian, Cave and The Body.
The Chicago collective will play the Aquarium along with Seattle doom band Bell Witch on Feb. 19. Unlike the large ensemble which plays on their records, this will be a lighter version of…
February 3rd, 2016
Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, Willie Dixon, The Rolling Stones: these are just a few of the bands Sugar Blue recorded with in a career spanning forty years. It’s a career that’s led to high praise for his skilled harmonica playing and earned him a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
Saturday, Blue will perform with his band, the Sugar Blue Band, at the 16th annual Fargo Winter…
January 30th, 2016
There comes a time when every musician needs to hang up their axe and succumb to the darkness ... of retirement. Some don’t always choose when that time comes, as we’ve seen with a few big name musicians dying lately, but Black Sabbath has. And for the Godfathers of Heavy Metal, the end is nigh.
In the third concert of their appropriately-named The End tour, Sabbath filled the Target Center in Minneapolis on Monday night with the slow, sludgy doom metal they created. The band,…
__293px-wide.png)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
By Bryce Vincent Haugen By his own account, Edwin Chinchilla is lucky to still be in the United States. As a 12-year-old Salvadoran, he and his brother were packed into a semi with a couple dozen other people and given fake…
By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…
Wednesday, March 25, Group lesson 7 p.m., Dance 9 p.m.Sons of Norway, 722 2nd Avenue North, FargoCare to dance? If you don’t already know how to dance, the Northern Lights Dance Club can show you a thing or two about social…
By John StrandDisclaimer: This editorial is the work of someone who’s spent most of his adult life working in the media — most of those years co-owning this very entity, the High Plains Reader, since 1996. The notion that folks…
By Ed RaymondThe bells are ringing for everybody on the planet As ICE, the worst of the worst law enforcement agencies in the Divided States of America, continues to use unconstitutional procedures to find the worst of the worst…
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 Sabrina Hornung There’s a Bosnian saying that states simply, “It’s a sin to throw away bread,” which really resonates with me — especially growing up with grandparents who lived through the Second World War and the Great…
The Slow Death at The AquariumSaturday, March 21, doors at 7:30 p.m. The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include…
By Sabrina HornungJD Provorse is a horror movie enthusiast and Fargo-based podcast host. Both he and cohost Michelle Roller have a comedy background and started the wildly entertaining podcast “We Watch Shudder” in 2022 as an…
By Jacinta ZensGraffiti is something we all see routinely on trains as they pass through the metro. If you pay attention even a little bit, you will notice that some graffiti pieces on train cars look much better than others in…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
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 Liverani In November 2025, the FDA initiated the removal of the “black box” warning from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The “black box” warning is a FAD safety warning for healthcare providers and patients…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
By Jim FuglieI’m feeling a little mean right now. It doesn’t happen often, but I tend to pay attention to politics and politicians and I’m pretty disappointed in one of our politicians right now. So I’m going to be mean to…
