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,…
January 30th, 2016
February 3, 1959 marks the day that the music died. Rock ‘n roll icons Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17), and J.P. Richardson, a.k.a. “the Big Bopper”(28) lost their lives in a plane crash outside of Clear Lake Iowa that fateful night, while on their “Winter Dance Party Tour” en route to play the next stop of their tour at the Armory in Moorhead Minnesota.
A young man from Fargo North Dakota named Bobby Vee reached unexpected stardom that night as his career was launched.…
January 29th, 2016
Iowa-based singer songwriter William Elliott Whitmore plays sold-out shows throughout the Midwest, including his upcoming sold out show at The Fargo Brewing Company on January 31. HPR had the opportunity to catch up with him and discuss his musical beginnings as well as his latest album
HPR: Where did you find your musical beginnings?
William Elliott Whitmore: I grew up in a household with a lot of music around. My folks had a great record collection. My old man played guitar and my mom…
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By Bryce Haugen In the week since Renee Good was killed by an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, the state’s largest city, ICE officers have fanned out throughout Minnesota. ICE agents have been…
By Kooper Shagena Just off of I-94 and Highway 83 on State Street in Bismarck, an abandoned Kmart sits behind an empty parking lot, watching the cars roll on and off the interstate exchange. It has been standing there quietly since…
Saturday, January 31, mingling at 6:15 p.m. and program at 7 p.m.Fine Arts Club, 601 4th St. S., FargoThe FM Symphony is getting intimate by launching a “Small Stages” chamber music series and it's bringing folks together via…
By John Strand If you are reading this editorial and you too are worried sick about the state of our country, keep reading. Maybe we can inspire each other. It was near closing time. We were discussing our values crisis. So this…
By Ed RaymondA mind that snapped, cracked, and popped at one hundredI wasn’t going to read a long column called “Centenarian: A Diary of a Hundredth Year” by Calvin Tomkins celebrating his birthday on December 17 of 2025…
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 GionSince the much-dreaded Covid years, there has been much ebb and flow in the Fargo-Moorhead restaurant scene. In 2025, that trend continued with some major additions and closings. Let’s start the New Year on a positive…
Saturday, January 17, 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 members of The Ergs!, Dillinger…
By Greg Carlson Writer-director Naomi Jaye adapts fellow Canadian Martha Baillie’s 2009 novel “The Incident Report” as a potent and introspective character study. Retitled “Darkest Miriam,” Jaye’s movie stars Britt…
By Jacinta ZensThe Guerrilla Girls, an internationally renowned anonymous feminist art collective, have been bringing attention to the gender and racial imbalances in contemporary art institutions for the last 40 years. They have…
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 Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com At the beginning of the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas," the Grinch is introduced as having a smaller than average heart, but as the movie progresses, his heart increases three…
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 Vern Thompson Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words…
