Music

Have we reached critical Mac?

August 5th, 2015

No matter how many creative ways musicians have released their work into the wild listening world – surprise releases, pay-what-you-want downloads, hidden records in upholstered furniture, etc. – it still comes almost infallibly in one of three denominations:

The Single: The “big hit,” often released with a less crucial B-side.
The Extended Play (EP): A collection of three to six tracks, often reserved for unreleased songs, demos or other non-essential audio oddities, and…

Wilco just wants to have fun

July 29th, 2015

Surprise release of “Star Wars” finds band at their loosest

Have we our Great American Rock Band? Have we ever laid claim to such a thing? The Beatles, the Stones, Zep, all imports. Sure, we gave the world Elvis, but the solo thing doesn’t really apply here. The designation is a weighty one, but before such pompous institutions as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or Rolling Stone misguidedly try to bestow it upon Bon Jovi, I’m going to pass the crown to Wilco.

Now, “Star…

godheadSilo reunites for Ralph’sFargo punk legends return to the stage

July 22nd, 2015

On Saturday, July 25, godheadSilo will perform their first show since 1998 in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the closing of Ralph’s Corner Bar.

godheadSilo formed in the early 1990s in Fargo, later moved to Olympia, Wash., and signed to record labels like Kill Rock Stars and Sub Pop, touring with the likes of The Melvins and Sebadoh. The band was a duo with a punishing loud sound that made them stand out at the time, and they caught the eye of bands touring through Fargo who…

Eaux boy!

July 22nd, 2015

Inaugural Eaux Claires festival a true celebration of music

In 2008, Justin Vernon was known best, if at all, for the icy falsetto that blew through “For Emma, Forever Ago.” That album, released under the nom de band Bon Iver (appropriately translating to “good winter” in broken French), shot the songwriter to the fore with its “Walden”-esque creation story and the haunting beauty of songs like “Skinny Love.” Since then, Vernon’s appetite for creation has been…

Oh Hell Yeah: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah celebrates the 10th anniversary of its landmark debut

July 17th, 2015

In 2005, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah released its eponymous debut album to an immediate flurry of praise, largely from fawning music bloggers. Self-released, the album was one of the first to demonstrate the power of social media and blogs like Pitchfork to promote unsigned bands. On a break in the midst of an extensive anniversary tour, itself preceded by a solo, acoustic “living room tour,” frontman Alec Ounsworth spoke with HPR from his home outside of Philadelphia.

High Plains…

Grace Potter’s ‘Magical Midnight Roadshow’

July 15th, 2015

Rock singer reveals tour and album details

Vermont rock ‘n’ roller Grace Potter is going solo. Sort of.

“Midnight,” which will release Aug. 14, will be Grace Potter’s first record sans “And The Nocturnals.” However, there will of course be drums, bass and an assortment of other noisemakers on stage with her on tour. It’s just that her sound is evolving into something a bit more powerful and even more rockin’ – something that an outdoor audience at Moorhead’s Bluestem…

Who is Lydia Loveless?

July 15th, 2015

The rocker on her love for pop music and disgust for “women in rock”

It seems that things are only looking up for Lydia Loveless. The singer-songwriter is currently on tour in support of last year’s “Somewhere Else,” an album that garnered critical praise across the board and scored her legions of new fans. There’s even a documentary in the works, cameras trained on Loveless and her band as they toil away at her upcoming fourth album, hoping to answer its titular question,…

The best overlooked albums of 2015, so far

July 15th, 2015

As the second half of 2015 unfolds with the early promise of new albums from Tame Impala, Beach House and Mac DeMarco, it’s easy to lose sight of the landmark efforts that have already cemented this year as one for the books, let alone those that have already been trampled enough. In the spirit of the underdog and in light of this week’s limbo of record releases shifting from Tuesdays to Fridays, here are four albums that are just as deserving of earbud love as any that January…

Modest Mouse added to the Bluestem Concert Series lineup

July 14th, 2015

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 | MODEST MOUSE

Tickets on sale Friday, July 17, 2015, at 11 a.m.  Jade Presents presale Thursday, July 16, 2015, from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., online only. Tickets cost  $29.50 for general admission lawn, $39.50 for general admission benches and $49.50 for reserved seating. A portion of tickets sales will go towards Jade Presents/The Arts Partnership Keeping Music Live Grants.

Ticket link: http://jadepresents.com/modest-mouse-moorhead/

Little music show on the prairie

July 9th, 2015

Reina Del Cid

“Prairie Musicians” to premiere a new season July 10

No need to leave the house on Friday nights in July to enjoy and support quality local music. Just turn to channel 13 for an episode of Prairie Public’s “Prairie Musicians.”

The show, which is produced at Prairie Public’s downtown Fargo studio, features performances and interviews with bands and musicians from Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba.

From as far away as western North Dakota (Jessie Veeder, Wild Hands) and…