May 4th, 2015
HPR asked popular Minneapolis-based artist Caroline Smith a series of questions and we saved the best answers for our readers.
Smith, a native of Detroit Lakes, Minn., performs in Fargo at least once or twice a year. She’ll return this Thursday, May 7 and this time is bringing along an opener, Ashley Dubose, also a Twin Cities-based pop/R&B singer-songwriter.
High Plains Reader: You’re a big city musician with small town roots. In what ways are you still in touch with those…
April 29th, 2015
What musical act would you stand in line for four to six hours to see? It’s a question many in Fargo found themselves grappling with when, mere hours before the gig, Jack White finally announced the last of his five-state acoustic performances to end his Lazaretto World Tour and begin a live-show hiatus of an undetermined amount of time.
My social media feed was filled with debate about whether or not Jack White was worthy of…
April 26th, 2015
Though its preceded by the title track, Alabama Shakes’ sophomore album, “Sound & Color,” doesn’t truly begin until about the 40-second mark of “Don’t Wanna Fight.” Steamrolling frontwoman Brittany Howard finds an open spot in the thistle of razorwire guitars and swaggering drums and emits a lemon-tart yowl, sucking all the air out of the room. For just a moment, the world pauses.
She exhales, spitting out the pounding backbeat and humbucked guitars with gale force. If one…
April 16th, 2015
For a debut album, Avid Dancer’s “1st Bath” plays more like a confident string of hits from a “best of” collection than a document of a young musician searching for his voice. Brimming with nods to pop from every crevice of the previous half-century, Jacob Summers’ project is the sonic equivalent of a kid in a candy shop, and has the sweet-toothed enthusiasm to match.
The attention deficit of “1st Bath” can be chalked up to Summers’ backstory. Raised almost entirely on…
April 16th, 2015
The annual KNDS Block Party is bringing up-and-coming hit rock band Twin Peaks to The New Direction on April 25. Supporting the Chicago garage punk rock band is Minneapolis artist Suzie and local rockers Panda Bandit.
The past block parties have included four or more bands but, according to KNDS general manager Cydney Berlinger, this year they took a different direction and focused on one main band to make it more like a typical concert. The change happened because the alternative…
April 10th, 2015
In the music biz, there’s an understandable element of danger in a visionary hard left turn. Time and time again, artists have followed their muses down the charts when their too-high flights of fancy glided on the momentum of their Last Big Thing.
Usually the gamble is a “bigger they are, the harder they fall” ordeal, and countering every electrified Dylan is a soul-patched Chris Gaines. Luckily, as musical attention spans have shortened, artists have begun separating their…
April 8th, 2015
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By Diane Miller and Kayla Culver
Pump up the outdoor jams, festival season is coming.
We’ve compiled a list of the best music festivals within reasonable driving distance from Fargo. Whatever your tastes are -- dubstep, country, rock, folk, blues, hip-hop, Christian or jazz -- one of these music festivals is bound to suit your groove.
Tickets are about as cheap as they get at this time. So plan ahead and save some money this season.
Please note that most music festivals are welcome to all…
April 2nd, 2015
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From the dawn of drum machines and samplers to the neat grids of GarageBand and ProTools, the creative process for solo musicians has been greatly augmented by technology.
Stars are born from viral videos, and entire albums are recorded in bedrooms across the world, intangibly contained on hard drives without a single note leaving the creator’s headphones.
While this technology boom has effectively dismantled the once forbiddingly expensive studio complex down to a few keystrokes,…
March 25th, 2015
After years of complaints that SXSW was getting too big and a tragic accident that lead to four deaths in 2014, the 2015 annual music, film and interactive festival in Austin, Texas attempted to go back to its roots of artist development and discovery with a more scaled-back feel.
While there was still plenty of opportunities for free booze parties, there wasn’t as much as in recent years. Sure, corporate sponsorship was still…
March 25th, 2015
Sometimes even those who know history well are doomed to repeat it.
Considering the recent deluge of albums by the likes of Father John Misty, Natalie Prass and Matthew E. White, it appears that the Nixon-era singer-songwriter heyday is seeing a second life some 40-odd years on.
Sure, it could be a mere coincidence that these records were all released in the span of a month, but upcoming releases by Cali soft-rockers Vetiver and jazz-folk picker Ryley Walker suggest otherwise, and the…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonLocal groups will speak out against current and projected federal budget cuts in downtown Fargo this Saturday, April 26. The Red River Valley chapters of Fearless and Indivisible will lead a protest from…
By Prairie Rose Seminolems.prairierose@gmail.com I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens, spaces of song and prayer, where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders. I didn’t yet have…
Saturday, April 26, 1:30-3:30 p.m.Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, 521 Main Ave., MoorheadThings are coming up rosy at the Rourke in a true feast of the senses during the third annual “Gallery in Bloom” exhibit. The pop-up…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I feel like reading a newspaper is the equivalent of listening to music on vinyl. Not only is it analog, it’s an experience. I might be a little biased, but there's something about the rustling…
By Ed Raymondfargogadly@gmail.comThe wizards and kleagles in whites now wear blue suits and red tiesA hundred years ago, more than 30,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan from virtually every state in the Union wearing their white…
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.comRyan Coogler goes big and bold with “Sinners,” a sweaty, bloody vampire movie set in 1932. The filmmaker stuffs this universe with enough ideas to serve a limited-series season of episodic…
By Raul Gomez Modern Man was a gentle soul. If you were down or just wanted a friend, he’d be there for you. I remember the first day I met Modern Man. It was Jeremiah Fuglseth and me. He wanted to write about this legendary…
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 Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…
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 Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com In 2023, the Superintendent of Fargo Public Schools, Rupak Ghandi, gave a passionate plea to the Fargo School Board to follow federal law, because a recently passed state law would increase…
