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 NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…
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.com Filmmaker Antonella Sudasassi Furniss constructs an engaging sophomore feature with “Memories of a Burning Body,” selected by Costa Rica to be entered for consideration as a possible Oscar…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…
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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
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 Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
