Music

​Around the world to Russia

March 18th, 2015

FM Symphony’s ‘Passion & Beauty’ channels Tchaikovsky, among others

In the wake of BeethovenFest, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony returns to its Masterworks Series this weekend, bound for Russia in this “Embrace the World” offering.

This season’s worldly theme has seen stops in South America and Asia for tastes of each region’s musical flavors. “Passion & Beauty,” the latest concert, takes audiences to Russia with the likes of composers Peter Tchaikovsky and Alexander…

Read more...


​Basement’s Best: ‘Fresh Blood’ preaches the gospel of Matthew E. White

March 14th, 2015

In the wake of the peer-to-peer sharing boom and the mushrooming remix culture that it fueled, we face ambivalence as to what constitutes proper artistic appropriation. Looking back now, do we view Led Zeppelin as hacks or heroes for putting their own electric spin on the music of the American Delta?

Could a Tribe Called Quest have kicked it without “Walk on the Wild Side”? Should we give a damn about Foxygen or just put on “High Tide and Green Grass” and call it good?

The line…

Read more...


​Twin Cities Metal Invasion

March 11th, 2015

King Goro

By Paul Harvey Johnson

Metal bands King Goro and Ghost Hook both hail from the Twin Cities and will perform Saturday at The New Direction.

King Goro

I've had the delight of attending a handful of sweaty, booze-soaked basement shows to witness the three-piece assault that is King Goro. It is in that environment where this band thrives. One of the things that separates the group from a lot of other bands within the death metal and grindcore genre is its sense of humor and insatiable desire…

Read more...


​North Dakota’s own folkster gleams on ‘Perfect Abandon’

March 4th, 2015

In reference to the carefree manner in which J.L. “Joe” Frank, an early Nashville country music promoter, wore his hat, the title of Tom Brosseau’s latest effort aptly shades the freewheeling music within.

In his ninth long-player, the Grand Forks, N.D.-bred singer-songwriter moseys through the album with a low-key lope, spinning aching story-song yarns all along the way.

Inspired by the spontaneous live sound of Elvis Presley’s early cuts for fabled country and western label…

Read more...


Basement’s Best: ​THEESatisfaction seeks transcendence on “EarthEE”

March 2nd, 2015

Hip-hop has been, since its origin, an art form written in the present tense, the spray-painted writing on the wall still waiting to dry. Even before the genre was coined, primogenitors like Nina Simone and Gil Scott-Heron called ‘em as they saw ‘em, laying bare the ugly truths of a still-divided nation, leaving any sugarcoating for the nightly news. The genre’s “hear ye, hear ye” spirit is as strong as ever, as taut racial tensions fuel the hot spit of Run the Jewels and…

Read more...


​Fargo celebrates the music of Bob Dylan

February 25th, 2015

Merrill Piepkorn

Fargo is celebrating Minnesota icon Bob Dylan with an afternoon of covers by local musicians. The event, DylanFest, is on Feb. 28 at the Fargo Theater and features 15 artists performing some of Dylan’s most beloved songs.

Musical acts include Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome, Tim Sparks, Jessie Veeder, Merrill Piepkorn and the Radio Stars Band, Poitin, Moody River Band, Heavy is the Head, D Mills & The Thrills, Tucker’d Out, Amanda Standalone, Darrin Wentz, Merry Helm & Roger Gress, Mike…

Read more...


​Basement’s Best: Father John Misty head over heels on “Honeybear”

February 20th, 2015

J. Tillman is in love.

Ordinarily, such an opening statement would be irrelevant, but considering the larger-than-life, Don Juan-esque persona that the ex-Fleet Fox hatched for his debut as Father John Misty, such a change in narrative is worth noting.

Whereas “Fear Fun” was a gonzo telling of an ayahuasca-fueled dive headfirst into that which lies further beneath the City of Angels’ underbelly, “I Love You, Honeybear” captures the confounding complexities of love and…

Read more...


​The Return of Davis? Yes.

February 18th, 2015

Ike Morsch, Matt Cook, Nick Peterson and Travis Atwood

Popular Fargo band releases new record after a nearly 10 year hiatus

Before there were popular locals bands like 32 Below, Johnson Family Band, Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome and Tripwire, among others, there was an awesome band by the name of Davis? (That sentence is not a strangely formed question. It’s just how Davis? formats its name.)

Actually, there still is an awesome band by the name of Davis?

The group formed in the late ‘90s and released two albums, “Radio Ashes” and…

Read more...


​Three days of punk rockin’

February 18th, 2015

Baltic To Boardwalk :: Photo by Kaytlin Dargen

New Direction Festival celebrates four years

The annual punk and hardcore music festival New Direction Fest is celebrating its fourth year in a variety of ways.

The fest kicks off on Feb. 20 with a punk rock garage sale. Tables will be set up with records, merchandise and other items for purchase. Music starts that night at 7 p.m. with local pop punk bands and artists from Minneapolis.

“I try to make it so diverse so that people who don’t come to shows will come to that show and then…

Read more...


​Q&A with KumNCyde

February 11th, 2015

Photo by J Earl Miller

Final performance this Friday by Fargo-Moorhead boy band

By Jay Rice

If you haven't heard the most amazing group to spring from the loins of Fargo-Moorhead's music scene, then you haven't heard the boy band KumNcyde.

What you need to know is they are having their last performance ever at The Aquarium this Valentine's Day. Doors open at 10 p.m., and KumNcyde are set to begin at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are already on sale at Orange Records and online at ticketweb.com. Get yours and do not miss…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry TheatreB Tracker Pixel for Entry spirit Tracker Pixel for Entry StCloud Tracker Pixel for Entry farrms Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL Tracker Pixel for Entry nicholes

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…

By Johnathan Campbell history@nd.gov Since Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I’d share three mysterious — and mildly creepy folktales — that have been shared about the Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site,…

Thursday, November 7, 8 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, FargoThe Minneapolis indie rock duo Bad Bad Hats hits the Fargo stage promoting their brand new, self-produced album titled “Bad Bad Hats.” Their name came from a song…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com Okay, so last month I promised you a woman President of the United States. So much for my predictability quotient. Lesson 1: Never promise something you can’t control. And nobody, not even…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill We Ever Recover from the Trump Virus of Universal Hate?Just a month ago, the primary doctor of 336 million U.S Americans,U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory on the mental…

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 In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Ted Martin, retired educator and western North Dakota native, currently has his art on view at Mind Virus Counter-Culture Books and Media. The exhibition features Martin’s colorful ink drawings…

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 John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

Rynn WillgohsJanuary 25, 1972-October 8, 2024 Rynn Azerial Willgohs, age 52, of Vantaa, Finland, died by suicide on October 8, 2024. Rynn became her true-self March 31, 2020. She immediately became a vocal and involved activist…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com Okay, so last month I promised you a woman President of the United States. So much for my predictability quotient. Lesson 1: Never promise something you can’t control. And nobody, not even…