Music

Heartless Bastards show no mercy

July 25th, 2013

As far as we know Erika Wennerstrom isn’t a Heartless Bastard. Perhaps it just reflects in her singing in split-second increments. Her voice is incredibly dynamic.

Truly, Wennerstrom’s voice is one of the Heartless Bastard’s most enthralling features. Often times it’s clear and easy to follow, other times it loops, looms, floats and blooms. She sounds like a girlish Marc Bolan (T. Rex) or a boyish Zooey Deschanel.

Wennerstrom said her vocal style derives from her influences –…

O brothers, where art thou?

June 23rd, 2013

Avett Brothers to perform in Fargo for the first time

The Avett Brothers of North Carolina are heading farther north.

This popular modern Ameriana/folk outfit will perform in Fargo for the first time ever this Thursday at the The Venue at the Hub. Concert-goers should expect a packed house. The Avett Brothers are one of the most sought-after folk acts in the country.

In 2011, the band joined the stage with Bob Dylan and Mumford & Sons to perform “Maggie’s Farm.” Their latest album,…

MNDR to DJ at the Aquarium

May 9th, 2013

Amanda Warner grew up in near Hillsboro, N.D. and went to high school in Fargo. Today, she is a New York pop singer/DJ/songwriter and goes by the stage name MNDR.

This Saturday, Warner will be performing a solo set at the Aquarium for the finish line of the Zombie Pub Crawl. It will be her first performance back in Fargo in five years – though expect this to be just the first of two MNDR shows in Fargo, Warner said. Saturday’s show will be an all-DJ set and her second one later this…

Blame it on my A.D.D.

April 4th, 2013

Q&A with Aaron Bruno of Awolnation

AWOLNATION is sexy, modern, edgy and tremendously heavy popular music.

An active and respected musician since the early 2000s, singer-songwriter Aaron Bruno’s major breakthrough came in 2011 with the release of AWOLNATION’s “Sail,” which is now certified double platinum in the United States.

Funny thing is, Bruno, a Los Angeles native, didn’t even think people would like the song. The High Plains Reader caught up with Bruno over the phone to…

Rip-roaring success: Grace Potter and The Nocturnals

January 17th, 2013

Hawaii and North Dakota are the only two states Grace Potter and The Nocturnals have not performed in. So, in a sense North Dakota will be one-upping our country’s tropical paradise – The Nocturnals are making it to ND first. What up now, Hawaii?

“I’m a northern girl myself and I come from the cold and I’m hoping it’s just going to be super snowy and fabulous (in Fargo),” Potter says while making spaghetti in her home.

“The thing is, I’m comfortable in that atmosphere;…

A Handful of Extraordinary Songs by Bob Dylan

September 16th, 2012

Bob Dylan, among hundreds of other things, was a prolific songwriter. Among the hundreds of things he was -- a singer, an activist, a harmonica player, a poet, a husband, a father, a guitar player -- he was most brilliant and artistically stunning at being a songwriter. In fact, Dylan is, without question, one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century. From classic rockers to bluegrass musicians to indie rockers to pop stars and everything in between, Dylan has made an…

Carolina Eye and Ear Candy

June 26th, 2012

Carolina Chocolate Drops: A Winnipeg Folk Festival Highlight Artist

One of the best and brightest folk festivals is only three hours away from the Fargo-Moorhead area. Join Iron & Wine, Feist, Billy Bragg, K’naan, and HPR’s two picks of exclusive, on-the-rise artists, The Carolina Chocolate Drops and Blitzen Trapper, as they take the stage on festival grounds in Winnipeg starting Wednesday, July 4 and ongoing till Sunday, July 8.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops (CCD) from North Carolina…

John C. Reilly: Two-Step Brother

June 7th, 2012

He's best known as a funnyman in film, but over the past two decades, John C. Reilly has established himself as one of the more versatile entertainers of his generation. Next weekend, he comes to the Red River Valley – not to play opposite Will Ferrell, film another Oscar nominated dramatic performance or work on his Cartoon Network spinoff – but rather to perform roots music. It's music, as Reilly's explained, “conceived and sung around lonesome campfires, rain-soaked ships…

From The Lakes to Big Breaks

February 16th, 2012

Photo by Romain Leblanc

Caroline Smith on "Little Wind"

Talented singer/songwriter girl moves from little Detroit Lakes to big Minneapolis, gets a gig at the 400 Bar opening for Mason Jennings, finds all her future band-mates and… voila! There we have it – Caroline Smith’s success story. Pretty sweet, eh?

Of course, I am probably missing hundreds of other details… but her story is still unfolding as I write (she’s 23).

The first and only time I’ve ever seen Caroline Smith perform live was the High Plains…

Go on, Brush Your Shyness Off

February 9th, 2012

with his Highness, “King Gampo”

With all the nonsense that comes out of Prof’s mouth, how can one listen to his music and take him seriously—“You can find me stiff/like a samurai/on a llama ride/down a water-slide/getting sodomized.”? Strangely enough, his nonsense is his beauty—it’s all apart of the Prof package. He’s not afraid of doing or saying anything—“I'm pooping on rappers/not only pooping but poop scooping/and vacuuming those bastards.”

There is a reason Prof…