Music

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…

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—partially shock value, partially “wow” value, partially “whaaat?” value—it’s all apart of the Prof package. He’s not afraid of doing or saying anything—“I'm pooping on rappers/not only…