November 6th, 2019
The Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra’s 2019-2020 season is already underway. The first concert of the season, which showcased Gustav Holst’s well-known and loved “The Planets” premiered to a sold-out audience. The first concert of the season also marked a last, however: the last concert to feature Linda Boyd as longtime executive director before her retirement. So, in a way, the second concert of the season marks a first: the first concert to feature FMSO’s new executive…
October 30th, 2019
Fargo is home to a wide array of talented bands across various subgenres of metal, as any local metalhead can attest. One thing the local metal community was lacking, however, was a strong female vocalist. In the past, metal icons like Lita Ford have shown that the genre isn’t just a boys club and that ladies can rock just as hard as the men. Here in Fargo, the band Habitual has been blazing that trail with the incredible singing voice of Britta Anderson.
Habitual is comprised of a…
October 23rd, 2019
By Michael Str!ke
michaelstrike.solo@gmail.com
“Every moment is a special moment… if you pay attention to it.” Wenzl McGowen stated over the tinny speaker of a cell phone, and as one of the three members of Moon Hooch they certainly know about the power of capturing attention. Wenzl, along with fellow saxophonist Mike Wilbur and drummer James Muschler, have been capturing the attention of folks worldwide pioneering the sounds of brass house and new jazz as well as sharing an ethos…
October 16th, 2019
By Jill Fikelson
jsfinkelson99@gmail.com
Dean Sime has been collecting records since he was in sixth grade. Since then, he hasn’t stopped. Though he stopped working in a music store twenty years ago, he has spent the last ten years rounding up the private collectors of Fargo- and some from out of town- to put on the record fair. This year, he’ll have 40 booths for private collectors to showcase and share their records. “You’d be amazed,'' he said when I asked where he finds all…
September 11th, 2019
When asked to describe their sound, Max Dameron guitarist and vocalist of the Portland, Oregon based two piece Wizard Rifle replied: “People call us a doom band sometimes which I think is funny because we are pretty spazzy.”
On multiple platforms their sound has been categorized as psychedelic, sludge or thrash metal topped off with impressive vocal harmonies. Though they don’t just stop with their uncategorizable sonic landscapes, drummer/vocalist Sam Ford is a working visual…
September 11th, 2019
As children, school lunches were something many of us likely took for granted. For those who went to public schools, school lunches were as ubiquitous a part of the public school experience as running the mile in gym class or taking standardized tests. Life was simple. However, when we grow to be adults, we find out that life is not so simple, even when it comes to something like school lunches.
That is what Kari Lugo, owner of Northern PR and Marketing found out during a…
August 21st, 2019
If you’ve ever craved an outdoor music festival where you can walk to downtown shops, do yoga or go fishing in between sets, you’re in luck. The Greenway Takeover Festival returns to two stages in the heart of Grand Forks September 5-8. Now in its third year, the festival re-imagines The Greenway -- 2,200 acres of outdoor green space along the banks of the Red and Red Lake Rivers -- as a community gathering place. This year’s line-up features four days of music, including…
August 21st, 2019
NAPOLEON – Without his trusted Beltuna accordion, Victor Wald turned to the antique piano. He pushed a few keys. Listened. It was still in tune.
The old German Russian folk songs flowed effortlessly from his large hands. His wife, Barb, picked up the words half way through “In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus,” or the “Hofbräuhaus song.”
“Water is cheap, pure and good, but it thins our blood, far better is a drop of golden wine, but the best is this: in Munich is the…
August 21st, 2019
By Gary Ussery
usseryg@gmail.com
There is something inherently mystical about musicians. We are talking about individuals or a group of individuals who are like you and I, but dream big. They know that pursuing their dream is a one in a million shot, yet they do it anyway. They know that it will be a task filled with turmoil, defeat, depression, and the most back breaking work they have ever attempted, but that will not stop them.
Musicians live in a special kind of hell. They give up free…
August 21st, 2019
HPR had the exclusive opportunity to chat with David Crosby prior to his appearance at The Fargo Theatre on Sunday August 25. Crosby is a two time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN). He was recently the subject of a documentary called “Remember my name” and he’s released four albums within the last four years and is currently working on a fifth album.
High Plains Reader: Where did you find your folk/musical…