Music

Headbanger’s ball: Slayer’s Final Campaign

November 20th, 2019

Security managing crowd surfers during Ministry's set - photograph by Sabrina Hornung

As the lights came up after Slayer’s final song during their November 17 set for their FInal Campaign tour at the Fargodome, Minneapolis based photographer Paul Allen turned to me and said. “It’s really sad that this is their final tour, I’ve spent the last 20 years going to Slayer shows. I think this means I have to grow up.” A gentleman seated a row down from us shared his sentiments. As lead singer Tom Araya made his way back on stage to face the crowd he approached the mic…

History Comes to Life at the Historic Holmes Theatre

November 13th, 2019

John McEuen & The String Wizards performing - photograph provided by John McEuen

John McEuen & The String Wizards will perform at the Historic Holmes Theatre in Detroit Lakes this Saturday in what will be a multimedia showcase of McEuen’s legendary career in the music industry.

The show will be a performance of “Will the Circle be Unbroken” as well as original songs by McEuen. “Will the Circle be Unbroken” was originally released in 1972 by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The album was a collaboration between The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and major artists in the…

Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra Braves New Waters with “The Sea”

November 6th, 2019

Paul Hegland

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…

A Good Habitual is Hard to Break

October 30th, 2019

The band Habitual

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…

Horns a’plenty: Moon Hooch lights up the Aquarium

October 23rd, 2019

Moon Hooch - photograph by Luke Awtry Photography

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…

10 years of vinyl

October 16th, 2019

Record fair - photograph provided by Jill Fikelson

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…

Wizard Rifle packs plenty of ammo

September 11th, 2019

Wizard Rifle

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…

Local Music and School Lunches

September 11th, 2019

Lunch aid guitar - photograph by Beau Thiege

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…

The Greenway Takeover Festival rocks downtown Grand Forks

August 21st, 2019

Design by Raul Gomez

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…

‘And then the people would sing’

August 21st, 2019

Victor Wald on piano - photograph by C.S. Hagen

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.”