Music
Strings of Fire: The Soulful Sound of the Cimbalom
Moldovan virtuoso Ivan Curtean playing the cimbalom. (Photo by Janos Müpa)
This summer, audiences at the Northern Lights Music Festival in northeastern Minnesota will have a rare chance to experience a musical marvel: the cimbalom, an instrument both ancient and astonishing, brought vividly to life by Moldovan virtuoso Ivan Curtean. (more…)
Perfect Duluth Day Outdoor Summer Concert Primer 2025
Lu Starr performed in a backyard concert on June 7 to raise funds for Food Not Bombs, sharring the bill with Charlotte Montgomery, Elsa Krantz and Jerree Small. (Photo by Rich Narum)
The sun has put on its comically large sunglasses, which can only mean one thing — it’s time to soak up the rays and jam with some of the most anticipated musical acts hitting Duluth-area stages this summer. (more…)
Wild Horses – “Sioux Falls”
Grand Rapids-based Americana band Wild Horses has released a new single, “Sioux Falls.” The lyric video was shot and edited by Cooper Baumgartner.
Lighthouse Live Sessions: Lydia Boyum
Lydia Boyum released her debut EP, Paradise Lost, in February. In this session from Lighthouse Recording Company in West Duluth, Boyum is joined by frequent collaborator Ryan Lane on background vocals and acoustic guitar. Together they performs three songs from the EP — “Beautiful Ruse,” “Eden” and “Psychedelic Daydreams.”
James G – “Birds”
JamesG‘s latest video finds him in an absurd bird situation.
Ian Alexy – “There is a Light”
Ian Alexy has a new two-track digital release featuring the songs “There is a Light” and “Shivers Up the Spine ’24.” (more…)
Alan Sparhawk – “Get Still”
Alan Sparhawk‘s second solo album, With Trampled by Turtles, releases Friday. The video for “Get Still” was directed by Ingrid Weise and edited by Alexa Viscius.
Big Into – “Behind the Veil” (Remix by MidiEvil)
Beat master MidiEvil lends his prowess to Big Into as they battle the Worst Company L.L.C.
Shippee – “You & Me”
The latest music video from Duluth’s Blake Shippee is a tribute to his partner Shanna on her birthday.
Alan Sparhawk – “Not Broken”
The video for the second release from Alan Sparhawk‘s second solo album, With Trampled by Turtles, was directed by edited by Alexa Viscius and features vocals by Hollis Sparhawk. The album releases May 30 on Sub Pop Records.
Annie Humphrey – “500 Years”
Twenty-five years ago today — May 9, 2000 — Annie Humphrey-Jimenez released her debut album, The Heron Smiled.
At the 1:54 mark she sings:
Louisiana to Duluth
it is buried in the white man’s truth
EmbalmingEva – “Cement”
“Cement” is the latest from the Duluth synth act EmbalmingEva. The musicians, Galalee Wright and Jesse Hatten, directed and shot the video.
Selective Focus: Homegrown 2025
Via Instagram, a smattering of images from the Homegrown Music Festival. (more…)
Rawkers shutout Rollers in 2025 Homegrown kickball
First-year Rollers coach Kaylee Matuszak did all she could to inspire her team, but her players rarely made it beyond second base in a 4-0 loss to Leon Rohrbaugh’s Rawkers in the Homegrown Kickball Classic. At least, that’s what happened if you believe the liberal media.
“Team Saturday Night takes it,” Matuszak wrote on Facebook shortly after the game. “If you hear we lost 4-0, that’s fake news and you cannot prove it and also I won’t speak to you without an attorney.” (more…)
Pronoya – “All for the Sun / Eclipse”
Pronoya has a seven-song EP coming out later this year. The band’s new music video features the tracks “All for the Sun” and “Eclipse.” The video was produced by Infinite Film Productions and features actor Joseph Langan.
Rafe Carlson – “Dirt Road to Heaven”
Hermantown native Rafe Carlson has a new single, “Dirt Road to Heaven.” The song is a tribute to his uncle, Jim Carlson, who died in January from glioblastoma brain cancer. The lyrics are all about hunting, fishing and growing up in northern Minnesota.
Rafe Carlson’s summer tour has him opening for country superstars Riley Green, Jon Pardi, Megan Moroney and more, with numerous stops in Wisconsin and Minnesota throughout May and June, including a performance at Rock the Bayfront in Duluth on June 21.
JamesG – “Winning Hand”
Former Duluthian James Geisler plays the cards he’s dealt in the video for his latest JamesG track, “Winning Hand.”
Homegrown Music Festival 2025 Primer
The 27th annual Homegrown Music Festival is underway. As usual, Perfect Duluth Day presents a rundown of updates, sidebar details and notes of peripheral or unsanctioned interest. (more…)
Lana Del Rey gives Duluth cold props
Last summer Lana Del Rey received the National Music Publishers’ Association Songwriter Icon award in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. Her acceptance speech included a brief mention of Duluth. (more…)
Emily Haavik – “If I Were a Ghost”
Duluth native Emily Haavik has a new single, “If I Were a Ghost.” The acoustic video was shot by Charlie Steen.
Emily Haavik & the 35s play at the West Theatre on April 30 as part of the Homegrown Music Festival.
Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners – “Dashboard Dandelion”
Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners have finished recording their next album, Two Trees, which will include the single “Dashboard Dandelion.” The band has Kickstarter campaign underway to raise money for mixing, mastering and releasing the new record.
PDD Quiz: Homegrown 2025
Homegrown is nearly upon us! Study your field guide and test your knowledge of the upcoming 2025 festival!
A quiz reviewing this month’s shenanigans goes live on April 27. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat @ gmail.com by April 23. (more…)
Charlie Parr – “On Marrying a Woman with an Uncontrollable Temper”
This video for a track from Charlie Parr‘s 2015 album, Stumpjumper is part one of a two-part visual story produced by Polecat Productions. Actors in the video are Sadie Katz and Lance Lindahl. The video was directed by Lindahl and edited by Adam Jones.