Music
Duluth East Symphony Orchestra – “Rabbit of Seville”
This video intertwines a March 13 performance by the Duluth East Symphony Orchestra of Gioachino Rossini’s 1816 opera buffa The Barber of Seville with cartoon footage from the 1950 Looney Tunes short Rabbit of Seville.
Alan Sparhawk – “Stranger”
Alan Sparhawk‘s second solo album is not so solo. The title, With Trampled by Turtles, explains that. It releases May 30 on Sub Pop Records.
Big Into – “Patterns of the Heart”
Big Into‘s most ambitious video yet was shot over the course of four months. It is a companion video to the short film Patterns of the Heart, directed by Connor Mayne.
MN Moder – “I’m Alive”
MN Moder celebrates life and rides a scooter around Duluth in his latest music video, shot by Jaxon “JayGee” Gardner.
Trampled by Turtles – “You Never Let Me Down”
The new Trampled by Turtles EP, Always Now, is set for release on Sept. 20. The band’s annual Bayfront Park show is July 5. (more…)
JamesG – “Hottie”
Former Duluthian James Geisler, aka JamesG, spits truth about his bald head and big body.
The Rhizomes
I enjoyed the Rhizomes at Northern Waters Smokehaus last night. Every concert should start before 6 p.m.
Fat Earth – “4th Line Kind of Guy”
There’s no better time for a hockey-themed song about a goon than the first week of March during the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. It’s the first release from Fat Earth, a new band based in Duluth.
Big Into – “Gourd Millionaire”
Iron Range nerd-rockers Big Into have their moneyed interests primed and ready in their latest music video.
Duluth Album Releases in 2025
Here’s the rundown of new works from the Duluth music scene in 2025. (more…)
JamesG – “Follicle”
In a volatile world, JamesG persists in uncertainty. His latest video was shot in the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Performing Arts Center.
Gaelynn Lea celebrated at Console Room
Photo from Console Room.
Duluthian Gaelynn Lea was recently celebrated as a Guest at Console Room, the Minnesota Doctor Who convention. The music performed was sublime, the programming inflected by music in ways that the convention rarely experiences. All weekend long, I felt her impact on the convention, just as, in Duluth, I regularly feel the impact on our community. (more…)
Rachael Kilgour back in Duluth for Valentine’s Day Show
After a busy year touring her new album across the United States and Canada, singer-songwriter Rachael Kilgour is back in Duluth for Valentine’s Day. An open cynic of the romance industrial complex — known for her unflinching examination of a broken heart — Kilgour may seem like an odd choice to headline Sacred Heart Music Center’s annual Valentine’s concert. (more…)
Nolen Sellwood – “Forthcome”
Duluth’s Nolen Sellwood performed this track from his 2024 album Cadence to the Flame at Sacred Heart Music Center.
JamesG – “Just a Hair”
Former Duluthian James Geisler, aka JamesG, drops into Cutting Edge Barbershop in Coon Rapids in his latest music video.
Big Into – “Lucy’s Dope Lil Spare Bedroom”
The latest video from Iron Range nerd-rockers Big Into is for those who’ve got the feeling they’re being watched.
Steve Solkela – “Riittääkö Sisu? (Gotta Have Sisu)”
The latest from Steve “Sisu” Solkela is an ode to tenacity, grit, resilience and old-fashioned stoicism and hardiness. The song is from the recently released album Jenkkihymy: Finnish Fun with Steve Solkela.
Grant Glad showcases ‘middle ground’ with compilation album
Grant Glad, host of the music podcast Glad You’re Here, is trying to highlight a particular tier of local artists.
“I’ve been trying to find the artists that some people know and other people might not know and try to shine a spotlight on them. And then not have that spotlight be useless because you’re shining it on everybody,” Glad said. (more…)
PDD Geoguessr #34: Alan Sparhawk on Tour
Alan Sparkhawk and son Cyrus at a performance in Amsterdam on March 3, 2025 (Photo by Matthew James)
Alan Sparhawk is on tour again this week, and this post briefly discusses his new album, including Geoguessr challenges looking at the five locations where he is scheduled to play over the next seven days and another looking at the upcoming European leg of his tour.
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The Grateful Dead vs. The Velvet Underground
The 2024 death of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh reminded me: I discovered the Grateful Dead and the Velvet Underground at the same time. The bands still exist as a unity in my mind, even after I figured out they were polar opposites.
My 1980s high school girlfriend was from the Northeast around Connecticut and New York City. She fused goth, punk, and hippie vibes. When we were 18, we took acid in her Austin, Texas shack. That’s where she DJ’d for me, on vinyl, the Grateful Dead and the Velvet Underground.
I’d heard the bands but never listened. She played the 1970 Dead tune “Box of Rain,” written by Lesh about the death of his father. Then we listened to “Rock & Roll,” the 1970 VU tune by Lou Reed about music as refuge, with Sterling Morrison on lead guitar. It all sounded like sheer Americana to me.
In the 1990s I became more of a Velvet Underground guy, from the band’s proto-punk stuff. But then I dated a Deadhead in Berkeley, and she took me to some Dead shows. That’s when I really got what the Dead fuss was about. I enjoyed my first show plenty, just for the carnival atmosphere, not having a deep knowledge of their discography. But then they covered “Johnny B. Goode” and the top of my skull lifted off. The secret of Dead shows is they piled crescendo on crescendo until you hit peak bliss, then they kept climbing. Yes I was on mescaline. (more…)
Cloud Cult – “Vision in a Field”
The fifth video release from Cloud Cult‘s new album Alchemy Creek is for the song “Vision in a Field.” The concept, visuals and editing are the work of Patrick Riggle.
Torment – “I Am the Problem” (Live at Pizza Lucé)
Duluth band Torment performs “I Am the Problem” on New Year’s Eve at Pizza Lucé. The song is from the band’s new EP, The Pain. The video was shot and edited by Kayden Emantsal and Lane Peterson.
Sugar on the Roof – “Over the Great Saltless Sea”
Sugar on the Roof has a new self-titled album out on Philville Records. The track “Over the Great Saltless Sea” is highlighted here as the latest addition to Perfect Duluth Day’s list of more than 100 songs with “Duluth” in the lyrics or title.
Kyle Orla – “Worried Blues”
Duluth’s Kyle Orla performs “Worried Blues” at the edge of Lake Superior on the last “warm” day in December 2024.
Boxcar – “Here I Am”
The third video release from Duluth band Boxcar‘s new album, For Madmen Only, is directed by Lance Lindahl and edited by Adam Jones, with photography directed by Austin Hilgenberg.