Music
Charlie Parr – “Ten Watt”
“Ten Watt” is from Charlie Parr‘s 18th album, Little Sun, released earlier this year. The video was directed by Adam Jones of Polecat Productions.
Superior Siren – “Rattlesnake”
The single “Rattlesnake” is the first full-band release from Superior Siren since 2018. The song has been in the band’s repertoire for years, but was recently re-imagined with the addition of Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Erin Aldridge. The video is directed by Illy Killy with videography from Chris Linder of Lakedrop.
Nat Harvie featuring Alan Sparhawk – “Red”
Song from the Nat Harvie album New Virginity. Video shot and edited by Nik Nerburn.
Ian Alexy – “Little Lies”
Duluth’s Ian Alexy has a new EP of cover songs titled Campfire Extraordinary. “Little Lies” is the third video release from the EP. Alexy’s rendering of the Fleetwood Mac song is accompanied by visuals from two old D. W. Griffith films — What the Daisy Said (1910) and The Mender of Nets (1912).
Alan Sparhawk – “Can U Hear”
Duluth musician Alan Sparhawk has released the first track from his upcoming album White Roses, My God, scheduled for release Sept. 27 on Sub Pop Records. The video was directed by Rick Alverson. (more…)
Cloud Cult – “The Universe Woke Up as You”
The third video from Cloud Cult‘s upcoming album Alchemy Creek is for the song “The Universe Woke Up as You.” The album is set for release Aug. 8.
The video was directed by Chad Amour of Motion 117 Productions.
Saltydog talks creative process, recording at Erickson house
Members of the band Saltydog on West Michigan Street near Bent Paddle Brewing in July 2023: Sam Deters, Owen Mahon, Gavin St. Clair, Jacob Mahon, Calvin Lund and Bryan Johnson. (Photo by Aaron Reichow)
Saltydog isn’t new anymore, hence the dropping of “New” from the band name. The Duluth-born jam band has accumulated an impressive cult following over the past seven years, playing venues across Minnesota and Wisconsin, including Duluth’s Bent Paddle Brewing on Monday nights. An enthusiastic group of funk and blues lovers seem to follow the band from show to show, along for the improvisational ride Saltydog takes them on. (more…)
Indecent Proposal – “Albright”
Duluth band Indecent Proposal‘s latest video was shot at the Historic Duluth Armory. It was produced by Clear Cut Media in association with Henriette Jensen Blade.
Above & Below: The rise, fall, and rise of the Duluth underground
The July 2004 issue of Twin Cities monthly magazine The Rake included a feature on the Duluth music scene. The Rake existed from 2002 to 2008 and its archives, including the Duluth article, are available online. The text of the now 20-year-old story also appears below, with images from the magazine. (more…)
Duluth Band Stickers
In the aftermath of the 2024 Homegrown Music Festival a few band stickers that got crammed into jacket pockets and tossed onto shelves have been assembled into a tiny pile at the Perfect Duluth Day World Headquarters. Which got us to wondering how many there are in total, either stuck to something or crammed into drawers. It turns out, maybe not that many. The initial search at PDDHQ turned up only ten, but there might be more hiding in forgotten spots. So consider this post a work in progress, and please share images of the local band stickers you’ve got on your bumpers, lockers or the paper-towel dispensers of your favorite drinking establishments. (more…)
Austin Castle – “Creek Water”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oEb3s5oKUM
Austin Castle, with Cole Mikel on guitar, performs “Creek Water” in the Board of Trade Lofts in Duluth. The video was shot by Holden Law and Andrew Mathews.
Cloud Cult – “As Beautiful as it Hurts”
The new video from Cloud Cult is for the second single from the band’s upcoming album Alchemy Creek, which is set for release Aug. 8. The album was written, recorded and produced by front man Craig Minowa in the solitude of a tiny cabin on wheels in the middle of the Wisconsin woods after a difficult divorce.
The video was directed by Lauren Josephine, Jeff D. Johnson and Chad Amour of Motion 117 Productions.
Perfect Duluth Day Outdoor Summer Concert Primer 2024
The Northwood’s Band performed an outdoor show last week at Eveleth’s Timber Edge Bar and Grill, bringing a large crowd out to enjoy a pre-summer concert. (Photo by Izabella Zadra)
Put on those short shorts and tank tops, the summer concert season is upon us. The Twin Ports area is always bumpin’ with outdoor shows featuring a vast array of music styles on a variety of mostly temporary or makeshift stages. Take a dive with us into some of the best, don’t-wanna-miss concerts happening in the area over the hot months ahead. (more…)
Wild Horses – “Man in the Mirror”
Grand Rapids-based Americana band Wild Horses launched its summer tour on Saturday at Milk & Honey Ciders in St. Joseph, Minnesota. Gina Nagler Smith captured this video of the song “Man in the Mirror.”
Rachael Kilgour – “Dad Worked Hard” (live at The Current)
“Dad Worked Hard” is the third song Duluth native Rachael Kilgour performed during a recent studio for a session at the The Current hosted by Radio Heartland’s Mike Pengra. All three songs are from her 2023 album My Father Loved Me.
Rachael Kilgour – “Heart on Fire” (live at The Current)
Duluth native Rachael Kilgour visited The Current studio for a session hosted by Radio Heartland’s Mike Pengra. She played three songs from her 2023 album My Father Loved Me, including the track featured here, “Heart on Fire.”
Dirty Knobs – “More Fire in More Places”
“More Fire in More Places” is the fourth release from the new Dirty Knobs album, Songs About Everything Dying Around Us, Including Us.
The Slice: Naming Life Parade and Deep Fake Five
Cameron Mathews explains how the bands Life Parade and Deep Fake Five got their names.
In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Bob Dylan on Duluth and Minnesota
Some Duluthians think Bob Dylan hates Duluth and Minnesota. What has Bob Dylan actually said?
I’d heard rumors Dylan was a Duluth hater, but then I read the liner notes to his 1974 album Planet Waves, where he wrote: “Duluth! Duluth — where Baudelaire Lived/& Goya cashed in his Chips, where Joshua brought/the house down!” These are not the words of someone who hates Duluth. These words lionize the city in terms of literature and mythology. A song on the album mentions Duluth too. From “Something There is About You“: “Thought I’d shaken the wonder/And the phantoms of my youth/Rainy days on the great lakes/Walkin’ the hills of old Duluth.” Duluth as a city of wonder and phantoms: who among us cannot relate?
Growing up in Hibbing, Dylan had family in Duluth and Superior. As a teen he went to Minneapolis more and more, and that became his jumping-off point to the world. But the Northland never left him. From his autobiography Chronicles, Volume One (2004 edition), one reads many references to Duluth, Hibbing, Minneapolis, and Minnesota as a whole. (more…)
Dirty Knobs – “The Seal Cannot Be Past the Door”
“The Seal Cannot Be Past the Door” is the third release from the new Dirty Knobs album, Songs About Everything Dying Around Us, Including Us.
Make Music Day Superior Open Call for Musicians
Siggy’s Musical Garden is presenting the third annual Make Music Day in Superior on June 21, the day of the year with the most daylight. The goal of the event is for “every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion” to set up on “streets, parks, plazas and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors and strangers.” The open call application for musicians is online at makemusicday.org/superior.
Versions of Make Music Day take place all over the world. Last year Superior had about 40 musical acts performing mostly outdoors.
Rachael Kilgour – “Ontario” (live at The Current)
Duluth native Rachael Kilgour visited The Current studio for a session hosted by Radio Heartland’s Mike Pengra. She played three songs from her 2023 album My Father Loved Me, including the track featured here, “Ontario.”