This week’s issue of City Pages is the annual “Best of the Twin Cities” edition. It’s typical for one or two Duluth persons, places or things get a mention. This year it’s Charlie Parr, whose song “Sometimes I’m Alright” was named Best Song to Cry To.
Boreal Forest thrives off ambiguity. With the group’s debut Terraform, band members define not only their musical approach, but also their lives after high school. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Upcoming gigs:
Matt Biggs and Andrew Olson of Pale in Comparison bring ’90s era punk into Duluth with American Train Wreck. The band’s approach carries on a family tradition. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Upcoming gig:
May 4 at Beaner’s Central during the Homegrown Music Festival
Uploaded to Flickr 10 years ago today — April 16, 2008 — is this montage of shots by photographer Jules Ameel. The six members of Duluth band No Wings to Speak Of are shown at Gronk’s Grill and Bar in Superior devouring a six-pound Enger Tower Burger.
The Brothers Burn Mountain have recorded a new album at their off-the-grid cabin studio in northern Minnesota. Blue Spruce is slated for release this fall. The single “Lord of Night” features Ryan Young of Trampled by Turtles on fiddle and Colleen Myhre on backing vocals.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Homegrown Music Festival and 10 years of the Homegrown Music Video Festival. Participants in the video fest are assigned a random song by a local band and usually have a few weeks to put together a video. Over the past ten years, there have been videos with found footage, lip-synced performances, dolls, puppets, pets, animation, just about anything goes.
Dustin Tessier‘s passion for music began to fade into obscurity. With The Ledger, he defines not only his work as Timbre Ghost, but also himself as a person. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Upcoming gig:
Eric Cyr takes a different approach to sharing music. Instead of open stages and adoring audiences, he focuses his energy as a middle school music teacher. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Upcoming gig:
May 4 on the Duluth Transit Authority Trolley during the Homegrown Music Festival
The fifth annual Drone Not Drones event took place Jan. 26-27 at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. More than 60 acts rotated on and off the stage performing a continuous, uninterrupted, 28-hour drone of unified sound to raise money for Doctors Without Borders.
Now there’s a 28-hour soundtrack on Bandcamp.
It’s broken into segments, so Duluthians interested in listening to sets by Duluth bands can go straight to sets by Low, If Thousands, Timbre Ghost and Modify.
The publicity machine for the 20th annual Homegrown Music Festival is gearing up. A 108-page Field Guide hit the streets during the last week of March, and now a new promotional mix is available for free download on Bandcamp and a new web design has launched at duluthhomegrown.org.
Released today: The music video for Duluth native Al Church’s song “Night Games.” It’s the title track to Church’s next album, scheduled for release April 27.
Denfeld High School’s Maroon 16 choir sings “I Want to Know What Love Is” with Foreigner at Symphony Hall in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
Jamie Larson walks the line between ambient and ’90s era electronica as Elysium Alps. He explains how growing up in Duluth helped him avoid garden variety EDM. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Upcoming gig:
May 5 at Legacy Glassworks for the Homegrown Music Festival
A group of cool people, including drummer Bill Gibson of Huey Lewis and the News, got together last week to flex their musical muscles and play the music of the Specials as part of the Ides of March Bacchanalia Festival of 2018. Here is one of the songs they played.
