A South Shore native and University of Wisconsin-Superior journalism graduate. Lifelong musician, and former open mic host. Passionate about the music scene and politics.
The album touches on a number of topics but a common theme is yearning and the delicate nature of relationships. The song, Just Not in That Way, displays some sort of disconnectedness within a relationship.
The Hold Steady out of New York may not be a household name per se, but in Minnesota they are known within the indie rock scene for their lyrics that reveal stories about the Minnesota
Saying that some music is metal is a pretty loose description. The Ascetic goes from hardcore and heavy sludgy metal to melodic and pretty breakdowns and transitions.
This album came out just in time for the weather to change from brutal and nasty to pretty nice. One thing that Ive noticed about a lot of groups and artists that lean towards folk/Americana/bluegrass is that summer and winter albums often differ
Everyone knows that summers in the Northland are part of why the winters are bearable year after year. This last winter tried even the most hearty of Northlanders.
This new album manages to touch on a lot of issues, some of them serious, yet makes a point without getting too negative although its a balancing act at times.
There are some die hard electronic musicians in the area such as Logan Erickson of Low-Gain and Tobin Dack of DrOhm and then there are pleasant surprises such as when Americana/folk artist, Marc Gartman, came up with Fever Dream.
Theres a lot of influential people in the Twin Ports music scene, but its fair to say that audio producer/engineer Eric Swanson has made his mark in the area.
While laws are being made to ensure that we are forced to live within this system, how are the laws on the corporations that provide us with what were forced to consume?
There are plenty of albums put out by singer-songwriters in the area and its no light task to judge someones personal, stripped down and minimalistic approach to music.
Tuesday, April 1 at 253 p.m. Superior Police were called to the Mariner Mall on a report of suspicious activity. They arrived to find a tan Buick parked in the malls parking lot with no driver in attendance.
Once again Strictly Hammers has pushed and bended genres. The blend of creative and experimental production with smooth rhymes is what their music lies on.
I count it as a blessing being a teenager in the 90s. Its debatable, but the music that was brought to the forefront by corporate-run media was particularly real compared to what is coming out today.
Sara Thomsens latest album, Somewhere to Begin, is a collection of songs that often delves into themes of political, social and environmental issues through lyrical imagery and storytelling.
The night was cold in downtown Minneapolis and it was like a freezing wind tunnel around the Target Center and First Avenue area where the show at Mill City Nights was to take place.
It was a snowy night on Friday, May 3 during the 2013 Homegrown weekend. After midnight, Roscoes Pioneer Bar was intermixed with a handful of regulars and a few remaining musicians and audience members who decided to stick around
As another year passes, the annual Readers Choice awards tradition continues. For 16 years you, the above average readers of the Northlands finest newsweekly have devoted oodles of hours providing us with the lowdown on the finest of the Northland.
At approximately 4 p.m. on Monday, January 20, a photo was posted on to Facebook by a Duluth man, George Ellsworth. Within the hour, the image of a sign announcing a sale at Global Village located at 25 West Superior Street in Duluth sparked shock an
For the last 16 years Bev's Jook Joint in Superior, Wisconsin has been a tavern and music venue featuring performances from all genres of musical acts, but especially featuring Bev's favorite style of all, the blues.
On Saturday during last weeks Homegrown, singer-songwriter, Jeffery James OLoughlin, shared his music to a strong crowd at Sir Benedicts. The show was also a CD release celebration for his lat
There may be at least as many bluegrass/string bands in the area as there are breweries, but that shouldnt be a reason to ignore Black River Revue. As far as the genre goes, they have put together a very s
What do you when the American dream isnt panning out quite as well as youd hoped? If youre Michael Quinn, you travel the world. Quinn is touring in the region and will be
Everyone knows that summers in the Northland are part of why the winters are bearable year after year. BBQs, nature and all sorts of activities are possible for a few short months and many of us make
Danecdote is an electronic music project featuring Daniel Nelson from Duluth. The album The Departure continues the works of Nelson that fuse various forms of electronic music such a
It was a rather dreary day on Saturday, May 25 as a group of people from all walks of life took upon Superior St. and Lake Ave. in protest of the American biotech giant Monsanto. There was no specific group resp
A lot of different styles of music found their way on to my desk, but the four song album My Avatar by Rob Nelson is certainly one of the more unique album
On Tuesday, May 14, Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law a bill legalizing same sex marriage in Minnesota making it the 12th U.S. state to approve same sex marriage. The day before, members of the Minnesota Senate held personal spe
On Saturday during last weeks Homegrown, singer-songwriter, Jeffery James OLoughlin, shared his music to a strong crowd at Sir Benedicts. The show was also a CD release celebration for his latest album Going Off the Deep End, which is the seventh album that OLoughlin has put out.
Homegrown week has started and its hard to wrap ones head around the amount of dedicated individuals within our Twin Ports music and arts community that have poured their talent, sweat and performances
Its no secret that Paul Whyte and Lane Prekker are not only intertwined in to the Twin Ports music, they are also in deep with the stars and universe. Yes, this alliance of astrological minds has meticulously read the stars and this is
When looking at our Earth today its undeniable that we as a Human species have made our mark. Whether by evolution or a higher power, we ended up rising above, dominating and conq
There seems to be a good amount of cover bands in the area that perform at the local bars and sometimes can be found at a street dance in the summer time. I have a special appreciation for original work but if a song is well performed, it stands as a song well done regardless of who wrote it. I ended up with two different cover albums on my desk recent
It has been a wild ride for Jim Carlson and anyone who has worked at Last Place On Earth (LPOE) in the past few years. Tensions between the head shop located in the middle of old downtown Duluth and
At 2:20 p.m. the Reader received a tip that federal agents would be heading yet another raid on the Last Place on Earth. The Duluth head shop located on Superior St. has been the cause of much debate and controversy over their sale of synthetic drugs that are sold as incense and
Homegrown Chicken
Missing: Police have Suspects
The iconic Homegrown Chicken has gone missing on Wednesday night, March 27, and Police suspect fowl play. The primary suspect is Tyler Scouton the loca
Madame Gazelle is primarily made up of the husband and wife duo Jesse and Jocelyn Richter. Their new debut album Siren and the Storm captures a unique sound that is often soothing and easily accessible. While the album has a country/roots feel to it, theres something that goes beyond that.
Most musicians have reasons as to why they start writing and composing music. Often enough it seems that hard times are a catalyst for people to turn to writing music. I have met Breanne Marie Schlies and have seen her play on a few occasions and she always seemed to have a friendly and happy disposition and the originals and covers that
It was an overcast yet fairly warm afternoon Saturday, February 23. I had the day off and had made plans to run around and see a variety of shows that evening including Tobin Dack at Amazing Grace, Cait Leary at Thirsty Pagan and end the n
Cait Learys new EP album Nothings Enough is a mix of pop, jazz and folk yet she creates her own sound in that the songs have a feeling of being somehow from the past but indeed hold their own today. She has been described as a hybrid musician, not
Strictly Hammers regularly play shows in the Twin Ports and they set themselves apart from typical hop-hop acts primarily due to their backing tracks that are often more experimental and electronic than drum and bass oriented. The general feel of one of their live shows comes off more like a high energy
Underlying some shows in the area are promotions and productions companies that usually involve just a few people that are truly dedicated in making this areas music scene more exciting
There is a good amount of original music that can be described as roots or folk rock in this region. Although the Twin Cities based band, Swallows, do achieve these genres in their music, the delivery and mix of elements in their fifth album Witching & Divining sets t
This Friday, January 18, the band Pushing Chain will be playing at Twins Bar in Duluth. The group Pushing Chain primarily features local musicians Boyd Bump Blomberg on guitar and Adam Moe on fiddle and implements strong harmonies in their music.
This coming Friday, January 11, the violinist Sara Pajunen will be playing with multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rundman as the Finnish folk duo KAIVAMA. The bands name pulls from the Finnish word kaivaa, which means to delve or dig. The Northland has deep Finnish roots
