W♥M

Christmas 2023: Last Christmas

Read More Wham! Wham!'s "Last Christmas" song is possibly one of the best Christmas pop song. Released in 1984, it dominated the charts and is still very popular even today (especially in Japan and ...

Last Christmas
lastchristmasmovie.com

Longtime readers of W♥M knows that we have a soft spot for Wham!’s “Last Christmas”. The song has been a staple in our holiday playlist since 1984, but semi-recently the song has been making a comeback.

During the start of the pandemic, in November 2019, the romantic comedy Last Christmas, starring Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke. The story is about a Christmas shop clerk who falls in love with a mysterious man (Henry Golding).

Obviously, based on the movie’s title, the story was inspired by George Michael and Wham!’s song of the same name.

The official soundtrack includes 14 Wham! and solo George Michael songs, as well as a previously unreleased song, “This Is How (We Want You to Get High)”… so for George Michael completist, this soundtrack is a must for their collection.

The soundtrack album debuted at number one on the UK Official Soundtrack Albums Chart and at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart in 2019.

P.S. Enjoy a new 4k master of the original “Last Christmas” video on YouTube!

Read More Alanis Morissette The Tony and GRAMMY Award-winning new musical is about a perfectly imperfect American family, based on Alanis Morissette’s memorable ...

Alanis Morissette
alanis.com

The 90s angst You Outta Know singer Alanis Morissette recently covered “Last Christmas” live on the broadcast of “Christmas at Graceland” on NBC. You can watch it on YouTube if you missed it. She’s playing in front of Elvis Presley’s airplane.

Morissette’s latest single “Last Christmas” came out November 3, 2023, on Epiphany / Thirty Tigers.

Tour dates:

Jun 9 2024 Phoenix, AZ, US Talking Stick
Jun 12 2024 Austin, TX, US Moody Center ATX
Jun 14 2024 Dallas, TX, US Dos Equis Pavilion
Jun 16 2024 The Woodlands, TX, US Cynthia Woods
Jun 19 2024 Tampa, FL, US MIDFLORIDA
Jun 20 2024 West Palm Beach, FL, US iTHINK Financial
Jun 22 2024 Alpharetta, GA, US Ameris Bank
Jun 23 2024 Nashville, TN, US Bridgestone Arena
Jun 26 2024 Charlotte, NC, US PNC Music Pavilion
Jun 27 2024 Raleigh, NC, US Coastal Credit Union
Jun 29 2024 Columbia, MD, US Merriweather Post Pavilion
Jul 2 2024 Camden, NJ, US Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Jul 3 2024 Holmdel, NJ, US PNC Bank Arts Center
Jul 5 2024 Bethel, NY, US Bethel Woods
Jul 6 2024 Hartford, CT, US Xfinity Theatre
Jul 9 2024 Mansfield, MA, US Xfinity Center
Jul 10 2024 Wantagh, NY, US Northwell Health
Jul 13 2024 Toronto, ON, Canada Budweiser Stage
Jul 14 2024 Toronto, ON, Canada Budweiser Stage
Jul 16 2024 Clarkston, MI, US Pine Knob Music
Jul 17 2024 Cuyahoga Falls, OH, US Blossom Music Center
Jul 23 2024 Maryland Heights, MO, US Hollywood Casino
Jul 24 2024 Cincinnati, OH, US Riverbend Music Center
Jul 27 2024 Noblesville, IN, US Ruoff Music Center
Jul 28 2024 Milwaukee, WI, US American Family
Jul 31 2024 Denver, CO, US Ball Arena
Aug 1 2024 West Valley City, UT, US USANA Amphitheatre
Aug 3 2024 Auburn, WA, US White River Amphitheatre
Aug 4 2024 Portland, OR, US Moda Center
Aug 7 2024 Mountain View, CA, US Shoreline Amphitheatre
Aug 8 2024 Palm Desert, CA, US Acrisure Arena
Aug 10 2024 Inglewood, CA, US Kia Forum

Read More Coco & Clair Clair Coco & Clair Clair knew from the moment they met that they were meant to make music together. Similarly, listeners are immediately drawn to the Atlanta-bred duo through their clever …

Coco & Clair Clair
cocoandclair.com

“Last Christmas” is the new holiday single from duo Coco & Clair Clair. The song is reimagined as a trap bass song with an 80s snare. I think my favorite part of the song is the whispering of “Happy Christmas” that starts every line of the start of the song.

It’s short and to the point, but it’s pretty good, I had to rewind to listen again.

We wrote about the duo in March 2023 and said that the “Atlanta-bred duo Coco & Clair Clair is on tour in support of their debut album SEXY. The album’s title actually doesn’t describe their music, as they explained, “It's impactful, but it's a really silly word… And then, none of the songs are actually that sexy.” The duo is fairly new, having met through mutual friends on Twitter in 2014. “We really rely on the other person,” Clair Clair says. “We'll both go write our verses, and then we share them with each other and let the other person edit them. Everything is very much both of our brains combined, which we couldn't do with someone who wasn’t a very good friend because it's such a vulnerable process.” ”

Their debut album got a special Deluxe Edition, which re-released on November 10th, 2023.

ASTN
astnofficial.com

Breakout TikTok singer ASTN released his “Last Christmas” in November 2023. Obviously, listening to his song, it’s done in an R&B style… complete with auto-tune and gospel backing response vocals.

“Last Christmas” follows this year’s acclaimed Where Do We Go From Here? EP, which pop music critics loved. VIBE describing the EP as “a solid introduction into ASTN as he breaks ground in the R&B world,” and V Magazine writing “catchy hooks and captivatingly personal lyrics.”

ASTN will be playing the Warfield, in San Francisco, on December 16, 2023… I’m sure he’ll be singing “Last Christmas”. If he doesn’t play it, it’s a missed opportunity!

Disconnected Souls
disconnectedsouls.com

Cinematic metal band Disconnected Souls recently offered their 2023 rendition of “Last Christmas”. Their version is a little synthy, with some industrial elements thrown in at the end.

Band leader Fletch explains his choice in cover: “If you've followed DS for any length of time, you'll probably know that we love doing reinterpretations of Christmas classics, and therefore it was kinda inevitable that at some point we would find ourselves faced with 'Last Christmas'. To be brutally honest, none of us are big fans of the original! However, we wanted to see what we could do with it and were particularly keen to make one of our friends happy (who had been repeatedly suggesting it). We ended up staying surprisingly accurate to the original music, but focussed on vocal FX / reducing the tempo and adding some more melancholy instrumentation. As always we hope you enjoy and happy holidays!”

Read more Christmas.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: December 7 to December 9

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

12/07 Arlo Parks Unplugged Music & Poetry at Fine Line Read More Arlo Parks BRIT Award winning artist Arlo Parks recently shared Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s remix of his single, “Too Good”. The song is taken from her critically acclaimed debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams. …

12/07/2023 Thursday

Arlo Parks Unplugged Music & Poetry
at Fine Line
first-avenue.com

Right before Arlo Parks’s 2024 tour in support of My Soft Machine, Parks will the special guest for The Current’s winter show. It is called “Unplugged Music & Poetry”.

Tour dates:

2/29 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
3/2 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
3/5 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
3/7 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
3/8 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
3/9 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
3/12 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
3/13 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
3/15 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
3/16 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
3/19 - Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
3/20 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Heaven)
3/22 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
3/25 - Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall
3/26 - Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield
3/28 - Boston, MA @ Royale
3/29 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
4/2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

12/09 Los Lobos at First Avenue Read More Los Lobos Electronic artist Marc Rebillet played eight cities in June, Los Lobos played in Southern California on July 4, Andrew McMahon just reprised his Jack Mannequin days with a pair of successful shows in Anaheim . …

12/09/2023 Saturday

Los Lobos
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com.com

Can you believe that Los Lobos (The Wolves) is celebrating their 50th Anniversary as a band? To celebrate, the group will do a special 50th Anniversary tour… stopping by Minneapolis’ First Avenue on December 9th.

Los Lobos (09 Aug 2011) - photo by Cliff Morse

We saw Los Lobos in August 2011 and wrote, “Whereas Los Lobos took their time to demonstrate a musical proficiency honed over thirty years, Los Lonely Boys got right down to business on their first song, “I’m a Man.” With only three players (Henry on electric guitar, Jo Jo on bass and Ringo on drums), they showed a nimble raw-powered tightness that only a band that has been playing together for many years can demonstrate. There was no place for a weaker musician to hide. No one could hang in the background as lead vocals bounced from Henry and Jo Jo and back to Ringo, solos came from any instrument while all three voices melded into three part harmony.”

Tour Dates

November 17 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
November 18 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
November 21 – Los Angeles, CA – The Paramount
November 22 – West Hollywood, CA – Whisky A Go Go
November 25 – East Los Angeles, CA – James A. Garfield High School
December 9 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
December 22 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
December 23 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern

12/09 Church of Cash at Turf Club Read More Church of Cash Award-winning Minneapolis-based (by the way of Honolulu, Hawaii) Church of Cash (Johnny Cash tribute band), will be playing a residency at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre on April 28 to April 30th. …

12/09/2023 Saturday

Church of Cash
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

The premier Johnny Cash tribute show band, Church of Cash is doing their winter show at the Turf Club in St Paul on December 9.

“I want to be known as the best Johnny Cash tribute show in the world,” says singer Jay Ernest. “We have the credibility, and we have four studio albums as Church of Cash. I grew up loving the sound of the choir and the booming voice of Johnny Cash. This is in my blood.”

Don’t miss the powerhouse Church of Cash perform Cash classics for $20-$25; 21 & over.

Tour dates:

Dec 9 St. Paul, MN Turf Club
Apr 6 2024 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Joan Osborne at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (30 Sep 2023)

Joan Osborne Setlist I Should've Danced More High Water (For Charley Patton) (Bob Dylan cover) I Want to Be Loved (Muddy Waters cover) Whole Wide World Trouble and Strife Nobody Owns You Shake Your Hips (Slim Harpo cover) Pensacola St. Teresa One of Us Gotta Serve Somebody (Bob Dylan cover) -- Encore -- Stella Blue (Grateful Dead cover) Take It Any Way I Can Get It Read More Joan Osborne American singer/songwriter Joan Osborne will be headlining the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on Saturday, September 30th. The singer is best known for her recording of “One of Us” from her debut album Relish in 1995 …

American singer/songwriter Joan Osborne shot into fame with her recorded song “One Of Us” (written by Eric Bazilian), from her debut album Relish, in 1995. The song poses the question, what if God was one of us, just trying to find his way home.

The single was certified Gold and earning three Grammy nominations. The song was so popular, even Prince covered the song on his album Emancipation in 1996.

Since then she’s been busy being a voice for women in rock, co-headlining the Lilith Fair in 1997, and actively supporting Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

She shifted to covering songs she loves, a cover-lover album Bring It on Home in 2012, and an entire album of Bob Dylan songs called Songs of Bob Dylan in 2017.

This is important to note, as a lot of songs on her set were cover songs.

Osborne’s latest album, Nobody Owns You (Womanly Hips Records) is a return to form for original songs… and they are very good, at least what I’ve heard live. “I Should've Danced More” is fantastic, it’s a song about some regrets she may have had. She should have danced more, she should have loved more, etc. The message is clear, do what you love while you can now.

I think the song is a reflection of what happened to all of us in 2020 when the pandemic hit and we lost the ability to gather and celebrate music. In some ways, Osborne seemed so genuinely happy to be back on stage, playing live music again. She’s joined on stage by a pianist and guitarist (Jack Petruzzelli) … which she was very playful with back-and-forth guitar playing on “Trouble and Strife”.

She thanked the audience at the Dakota for being so quiet, you can hear a pin drop. Someone in the audience shouted, “It’s Minnesota!” which Osborne replied, “Oh I know! I’ve played here before, I don’t want you guys to exert yourselves!”

Of course, her most famous song, “One of Us”, was saved as the penultimate song. The quiet crowd suddenly exploded with massive audience cheers and claps.

Osborne’s latest Nobody Owns You is out now on Womanly Hips Records.

Remaining tour dates:

Nov 8 Seattle, WA, US Neptune Theatre
Nov 10 Portland, OR, US Aladdin Theater
Nov 12 Great Falls, MT, US The Newberry
Nov 14 Berkeley, CA, US Freight & Salvage
Nov 16 Venice, CA, US The Venice West
Dec 5 Atlanta, GA, US Center Stage Theater
Dec 6 Charlotte, NC, US Neighborhood Theatre

Joan Osborne at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (30 Sep 2023)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Cover Lover: Valentine's Edition

Read more Cover Lover.

Read More Julio Iglesias [04 Sep 2019] Dan Warner (American musician for Julio Iglesias), heart attack [03 Sep 2019] LaShawn Daniels (American songwriter), 41, traffic collision [02 Sep 2019] Laurent Sinclair (French keyboardist and composer for Taxi Girl), 58 …

Julio Iglesias Jr.
julioiglesiasjronline.com

Spanish singer and model, Julio Iglesias Jr. (son of Julio Iglesias), is releasing his all-English album Under the Covers… just in time for Valentine’s Day. The romantic album represent Iglesias’ eclectic mix of hit songs, but reimagined in the style of a classic big-band/swing sound (complete with Iglesias’ crooner vocals).

Not only are these covers, but Iglesias has also tapped the original artists to duet - so you’ll find Jewel, Brian McKnight, Benny Mardones, and Right Said Fred with new vocals, on these recordings.

You can laugh when they sing, “I’m too sexy, too sexy, for this song!” (hear it for yourself on YouTube)

Under The Covers Tracklist:

1. What’s Going On
2. Careless Whisper (with Jewel)
3. Shape of You
4. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
5. Just The Way You Are
6. Heaven Is A Place On Earth
7. Into The Night (with Benny Mardones)
8. Wicked Game
9. I’m Too Sexy (with Right Said Fred)
10. Overjoyed / I Just Called to Say I Love You / Isn't She Lovely (with Brian McKnight)

Read More Daniel Johnston Also, singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston recently died of a heart attack at the age of 58. You may recall that we’re big fans and wrote about him in Sep 2009 and was scheduled to see him in person in August 2016 … but unfortunately .…

Daniel Johnston
hihowareyou.com

Shimmy-Disc has just released the vinyl edition of I Killed The Monster, an 11-track compilation of songs written by the celebrated American music legend, Daniel Johnston. Originally released on CD only in 2006, but this new version is re-mastered by Kramer in 2022, for digital, CD, vinyl, and on limited edition cassette.

I Killed The Monster: The Songs of Daniel Johnston - TRACKLISTING:

Disc 1, Vinyl Version & Cassette Side A

01. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Grievances (Dot Allison)
02. Worried Shoes (Danielson & Sufjan Stevens)
03. Bloody Rainbow (Kramer)
04. Cathy Cline (R. Stevie Moore)
05. Follow That Dream (Kimya Dawson)
06. Honey I Sure Miss You (Lumberob)
07. True Love Will Find You In The End (Jad Fair & Kramer)
08. Blue Skies Will Haunt You From Now On (The Electric Ghosts)
09. The Adventures of God as A Young Boy (Jeffrey Lewis)
10. Walking the Cow (Mike Watt)
11. It's Over (Tess)

Digital Bonus Tracks & Cassette Side B

01. Held The Hand (Joy Zipper)
02. Tears Stupid Tears (Rope, Inc.)
03. Going Down (Chris Harford)
04. Rowboat (Mad Francis)
05. Mind Contorted (Major Matt Mason USA)
06. Now (Toby Goodshank)
07. Go Fast And Go Some More (The Dick Panthers)
08. Foxy Girl (The Sutcliffe's)
09. Cosmic Kid (Kickstand)
10. Love Wheel (Emily Zuzik)

Read More Nirvana There's never been a more exciting time to be a Nirvana fan than now, 20 years after Nevermind was released. I remember the first time I saw Nirvana on Spin Magazine…

Mona Mur
monamur.com

German vocalist, composer and audio designer Mona Mur will be releasing Teen Icon on February 17th, via Give/Take Records. In the 80s, Mur can be found working with FM Einheit, Mark Chung, and can be heard on video game and film soundtracks.

Her latest Teen Icon features two cover songs: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana and “Icon” by Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Why were these songs chosen? For “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, it was renowned German arthouse film director Elfi Mikesch, who suggested Mona Mur take on the song in her version. Mona created a heavier, doomier version, of the song.

As for “Icon”, that was through a request for a recent tribute album. Mona had never conceived of covering Siouxsie before, but took on the challenge.

Here’s additional information, from Mona Mur.

TEEN ICON - new MONA MUR Digital Single coming 17.2. on GIVE/TAKE !

I have the pleasure to announce another MM single – coming digitally to you on Friday, February 17th, with the good people of GIVE/TAKE. The TEEN ICON – will explain shortly. As the two tracks of this single may be familiar to you. Originally planned to be part of SNAKE ISLAND, we decided to give them an extra kick. SNAKE ISLAND is my first album where I am not only the singer but also the guitarist – besides the huge talents of Gary Schmalzl, En Esch and Goldkind. We are planning to bring this on stage as well - you can’t have enough guitars, can you.

Read More Loretta Lynn The First Lady of Country Music, Loretta Lynn, has died at the age of 90. Lynn is the most awarded female country recording artist and the only female ACM Artist of the Decade, scoring 24 No. 1 hit singles and 11 number one albums. …

Eilen Jewell
eilenjewell.com

For one night only, American singer/songwriter Eilen Jewell and her band, will do a cover concert for Loretta Lynn at the Brunswick Ballroom (in Melbourne, Australia) on March 12. You can find many of these songs on Jewell’s 2010 album Butcher Holler – A Tribute To Loretta Lynn.

The Brunswick Ballroom writes: “Get ready to step back in time and experience the raw and powerful music of Loretta Lynn, as Eilen and her band take the stage at the Brunswick Ballroom. On Sunday, March 12th, they will pay tribute to Lynn's groundbreaking contributions to country music and her fearless approach to songwriting…”

Tour dates:

Mar 3 Fri The Archies Creek Hotel @ Archies Creek
Mar 4 Sat Theatre Royal @ Castlemaine
Mar 7 Tue Factory Theatre @ Lo Carmen Sydney
Mar 9 Thu Thornbury Theatre Thornbury
Mar 10 Fri Port Fairy Folk Festival 2023 Port Fairy
Mar 11 Sat Port Fairy Folk Festival 2023 Port Fairy
Mar 12 Sun Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne, Australia
Mar 14 Tue The Espy @ St Kilda
Mar 15 Wed Eltham Hotel @ Eltham
Mar 16 Thu The Zoo @ Fortitude Valley Qld
Mar 18 Sat Blue Mountains Music Festival of Folk Katoomba
Mar 19 Sun Blue Mountains Music Festival of Folk, Katoomba
Apr 15 Sat Churchill Arts Council @ Fallon, NV
May 6 Sat WMNF Tropical Heatwave 2023 @ Ybor City, FL
May 10 Wed City Winery Nashville @ Nashville, TN
May 11 Thu Eddie's Attic @ Decatur, GA
May 12 Fri The Grey Eagle @ Asheville, NC
May 13 Sat Albino Skunk Music Festival 2023 @ Greer, SC
Jun 24 Sat Green River Festival 2023 @ Greenfield, MA
Jul 8 Sat Center for the Arts Homer, NY, United States

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: January 1 to January 6

01/01 Charlie Parr with Greta Ruth at Turf Club Read More Charlie Parr Last of the Better Days Ahead is the new collection of songs from Minnesotan Charlie Parr. What’s important to note is that the album is being released on Smithsonian Folkways, the non-profit record label …

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

01/01/2023 Sunday

Charlie Parr
with Greta Ruth
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

As with previous years, Duluth’s Charlie Parr is doing a month-long residency at the Turf Club in St Paul.

We recently saw Parr with Trampled By Turtles at the Armory in Nov 2022 and wrote, “Charlie Parr opened up with his weathered steel guitar and friend, Mick, playing what Parr called: “The washing machine.” Even with no band Parr had no trouble filling the cavernous space of the Armory with an earthy voice that rose to all three levels and into the rafters of the venue. Born in Austin, MN and now residing in Duluth, Parr’s musical style of folk and blues seems to be from another era. Still, he instantly connected with the sold out crowd with a generous set of 12 songs ranging from a career that has produced 16 albums…”

Charlie Parr at the Turf Club Residency in January 2023.

01/01 with Greta Ruth
01/08 with Todd Albright
01/15 with Haley
01/22 with Mike Gangloff & Adam Kiesling
01/29 with Emma Jeanne

01/02 The Cactus Blossoms with Lanue at Turf Club Read More The Cactus Blossoms Ahead of their 2022 tour for their new album One Day For February 11, Minneapolis duo The Cactus Blossoms (brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum) will be playing a residency at the Turf Club, every Monday. …

01/02/2023 Monday

The Cactus Blossoms
with Lanue
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

Local favorite band The Cactus Blossoms is once again doing a residency at the Turf Club in January 2023.

The brother duo recently released their Bob Dylan cover EP, If Not For You (Bob Dylan Songs Vol 1).

Jack Torrey (half of the Cactus Blossoms) said, “We had recorded a version of "Went to See The Gypsy” a while back and we were thinking about doing an EP of other people’s songs, but then it just made sense to stick with all Dylan tunes. He’s written a million songs and he’s always been an inspiration for us. So many of Bob Dylan’s songs are filled with wonderful phrasing that doesn’t really lend itself to harmony singing, so we got together and started singing some of his songs to see which ones we could bend into our world.” 

We last saw Cactus Blossoms at their album release instore for One Day in Feb 2022 and noted, “Immediately after the release of The Cactus Blossoms’ new album, One Day, the American duo appeared at three stores, performing at Mill City Sound (in Hopkins), Down In The Valley (in Golden Valley), and Electric Fetus (in Minneapolis), all on February 12th.”

Tour Dates

01/02 with Lanue
01/09 with Michael Gay
01/16 with Molly Brandt
01/23 with Pit Stop
01/30 with Pieta Brown
02/23 - Bellevue, WA - Wintergrass Music Festival
02/24 - Bellevue, WA - Wintergrass Music Festival

01/06 ZEPPO with 5cent Reality at Turf Club Read More Led Zeppelin Robert Plant apparently kiboshed a Led Zeppelin reunion guaranteeing $800 mil. from Richard Branson. 35 dates in 3 cities (London, Berlin, NJ). .…

01/06/2022 Friday

ZEPPO
with 5cent Reality
at Turf Club
first-avenue.com

Yes, it’s a Led Zeppelin cover lover band, Zeppo. If you love the Zep, you’ll probably be at this Turf Club show on January 6th.

According to their bio, it’s not a traditional tribute band, so no wigs, no costumes, and the band members don’t look like Robert Plant…

5cent Reality to open.

Band members includes:

John Eller (Shiny Lights, Shabby Road Orchestra)

Paul Boblett (Fathom Lane, Faith Boblett)

Terrance J. Fisher (Run Westy Run)

Noah Levy (Brian Setzer, BoDeans, Honeydogs)

Mark Mraz (Mraz Brothers Band, Raggs, Sloppy Joels)

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

City Knights Band at Coon Rapids Festival (03 July 2022)

Third Setlist Get Down Tonight KC & The Sunshine Band Freak Out Chic Super Freak Rick James Cherry Bomb The Runaways Never Been to Spain Three Dog Night Get Ready / Celebrate (medley) The Temptations/Three Dog Night Long Train Running Doobie Brothers Fire/ Shout (medley) Pointer Sisters/The Isley Brothers Pretzel Logic Steely Dan -- Alternates -- Break Down Roadhouse Blues Roll the Dice Soul Man New Girl Now Thunder Island Drift Away Read More Bruce Springsteen Today is July 4th, America's Independence Day. I have put together a collection of Americana/Roots music as theme. Some artists are not strictly in this genre, and to group them together might be unfair …

The city of Coon Rapids in Minnesota is celebrating the Four of July with a long weekend event, that they’ve called Coon Rapids Festival. The annual fireworks was voted “Top Fireworks Show in Minnesota”, so it’s something to check out, if you’re in the area.

Parking was pretty easy at the Coon Rapids Ice Center & Recreation, with plenty of overflow parking a block nearby. It’s a nice park and walk to the open field.

As usual with these events, there are some fun carnival rides, carnival food (think cheese curds and lemonade), games, and parade. It all ends on Monday, July 4th, with a giant display of fireworks.

We attended the Sunday event, which feature live band City Knights Band (misspelled as City Nights Band on the Coon Rapids website). According to the mayor of Coon Rapids, Jerry Koch, they originally didn’t have a band ready for Sunday. They had already booked Saturday and Monday. He talked to a local business Shortstop Bar and Grill, and they said they would provide a band, free of charge. The entire live music booking was thanks to Shortstop.

City Knights Band is a local cover band, and since they had to play for four hours (6pm to 10pm) they actually play three sets. Setlist three features more funk/R&B songs, but set one had more Americana feel (like a cover of John Mellencamp’s “Ain’t That America”), etc.

The band also lists “Alternative Songs”, which they can swap out to extend or shorten set… or if they felt like it.

Schedule:

July 2-4, 2022
Boulevard Plaza
11000 Crooked Lake Blvd

The 4th of July Celebration is a popular event filled with tons of fun activities for every age to enjoy. View live music and a community parade, play games, ride rides or participate in a 5k run. Make sure you don't miss the grand finale fireworks, voted a Top Fireworks Show in Minnesota!

July 2-4 (Each Day of the Celebration)
Noon-10 p.m. - Carnival, North Star Lions Food & Beer Tent, Pull Tabs and Food Trucks

Saturday, July 2
5-11 p.m. - Car Show
6-10 p.m. - Live Music: The Castaways

Sunday, July 3
1 p.m. - Parade
6-10 p.m. - Live Music: City Knights Band
5-10 p.m. - Coon Rapids High School All-School Reunion

Monday, July 4
8 a.m. - Firecracker 5k
9:15 a.m. - Firecracker 5k awards
9:30 a.m. - Kids Sparkler Dash
6-10 p.m. - Live Music: Rockin' Hollywoods
10 p.m. - Fireworks!

The Coon Rapids 4th of July Celebration is sponsored by the Coon Rapids North Star Lions Club, the Coon Rapids Community Strength Foundation and the Coon Rapids Fire Department Social Club.

Coon Rapids Festival

Kamikaze Ride

The Rock Star Ride

City Knights Band

City Knights Band at Coon Rapids Festival (03 July 2022)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Animal Christmas Covers

Read More Spoon Daniel’s voice and guitar work moved from elegance to fierceness almost on a coin-flip, and the songs on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga received the most enthusiastic response. ....

Read more Christmas, Cover Lover and When Animals Attack.

SPOON
spoontheband.com

Last month, Spoon shared their version of The Beatles 1967 fan club single “Christmas Time (Is Here Again)”, as part of the Spotify Singles: Holiday Edition 2021. The collection marks the fifth year of Spotify Singles: Holiday.

Frontman Britt Daniel says about the track, “Recording ‘Christmas Time (Is Here Again)’ was a group effort that pulled us away from rehearsals and quickly sent us down a turbulent path of what you might call the Christmas spirit. And it’s our song with the most band members doing vocals ever - pretty sure I’m counting four. THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS IS OVER.”

While we are at it, Spoon also announced the title of their forthcoming tenth studio album will be called Lucifer On the Sofa. The record will come out February 11th, 2022.

Spoon Tour Dates

12/31/21 - NYE at ACL Live at the Moody Theater – Austin TX

Read More Black Pumas With three Grammy nominations (for “Album of the Year,” “Record of the Year” & “American Roots”), it’s clear that Austin’s Black Pumas are on the top of their game. …

BLACK PUMAS
theblackpumas.com

Ahead of their tour, Austin’s Black Pumas released their Christmas single, a cover of Lou Rawls’ “Christmas Will Really Be Christmas”. The song will be available as part of the Spotify Holiday Singles.

“We were really attracted to the message, the lyrics, the arrangement, the feeling,” frontman Eric Burton says. “It’s a message that needs to be heard right now. I was a little nervous about singing in Lou Rawls’ low register, so I sang it an octave higher and it was nice to arrange vocals with the ladies [backup singers Lauren Cervantes and Angela Miller] as well to put our own spin on it.”

Tour Dates

12/12/21 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
12/15/21 - San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
12/16/21 - San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
12/17/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ YouTube Theater
12/18/21 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues Las Vegas
2/4/22 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
2/5/22 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
2/26/22 - 2/27/22 - Tempe, AZ @ Innings Festival
3/2/22 - 3/5/22 - Cancún, Mexico @ My Morning Jacket's One Big Holiday
3/19/22 - 3/20/22 - Mexico City, CDMX @ Vive Latino
3/25/22 - 3/27/22 - São Paulo, SP @ Lollapalooza Brasil
3/25/22 - 3/27/22 - Bogotá, Colombia @ Estereo Picnic
3/27/22 - 3/29/22 - Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
6/18/22 - Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller Music Hall
6/19/22 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Berns
6/21/22 - Hamburg, Germany @ Fabrik
6/22/22 - Dortmund, DE @ FZW
6/29/22 - Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
6/30/22 - Barcelona, Spain @ Vida Festival
7/8/22 - 7/10/22 - Trenčín, Slovakia @ Pohoda Festival
7/8/22 - Madrid, Spain @ Mad Cool Festival

SURFBORT
surfbortruinedmylife.com

Punk band Surfbort released their cover of Elmo & Patsy’s “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”

Singer Dani Miller, talks about this festive song, “I think Christmas holidays are a sham and can be lonely and messed up, but we love our grandma and love seeing family on the holidays. Because last year's holiday season was dark we wanted to cover a song that had humor and played off a twisted holiday season. Santa is lame, but family love is where it's at (even if you prefer your found family more). My grandma and grandpa made the cover art! Linda Perry inspired us and produced the song and I'm so happy she had us ring in the holidays. I hope you blast ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’ and feel the love from Surfbort this holiday season.”

Tour dates:

12/12/2021 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Novy God 2021

Read More Steklovata I caught a brief glimpse at "Новый год" (New Year) on Rocketboom and was so amused by this Russian boy-band, that I had to find out more information on them. …

I know it’s 2021, but I’m revisiting some good viral music from days of yore.

Somehow, one way or another, YouTube’s been recommending me Steklovata (Стеклоvата ). You might remember that I first discover this Russian orphan boy band in March 2008… mostly amused by their video for “Новый год” (or “Novy God”… translated to “New Year”). I posted the original video (in 2008)… which is now long gone from YouTube. Fortunately, other fans have reposted the video (with typo “Novi God”) and over the years … reposted in 2011 with over 4 million views. Many new fans were inspired by “Novi God” that they’ve done their own renditions of it…

Sure, I know some were amused by the awkwardness of the original four Russian boys… but it does take some effort to study and lip-sync, dance, or made up their own lyrics. The original Steklovata doesn’t take offense to it… they seemed honored that their music have brought so much joy and happiness to people, that as recent as Jan 2020, the band (three of them) reformed to redo “Novy God” for 2020.

It’s easy to brush them off as meme, but if you take the time to listen to the song, it’s actually quite good. Personally speaking, it’s probably better than anything on modern radio.

According to user Dereks:

You know, in general they are nothing special at all. The band is just another example of "Ласковый Май" (Laskoviy May / Gentle May) trend that exploded at the down of the USSR era. Laskoviy May was purely commercial project. One producer created a band of orphan boys with very tearful luscious glossy lyrics. In general, it was a normal success of another pop-band. But since all the boys were of pre-pubertal age, all of them had almost similar high voices. You just needed another boy under the age of 12 with basic musical skills and he would sound indistinguishable from the original "Laskoviy Maj". Thus by the end of the 80's there were literally dozens of same bands of orphan boys performing all over Russia. Sometimes they even went under the same names.

So Steklovata is part of that "orphan-band" movement, which still sometimes emerges in small province cities. But their feature, that turned them into a meme is their name. Steklovata in Russian means "glass wool". As you see, it's nothing sweet and glossy in that title…

Also they are using some elements of low-class language, criminal slang, which also promoted them to their success (in terms of becoming a meme, of course).

With that said, I hope you have a wonderful novy novy novy novy god for 2021.

Katches Kids Recreates Novy God	Novy God (Koplo Version)
Новый Год (Стекловата 2021)	Metal Cover
Gourmet-salute! to Steklovata	STEKLOHATA-NOVY GOD
МАЛЬЧИШКИ - НОВЫЙ ГОД 2020	Polish parody No. 1
Russian Snow Boys - Happy New Year (Hardbass)	German Tribute
Latvian parody	Steklovata: Novy God 2020

Steklovata: “Novy God” (the original)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Cover Lover: Amanda Palmer, Outshine, and Pterodactyl Problems

Read More Amanda Palmer I have to admit, Amanda Palmer puts on a very good live show. I knew what to expect, having seen her previously, but it was a different type of show at her appearance last night at First Avenue. This is one of the reasons why we love …

AMANDA PALMER
amandapalmer.net

I’ve always liked Dresden Dolls, so when Amanda Palmer went solo, I naturally followed her adventures. Every time I see her live, she always puts on a great show. I’ll never forget seeing author Neil Gaiman at one of my shows, and was shocked to see how chummy they were (I didn’t it until later, but they were dating at that time).

Palmer was down-under (in Australia), and covered Midnight Oil’s hit song “Beds Are Burning”, featuring Missy Higgins on lead vocals. The song was part of Palmer’s Forty-Five Degrees: A Bushfire Charity Flash Record, a charity album in response to the bushfire crisis plaguing Australia at that time.

If you like Midnight Oil, you’ll be pleased to hear that she also covered “Truganini”, featuring Montaigne. You can hear both of these songs on YouTube, go here for “Beds Are Burning”.

Track listing

1 My Favourite Things (Bushfire Edition)
2 Beds Are Burning
3 The Drover's Boy
4 Black Smoke
5 Suck It Up, Buttercup
6 Truganini
7 Solid Rock
8 Regional Echo

Read More Kavinsky Ever since I saw the trailer to Drive, I wanted to see the film. What I didn't know at the time was that the movie is directed by one of my favorite (new) director, Nicolas Refn, who did one of my favorite film a few years ago called Valhalla Rising. ....

OUTSHINE
outshineofficial.com

Sweden’s Outshine released their cover of “Nightcall” last month. We first heard the Kavinsky (featuring Lovefoxxx) song as the soundtrack to Nicolas Refn’s Drive in 2011. It’s a stand-out song that follows that Beauty & the Beast formula (a growly dark male vocals in contrast to a sugar sweet female vocal), and it works really well in that song.

It’s obvious that Outshine heard this song, liked it, but didn’t really want to include the nice girl-vocals, instead, making their version deliberately dark and dreadful.

A few years ago, we caught London Grammar in Feb 2015 was surprised to hear that covered “Nightcall” on their live set.

Prior to this, The Bluetones frontsman Mark Morriss covered “Nightcall” on his album A Flash of Darkness in 2013.

About the same time, Natalie McCool released “Nightcall” medley with “Real Hero” on her 2013 self-titled album.

There’s something about that song, I just can’t explain…

Read More Adele First up is Adele's 21 album has sold over 25 million records worldwide (10 million in the U.S. alone!). According to the press announcement, Adele is the only European female artist in history to earn this "Diamond Certification" …

PTERODACTYL PROBLEMS
pterodactylproblems.com

Toronto rockers Pterodactyl Problems released their cover of Adele’s “Hello” on Spotify on Valentine’s Day (Feb 14, 2020). You can listen to the song via show.co/pS57a7I or buy it on Amazon.

The band is described as genre-bending, genre-defiling… and apparently now gender-bending version of “Hello”. Overall, if you like the original song, you’ll like Pterodactyl Problems’ version - which played faithfully to the original song.

Adele at the Theatre De La Jeune Lune (02 Jun 2008)

It’s hard to believe how big and far-reaching Adele’s music have gotten. There was a time that no one’s heard of Adele. I had front-row seating to see the singer when she came through town in June 2008. Tickets were $17. My memory is bad as usual, but I don’t remember seeing a packed venue - but was told the show was sold out at 600 capacity. Still... that's a tiny number for someone like Adele. This was Adele’s first time in the U.S.A…

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Kristin Kontrol: Last Christmas

Kristin Kontrol: Last Christmas Read More Kristin Kontrol We are also very excited to see that Dee Dee (from Dum Dum Girls) will be opening for Garbage under her music project Kristin Kontrol. When we saw DDG in 2014 when .… Dum Dum Girls Dum Dum Girls - too cute and popular for this earth ... and CMJ (yet they played some shows). .… …

The news that George Michael died hit us pretty hard on Christmas. We’re still pretty shocked that he’s dead. Obviously, fans from around the world have expressed how much his music meant to them... including James Corden’s heartfelt tribute to Michael.

As previously mentioned, George Michael was my first cassette (Listen Without Prejudice) that I purchased with my own money. And admittedly I’ve lost touch of keeping up with George Michael post-Older, but I still love the music and those great lyrics.

Anyway, the news of George Michael’s death hit Dee Dee (currently as Kristin Kontrol) unexpected too. She actually recorded a cover of Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’, but it was barred from release. The timing felt right, and she posted the link, read more below.

Kristin Kontrol wrote:

December 25, 2016 at 7:48pm

So sad we lost another incredible artist this year. Rest in power, George Michael. A few years ago I recorded a cover of "Last Christmas" as a b-side to an Xmas original. An innocent homage out of love. This was proto-KK as produced by Kurt Feldman (Ice Choir). Was never allowed to release it but f*** it. <3

soundcloud.com/kristinkontrol

We caught KK last year with Garbage at the Skyway Theatre and wrote, “Kristin’s voice has a dreamlike way of getting to you as you listen and even with the dance tunes you get that vibe that you're in the clouds.”

Incidentally, in Dum Dum Girls news, did you all noticed the DDG’s poster in Episode 6 of Netflix’s The OA? In the first few minutes of that episode, we see a trans character Buck Vu (played by Ian Alexander) practicing the movement ... and in the background, you see the poster.

The OA Season 1, Episode 6 (16 Dec 2016)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic