W♥M: Joan of Profile

07/14 St Paul Songwriter Rounds at the White Squirrel Bar

Lineup

Samuel John
Jeffrey Robert Larson
Kaity Joan (of Joan of Profile)
Dawson Sabah Kimyon
FINICK
Hosted By TJD

Vuart

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Samuel John Band

Samuel John of the The Samuel John Band will be there. His band is actually having a Minnesota Goodbye EP release party at the 7th Street Entry on August 8, 2024. …

Joan of Profile

Joan of Profile closed out the stage. I am assuming the singer is named Joan and she’s from the land of Profile… They’re described as indie-pop, and I recognized their cover of The Cranberries’ “Linger.” …

FINICK

FINICK was there to play some songs from her debut album Where Could We Go? (2023). Despite her young age, she’s already put together a summer tour with an appearance at the Winnipeg …

The St. Paul Songwriter Rounds is a semi-weekly event held at the White Squirrel Bar, in St Paul. The showcase, hosted by TJD (Taylor), features four or five local singer/songwriters from the Twin Cities area. Each musician is asked a question and then they play a song of their choice. They do this four times (four rounds), so the whole thing is about two hours.

The Samuel John Band at 7th Street Entry (08 Aug 2024)

First is Samuel John, of the The Samuel John Band, who played “Enjoy the Show” as his first song. His fourth and last song is “Minnesota Goodbye”, which is taken from his upcoming EP. His full band (The Samuel John Band) will be holding the Minnesota Goodbye EP release party at the 7th Street Entry on August 8, 2024. Other bands on the Aug 8 shows are Aaron Simmons, Adam Brandt and Cole Diamond.

Up With Transcendent Fun: 20 Years of Chokecherry! at the Hook and Ladder (01 Aug 2024)

Next was Jeffrey Robert Larson, who just released his album Country & Western Songs For The Americas in February 2024. He sang songs about “Dropping a Quarter in the Jukebox” and “The Caretaker.” He said that he was previously in another band for 10 years, before falling out with the guitarist.

Jeffrey Robert Larson’s next appearance is at the Up With Transcendent Fun: 20 Years of Chokecherry! show at the Hook and Ladder Theater on August 1st, 2024.

Joan of Profile at Taste of Minnesota (07 July 2024)

Previously unannounced was Kaity Joan, of Joan of Profile. It would seem that she’s replacing Avery Seed, who dropped out. Kaity said she was influenced by Hanna Montana and her first song was “Losing Teeth”, and another song was called “Warhorse.” Her last song was called “Alaska”, which she hasn’t told the band about… so it was brand new.

We last saw Joan of Profile at the Taste of Minnesota: “Joan of Profile closed out the stage. I am assuming the singer is named Joan and she’s from the land of Profile… They’re described as indie-pop, and I recognized their cover of The Cranberries’ “Linger.” The band’s latest single is called “Flowers.””

Dawson Sabah Kimyon had some self-confessed “toxic” songs like “Dramatic” and “Submarine”. He seems to have gone through a lot, based on hearing his stories (he does lists in his profile that he has a “passion for musical storytelling”). At some point he “rocked so hard” that he broke a guitar string.

FINICK at Taste of Minnesota (06 July 2024)

FINICK rounds out the five. She had just gotten back from Winnipeg Folk Festival, in Canada, and then worked as Junior counselor at She Rock She Rock earlier in the day, before ending the day at the White Squirrel Bar.

We previously saw her at the Taste of Minnesota and said, “Finick was there to play some songs from her debut album Where Could We Go? (2023). Despite her young age, she’s already put together a summer tour with an appearance at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on July 12, the Elliott Smith Tribute show at White Squirrel on Aug 5 (Smith’s birthday is August 6), and then Waterworks Building on Aug 15.”

Of the four FINICK songs at the Songwriter Rounds, two were untitled at the moment. That would mean that she’s already busy writing new songs for an upcoming sophomore album. The two titled songs were “Sailor of Sea” and “Third Time’s the Charm.”

The next Songwriter Rounds is July 28, 2024, and features Rachael Guertin, Patrick Larkin, Sumanth Gopinath, Cassandra Johnson, and Megan Bee.

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St Paul Songwriter Rounds at the White Squirrel Bar (14 July 2024)

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07/07 Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis at Taste of Minnesota

07/07 Morris Day and the Time at Taste of Minnesota

Lineup

Great Clips Stage

12:30 pm – Sounds Of Blackness

2:30 pm – Johnny Holm Band

5:00 pm – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (with Guests)

6:45 pm – Morris Day & The Time

Featuring: DJ Shannon Blowtorch

Jazz88 Stage

12:00 pm – MacPhail’s First Ave Ensemble

1:30 pm – Aja Parham

3:00 pm – Purple Funk Metropolis

4:30 pm – International Reggae All-Stars

6:15 pm – Minneapolis String Project

Xcel Energy Singer / Songwriter Stage

11:15 – 12:15 Scarlett Woods

12:30 – 1:30 Scott Zosel

1:45 – 2:45 Steven Weeks-Johnson

3:00 – 4:00 Greg Volker & the River

4:15 – 5:30 John Loo & the Breakers

5:45 – 7:00 Joan of Profile

20 Washington Plaza Stage

11:15 – 12:30 Sam Cargill

12:45 – 2:00 Josh Cargill

2:15 – 3:30 Cathie English

3:45 – 5:00 Jamie Parker

5:15 – 6:30 Vicki Dischler

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Taste of Minnesota

Yes, Taste of Minnesota is back in 2024! This is turning out to be one of the biggest events yet, featuring beloved The Wallflowers (for Saturday) and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (for Sunday). …

Jimmy Jam

Shortly following, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (who curated the talent lineup for the series) reunited with their original band Flyte Tyme for a version of Lipps. Inc 1980 classic, ‘Funkytown’ featuring original vocalist Cynthia Johnson. …

Morris Day

From the current incarnation of Morris Day and the Time as well as rising songstress and Grammy winner Judith Hill, who had her debut album, last year’s Back in Time …

Purple Funk Metropolis

Local seven-piece instrumental Purple Funk Metropolis will be headlining the 7th Street Entry in Feb 11th. The band released their new album The Golden Goose recently. ....

Day two of Taste of Minnesota on Nicollet Mall, in Minneapolis, took place at 11am on Sunday. Again, it was a nice day with some clouds but no threat of rain. With these outdoors events, the weather can put a damper on things, but it was nice and sunny for both days.

Unlike the first day, we now know the lay of the land and had a strategy of moving from stage to stage… and even stopping by the F1RST Wrestling ring, which we had no idea existed on Saturday. We had set times for all the bands, so we were ready to see as many bands as possible.

As usual, the big draw is the main stage, Great Clips Stage, which started its lineup with a very large cast of singers of Sounds of Blackness. This gospel/R&B, soul group goes back to 1969 by Russell Knighton at Macalester College in St. Paul, originally called the Macalester College Black Voices. When Gary Hines took over the ensemble in 1971, they officially changed their name to Sounds of Blackness.

They are an impressive collection with Cynthia Johnson (of Lipps Inc.) and Ann Nesby as the group’s most prominent alumni. Nesby will later resurface on Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis’ set, but more on that later.

Shannon Blowtorch kept the music flowing as she DJ between live sets.

Next up was Johnny Holm Band, a multi-generational band. They played some old songs like Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” to semi-current Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle.” They were a really fun, energetic band, perfect for these outdoors event.

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis at Super Bowl Live (26 Jan 2018)

Of course, we were mostly there for Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. I was told that this was the first time they are officially appearing as a duo, but we previously saw them together in Jan 2018 when they curated the Super Bowl Live shows: “Shortly following, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (who curated the talent lineup for the series) reunited with their original band Flyte Tyme for a version of Lipps. Inc 1980 classic, ‘Funkytown’ featuring original vocalist Cynthia Johnson.”

Still, it’s a rare appearance for this legendary music producer and songwriters. Even if you didn’t know who Jam & Lewis are, you probably have danced and loved their songs, which included S.O.S.’ “Just Be Good to Me” or Cherrelle’ “Saturday Love” & “I Didn't Mean to Turn You On” or the Human League’s “Only Human” or Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done For Me Lately.”

Since Jam & Lewis are the producers, they let others sing: Ruben Studdard, Ann Nesby, Jamecia Bennett, Shanice Wilson (she sang on all the Janet Jackson songs), and Lisa Keith. They played and medley in about 30 songs, and every one of those songs are pure gold hits!

Morris Day and the Time closed out the Taste of Minnesota. I’m not going to lie, it was tough for Day to follow up to the powerhouse set of Jam & Lewis (and it didn’t help that Morris Day was 20 minute fashionably late to his own show). Still, the crowd fondly remember Day and the Time as they do that uniform head turn and dance moves. The dance favorite “The Walk” was a crowd favorite.

Morris Day at State Theatre (22 Jun 2024)

Note, while doing research on Morris Day and the Time, according to Day, the Prince Estate prohibited Day from using “Morris Day and the Time.” I guess things worked out in the end, as Day recently appeared as part of Prince Celebration on June 22: “Along with Farrant, Morris Day played a too-short half-hour set backed by the current lineup of the New Power Generation, with the NPG (led by keyboardist / musical director Morris Hayes; original rapper Tony Mosely, guitarist Mike Scott and vocalist MacKenzie) playing their own headlining set, with guest appearances from Kip Blackshire and Rosie’s daughter, Latoya Gaines.”

At the Jazz88 Stage started with MacPhail’s First Ave Ensemble, followed by Aja Parham (pronounced “A-Ja”) a jazz singer started her set with “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story, although she updated the lyrics to keep up with the time. It’s a different meaning back then when they sang “I feel pretty and gay”. She has a full band, and even her son joined her on stage.

Purple Funk Metropolis at Fine Line (06 Jan 2024)

Next up was Purple Funk Metropolis, who we saw in Jan 2024 as part of Flavor World’s event: “The music event was organized by Flavor World (a Minneapolis based creative brand, making art in many mediums, and dedicated to inspiring and empowering creatives) and local college radio station Radio K. They’ve gathered some local bands for the occasion, including Afrofusion band Ozone Creations, funk/jazz band Purple Funk Metropolis, creeping charlie, and Kwey.”

International Reggae All-Stars plays popular songs in the reggae style. For example, Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” and Guns N' Roses’ “Knockin' On Heaven's Door”, but laid back.

Minneapolis String Project at the Icehouse (22 July 2024)

Finally Minneapolis String Project closed out the Jazz88 stage. If you like what you heard, they are playing the Icehouse in Minneapolis on July 22: “We’re pleased to announce our participation in the Monday night monthly series at the Icehouse in Minneapolis! July is being curated by our own David Feily! Come out July 22nd for a great night of music featuring Minneapolis String Project and Society of Chemists!”

On the far south at the Xcel Energy Singer / Songwriter Stage we have Scarlett Woods, followed by Scott Zosel influenced by artists such as Gram Parsons, Joe Henry, Jeff Tweedy, Patty Smith, Ryan Adams, Liz Phair, even John Lennon.

Steven Weeks-Johnson was fun, doing some 90s tunes like Sublime’s “What I Got” and Blind Melon’s “No Rain”. He even played Joe Walsh’s “Life's Been Good”.

Greg Volker & the River plays Alt-Country and roots music, followed by John Loo & the Breakers.

Joan of Profile closed out the stage. I am assuming the singer is named Joan and she’s from the land of Profile… They’re described as indie-pop, and I recognized their cover of The Cranberries’ “Linger.” The band’s latest single is called “Flowers.”

The 20 Washington Plaza Stage offers what seems like solo artists. Starting with Sam Cargill (with a debut album called Authentic Silver) and later joined in with Josh Cargill, which we’re speculating is related to Sam, either as older brother or father. We actually have no idea, they could also be unrelated and their last name is purely coincidental.

Cathie English is a folk singer/songwriter in Central Minnesota and Jamie Parker, aka “J”.

Vicki Dischler played some of her favorite songs. She played Paul Simon’s “Slip Slidin' Away” and then she asks, “how about some Rolling Stones?” and proceeded to play “19th Nervous Breakdown.”

The whole Taste of Minnesota event was very fun and although it was free, trust me, we ended up paying for all the food and drinks and enjoying the music. We’ll definitely return next year.

Apologies for the poor phone photos.

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