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Bob Mould at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (28 Oct 2023)

10/28 Bob Mould with Jason Narducy at The Cedar 10/29 Bob Mould with Jason Narducy at Turf Club Bob Mould Setlist The War Flip Your Wig* I Apologize * Hoover Dam+ No Reservations* Siberian Butterfly I'm Sorry, Baby, but You Can't Stand in My Light Any More The Descent Forecast of Rain Next Generation Breathing Room Hard to Get Too Far Down* When Your Heart is Broken Celebrated Summer* Voices in My Head If I Can't Change Your Mind+ Hate Paper Doll See a Little Light Something I Learned Today* Hate Paper Doll* Love Is All Around (Sonny Curtis cover) Makes No Sense at All* * Hüsker Dü song + Sugar song Read More Bob Mould “Distortion and Blue Hearts!” is the name of the new tour from Bob Mould. The guy is a legend, we’ve been listening to his music since Sugar and through back catalogs, Hüsker Dü. …

Hüsker Dü and Sugar legend Bob Mould is currently on a successful Solo Electric tour, stopping by the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis 28th, 2023. This was an additional show added to his schedule, due to selling out the Turf Club (tonight, October 29)… which, of course, Mould also sold out the Cedar.

Opening the show was Jason Narducy. He started off like a tempest and ultimately broke a guitar string, 30 seconds into his first song. So, while he was putting on a new guitar string, it was “story time”. He actually has a lot of “story time”, as this would not be the first.

He has a lot to say, because like Mould, Narducy has a long-running career in music. He started with his punk band Verboten in the 80s. That band inspired Dave Grohl to pursue music. He had a stripped down duo with cellist Alison Chesley, and a full rock band with Alison called Verbow in 90s. Narducy would play Verbow’s “Holiday” near the end of the set.

We know that Narducy would play with Bob Mould and also Superchunk. His solo project is called Split Single, with a debut album Fragmented World, in 2014.

Despite being around for four decades, he confessed he’s never played the Cedar Cultural Center. It’s not surprising, because the Cedar don’t normally book rock or punk bands, their focus is on World Music and the NPR audience.

One of the stories he told early in his set was how his daughter was really into Destroy Boys. So, being the rock dad, he took his kids to Riot Fest and ultimately got the band (particularly guitarist Violet) to meet his daughter. She was crying “tears of joy”, and it was a moment she’ll probably never forget. What was the point to the story? Narducy ended, “The point is buy Destroy Boys records!”

Narducy ended his set with his Split Single song, “(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love.”

True to the “Solo Electric” name of the tour, this is just raw Bob Mould, playing electric guitar by himself. No drums, no bass, just furious guitars.

Mould started in the late 70s, and found early success with Hüsker Dü. The band eventually broke up, and Mould would resurface in a new band called Sugar in the early 90s with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis.

Since 1996, Mould plays under his own name, or billed under Bob Mould Band, but fans still love those early Du and Sugar music… which he happily play on this current solo set. Half the set consisted of Hüsker Dü songs, with a dash of Sugar.

Remaining tour dates:

Oct 29 St. Paul, MN, US Turf Club
Nov 13 Sint-Niklaas, Belgium De Casino
Nov 14 Oostende, Belgium CC De Grote Post
Nov 16 Madrid, Spain Son Estrella Galicia
Nov 18 Granada, Spain Sala Lemon Rock
Nov 20 Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club
Nov 21 Edinburgh, UK The Liquid Room
Nov 22 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy 3
Nov 24 London, UK The Garage
Nov 25 Dublin, Ireland The Button Factory
Nov 27 Cork, Ireland Cyprus Avenue

The Cedar marquee

Jason Narducy Jason Narducy

Bob Mould

Bob Mould at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (28 Oct 2023)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Darlingside at The Cedar Cultural Center (10-27-23)

10/27 Darlingside with Field Guide at Cedar Cultural Center Tour Dates 10/28 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School 10/29 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark 11/29 – Charlottesville, VA – Southern Café 11/30 – Washington, DC – Howard Theatre 12/01 – Ardmore, PA – Ardmore Music Hall 12/02 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Made 12/03 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Little Spa Theatre 12/06 – Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom 12/07 – Portland, ME – Portland House 12/08 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground 12/09 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair – Early 12/09 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair – Late 12/15 – Northampton, MA – Academy of Music Read More Darlingside Acclaimed indie-folk quartet Darlingside is touring in support of their new album Everything Is Alive… stopping by the Cedar Cultural Center on October 27th. … Field Music Field Music to open. We caught Field Music in Mar 2010 and said, “As I previously mentioned, I've never heard of Field Music, and I mostly requested to see them live because I liked Clientele …

One thing that the band members of Darlingside and Field Guide agreed upon was The Wienery is the place for a pre-show bite and it was definitely cold in Minneapolis on Friday night.

Field Guide aka Dylan MacDonald opened the evening with a solo set on acoustic and electric guitar. He is from Winnipeg. So the bracing winter winds that greeted him had little effect.

MacDonald has a new album Field Guide Tape Redux that had a circuitous production route. First, the vocals and guitars were recorded near Riding Mountain National Park in a wood-stove heated cabin. Bass and drums were added in Breakglass Studios in Montreal. Then overdubbing in Monarch Studios in Vancouver.

Singer/songwriters tend to sometimes sink into their feelings, but MacDonald’s songs were light, open with rays of sunshine peeking through. Like in “Me & You”:

And oo I know we can't do this forever
Oo it feels good to be stuck together

“I’ll be honest with you,” MacDonald said halfway through his set. “I’m having a good time.”

He said it was good to be on the road and he found the time fruitful, already writing four new songs on tour. He even played one that he wrote the day before in which he tells a lover that: “I’m the sure thing” and “You are the only habit I don’t want to change.”

Darlingside is an Indie Folk band based out of Boston. They formed as a collective of seven members when attending Williams College, but eventually became a band of four in 2009 with Don Mitchell on banjo and guitar, Auyon Mukharji on mandolin and violin, Harris Paseltiner on guitar and cello and David Senft on bass and kick drums.

Senft is not on tour so Mukharji introduced Senft’s subs, they being Molly Parden on bass, Ben Burns on drums and Deni Hlavinka on keys. Mukharji even hilariously stated one nice thing he has done for the new members: He intended to lend his sewing kit to Burns. He politely asked for some of Hlavinka’s pretzels instead of stealing them. And he has yet to do anything nice for Parden.

Darlingside is on tour to support their latest album Everything is Alive, but Paseltiner said their tour also might as well be supporting Fish Pond Fish from 2020 for this is their first tour since the pandemic.

Darlingside has an interesting makeup as a band. Each member contributes to the songwriting. For a time they wrote at a climbing gym, but sustained too many injured fingers, which is inevitable in rock climbing, but not good when playing string instruments.

They also have no lead singer. Each band member may take a solo, but they are at their best when singing in vocal harmony, creating a sound that NPR’s All Songs Considered has described as “... exquisitely-arranged, literary-minded, baroque folk-pop.”

There is also a madrigal spirit in their construct. For a couple of songs they even eschewed their electric instruments and went into the crowd with only a guitar and violin to form a circle and sing. It was an intimate moment for no longer were there lights, a stage and separation. Instead a communal setting between the musicians and the crowd.

Field Guide Field Guide Darlingside

Darlingside Darlingside Darlingside

Darlingside at Cedar Cultural Center, Minnepaolis (27 Oct 2023)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Love in Exile at The Cedar Cultural Center (10-10-23)

10/10 Love in Exile featuring Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily at Cedar Cultural Center Tour Dates Oct 11 — Chicago, IL — Harris Theater for Music and Dance Oct 12 — Iowa City, IA — Infinite Dream Festival Oct 17 — Athens, GA — University of GA Read More Love In Exile This is a sold-out seated show for renowned musicians Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily, and Arooj Aftab, known as Love In Exile. Their self-titled debut album is out now. The album has been a fan favorite of the likes of Rolling Stone .…

It was a concert not like any other. After all, Love in Exile is touring to support their self-titled debut album, but did not play the songs from it for the songs are more like templates. So, the album released by Verve in March was for the moment. Tuesday night at The Cedar Cultural Center had a setlist all its own.

The crowd for the sold-out show was seated with an attentiveness usually reserved for church services. The venue was dim, yet warmly lit, creating a peaceful, solemn atmosphere. And it was in the quiet that Shahzad Ismaily picked up his electric bass and led the trio into the first song.

If there was one occurring theme throughout the evening it was the quietness of the music, moments where none of the musicians were playing or singing, but instead, listening.

Vijay Iyer told NPR that listening to his fellow musicians is the most important part of being in this trio. To which Arooj Aftab chimed in: "When I'm not singing, I'm usually drinking wine ... " which, she said as a joke, but let it be noted that she did have a glass of wine available when she stepped back from the mic.

Love in Exile developed as an experiment through improvised, live shows. The best way to explain their sound is to see Ismaily on the moog & bass laying down the foundation, Iyer on the piano and synthesizer providing texture and Aftab’s voice ebbing and flowing like a breeze.

Aftab said the tour so far has been “Great!” She said it almost as a question for they are on the vanguard and have run into questions where the brown people in the audience wonder why they don’t play brown music and the white people in the audience wonder why they don’t play more jazz.

What everyone should appreciate is these participants are accomplished musicians, and like all great musicians, they are constantly looking to form something new, which they have done, receiving Pitchfork’s Best New Music stamp of approval and Rolling Stone describing their music “…akin to visiting some sort of beautiful, strange sonic landscape made from strings, keys, and breath.”

I honestly don’t know how to describe it. I can tell you that I heard echoes of Herbie Hancock in the later years. I heard John Coltrane’s coda from Love Supreme. I heard the folk traditions of Iyer’s Hindi and Aftab and Ismaily’s Pakistani traditions. But what I mostly heard was something otherworldly and it was the silence in between the music that drew me in.

Love in Exile at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (10 October 2023)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

International Day of Music 2023

07/15 International Day of Music feat. Minnesota Orchestra at Various Minneapolis Locations Read More Minnesota Orchestra Closer to home, hornist Kendall Betts from Minnesota Orchestra recently passed away at the age of 68 to cancer. Betts established the Betts Horn Camp (KBHC) in New Hampshire in 1994, a learning center for players and horn enthusiasts. …

The International Day of Music event on Saturday, July 15th, was one of the best free music festivals in the Twin Cities. The free all-day event stretches across four main stages, with a few other locations (and an offsite event at the Central Lutheran Church).

The majority of the scheduled music and dance shows were within the same block, where the Orchestra Hall is located.

The Global Grooves Stage (on the corner of 11th and Nicollet Mall) is an outdoor stage, and its scheduled was organized and programmed by The Cedar Cultural Center. They brought in Douala Soul Collective, a pair of DJs spinning soul music, who was first on the stage.

They were followed by Di Bayke Klezmer Band, an Eastern European Jewish band, who inspired a group of dancers doing a Kurdish dance with handkerchief leading the dance line.

Cydi Yang, a spoken word/rapper, musician, led her Hmong band, was the last musician that we saw.

Alma Andina (23 March 2017)

Bluedog, a Native American band, and Alma Andina, a South America band, closed out this stage. We previously saw Alma Andina in March 2017 and said, “Local openers Alma Andina came on first, merging South American traditional folk with electro, cumbia, salsa, and merengue, for a sound of their own that clearly already has a devout area audience, witnessed by the amount of dancing and loud response from the crowd. Their name (meaning “soul of the Andes”) makes reference to the high peaks of the Andes Mountains and had the audience on that same high, captivated by band director Vladimir Garrido and band. Most members hail from or have history in Chile, playing traditional instruments like flutes, mixed with more modern beats, blips, and effects and the band has several scheduled local gigs upcoming.”

The other outdoor stage was the Music in Motion Stage (at the Peavey Plaza), it was programmed by the BRKFST Dance Company, so it mostly had dancers, from Amanda Sachs & Elena Hollenshorst to Slow Dance to MNKrump and Meridian Movement Co, all telling stories through dance movements. The highlight of the stage was Duniya Drum and Dance, an African rhythm & dance group.

The Target Atrium Stage, was an indoor small room was filled to capacity (at least 160 people in the room), to see Minnesota Orchestra chamber music. We came back to the stage to see what Dick & Patsy was… turned out they’re a duo playing Celtic music. The room can be turned into a theater, showcasing films, such as “Cloud Cult with the Minnesota Orchestra”.

The main Orchestra Hall Stage was grand and opened to the public for this event. We caught the Walker/West Student Showcase, who were all young violinists playing music from around the world.

Overall, this was a very good music festival, with a flair for classical and world music. If we were lost, there were volunteers everywhere, to help direct us where to go.

We will definitely attend again next year, perhaps this time planning on spending the entire day at the event.

Amanda Sachs and Elena Hollenhorst at Music in Motion Stage

Cydi Yang Cydi Yang Dick and Patsy Dick and Patsy Minnesota Orchestra chamber music

Minnesota Orchestra chamber music at Target Atrium Stage

Di Bayke Klezmer Di Bayke Klezmer Duniya Drum and Dance Slo Dance Douala Soul Collective

Walker | West Student Showcase at Orchestra Hall Stage, Minneapolis (15 July 2023)

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

Thee Sinseers and The Altons at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (07 Jun 2023)

Read More Rudy De Anda Rudy De Anda to open. Rudy De Anda’s latest single, “Cascading” (available on Karma Chief Records), is a modern take on mid-1970s Brazilian soul. …

Brody was at the “Spark of Soul” tour, featuring Thee Sinseers and The Altons, at the Cedar Cultural Center, in Minneapolis, last night.

Thee Sinseers is a large nine-piece soul band, while the The Altons are a five-piece soul rock group, but with a Latin-inspired rhythm.

Opening the show was Rudy de Anda, previously was in town with Ghost Funk Orchestra in April 2023.

The Altons Setlist

Intro I Try Going Nowhere Cry For Me Soon Enough Darling Girl In the Meantime Thankful Cancion Tangled Over and Over Float Gotcha When You Go Shiny

Remaining tour dates:

Jun 08 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI
Jun 09 HI-FI Indianapolis, IN
Jun 10 Thalia Hall Chicago, IL
Jun 14 Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA
Jun 15 Brooklyn Made Brooklyn, NY
Jun 17 9:30 CLUB Washington, DC
Jun 18 The Ardmore Music Hall Ardmore, PA
Jul 02 Festival International de Jazz Montreal, QC
Aug 03 Pendarvis Farm Happy Valley, OR
Aug 05 Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
Aug 08 The Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA
Aug 11 Vina Robles Amphitheatre Paso Robles, CA
Aug 13 Greek Theatre Los Angeles (LA), CA
Sep 03 Lemonade Park Kansas City, MO

Thee Sinseers and The Altons at the Cedar Cultural Center, in Minneapolis (07 Jun 2023)

brody ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Rachel Baiman at Cedar Cultural Center (04/15/2023)

04/15 Rachel Baiman at the Cedar Cultural Center Rachel Baiman Setlist Some Strange Notion Bad Debt Shame She Don’t Me Self Made Man Lovers N Leavers Colorado Old Songs Bitter Annie Old Flame Young Love -- Encore -- Grey Owl One More Dollar Read More Rachel Baiman This time, the band is headlining the Fine Line Music Café this Friday, September 22nd. Rachel Baiman to open for this show, but starting September 27 Bluegass musician Dori Freeman … Barbaro We last wrote about Baiman in Sep 2017 when she was in town with Mandolin Orange. Barbaro to open. Tour dates: Apr 6 Decatur, GA, US Eddie's Attic Apr 7 Charlotte, NC, US The Evening Muse Apr 8 Durham, NC, US The Pinhook

It’s not a good sign for spring when members of the opening act and headliner sport ski caps in the middle of April. At least no one wore mittens while playing their string instruments.

Barbaro opened the evening with most seated except for Jason Wells on the upright bass. The setup lent itself to a cozy atmosphere with the members attune to each other as if the songs were not completely set, giving the four members room to explore.

Kyle Shelstad (guitar) and Isaac Sammis (banjo) first started off as a bluegrass duo. But when Rachel Calvert (fiddle) and Wells joined, the group began to evolve for the additions came from a more classical background. In fact, Wells was not even familiar with the bluegrass when he signed on.

Barbaro’s music was not so much a display of technical dexterity found in most bluegrass bands as much as cooperative effort to accommodate the different viewpoints with Shelstad, Calver and Sammis sharing singing duties and Calvert and Wells creating at times an almost cosmic, ethereal sound. The whole effort felt as intimate as a campfire and as vast as the stars.

Rachel Baiman was joined on stage with Lauren Horbal on drums, Jacob Groopman on guitar and Steve Hann on bass.

Born and raised in Chicago, Baiman became attracted to the traditions of folk and bluegrass while attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She decided to stay and became a fiddler-for-hire who eventually evolved into a singer-songwriter.

Lyrically, Baiman may have absorbed the views of her left-leaning parents, but musically she is all in on the country spirit of her adopted home. For example, the song “Shame” from her 2017 self-titled album is an ebullient affair even if the topic is about the corrosive nature of fundamental religion. Also, you can clap along to “Self Made Man” even if you don’t want to root for the protagonist.

Baiman is promoting her new album On Common Nation of Sorrow but don’t think it’s a lament, as Baiman told the Nashville Scene: “It’s not a protest album so much as a statement of solidarity.”

In between songs Baiman took the opportunity to converse with the audience with topics ranging from how many geologists were in the audience (3) to the correct term for the study of insects (entomology). And since it was a cold night, she asked if ice fishing was really a thing (it is) and how a seventeen hour road trip through a snowstorm ended up in Reno, Nevada (not fun in her opinion).

Cold or not, Baiman was having fun at the Cedar. And for an encore she brought out Barbaro to try an acoustic set. It gave the appearance of being a spontaneous moment as if the show was already over and the two bands had found a nice cozy campfire to pick away the evening on their string instruments.

Remaining tour dates:

Apr 16 Appleton, WI, US Appleton Beer Factory
Apr 18 Ann Arbor, MI, US The Ark Stage
Apr 19 Columbus, OH, US Rambling House
Apr 20 Newport, KY, US Revival Room
Apr 22 Lexington, KY, US The Raven House
May 2 Pittsburgh, PA, US Club Café
May 3 Wayne, PA, US 118 North
May 4 Washington, DC, US Pearl Street Warehouse
May 5 Cambridge, MA, US Club Passim
May 6 Brooklyn, NY, US The Owl Music Parlour
May 8 Northampton, MA, US The Parlor Room
May 11 Seattle, WA, US Tractor Tavern
May 12 Prosser, WA, US Brewminatti
May 13 Portland, OR, US Polaris Hall
May 19 Outdoor Monticello, KY, US Sleeping in the Woods
May 24 Pueblo, CO, US Brues Alehouse Brewing Co.
May 25 Denver, CO, US Swallow Hill Music
May 26 Carbondale, CO, US Steve's Guitars
May 26 Colorado Springs, CO, US MeadowGrass Festival
Jun 6 Lafayette, IN, US People's Brewing Company
Jun 9 Chattanooga, TN, US The Woodshop
Jun 23 Greenfield, MA, US Green River Festival

Barbaro

Barbaro

Barbaro

Rachel Baiman and Barbaro

Rachel Baiman

Rachel Baiman

Rachel Baiman

Rachel Baiman at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (15 Apr 2023)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Black Belt Eagle Scout at Cedar Cultural Center (04/07/2023)

Black Belt Eagle Scout Setlist My Blood Runs Through This Land Sedna Fancy Dance Nobody Sčičudᶻ (A Narrow Place) On the River Salmon Stinta Blue Treeline Spaces Don’t Give Up My Heart Dreams Soft Stud -- Encore -- Indians Never Die Sam, a Dream Read More Black Belt Eagle Scout Black Belt Eagle Scout (the project led by multi-instrumentalist Katherine Paul) will be releasing their sophomore album At the Party With My Brown Friends on August 30th via Saddle Creek. … Mother Falcon Sollee left the stage to let Mother Falcon to play a few of their songs. The large band (consisting of keys, accordion, two violinists, two cellists, upright bassist, two saxophonists, trumpeter, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and drummer) …

Katherine Paul who performs under the most-cool name Black Belt Eagle Scout played at Cedar Cultural Center on Friday night with her opening acts being her bandmates.

Claire Puckett who performs under Claire Glass opened the evening with a solo set, starting off with “Body” from her debut album Dust.

From Austin, TX and playing in the bands, Hikes and Mother Falcon, Puckett told the crowd that this was her first tour and she was happy to be on the road with Paul.

Nay Mapalo who performs under Adobo next took the stage. Mapalo also has played with Puckett in Hikes and recently released Backdrop, a collaboration with The Kraken Quartet.

Where Puckett mostly played acoustic guitar, Mapalo worked foot pedals, samplers and even a drum kit to create a more experimental sound with a highlight being “Will I Ever Learn to Fail” in which Mapalo looped vocals and drum beats to create a backdrop for nuanced guitar work.

After a brief intermission, Katherine Paul aka KP took the stage with Puckett on guitar, Mapalo on bass and Camas Logue on drums.

KP said she was looking forward to the Cedar show for she had friends in the crowd. Also the Cedar is close to a significant indigenous population at Little Earth Community Center, which made KP feel welcome since she is a member of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community outside of Seattle, Washington.

Most of Black Belt Eagle Scout’s music is influenced by KP’s ancestral land that overlooks the Puget Sound. Her latest album The Land, the Water, the Sky is even dedicated to the place.

KP grew up around music with her dad a powwow singer and her participating as a jingle dress dancer. She was also influenced by the Northwest sounds of Nirvana and Hole, teaching herself to play guitar and drums by watching bootleg VHS tapes of the bands.

KP demonstrated with “My Blood Runs Through This Land” that she can play a howling guitar, but many of her songs harbored a contemplative state like “Sčičudᶻ (A Narrow Place)” a song inspired by long walks through cedar forests during the pandemic. With “Salmon Stinta” KP and Puckett created a nice dynamic between their guitars with Puckett playing the calm waters and KP the salmon moving upstream.

A crowd favorite was “Treeline”. A personal favorite was “Spaces”, a song that KP held dear for her parents sang backup vocals on the track.

KP finished the evening with “Soft Stud”, but was encouraged to come back and play a two song encore, the last being “Sam, a Dream” which again led her into a soulful guitar solo, a highlight of the evening.

“We’ll most definitely be back,” KP said to the crowd.

Hopefully, it will be soon.

Remaining tour dates:

Apr. 8 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean*
April 11 - Toronto, ON @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern*
Apr. 12 - Montreal, QC @ Bar Le “Ritz” P.D.B.*
Apr. 14 - Cambridge, MA @ Elk’s Club*
Apr. 15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right*
Apr. 17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s*
Apr. 18 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd*
Apr. 19 - Durham, NC @ The Pinhook*
Apr. 20 - Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor*
Apr. 21 - Atlanta, GA @ 529 Club*
Apr. 22 - New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa*
Apr. 24 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger*
Apr. 25 - Austin, TX @ The Parish*
Apr. 27 - Norman, OK @ Norman Music Festival
Apr. 28 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sister*
May 1 - Mesa, AZ @ The Underground at The Nile Theater*
May 2 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah*
May 4 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo*
May 5 - Fresno, CA @ Strummer’s*
May 6 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop*
May 8 - Tacoma, WA @ ALMA*

*with support from Claire Glass and Adobo

Claire Glass

Adobo

Black Belt Eagle Scout

Black Belt Eagle Scout at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (07 Apr 2023)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Foy Vance, Lee Rogers and Gareth Dunlop at the Cedar Cultural Center (5/20/22)

Tour Dates May 21, 2022 - Chicago, IL - Athenaeum Theatre May 26, 2022 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre May 27, 2022 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater May 31, 2022 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater With special guests Lee Rogers and Gareth Dunlop Read More Foy Vance Award-winning Northern Irish singer/songwriter Foy Vance has sold out the upcoming Cedar Cultural Center appearance on May 20th. We’ve seen Vance a few times, the last time at the Skyway Theatre … Lee Rogers The two opening bands came highly recommended: Lee Rogers is an award winning tattoo artist, a former MMA trainer and martial arts enthusiast, and beloved singer with his hit song “Love, Love, Love.” … Gareth Dunlop While Gareth Dunlop, tipped as “one to watch” by the BBC. His music can be heard on shows like Nashville, Lucifer, This Is Us, Bones, etc. …

“We’re here to have fun.  What are you here for?”  A question Foy Vance posed to the crowd before he launched into a song that broke two of his strings on his acoustic guitar.  Vance, an energetic performer, looked to have as much fun as those in the sold out crowd that came to see him and two fellow Northern Irish musicians, Lee Rogers and Gareth Dunlop. 

The video for Rogers “Life and Lies” takes place in a pub and the concert at the Cedar had the feel of being such a place.  Thirty songs over three hours that started with Vance hanging out before the show, taking selfies and mixing with the crowd before the lights began to dim.  Then after a brief introduction, Dunlop unassumingly took the stage with a five song-set.

Dunlop jokingly said that he had been called a lot of things over the years but never “Gareth Reynolds” which was how he was incorrectly introduced. 

Dunlop used his acoustic guitar as a percussive instrument with a pizzicato style with “My Kind of Paradise” and a ticking clock with “Can’t Stand Myself.” He probably didn’t want to overshadow what is a rather quiet, comforting voice, the kind of soothing voice an understanding father might have when he says everything is going to be alright even though you crashed his vintage Ford Thunderbird.

Dunlop and his reassuring voice have been featured in many movies, commercials and TV and he sang “Devil Like You” which aptly found its way in the TV show Lucifer. 

For his last song “Look Back Smiling” Dunlop switched to the keyboard.  He stated that during the pandemic he worked on quitting cigarettes and learned how to play the piano which he said he was now “certified as below average.” 

After a brief intermission, Rogers sauntered onto stage and surprised the crowd with a brief “Hello!” and off he went with “Rest of My Life.”

Where Dunlop may have the voice of a caring parent, Rogers’ voice has a full-throated, deep reservoir like a man who has seen quite a bit over the years and is lucky to survive it.  And he is funny, saying that his song “Ada” has never been on a TV show.

Even though Rogers looks like a guy who would work on your vintage Ford Thunderbird, there is a more reflective, thoughtful presence behind the gruff veneer with lyrics like “I fell in the water. I drown in your eyes.” (Life and Lies)  And “The road to heaven runs through hell.”  (Silent Song)

Foy Vance then took the stage at first by himself.  He said that his debut album Hope was now fifteen years old and he started off the set from a song from that album “Treading Water.”

Then Vance went on and on with a 21 song set with an energy that seemed to increase with more and more energy as the evening went on.

Vance’s dad was a preacher and uprooted his family from their Northern Ireland home to work the Southern Black churches in America when Vance was all of four years old.  It was there that he fell in love with the musical traditions of gospel, blues and soul.   

“A showman of the first order, he is a generous mentor, championing the works of his opening acts…”

Vance doesn’t have much love for traditional religion, but those formative years in America had instilled in him a revival sprit.  A showman of the first order, he is a generous mentor, championing the works of his opening acts, his influence filtering through Dunlop and Rogers.

Vance highlighted songs from his six studio albums, moving from the guitar to drums to the piano, back to the drums and guitar, letting individual band mates takes center stage, even inviting his daughter onto stage to sing. 

The set ended with a stirring rendition of “It Ain’t Over” from his latest album Signs of Life.  But as quickly as he and the band left, he was back on stage with six more songs that included “Indiscriminate Acts of Kindness” and “Shed a Little Light” from Hope. 

Vance ended the evening with “Guiding Light” from Joy of Nothing, a song that Ed Sheeran would sing to close his set when he and Vance were on tour together.  Vance said that a lot of people misinterpreted the song as having a religious tone.  He said that his guiding light was not God but you.  He then pointed to the audience and jumped into the crowd encouraging them to sing along. 

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

At the Cedar: Foy Vance, Jens Lekman, Kassa Overall

Read more Cedar Cultural Center and Minneapolis Music Guide

Read More Foy Vance The uniquely outspoken Northern Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance, opens in support of Joy of Nothing (Glassnote Records), who hyptotized us last fall opening for Little Green Cars …

05/20/2022 Friday

Foy Vance
with Lee Rogers and Gareth Dunlop
at the Cedar Cultural Center
thecedar.org

Award-winning Northern Irish singer/songwriter Foy Vance has sold out the upcoming Cedar Cultural Center appearance on May 20th.

We’ve seen Vance a few times, the last time at the Skyway Theatre in Jun 2014 and said, “Northern Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance opened the evening with a heartfelt solo set of working class songs, mixed with his unique and directly honest hilarious stories and commentary. Joy of Nothing (Glassnote Records) is Vance’s latest and second full-length and was well represented during his 45 min. set, starting with the set and album opener, ‘Closed Hand, Full of Friends’. Vance must have been told to curb some language, as he had to hold himself back with his stories, vs. the no-holds-barred tales we heard, when we heard him last fall.”

The two opening bands came highly recommended: Lee Rogers is an award winning tattoo artist, a former MMA trainer and martial arts enthusiast, and beloved singer with his hit song “Love, Love, Love.”

While Gareth Dunlop, tipped as “one to watch” by the BBC. His music can be heard on shows like Nashville, Lucifer, This Is Us, Bones, etc.

Tour Dates:

May 06, 2022 - Woodstock, NY - Levon Helm Studios
May 07, 2022 - Woodstock, NY - Levon Helm Studios
May 08, 2022 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
May 10, 2022 - Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere
May 11, 2022 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
May 13, 2022 - Boston, MA - Royale
May 14, 2022 - Homer, NY - Center for the Arts of Homer
May 15, 2022 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
May 17, 2022 - Cincinnati, OH - Memorial Hall
May 18, 2022 - Nashville, TN - James K. Polk Theater
May 20, 2022 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar Cultural Center
May 21, 2022 - Chicago, IL - Athenaeum Theatre
May 26, 2022 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
May 27, 2022 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
May 31, 2022 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater

With special guests Lee Rogers and Gareth Dunlop

05/14 Jens Lekman at The Cedar Read More Jens Lekman Sweden’s Jens Lekman is currently touring the USA in support of his new album Life Will See You Now (Secretly Canadian). Lekman is known for writing songs about heartache, and with …

05/14/2022 Saturday

Jens Lekman
& Youth Orchestras Across the USA
featuring Leslie DeShazor
The Cedar Cultural Center
thecedar.org

Beloved Swedish musician Jens Lekman is returning to the Twin Cities this May 14th. His new touring project is called Youth Orchestras Across the USA, and for Minneapolis, it will feature Leslie DeShazor.

We caught Lekman in Mar 2017 and wrote, “Jens Lekman is one of the best songwriters working today; his work is often compared to Stephin Merritt. Fortunately, Lekman’s singing style are more forgiving (especially if you’re not into baritone vocals). With Life Will See You Now, the theme seems to be little stories based on people’s lives. Lekman liken it to something of a psychiatrist as he listens and analyzes a patient’s story....”

Jens Lekman & Youth Orchestras Across The USA

April 30 - Los Angeles , Ca- Aratani Theatre
May 2 - San Francisco, Ca - Great American Music Hall
May 5 - Portland, Or - Aladdin Theater
May 6 - Tacoma, Wa - Alma
May 7 - Seattle, Wa - Neumos
May 9 - Salt Lake City, Ut - Urban
May 11 - Denver, Co - Bluebird Theater
May 13 - Milwaukee, Wi - Backroom
May 14 - Minneapolis, Mn - Cedar
May 16 - Chicago, Il - Thalia Hall
May 18 - Pittsburgh, Pa - The Andy Warhol Museum
May 20 - Philadelphia, Pa - Union Transfer
May 22 - Brooklyn, Ny - Music Hall Of Williamsburg
May 23 - Brooklyn, Ny - Music Hall Of Williamsburg
May 25 - Washington Dc - 930 Club

Read More Madlib ^ with Andy Stott, Ben UFO % with Anthony Naples *** with Madlib, Daphni, Floating Points, Ben UFO …

05/06/2022 Friday

Kassa Overall
with Sarah Maricha White
at the Cedar Cultural Center
thecedar.org

Singer, producer, emcee, drummer, and jazz musician Kassa Overall is playing the Cedar this May 6th.

In just two short years, Overall released four critically acclaimed projects: Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz (2019), I THINK I’M GOOD (February 2020), SHADES OF FLU (May 2020) and the companion SHADES OF FLU 2 (April 2021) (both inspired by Madlib’s Shades of Blue).

Sarah Maricha White to open.

Tour dates:

Apr 29 Creative Alliance Baltimore, MD
Apr 30 The Pinhook Durham, NC
May 2 529 Atlanta, GA
May 3 Third Man Records Nashville, TN
May 5 Schubas Chicago, IL
May 6 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN
May 7 Arts + Literature Laboratory Madison, WI
Jul 8 North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam
Jul 9 Theater of the Sea Sète, France
Jul 16 Teatro Principal Antzokia Gasteiz, Spain
Jul 28 Black Cat San Francisco, CA
Jul 29 Black Cat San Francisco, CA
Jul 30 Black Cat San Francisco, CA
Jul 31 Black Cat San Francisco, CA

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

Dar Williams at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (2021-10-28)

Read More Dar Williams Singer/songwriter Dar Williams will be headlining the Cedar Cultural Center this October 28th. Her latest album I’ll Meet You Here will be out October 1st, on BMG’s recently launched Renew label. …

This is a placeholder for Dar Williams and Heather Maloney at Cedar Cultural Center, in Minneapolis, on October 28th.

>>>
10/28/2021 THURSDAY

DAR WILLIAMS
with Heather Maloney
at the Cedar Cultural Center
thecedar.org

Singer/songwriter Dar Williams will be headlining the Cedar Cultural Center this October 28th. Her latest album I’ll Meet You Here will be out October 1st, on BMG’s recently launched Renew label.

We like Williams and have seen her a few times, noting that “she had stories about all of her songs. These songs were all true stories... and, of course, very few of them are about love - which Dar admitted confessed that she is not a fan of love songs…”

Heather Maloney to open.

Tour dates

10/28 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
10/29 Mineral Point, WI Mineral Point Opera House
10/30 Chicago, IL Old Town School Music Store
11/09 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre
11/10 Portland, OR Alberta Rose Theatre
11/12 Berkeley, CA Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
11/13 Berkeley, CA Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
11/14 Sacremento, CA Sofia Center
11/16 Los Angeles, CA The Hotel Cafe
11/17 Los Angeles, CA The Hotel Cafe
11/19 Phoenix, AZ MIM
12/04 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage
12/05 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
12/07 Richmond, VA The Tin Pan
12/08 Charlottesville, VA The Southern Cafe
12/10 Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe
12/11 Newark, OH Thirty One West
12/12 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
12/13 Spring Lake, MI Seven Steps Up

Heather Maloney (with Dar Williams)

Dar Williams at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (2021-10-28)

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