W♥M (Archive)

Minneapolis: December 26 to December 31, 2017

Read More Jim Brickman Jim Brickman has revolutionized the sound of solo piano with his pop-style instrumentals and star studded vocal collaborations. Since the release of his debut album …

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from December 26 to December 31, 2017.

Read more: Minneapolis Music Guide.

JIM BRICKMAN
Ames Center
Wed 12/27/2017 (7:30pm/$40)
ames-center.com

Grammy-Nominated artist and composer Jim Brickman is on a holiday tour in support of his holiday album A Joyful Christmas (BMG), with a special CD/DVD to follow. The Christmas album features classic hymns and carols, as well as new original songs and duets with an all-star lineup (Leslie Odom Jr., Russell Watson, Dick Van Dyke & Jane Lynch, Five for Fighting, etc.)

A Joyful Christmas 2017 Tour:

12/20 Roanoke, VA - Berglund Performing Arts Theatre
12/21 Newport News, VA - Ferguson Center
12/22 Glenside, PA - Keswick Theatre
12/23 Woonsocket, RI - Stadium Theatre
12/27 Burnsville, MN - Ames Center
12/28 Salt Lake City, UT - Abravanel Hall
12/29 Folsom, CA - Harris Center
12/30 Phoenix, AZ - Musical Instrument Museum
12/31 Phoenix, AZ - Musical Instrument Museum

Read More Pretty Lights We've previously covered Pretty Lights (aka Derek Smith) before. I like how he offers most of his music as free downloads (you can always donate as well.) We aren't covering any.…

SNOWTA
Minneapolis Convention Center
Sat 12/30/2017 (6pm/$100)
Sun 12/31/2017 (6pm/$125)
minneapolis.org

How are you going to close out 2017? If you’re into Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and Hip-Hop, then you will be at Snowta.

Snowta is the Midwest's largest indoor New Year’s Eve music festival. This year promised bigger and better everything, from the best live performances, art installations, interactive games, and pro athlete exhibitions. At the core of this one-of-a-kind, indoor festival is musical performances by bass-heavyweight Excision, with his custom stage production The Paradox, along with Pretty Lights (Live), Gucci Mane, Post Malone, and Ganja White Night.

"We have produced the largest EDM NYE event in Minnesota since 2010," says producer Alex Heiligman, "And we finally grew out of venues in the area and needed to find something bigger to match the demand. We have long talked about trying to fuse the amazing hip-hop and EDM communities here and thought of no better date to do it than the most celebrated night of the year in a true indoor festival setting."

Read More Soul Asylum Yeah we knew the tiny 7th Street Entry could not contain all the fans for Soul Asylum, or as we kid that it's just the Dave Pirner band.... Both dates at 7th Street Entry (12/17 and 12/18) are sold out …

Other shows in the area:

THE NIGHTMARE AFTER CHRISTMAS
7th Street Entry
Tue 12/26/2017 (8pm/$8)
first-avenue.com

The Nightmare After Christmas Ft. DJManny, Ghostband, Tekk Nikk, DJFundo, And Makr.

PANOPTICON
+ Alda, Falls Of Rauros, Woman Is The Earth
Turf Club
Thu 12/28/2017 (6pm/$13/Sold Out)
turfclub.net

This show was originally booked at the Triple Rock Social Club… but since its closure earlier in November, this sold-out show has moved to the Turf Club in St Paul.

SOUL ASYLUM and HAR MAR SUPERSTAR
+ Bruise Violet
First Avenue
Fri 12/29/2017 (7pm/$25/Sold Out)
first-avenue.com

The always entertaining Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum) and Har Mar Superstar will be co-headlining this hometown show. Bruise Violet to open.

NYE 2018
Skyway Theatre
Sat 12/30/2017 (7pm/$25)
Sun 12/31/2017 (7pm/$35)
skywaytheatre.com

Another year-end 2017 party is the NYE 2018 Party (New Year Eve) on Saturday and Sunday. Jauz, Keys N Krates, Rickyxsan, Grandtheft & more, to play. It’s $25 & $35 for Sat & Sun respectively, or $55 for both.

Catch Toronto-based live electronic act Keys N Krates on tour in 2018:

1/24 - Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom *^
1/25 - Syracuse, NY @ The Westcott Theater *^
1/26 - S. Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *^
1/27 - Philadelphia, PA @ District N9ne *^
1/28 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Jefferson Theater *^
1/31 - Charlotte, NC @ The Underground *^
2/1 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *^
2/2 - Knoxville, TN @ The International *^
2/3 - St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hal *^
2/6 - Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note *^
2/7 - Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater *^
2/8 - Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre *^
2/9 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater *^
2/10 - Aspen, CO @ Belly Up Aspen *^
2/14 - Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom !^
2/15 - Austin, TX @ Vulcan Gas Company !^
2/16 - Dallas, TX @ Stereo Live !^
2/17 - Houston, TX @ Stereo Live !^
2/22 - San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues !^
2/23 - Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco Theatre !^
2/24 - San Francisco, CA @ 1015 Folsom !^
2/28 - Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre !^
3/1 - Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House !^
3/2 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater !^
3/3 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo !^
3/4 - Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House !^
3/7 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre !^
3/8 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection !^
3/9 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave / Eagles Club !^
3/10 - Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall !^
3/11 - Detroit, MI @ The Majestic Theatre !^
3/22 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club !^
3/23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel !^
3/24 - Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage !^
5/11 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall

* w/ Falcons
! w/ Promnite
^ w/ Jubilee

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

Colorful Music

Read More The Colourist You remember how I saw the Colourist and absolutely fell in love with them? There was just something really good about their catchy boy/girl/boy/girl pop songs that I really love hearing. .…

THE COLOURIST
thecolouristmusic.com

The Colourist recently released a new remix of "Fix This" by The Chainsmokers. The Chainsmokers are a production group (mostly Alex and Drew?), from New York. Chainsmokers described the remix process: "in the production it was great to create a composition for this track that ping pong'd between their vocals and our production as we add and subtract instruments to increase the energy and emotion into a joyous wave of synths for the drop that keeps that has our signature style."

Colourist at Triple Rock, Minneapolis (05/06/13)

Earlier this year, I caught The Colourist at Triple Rock, and I absolutely love them. There's just something about girl drummers, I can't explain it.

Also, The Colourist is back on tour this January, this time on tour with Panic at the Disco!

Tour dates:

01/14/14 Seattle, WA Showbox Sodo
01/17/14 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
01/18/14 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
01/19/14 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
01/21/14 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theatre
01/22/14 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
01/24/14 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion
01/25/14 Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s
01/26/14 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
01/28/14 Silver Springs, MD The Fillmore
01/29/14 Wallingford, CT The Dome
01/30/14 Boston, MA House of Blues
01/31/14 Montreal, MA Metropolis
02/01/14 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
02/04/14 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom
02/05/14 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
02/07/14 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
02/08/14 Miami Beach, FL The Fillmore
02/09/14 Orlando, FL House of Blues
02/11/14 Houston, TX House of Blues
02/14/14 Phoenix, AZ The Marquee Theater
02/16/14 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern

Read More Secret Colours Chicago-based brit-pop Secret Colours is coming to Minneapolis to play a very spacey/psychedelic set starring BATHYSPHERE (featuring Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips, both former members of Luna). .…

SECRET COLOURS
secretcolours.com

Psych-rock foursome, Secret Colours has a new single called "It Can't Be Simple." Watch out for two releases next year, Positive Distractions Part I (out February 4th) and Positive Distractions Part II (out April 29th).

Secret Colours at First Ave, Minneapolis (07/05/13)

You may recall that I caught the Chicago band live at First Avenue earlier this Summer. The event was billed as the first annual "Bathysphere: A Psychonautical Voyage", which is a psychedelic rock music festival in Minneapolis, and, of course, we're looking forward to covering more Bathysphere.

Of the eleven bands we saw, we made sure to check out Secret Colours:

Like all the bands on the main stage, a projector displaying graphics or images of the band on the background. This was no different for Chicago's Secret Colours, who played tracks from their recently released album Peach to some psychedelic or images of the sun. Highlight of Secret Colours' set was when singer Tommy Evans busted out the melodica to play "Blackhole".

Expect Secret Colours to go on tour around SXSW 2014 time (like many other bands).

Pretty Lights: A Color Map of the Sun Read More Pretty Lights We've previously covered Pretty Lights (aka Derek Smith) before. I like how he offers most of his music as free downloads (you can always donate as well.) We aren't covering any.…

PRETTY LIGHTS
prettylightsmusic.com

Pretty Lights' A Color Map of the Sun was nominated for the Grammy's "Best Dance/Electronica Album of 2013". The album is available as a free download on his website, where you can grab all of his previous albums for free. Instead, Pretty Lights makes money off his live shows.

A Color Map of the Sun is also available as a remixed collection, which Derek Smith wrote is more like a "re-imagination of A Color Map of the Sun."

Pretty Lights at First Ave, Minneapolis (11/14/10) photo by Oscar

We caught Pretty Lights at First Avenue in 2010, which Oscar wrote: "Pretty Lights is Derek Smith. He hails from the south-western state, Colorado. He incorporates a drummer for his live sets, the current drummer is Adam Deitch. Derek makes funky, electro, hip-hop. With a ton of funk, soul, and hip-hop samples. Most of the crowd that was there for him were also fans of the Minneapolis hip-hop/rap scene, as well as acts such as Ratatat, Lotus, Bassnectar and Rusko."

He's currently on tour:

12.27.13 || Hampton, VA || Basslights
12.28.13 || Hampton, VA || Basslights
12.31.13 || Denver, CO || Decadence NYE

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Light, Dark, and In-Between

Read More Matt & Kim “Tuesday night New York dance party!” Matt declared towards the beginning of their show at Webster Hall. That about summed up the atmosphere in the large venue, where a sea of people all jumped up …

MATT AND KIM
mattandkimmusic.com

Did you catch Matt and Kim's video for "Let's Go" on Funny or Die? The video seems like a little Awkward Family Photos and Sia's "You've Changed".

"Let's Go" is the single from Matt and Kim's fourth album, Lightning, available now via FADER. Fans of the duo said that the new album is "less slick" than their previous effort Sidewalks. That sounds just fine, considering that the band is probably known for their high energy live shows. From Kateg's previous coverage, she summed it up: "[their show] ran on a ridiculous amount of energy and good cheer."

Sounds like a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to finally seeing the band this November 7th at First Avenue.

Also, check out the song via their Soundcloud page:

They are currently on tour, selling out a few of their early dates, including tonight's show at Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, Georgia.

10/13 - Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theatre 10/14 - Miami Beach, FL @ Fillmore 10/16 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon 10/17 - Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor 10/18 - New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues 10/19 - Houston, TX @ House Of Blues 10/20 - Austin, TX @ Stubbs 10/21 - Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues 10/23 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre 10/24 - San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues 10/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern 10/26 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater 10/27 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater 10/28 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom 10/30 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune

11/01 - Salt Lake City, UT @ In THE Venue 11/02 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre 11/03 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall 11/04 - St Louis, MO @ The Pageant 11/06 - Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown 11/07 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave 11/08 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave 11/09 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue 11/10 - Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater 11/11 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre 11/13 - Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues 11/14 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall 11/15 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5 11/16 - Boston, MA @ House Of Blues 11/17 - Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theater

GOLD FIELDS
goldfieldsmusic.com

I've already mentioned these Australians a few times, mostly because I love Astralwerks. This electronic quintet is Mark Robert Fuller (vocals), Vin Andanar (guitar/vocals), Rob Clifton (keys/percussion), Ryan D’Sylva (drums) and Luke Peldys (bass).

While the band was here in the States in March, they've decided to come back to do a proper tour. They've also just recently released "Dark Again" (October 9th), the first single from their debut album Black Sun, due out January 2013.

Attending CMJ this year? They'll be making special appearances throughout the festival.

I will be stopping by to see Gold Fields at The Nether Bar (the bar underneath Mill City Nights) and then stopping by the Turf Club for The Soft Pack.

Dates with (*) indicates as special guests of Diamond Rings.

10/14 Chicago, IL Subterranean 10/16 Columbus, OH The Basement 10/17 New York, NY CMJ 2012 10/18 New York, NY CMJ 2012 10/19 New York, NY CMJ 2012 10/20 New York, NY CMJ 2012 10/26 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle*

10/28 Madison, WI The Frequency* 10/31 Nashville, TN The High Watt* 11/1 New Orleans, LA Circle Bar* 11/3 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest 11/4 Tucson, AZ Club Congress* 11/14 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge* 11/15 Seattle, WA The Crocodile*

PRETTY LIGHTS
prettylightsmusic.com

We've previously covered Pretty Lights (aka Derek Smith) before. I like how he offers most of his music as free downloads (you can always donate as well.)

We aren't covering any of his shows, but I like him enough to include him in this article.

Australians: Good news, they are coming to your country.

10/26/12 Nashville, TN Downtown Nashville 10/27/12 Nashville, TN Downtown Nashville 10/27/12 Nashville, TN Riverfront Park 10/30/12 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center 10/31/12 Boston, MA TD Garden 11/01/12 Portland, ME State Theatre 11/02/12 Wallingford, CT Oakdale Theatre 11/03/12 Albany, NY Times Union Center 11/04/12 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre 11/06/12 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom 11/07/12 Richmond, VA The National 11/09/12 Columbia, SC Township Auditorium

11/10/12 Charlotte, NC Bojangles' Coliseum 11/13/12 Birmingham, AL Boutwell Auditorium 11/14/12 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room 11/15/12 Madison, WI Alliant Energy 11/16/12 Bloomington, IL U.S. Cellular Coliseum 11/17/12 Plymouth, MI Compuware Arena 01/18/13 Sydney, Australia Sydney Showgrounds 01/20/13 Gold Coast, Australia Parklands 01/25/13 Adelaide, Australia RA&HS Showgrounds 01/26/13 Melbourne, Australia Flemington 01/28/13 Perth, Australia Claremont Oval 01/31/13 Wellington, New Zealand Bathhouse

BRIEFLY:

SHAYNE LEIGHTON shayneleighton.com Author, musician and actress Shayne Leighton, just wrote her darker, edgier, grungier "Twilight-esque" book called Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter. Readers who buys the book (digital or hard copy) by October 13th on Amazon will get a free MP3 download of her song, "You Gave Me Roses." Virtual receipts should be sent to: theoccultcity[a]gmail.com. The book publisher described Of Light & Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter as a "goth story of Charlotte, a mortal girl bound between the lines of light and darkness who must fight for life and love in a mystical realm of fantasy..." For additional information: OfLightandDarknessSeries.com.

INTERPOL interpolnyc.com Interpol's debut album Turn On the Bright Lights turns ten years old this year. They are very excited to let fans know that they are planning to release a Tenth Anniversary Edition of Turn On The Bright Lights on November 19th, 2012 (although Amazon is listing this for December 4, 2012.) Fans who have been patiently waiting for this will be happy to know that the whole album has been remastered with previously unreleased photographs and additional bonus disc of demos, b-sides, and a DVD. Plus vinyl fans can get the option for the double LP/DVD or CD/DVD. Pre-order available on their website.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Pretty Lights at First Avenue, Minneapolis (11/14/10)

Pretty Lights : Still Night

Pretty Lights sure lives up to his moniker! Blame Derek Smith and his drummer, Adam Deitch if your lights went out on November 14th. Incredible light show aside, he DID bring the funk. He drove the crowd wild. If you were to see it from his view on stage, it probably looked like a hot pulsing mass of fun. The crowd had to be doused in water multiple times, and they even handed out water bottles for the dehydrated. I’ve seen the first at shows like Ratatat, but never the latter, since they usually sell you the water for 3 bucks!

Pretty Lights is Derek Smith. He hails from the south-western state, Colorado. He incorporates a drummer for his live sets, the current drummer is Adam Deitch. Derek makes funky, electro, hip-hop. With a ton of funk, soul, and hip-hop samples. Most of the crowd that was there for him were also fans of the Minneapolis hip-hop/rap scene, as well as acts such as Ratatat, Lotus, Bassnectar and Rusko.

He took the stage at about 10:10 and ended his set sometime round 12:30. It was all a blur of delightful and groovy beats.I also couldn't tell you what he played being that I had never seen him before. His latest EP, “Glow in the Darkness” is the only thing I’ve heard by him and he had no set-list. Sorry. If YOU want to get to know Pretty Lights, you are in luck! He has his whole catalogue of music for free on his website! www.prettylightsmusic.com.

♥ Michal Menert

The crowd also seemed to enjoy the opener, Michal Menert. A very fitting opener since it seemed Michael was in the same league of electro-hip hop. He has quite the charisma on-stage, and the crowd ate it up.

Check out more of Michal on his Myspace:
myspace.com/michalmenert

More of Pretty Lights, especially free music!:
prettylightsmusic.com

♥ Pretty Lights at First Ave, Minneapolis (11/14/10)

oscar () ♥ www.weheartmusic.com