Thursday, September 28, 2023
  • PREVIEW: Randy Brecker with the JazzMN Orchestra on 10/2 (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres)
  • REVIEW: Beetlejuice: A Fun, Dark Musical Comedy (Orpheum/HTT) 
  • PROFILE: James A. Rocco, Arts Leader and So Much More
  • FRINGE FILE: The Golden Lanyard Awards
  • REVIEW: Powerful Jagged Little Pill Trip (HTT/Orpheum Theater)

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Home > Author : Brian Bix

Author: Brian Bix

Brian H. Bix (Guest Contributor) grew up in the Twin Cities and is currently a Professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. He has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues.

PREVIEW: Randy Brecker with the JazzMN Orchestra on 10/2 (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - September 24, 2023September 25, 2023

A concert photo of the JazzMN Orchestra. The JazzMN Orchestra is a 17-piece jazz ensemble, formed over 20 years ago by Dr. Douglas Snapp.  Its purpose is to “Promote, Preserve and Perpetuate America’s Indigenous Art Music, Jazz.”  It plays both classical arrangements and new compositions.  It has performed with many world-famous

REVIEW: Energy, Hope and Smooth Jazz: Keiko Matsui at The Dakota

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - May 15, 2023May 15, 2023

Jazz pianist and composer Keiko Matsui performed at The Dakota in Minneapolis, MN on May 14. Photo by Raj Naik. If you have listened to smooth jazz at any point over the last three decades, then you know the music of pianist and composer Keiko Matsui.  But don’t let the “smooth

REVIEW: “Sunshine on a Cloudy Day”: Smokey Robinson in Concert (Grand Casino Hinckley)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - April 30, 2023May 2, 2023

Legendary entertainer Smokey Robinson. Smokey Robinson does not lack for lifetime honors. A member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, he has received a Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammys Living Legend Award, and an Honorary Doctorate from Howard

REVIEW: The Prodigy’s Next Act: The Joey Alexander Trio (The Dakota)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - April 29, 2023May 2, 2023

The faces of the Joey Alexander Trio, who performed Friday at The Dakota in Minneapolis. Joey Alexander became an international sensation at 11 years old, playing jazz standards on piano like a seasoned veteran. At 12, performing at the 2016 Grammy’s, he was the youngest ever Grammy nominee. (He would later accumulate

REVIEW: Building The Prom for Everyone (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres)

  • Arts
  • Music
  • Theatre
by Brian Bix - February 18, 2023February 21, 2023

The cast of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' new production of The Prom, now playing in Chanhassen, MN. Photo by Dan Norman Photography. Hell hasn't exactly frozen over, but the thermometer eased over freezing this weekend in the Twin Cities. Thus, one can say empirically that the musical The Prom, which opened Friday at Chanhassen Dinner

REVIEW: Joy Cometh in the Morning? To Kill a Mockingbird (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust)

  • Arts
  • Dance
  • Music
  • Theatre
by Brian Bix - February 15, 2023February 15, 2023

Atticus Finch (Richard Thomas) examines a witness in To Kill a Mockingbird, playing through Sunday, 2/19 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN. Photo by Julieta Cervantes. Almost everyone in the packed Orpheum Theatre last night knew the story of To Kill a Mockingbird, having read the 1960 Harper Lee novel

PREVIEW: Altan at the Dakota – Bringing Donegal Music to the World

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - October 5, 2022October 5, 2022

A promotional photo of the Irish traditional music ensemble Altan. The Irish folk band Altan will play a two-show engagement at The Dakota in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 29. Altan, which specializes in traditional music from County Donegal in Ireland, will perform with special guest Clare Friel in 6 PM and

PREVIEW: The Manhattan Transfer at the State Theatre (Hennepin Theatre Trust)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - October 3, 2022October 4, 2022

The award-winning vocal ensemble The Manhattan Transfer. Photo by F. Scott Schafer-Gros. After 50 years of singing – and one last album, appropriately entitled Fifty, The Manhattan Transfer is on its farewell tour. This Grammy Award-winning, four-part vocal harmony group lands at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on October 12. The Manhattan Transfer –

REVIEW: “Takin’ It to the Streets”: The Doobie Brothers at Treasure Island

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - September 17, 2022September 17, 2022

The Doobie Brothers played Friday at the Treasure Island Ampitheater at Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Welch, MN. The Doobie Brothers brought their “50th Anniversary Tour” to the Treasure Island Amphitheater Friday evening. The group – founded in 1970 and 2020 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame –

REVIEW: John Scofield – Still Playing with Space (The Dakota)

  • Arts
  • Music
by Brian Bix - September 14, 2022September 18, 2022

Jazz guitarist John Scofield performed at The Dakota in Minneapolis on September 9. Like most of us, jazz guitar great John Scofield spent the COVID-19 pandemic at home. For someone who had lived on the road for half the year since 1975, this was quite a change. He used the enforced

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  • PREVIEW: Randy Brecker with the JazzMN Orchestra on 10/2 (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres)
  • REVIEW: Beetlejuice: A Fun, Dark Musical Comedy (Orpheum/HTT) 
  • PROFILE: James A. Rocco, Arts Leader and So Much More
  • FRINGE FILE: The Golden Lanyard Awards
  • REVIEW: Powerful Jagged Little Pill Trip (HTT/Orpheum Theater)
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