REVIEW: John Fogerty Rocks the 4th of July (Mystic Lake) Arts Music by Brian Bix - July 5, 2021July 5, 2021 John Fogerty (photo by Myriam Santos) performed at the Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel on July 4, 2021. Music fans of a certain age know John Fogerty’s story starts as the lead singer of Creedence Clearwater Revival. For two years, at the end of the 1960s, CCR dominated the American scene.
REVIEW: The Latin Jazz Master at Work: Eddie Pamilieri (Dakota Jazz Club) Arts Music by Brian Bix - February 10, 2020February 11, 2020 The legendary pianist-composer and bandleader Eddie Palmieri played at The Dakota Jazz Club on February 9. Photo courtesy of Uprising Music NYC. Eddie Palmieri is 83 years old, has won numerous Grammy awards, and has over 50 albums released over 50-plus years of recording. In 2013, what everyone knew was made
REVIEW: Aaron Neville Duo at the Dakota: The Last of the Great New Orleans Voices Arts Music by Brian Bix - October 7, 2019October 7, 2019 Musician Aaron Neville returns to the Dakota Jazz Club this evening. Photo by Sarah A. Friedman. We lost Allen Toussaint in 2015, Fats Domino in 2017, Charles Neville in 2018, Dr. John this past June, and Art Neville in July. Aaron Neville may be that last great New Orleans voice of
REVIEW: Saxophone Meets Pipe Organ: Branford Marsalis & Jean-Willy Kunz (Northrop) Arts Music by Brian Bix - October 2, 2019October 3, 2019 Left: Jean-Willy Kunz standing amongst organ pipes (photo by Koralie Woodward); Branford Marsalis (photo by Palma Kolansky); and Jean-Willy Kunz at an organ console (photo by Antoine Saito). If politics has its First Families, so does music. Branford Marsalis is a well-known member of the "First Family of Jazz", a group
PREVIEW: Donna Grantis at the Dakota Jazz Club, 9/24 Arts Music by Brian Bix - September 17, 2019September 17, 2019 Donna Grantis in concert at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, MN. Photo by Joe Lemke. As a young Canadian guitarist, Donna Grantis dreamed of jamming with Prince. This dream actually came true: one day, out of the blue, a call came from Hannah Welton – Prince’s drummer – asking Grantis
REVIEW: Pat Metheny’s Amazing Breadth at the Dakota Arts Music by Brian Bix - September 5, 2019September 7, 2019 A publicity photo of Pat Metheny. Photo by J. Peden. Pat Metheny has won nearly every honor there is for a musician to win. His 44 recordings have sold over 20 million records sold worldwide, and have included three gold records. Those recordings have earned him an amazing 34
REVIEW: Stanley Clarke’s Band of Virtuosos (Dakota Jazz Club) Arts Music by Brian Bix - June 15, 2019June 15, 2019 A promotional photo of master musician Stanley Clarke. Photo by Raj Naik. Stanley Clarke gave a masterful and energetic performance at The Dakota Jazz Club last night. Clarke, who returns to the downtown Minneapolis location tonight for two additional performance, has been an important figure in contemporary music for 45 years.
REVIEW: Down the Rabbit Hole of Deceit in Dear Evan Hansen (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Brian Bix - May 30, 2019June 1, 2019 The company of the North American tour of the Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen. Photo by Matthew Murphy. If you do not already know the plot of Dear Evan Hansen, be warned: this review is chock full of plot spoilers about the musical now playing at the Orpheum Theatre in
REVIEW: A Musician’s Musician, Back on the Road: David Bromberg at the Dakota Arts Music by Brian Bix - May 20, 2019May 20, 2019 David Bromberg in concert. The artist performed at the Dakota Jazz Club on Friday, May 17. David Bromberg made his reputation in the 1960s and 1970s, starting as a skilled and versatile sideman and session musician. He played with everyone from Bob Dylan to Willie Nelson to Jerry Garcia to Carly
REVIEW: Python Rides Again in Spamalot (Ordway) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Brian Bix - April 4, 2019April 4, 2019 Kasidy Devlin (center) as Sir Robin in the national tour of Spamalot. Photo by Lance Evans. Nerds and geeks of a certain age grew up with the British comedy group Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The Python television shows were broadcast late at night on PBS, and by the next morning, we