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
NEWS: Wickedness Has Its Perks, Economic Impacts Arts Music Theatre by Amy Donahue - August 29, 2022August 29, 2022 Jennafer Newberry as Glinda in the National Tour of Wicked, which closed yesterday at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Photo by Joan Marcus. "Wickedness is in the heart of man," says an old proverb. But for the Hennepin Theatre Trust, and downtown Minneapolis, it turns out that Wicked-ness has its perks. Let's
NEWS: Cantus Announces 2022-2023 Season Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - August 18, 2022 A file photo of the vocal ensemble Cantus, from the male vocal ensemble's 2021-2022 season. Photo courtesy of Cantus. The Twin Cities-based vocal ensemble Cantus has announced its 2022-2023 season. The male octet will present five concert programs at a dozen Minnesotan destinations, and in twenty additional cities around the country. “We
INTERVIEW: Lissa deGuzman and Jennafer Newberry on Embodying Wicked Arts Music Theatre by Kit Bix - August 15, 2022August 15, 2022 Jennafer Newberry as Glinda and Lissa deGuzman as Elphaba in the national tour of Wicked. Photo by Joan Marcus. The Broadway megamusical Wicked is playing at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis through August 28. This revisionist take on the events of The Wizard of Oz foregrounds the evolving relationship between Galinda (later to
PREVIEW: K-Pop Stars KARD at The Fillmore Minneapolis Arts Music by Brian Bix - August 5, 2022August 5, 2022 The Korean Pop ensemble KARD. Photo courtesy of Trend. The world-famous K-Pop group KARD is on a world tour, with The Fillmore in Minneapolis as one of 11 stops on its North American leg. The concert will be the evening of August 18 (doors open at 6:00 pm), and it is
REVIEW: The Veil of the Immortal Beethoven (Minnesota Orchestra) Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 31, 2022July 31, 2022 A portrait of composer Ludwig van Beethoven superimposed over a photograph of Orchestra Hall by Greg Helgeson. The Minnesota Orchestra's one-night-only Immortal Beethoven event on Saturday was one of the most distinctive evenings in its hall in recent memory. It was certainly not at all a traditional concert. Imagine a crazy bedtime story
REVIEW: Splendid Wickedness in Wicked (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 30, 2022August 18, 2022 Part prequel, part revisionist history: the musical Wicked tells how many of the beloved and iconic characters and events in The Wizard of Oz became that way. Pictured: Jennafer Newberry as Glinda in the National Tour of Wicked. Photo by Joan Marcus. There is not a lot new to be said
NEWS: Jungle Theater Cancels Rest of Cambodian Rock Band Run Arts Music Theatre by Amy Donahue - July 29, 2022July 30, 2022 The cast of the Jungle Theater's production of Cambodian Rock Band, which closed a week early due to illness in the cast. Photo by Rich Ryan. There is a saying, often used ironically: "This is why we can't have nice things." Un-ironically, it accurately describes COVID-19. Even when it is not directly
REVIEW: “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues” Buddy Guy and John Hiatt & the Goners (Mystic Lake) Arts Music by Brian Bix - July 25, 2022July 25, 2022 Clockwise from upper-left: musicians Sonny Landreth, Buddy Guy, John Hiatt, and Marty Sammon were part of the lineups for a double-bill concert at Mystic Lake on Sunday evening. It was an amazing night at Mystic Lake to appreciate the under-appreciated, as John Hiatt shared the bill with Buddy Guy. Hiatt is a