Photo by Michael J. Allen

​We were heartbroken to hear about the passing of Ruth Adams, the accordion player for the World's Most Dangerous Polka Band that held down a longtime regular gig at Nye's Polonaise Room, just a few weeks ago.

Now, thanks to local documentarian Sonya "Sonny" Tormoen, we have a few sweet memories of Adams to share with our readers in honor of her memory.

More >>

​We just got word that Ellie Goulding has canceled her show at the Fine Line tonight due to illness. According to a statement, "all tickets will be refunded at original point of purchase."

More >>

​Though the joke song was presented flippantly three weeks ago and then mostly forgotten about by the staff, KDWB's Dave Ryan in the Morning Show has come under fire this week after an audio recording of their "parody song" about Hmong culture was uploaded online and sparked backlash from the Twin Cities Hmong community.

More >>

​What do Dolly Parton and ABC's 1990 primetime lineup have in common? More >>

​Interesting stories are all around us -- the ex-Army Ranger mailman with a checkered past, the Romanian cashier and future millionaire, those heartbroken squirrels -- we can't expect to hear them all, under our noses or no. Lucky then, and so very internetty, that we heard about the Minnesotan guitarist Billy McLaughlin and his fascinating story from a news website in San Diego. More >>

Photos by Denis Jeong Plaster

More >>

​Adventure's self-titled, 2008 debut proffered spiraling, pleasure-center jamming synth-pop capable of titillating anyone who wasted weekends in the late 1980s or early 1990 sprawled out before a NES-enabled television monitor, piloting colorfully pixellated blurbs through one ominously cute, cutely ominous, or downright bitchin' level after another, depending on the video game at hand. On his encore, Lesser Known, Baltimorean Benny Boeldt makes a detour into anthemic storm-trooper synth-pop that's maintains a delicate balance between euphoria and apprehension.

In a late February email interview, Boeldt opened up about his new sound.

More >>

​DeVotchKa's European influence is abundant throughout all of their music, but one thing stands out with their recent album, 100 Lovers: Romance. Not the kind of romance that initially comes to mind; I'm not talking roses and rainbows, puppies and poppy-seed muffins. The type of romance that emits an emotion of heaviness, more akin to the Romantic period that inspired architecture, poetry, John Keats, Beethoven and Brahms, and Baroque literature.

More >>

​"Vinyl will always survive. Hopefully indie records stores can too." - Mark Trehus

It's been almost forty years since Oar Folkjokeopus first opened its doors on 26th and Lyndale. The storefront has outlived the 8-track, the cassette, and the cd as the dominant musical forms pushed by an industry whose focus has always been on moving units. As the record industry has promoted these varied formats, Treehouse has always kept space on their shelves for owner Mark Trehus' preference: the vinyl record. In 2001, then-manager Mark Trehus took ownership of the business and Dan Cote became manager, changing the name to Treehouse Records in the process. In April, the store will celebrate this ten year milestone with a live show at Hell's Kitchen downtown and a password sale for members of their email list.

More >>

Photo by Joey Clark

​In this week's print edition of City Pages, we have interviews with two different Twin Cities bands preparing to release impressive full-length albums this weekend. More >>