They don't call it Rocktober for nothin'. Fall has always been a popular time for touring musicians to hit the road, and it's making for some busy nights at venues across the Twin Cities. Nearly every night, concertgoers are faced with some tough choices -- like tonight, when Astronautalis performs a CD-release show at the Triple Rock, Ladytron plays the Fine Line, and Wild Flag takes over the Varsity. And it's only Monday!More >>

Photo by Erik Hess

​What a weekend! We kicked summer right outta town this long Labor Day Weekend by attending as many events as we could, from Blondie at Mystic Lake to Weezer, Dr. John, and Maroon 5 at the Great Minnesota Get Together to Minneapolis dance nights Get Cryphy and Too Much Love.

As we try to piece together exactly what happened over the past three days, take a gander at some of the coverage that we've compiled from events that took place Friday through Monday.

More >>

Photos by Denis Jeong Plaster

​April is continuing to roar by us at a steady clip, and this past weekend our local scene was so bustling that we had to export some of our musicians out to Indio, California, before the whole town overflowed.

More >>

More >>

​After seeing the quietly mighty Shahs at Jake and Lisa Luck's new record store on Saturday evening, we returned Sunday to take some pictures of their charming nook.

More >>

Photo by Nikki Miller

​Just another hot, hot summer of our lives... This past weekend was packed from end-to-end with local shows of every variety, from Friday night's Rogue Valley CD-release show at the Mainroom to Saturday's Pizza Luce Block Party and Loring Alley Party and Sunday's marathon hootenanny, Brit's 20th anniversary party and series of house shows at the Cake Shop.

Here's a recap of some of the most memorable moments from the weekend, with links to our photo slideshows and coverage.

More >>

Photos by Robert Downs

​If you're the mayor of a cold northern city and want a popular band to return to your town, do you:

A. Bribe them
B. Make sure the venue they've booked sounds perfect
C. Try to convince them to live there

When Wilco played in Duluth Friday night, Mayor Don Ness went with option C, and dubbed the Chicago alt-rockers an honorary Duluth band. It didn't matter that the group had only performed there two times before, the last time being a fog-filled show in 2007.

"A teenage boy came up to us and said he was the mayor," lead singer Jeff Tweedy said six songs into the show, holding up a blue folder that housed the document Ness presented him backstage before the concert. "He gave it to us. We think it's legit," he said. So, Jeff Tweedy and his bandmates have a home in Duluth -- if they want it.

More >>

More >>

Here's a quick recap of the shows we caught this weekend, complete with links to the full reviews and slideshows:

Weezer rocked the Xcel Center Friday night. Things we learned: Rivers Cuomo is still sporting that goofy mustache, and Weezer fans are still treated to a stellar live show despite their less-than-stellar recent recorded output. Check out Ben Palosaari's full review of the show, and a photo slideshow by Tony Nelson.

More >>

The big event this weekend was the McNally Smith River Rocks Festival over on Harriet Island, where everyone from Ozomatli to Jakob Dylan to the Roots and the Twin Cities' own Heiruspecs, Semisonic, SKIRT, Maria Isa played to a sizable gathering of music fans.

I didn't make it down to the festival for Friday's festivities, but Tony Nelson, who was photographing the event for McNally Smith, told me that the audience was lively and that both Ozomatli and OAR attracted big crowds.

Saturday provided a great mix of music from both local and national acts, and set times were laid out so that it was possible to run between the large stage and the side stage and see at least part of everyone's set. Back-to-back performances by Heiruspecs and the Roots presented two different takes on live hip-hop; the former warmed up the crowd with their familiar, danceable, keyboard- and guitar-driven songs while the latter sprawled out their jams with extended saxophone and bass guitar soloing.

More >>