Photo by Ed Neaton

People were understandably miffed when First Avenue was left off Rolling Stone's Best Clubs in America list recently. Several of the comments proclaim the general sentiment of "Hello...ever heard of First Ave???"

Well, the voting pool of musicians, managers, and industry folks -- Spoon's Britt Daniel, Phoenix's Thomas Mars, and Ozzy's wife/manager Sharon Osbourne -- had a plan. It turns out that First Avenue is larger than just a club; it is a "big room." Though it's a lesser-used expression for a concert venue, of course it's still a nice recognition to receive.

See Also:
Top 10 best places to grab a drink before a show at First Avenue
First Avenue's 20 best concerts
First Avenue's 20 best concerts: Readers' picks

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Aside from an actual victory by the Minnesota-based Okee Dokee Brothers, the 2013 Grammys had a few other moments to amuse Midwestern music fans. The main one, of course, was an appearance by Prince. For those who didn't watch the entire, dragging mess of a hashtag-obsessed show hosted by LL Cool J, these were a few moments that slowed Gimme Noise's rising bile.

After strutting out grandly with his cane in one of the longest introductions of the night, he presented the Grammy for Record of the Year to Gotye and Kimbra -- and then it felt like he was the one receiving the award. In the earlier going, Katy Perry used her moments onstage to give a good-natured jab at Bon Iver.

See Also:
The Okee Dokee Brothers win Grammy for Best Children's Album
My mom reviews the Grammy Awards 2013 nominees

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Congratulations are in order for the Minnesota-based Okee Dokee Brothers. They just picked up the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Children's Album for Can You Canoe?, a record inspired by a canoe trip down the Mississippi River.

The duo of Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing accepted the award in the pre-taped portion of the Grammys on Sunday afternoon.

See Also:
The Okee Dokee Brothers on their Grammy nomination [Interview]
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Jeff Fielder

Last Friday, Voice Media Group announced the winners of their first music writing awards. This winning piece by Jesse Sykes first appeared in Seattle Weekly's print edition.

By Jesse Sykes

As I was growing up in New York state--where the residents want you to know they don't live in "The City"--the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Woodstock, and the music of The Band were all entangled in the region's mythology; on occasion, the boundary between the distant and recent past blurred completely. The Redcoats moved through our town during the Revolutionary War, 109 of our residents served in the Civil War, The Band's music--made a familiar 100 miles away--was a ubiquitous presence, and Woodstock took place on a farm down the road from a house our family used as a hunting cabin. In my young mind, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, Levon Helm and Max Yasgur all seemed to be of the same era, one far removed from my own.

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Photo by Christine Taylor

By Ben Westhoff

Each week in our print editions and every day on our blogs, the 13 Voice Media Group papers feature some of the best music writing in the country.

That's why we're excited to announce the winners of our first VMG music writing awards. The honor goes to the authors of one blog post and one print piece; eligible were any of our freelance scribes.

The envelope please...

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​The parade of Adele wins began early at the 2012 Grammy Awards Sunday with "Someone Like You" notching the best pop solo performance early in the broadcast. The song comes from the British singer's second album, 21, and was co-written by Minneapolis native son Dan Wilson at the end of the recording cycle for that album.

Not only is this song a tear-jerker because it's an emotional trip into Adele Atkins' bitter breakup, but we recently discovered that there's scientific evidence to support why so many folks feel the chilling emotional effect created by Wilson's spare piano accompaniment meshed with her voice.

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