Music in Mears, Irish Fair and Lowertown Guitar Fest: St. Paul picks up momentum with concerts and festivals

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I will stand by St Paul in good times and bad–but I have to admit it’s easier and more fun to stand by her with a beer in hand and music blaring and that’s what I did all weekend. I didn’t leave the city once and I was able to walk and/or take the train to most of the festivities, which started Thursday night.Thursday night is Music in Mears Park. It’s a labor of love for the organizers who have been putting on concerts in the park for 11 years. Last Thursday, August 7, the show featured the Cactus Blossoms and the Brian Just Band. The Cactus Blossoms are my favorite Bluegrass and Americana band. Continue Reading

Second Annual Lowertown Guitar Festival Saturday, August 9: Free, family-friendly and fun!

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In my next life I’m going to play guitar. In this life I’m hoping to at least enjoy some amazing guitar playing at the Lowertown Guitar Festival on August 9. It’s a daytime gig. It’s free and fun for kids (who like music) and includes access to beer, food trucks and the relaxing atmosphere of Lowertown. If you’re a teen and you play guitar there’s an opportunity to show what you know with a Teen Guitar Competition.The event starts with a focus on the teen guitarists with jams, competitions and clinics. Continue Reading

Red Stag Supper Club Block Party features Alpha Consumer and beer competition

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I think it was about 100 degrees in the shade on Sunday for the Red Stag Block Party. Except there was almost no shade. But it’s summer so that’s to be expected and enjoyed!The beer looked good and a big part of the day was voting for your favorites in the beer smackdown. The idea was for eight local breweries to form four teams to create four beers and for attendees to vote on their favorites. A fun idea – although, and maybe my age is showing, drinking beer in the heat was more commitment than I was willing to make. Continue Reading

Kräftskiva: Food, beer and Haley Bonar outside the Bachelor Farmer

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Saturday night outside the Bachelor Farmer felt like the summer night we deserve in Minnesota after last winter. The weather was a little dicey – it rained for a while – but it just didn’t matter. People of all ages were there to see music, eat fancy picnic style food and drink a little local craft beer in a fun parking-lot location above the Mississippi and overlooking the back of the downtown skyline. (What a pretty city!)The food was an odd mix of crayfish, meatballs, corn and bannock. I decided that the crayfish were just too much effort for my hunger level but the meatballs, which were more Swedish and Italian, were a tasty treat with vinegar potato salad and some vegetables. Continue Reading

The unintended consequences of technology on our brains

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This is a strange post for a blog that promotes broadband and technology, but I ran into an article in the Huffington Post that did all of the research that I’d like to do on the impact of technology on our brains and skills and who we are – 8 Ways Technology Makes You Stupid. OK they did half the research I’d like to do because I know there are some positive impacts of technology as well. Continue Reading

Tour de Fat: A fun event with or without beer and a bike

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I know the whole focus of the Tour de Fat is beer and bikes but when you’re hanging with a 10 year old and you live pretty far away from the location, beers and bikes are less appealing than event as a whole. But I’m happy to report that Tour de Fat can be fun with or without the beer and bike.Tour de Fat is an annual festival sponsored by New Belgium beer to celebrate biking and raise money for bike-focused nonprofits. Taking place in Loring Park, the festival includes lots of local bikers in costume, beer, food trucks and a series of different acts and activities.Black Joe Lewis headlined the show. He is a little funk, a little soul. Perfect for the hot sun and funky crowd. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | Inside the music box with Tim Kaiser

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Thursdays continue to be the most interesting nights in Mac Groveland at Khyber Pass. That’s where Tim Kaiser performed with his music boxes on July 24. Kaiser, who has been playing all over the world for 30 years, specializes in experimental music.His music comes from deconstructed (maybe reconstructed) electronic music boxes of all shapes and sizes. Some of those boxes look like the vintage music mechanics – minus the jagged spool playing the metal tines. Kaiser plays the tines with tuners and a bow and his hands and other make-do instruments. Continue Reading

A night of Austin at the Varsity Theater: Bob Schneider with Dawn & Hawkes

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All I knew about Bob Schneider before Friday night was that he was a song writer from Austin whose name sometimes shows up on my Dad’s Sirius Radio and that my friends like him a lot. I was expecting country – and I got a little country, but I also got salsa and rock and dance music and more. I was very impressed. Having a full band helped – and a band that danced as well as they played made it even better. By the end of the night I think we were all dancing like wild people. It was a fun, hot and sweaty night.

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