A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
John Maher of St. Paul:
1 Bruce Springsteen, "It's My Life" and "Thunder Road." On the eve of the Boss' 19th performance on the corner of Kellogg Blvd. and W. 7th Street, it was fun to discover film captured of his first St. Paul performance in 1977. You can find these songs on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AY4vmjjaDY
2 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. After celebrating their own star at First Avenue last fall, they will have a new record this year. There's a teaser single, "Death Wish," that hit streaming machines recently.
3 Wild Horses, Turf Club. What a pleasure to hear this up-north band warming up for Dave Simonett's Dead Man Winter. I love their sound and look forward to another chance to see them live in the cities.
Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:
1 Cécile McLorin Salvant, "Ogresse: Envisioned," Walker Art Center. In its world premiere with animation, this mesmerizing love story was filled with drama, lies, humor, animation, terrific music (jazz, country/folk and baroque) and dynamic acting/singing by the brilliant one-woman cast/creator, accompanied by her excellent 13-piece orchestra (shoutout to vibraphonist Warren Wolf and banjoist/guitarist Brandon Seabrook). Brava!