A year in Twin Cities music: 14 reasons to remember 2014

It might be from drinking all that Surly Doomtree beer or listening to Spooky Black's teenage hormones, but assembling this recap of Twin Cities music circa 2014 suggested that it was quite an emotional year.

Here are the standout moments in rough consecutive order:

Best "Best New Bands" ever? After several hit-or-miss years — whatever happened to BadNRad, anyway? — First Avenue's January newbies roundup was potent and even prophetic, with two lively acts who would rule the summer block parties, Grrrl Prty and Black Diet (the latter also won Vita.mn's Are You Local? contest in March); three stage-ready rock acts that delivered fun gigs and opening sets all year, Fury Things, Frankie Teardrop and BB Gun, and omnipresent rap wizard Allan Kingdom. More on him later.

An old-school South by Southwest: Sure, I saw plenty of our more modern music makers add to their buzz at Austin's big, boozy, blister-inducing music conference, including Lizzo, Jeremy Messersmith, Sean Anonymous and the Blind Shake. The Minnesota acts who most visibly impressed their crowds, though, were the ones with sounds from decades ago: funk-and-soul revivalists Sonny Knight & the Lakers and harmonious twang men the Cactus Blossoms. It was Knight's first time at SXSW, and he likened it to something from his past: "Having fought in Vietnam, I don't like being in a chaotic crowd. That's how it was everywhere there."

A grade-A RSD: Record Store Day 2014 was a big hit thanks to two new St. Paul stores, Barely Brothers and Agharta, and the fact that the cruelest winter ever didn't snow on the block party outside Hymie's. And lest we forget the cause célèbre, Two Harbors, Sonny Knight, Erik Koskinen, Ben Weaver, the Ericksons, Southside Desire and Little Man all played gigs that day to get out front on their stellar 2014 records.

Say what?! A Minneapolis ordinance passed in April requires all live music venues to offer free earplugs. Fans who attended Bob Mould's surprise gig at 7th Street Entry in August were grateful.

Soundset sells out: With Atmosphere returning to the headlining slot and standout sets by Nas, Lizzo and Prof, Minnesota's burgeoning independent hip-hop fest reached capacity in May for the first time in its seven years, with 30,000 tickets sold. Rap haters really hated hearing how nobody in the bulging crowd outside Canterbury Park got too out of hand. Said co-promoter Randy Levy: "The crowds at Soundset are a lot more well-behaved than the crowds at We Fest."

One club closes: What was supposed to be Cause's fifth anniversary in July turned into a farewell blowout. Minneapolis' neighborly yet adventurous Lyn-Lake rock club was shut down to make room for a sports bar, but owner Mike Riehle decided to fight the landlord to reopen — a fight he appears to have lost.

Getting intimate with Letterman, part 2: He didn't get physical with Dave, but pop-rocker Jeremy Messersmith did make his August "Late Show" performance behind his beauty of an album, "Heart Murmurs," seem very, very personal. He brazenly chose "Bubblin'," a deep and heavily orchestrated cut, delivered with help from the Laurel Strings and an emotional climax. His Pirate Bay T-shirt was a nice touch, too.

One club reopens: There was no fear of the Turf Club going away when First Avenue bought the St. Paul mainstay late last year, but there was concern that its spirit might be gutted in the $1 million renovation that closed the bar for most of the summer. The place mostly looked and felt the same but smelled a lot better when it reopened in late August, although a few die-hards still miss having to rinse off their shoes after hitting the bathroom.

One club baffles: In hindsight it almost seems like a Ripley's Believe It or Not! entry: Did the owners of the shuttered 400 Bar really sign on to pay a freakish $70,000 per month to reopen their West Bank music haven near Hooters in the Mall of America? The eviction notice, taped to the door of the untouched would-be space in September, certainly was real.

All the way to Midway: About the only people who left disappointed after September's long-awaited, ultra-sold-out, 32-song hometown Replacements concert were the ones who got too drunk in the Midway Stadium parking lot to make it inside. Plenty of them were still happy, though.

RIP, 2014: The scene mourned Gary Burger, the leader of cult-loved '60s garage-rock band the Monks, in May. Respected rapper Dodi Phy also died that month. Longtime Pulse of the Twin Cities columnist Tom Hallett was lost in August, as were Run Westy Run guitarist and artist Kyle Johnson. The Crush's guitarist Andy Richardson followed in September. Two of these deaths were from battles with depression. The Mental Health Association of Minnesota can help musicians and others, 651-493-6634 or MentalHealthMN.org.

Setting a new standard: Four of the top five acts in last month's City Pages Picked to Click new-bands poll featured musicians under the age of 21. No. 1 entrant Allan Kingdom spent November playing sold-out tour gigs with the Stand4rd, a spacey hip-hop quartet also featuring the poll's No. 4 entrant, St. Paul's teenage sex balladeer Spooky Black. In the No. 2 slot, sunny guitar-pop quartet Hippo Campus has already clicked with a well-connected management team and booking agency.

All those acts, and No. 5's Stereo Confession, too, benefited from rock camps, music ed programs and/or arts high schools, and they all used social media and music sites such as Bandcamp and YouTube to drum up young audiences who turned out to shows knowing all the words to their songs. Suck it, old people.

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658 • Twitter: @ChrisRstrib