When she recently told Rolling Stone her new single is "a story of nostalgia and longing for a life with someone," Ruby Stinson left out one not-so-minor detail.
"The familiar place in this story is my hometown of Minneapolis," said Stinson, who moved back to Minnesota in November after nearly a decade of living in New York. But she didn't just move back out of nostalgia.
The daughter of Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson — she was born right around the time the 'Mats called it quits — has been edging toward a singing career for several years and thought Minneapolis would be a good place to focus on that goal.
Her new single under the one-name-only stage moniker Ruby, "Come Clean" — a smooth, airy R&B track akin to Kehlani — is the first off a five-song EP she hopes to have out by summer. It's one of several songs she worked on with NYC electronic dance producer Richie Beretta. She also filmed a steamy, arty music video for the tune around Hudson, N.Y., near where her dad lives.
Stinson, who records simply as Ruby, said she hopes to work with local producers and songwriters now that she's back in Minneapolis. She is also getting busy taking over her mom Daune Stinson's former store space at 34th St. and Lyndale Av. in south Minneapolis, which Ruby is reopening as her own women's boutique, Legacy (Daune's shop, June, has relocated near 50th and France in Edina).
"I spent over a decade working in the fashion industry in New York, and with the pandemic realized I wanted to refocus on my own work and projects," she said. "I felt like Minneapolis was the perfect place to start fresh."
Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658
@ChrisRstrib
