Item World: Local news and views

Soundset rap-up Sunday's third annual Soundset festival at Canterbury Park was another triumph for local label Rhymesayers Entertainment, with 17,000 attendees and zero no-shows, aside from the forecasted heavy rain. Best set overall: P.O.S. with his punk/noise band Building Better Bombs and DJ Plain Ole Bill. Second best: Method Man & Redman, serving up cuts off last year's "Blackout 2" and the classics "4:20" and "C.R.E.A.M." Best newcomer: Alabama buzz kid Yelawolf, like an indie-rap Andrew W.K. Sweetest crowd-rousing line: "Louder! My mom's here!" (P.O.S.). Most gratuitous question of the day: "Who's coming back next year?" (from Eyedea).

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

A taste of Minnesota hip-hop Soundset goers were greeted with the news that festival headliner Atmosphere and P.O.S. will now anchor the opening night of Taste of Minnesota, July 2, on Harriet Island in St. Paul. Their names were kept off the schedule so as not to hinder ticket sales for Soundset. This is a pretty major booking for Taste's new operators, who long have ignored hip-hop. It's also the first locally reared Taste headliner in quite a few years. Plus, it will only be Atmosphere's second show of the year. R&B newcomer Janelle Monae was also supposed to play Taste that day, but she had to cancel. The rest of the lineup on July 2 includes other Current-buoyed acts such as the Walkmen, Minus the Bear, Dawes and Justin Townes Earle. Alt-country and indie-rap on the same night ... Who's in?

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

MPR loses another icon It's gotten harder and harder to find Dale Connelly; now it may be darned near impossible. When Minnesota Public Radio canceled its beloved "Morning Show" in 2008, it gave the acoustic-music-loving co-host a consolation prize: "Radio Heartland," which airs online, on digital radio and in a Saturday-evening slot on KNOW (91.1 FM). The show will continue on the Web and digitally -- but without Connelly. Friday is his last day after 34 years at MPR. "I'll go to a lot more concerts now, because I won't have to get up in the morning," he told I.W. Wednesday. Otherwise, he's not sure what he'll do next -- blogging, perhaps. "I can't imagine being at a commercial station," he said. "I'm too laid back."

NEAL JUSTIN

Esquire continues its love affair with Nye's And rightfully so. The men's magazine, which named Nye's Polonaise Room the Best Bar in America in 2006, just put the East Hennepin gem on a hallowed list it calls "10 Bars Every Man Should Drink in Before He Dies." Sounds ominous and heartfelt, right? Nye's came in at No. 8 behind a batch of niche big-city bars, which include New York's Pegu Club (a cocktail emporium), L.A.'s Tiki Ti (the ultimate tiki bar) and San Francisco's Tommy's Mexican Restaurant (a tequila fortress). Nye's, on the other hand, made the list for just being Nye's. It's a friendly, no-nonsense bar that makes its customers feel legendary. If you haven't already, go check it out before you get hit by a bus or something.

Bravo for indie art Art met indie when Highpoint Center for Printmaking opened a new show at its Lake Street space last week. On a warm summer night, cool kids segued over from nearby Jackson's coffeehouse and the Bryant-Lake Bowl to munch hors d'oeuvres with Dennis John, Minneapolis Institute of Arts print curator, gallery director Todd Bockley and other art pros and collectors. Katinka Galanos' shimmery little abstractions and Miles Mendenhall's bold black-and-white geometries and Justin Terlecki's sophisticated travel sketches did not disappoint. Nor did the music by Calamity and the Owl, which brought its own fan club. Last year Highpoint began booking local bands, including Zoo Animal, for its openings as a lure for younger audiences. "The artists are pretty social, too, so people came to see their art and to hear the music," said membership manager Meg Rahn. For more on Mendenhall -- who is in a new Bravo reality show premiering next Wednesday -- see Sunday's Variety A+E section.

MARY ABBE

Reeves unplugged How did St. Paul's Penumbra Theatre snag four-time Grammy winner Dianne Reeves for its annual "Jazz Jam" fundraiser Sunday at the Dakota? "Well, when I was on a fellowship at the Kennedy Center [two years ago], she came and performed there," said Penumbra associate managing director Dafina McMillan. "She's not a diva at all but an easygoing storyteller. We just called up her agent." Reeves first came to the Dakota last year for the same event, giving a shorter performance than the two sets that she'll do Sunday. Her trio will do unplugged-style selections from a Stevie Wonder tribute album that she's working on. Wonder is not the only icon who'll be celebrated Sunday. Pianist Sanford Moore and singer Dennis Spears will tease songs from "I Bring You Love," a play about Nat King Cole that will premiere at Penumbra next year before going to the Kennedy Center.