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Sonny Knight at Lyn Lake Street Festival 2014

Posted in Concert Reviews, Culture, Life Perspectives from T.S. Niebeling, Local Love, Media, Mind Inversion Exclusive with tags "Hey Girl", 2014, 89.3 the current, American Soul, Art Fest, city pages, concert, Festival, funk, Hip-Hop, June 8th, live, live performance, Lyn Lake Street Fest 2014, Lyn Lake Street Festival, Lyn Lake Street Festival 2014, magazine, Microbrew, minneapolis, MN, MPLS, Open Streets, photography, photos, r&b, Sonny Knight, Sonny Knight and the Lakers, soul, Summer, Sunday, Terry Scott Niebeling, The Current, twin cities, Twin Cities Events, uptown, Visual, Vita.mn on Thursday, June 12, 2014 by TSN

… Sonny Knight was, and is great. He came across as the kind of guy who comes from bygone era, while effectively staying relevant. His music has life. He utilized three backup singers and a full band, he was doing it right. At the peak of the numbers in the crowd, Sonny rocked the stage like a champion. The best song of the day was “Hey Girl”, naturally, but even less familiar songs moved those in attendance. From behind the performers looking out, one could see raw excitement, and the power which Sonny sustained. His set was charged and intimate, and precisely electric. It was a pleasant and unexpected surprise, having never seen him before.

Sonny played for some time, and then the show was over. The crowd was pleased. I exited the stage at about the same time in hopes of having a one-on-one conversation with the artist. I ran around back as he was being mobbed by fans and snapped at with cameras. He took time for the adoration and with a broad smile he vanished. Sonny was something; to me, he seemed like a classic soul singer from the distant past, yet he was thriving in 2014. I wondered where his time machine was parked. Searching, I found nothing…

For the full story coming soon, check: www.dirtyterry.com

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Northern Outpost begins second season with Halloween, Alaska as debut guest

Posted in Video with tags alaska, ambient, bad plus, halloween, halloween alaska, happy apple, Indie, minneapolis, minnesota, northern outpost, owl recording studio, uptown, Video on Saturday, May 9, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Back after only a month-long absence, Northern Outpost has now uploaded the first episode of their summer season online, and for this week’s episode they’re visited by the renowned local indie/ambient/post-whatever troupe Halloween, Alaska at the Owl Recording Studio in Uptown. Still, change is noticeable, with their snowy winter lake intros now replaced by a much more inviting image of our fair city of Minneapolis in the springtime. I don’t think they have done a better job with their choice to kick things off. Halloween, Alaska just released some fantastic songs of jazzy, ambient indie rock via their new album Champagne Downtown, and the intimate confines of the Owl Recoridng Studio are the perfect place to witness the chemistry of the band. After a short interview where they discuss their new album, the originality of the local music scene, and the dedicated people that support the scene, the band gets into a moving rendition of one of the most somber and reflective pieces from the new release, “Be A Man”. It’s a great demonstration of the interesting minds and enormous talent that are just brimming out of this city, and it’s an episode that you don’t want to miss. ..makes me proud to be Minnesotan!

Look forward to the future, as well. In two weeks, the next episode will be added and will feature beloved singer-songer Lucy Michele with the Velvet Lapelles as the profiled band!

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Northern Outpost Ep. 5, Bouncer Fighter and the ongoing Minneapolis music renaissance

Posted in Video with tags bouncer fighter, military special, minneapolis, minnesota, northern outpost, owl recording studios, uptown, velvet davenport, women on Friday, February 27, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Northern Outpost, the only Minnesota based online music television show worth talking about, has posted their fifth episode from their first season online, and this episode features the very awesome, dissonant, organic, epic progressive punk of the super active Minneapolis based band Bouncer Fighter. On this week’s show from Uptown’s Owl Recording Studios, the interview hits on a number of interesting topics such as the effect of Minnesota weather on the music of Bouncer Fighter, the cultural influence of the big city on a small town country-boy, and the closeness & undeniable greatness of the current MPLS scene. Watch it til the end to see this stellar up-and-coming band tear up the studio to one of their newest off-kilter jams, and bookmark NorthernOutpost.net to stay tuned for the final three episodes of the season (and to check up on previous episodes you may have missed!)

As I indicated, Bouncer Fighter seems to always have a local show booked that is worth going to support and groove to. This month they have great gigs booked with Women, Military Special, and much more. Keep reading to see all the dates they’ve got lined up… Continue reading →

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Video: Minnesota-based local music internet TV show Northern Outpost airs third episode featuring The Yoleus

Posted in Video with tags andy elwell, bouncer fighter, kill to kill, local music, minnapolis, minnesota, northern outpost, owl recording, st. paul, the yoleus, uptown, windmills on Monday, February 2, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Recently the Minnesota music community gained a valuable addition when the Uptown Minneapolis-based internet TV show Northern Outpost launched at vimeo.com/northernoutpost. It’s a much needed visual outlet for local music artists that showcases the musicians with studio performances and interviews filmed at their coopted Owl Recording studio which air bi-weekly at Northern Outposts’ website. They’ve already gone through two episodes (that we unfortunately failed to mention here), and now they’re on to the third where they are featuring St. Paul avante-garde/mathrock group The Yoleus. In addition to a live performance of The Yoleus’s driving, bass-heavy rhythms and dissonant guitar theatrics at Owl Recording, the band gives a brief interview where they discuss topics ranging from the current local music scene to the nature of guitar-based instrumental music. It’s a really great show, and it looks like they’ll have an entire season of excellent local artists to come.

Stay tuned for more episodes; they’ve got 4 and 5 filmed already! And don’t hesitate to click the links below to visit all of their previous episodes.

Episode 1: Andy Elwell (01/02/2009)
Episode 2: Kill to Kill (01/16/2009)
Episode 3: The Yoleus (01/30/2009)

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