A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
6 cool things in music include Bruce Springsteen, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Tina Turner musical
Shoutouts, too, to Jason Isbell, Chapel Hart and Wild Horses.
March 3, 2023 at 11:20AM
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!
2 Chapel Hart, Mystic Lake Casino. The highly entertaining, "America's Got Talent"-launched trio demonstrated the harmonies, personality and a couple of top tunes (the Patsy Cline-like "Nearly Over You," the Etta James-like "Cry for Me") that suggest plenty of potential in country music. However, their 90-minute show needed less talking and more music.
3 "Tina — The Tina Turner Musical," Orpheum Theatre. The script and direction are flawed, and the scenery is remarkably low-budget. Understudy Parris Lewis was adequate in the title role, though her voice got shrill (Tina nevah, evah got shrill). But the music is unimpeachable (loved the two-song encore), and Skye Turner (who was in the Broadway cast) as young Anna Mae (Tina's birth name) is show-stealingly magnificent (she also played young Aretha in the movie "Respect").
to contribute: popmusic@startribune.com
Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
