A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
6 cool things in music this week: Boygenius, Lucinda Williams, Billy Bob Thornton
Shoutouts, too, to Muna, Indigo De Souza and Wild Nights at the Minnesota Zoo.
July 14, 2023 at 11:00AM
Sarah Horner, Minnesota Daily writer, Minneapolis:
1 Indigo De Souza, "All of This Will End." A gut-wrenching yet self-assured album that explores what it means to exist in uncertainty and embrace the unknown. "I'm only loving, only moving through and trying my best," she exclaims in the title track. De Souza is a fierce talent who continues to improve with each LP.
2 Boygenius, Chicago. After releasing their first full-length in March, the supergroup came to Riis Park in June. Their concert was a superb demonstration of the three musicians' talent, engaging stage presence and genuine friendship.
3 MUNA, NPR's Tiny Desk Concert. The powerful pop group brought stripped-back versions of their songs to this long-running series. A highlight was the country version of their hit "Silk Chiffon," which played into their semi-ironic cowboy aesthetic and showcased their vocals. These acoustic versions as Spotify singles, please!
Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:
1 Wild Nights at the Minnesota Zoo. Every other Thursday this summer, the zoo is presenting three stages of local bands with a theme. The setup is very good (plenty of food trucks, stages far enough apart), and last week's Americana lineup — including Cactus Blossoms, Turn Turn Turn and the bluegrassy Chicken Wire Empire — was rewarding. Not sure the genre themes are necessary. Good bands in appealing settings will draw fans whose tastes are more eclectic than presenters sometimes think.
2 "Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You" by Lucinda Williams. In her absorbing memoir, the brilliant songwriter/singer reveals the dark secrets of her family, romances and songs. You'll never hear "Pineola," "Lake Charles" or "Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings" (yes, it was about her fling with Paul Westerberg) the same way again.
3 Billy Bob Thornton & the Boxmasters, the Dakota. The actor played a curmudgeonly and sometimes humorous frontman of a garage band that sounded like the Turtles meets the British Invasion with, at turns, Tom Petty or Bob Dylan as their singer. It was fun, and not as loud as Thornton kept insisting it was.
to contribute: popmusic@startribune.com
Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
