6 cool things in music this week include Jelly Roll, Lenny Kravitz and Prince on Broadway

A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:

Angie Carciofini of Coon Rapids:

1 Jelly Roll. I recently saw his acceptance speech on the CMA Awards and have listened to his music. He seems to have popped up out of nowhere. His deep, bluesy tones mixed with country and some hip-hop transcends. Wait until you check out his personal story about overcoming prison life. Amazing.

2 RetroFizz, Crooners. We lost Burt Bacharach in 2023, but my friend Joe Weismann's band did an amazing job bringing us all back to the '60s and '70s with some of Burt's famous ballads. Joe, a bassist, is back at Crooners Jan. 18 as part of the Tom Waits Revelry. Perfect for Crooners.

3 Lenny Kravitz. I was at his Raise Vibration Tour at the Orpheum, pre-COVID. It was a phenomenal show and so electric. Amazing artist and showman. I'm looking forward to his "Blue Electric Light" album in March and his next tour.

Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:

1 "Purple Rain" to become a musical. With visions of Broadway, the Prince estate has enlisted a creative team to translate the 1984 movie into a stage musical. Some fans are upset. No one can portray Prince or should try to mimic him. Maybe the artist playing the Kid just sings and doesn't even play guitar. But adapting the essence of the movie's story line and songs to the stage has potential to introduce Prince and his music to a new and wider audience. Extending his legacy is important to Prince fams.

2 Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, the Dakota. For their 20-year "American Idol" anniversary tour, their patter was a little too scripted and corny (however, Aiken's ad lib about Studdard's best friend sitting at the bar and not in the empty front-row seats was spot on), but their friendship and rapport was palpable. Studdard remains a remarkable vocalist, as exemplified on a Luther Vandross medley and "Kiss and Say Goodbye" while Aiken stood out on "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

3 Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal, the Dakota. Seldom has downtempo music felt so nourishing. Focusing on material from 1993's "The Wheel" (celebrating its 30^th anniversary) and 2014's Grammy-winning, Southern-centric "The River & the Thread," Cash helped us navigate through life's challenges, with apt seasoning from Leventhal's expressive acoustic guitar. They tossed in a taste of the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Hank Snow for a change of pace.

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