Music
Pronoya – “All for the Sun / Eclipse”
Pronoya has a seven-song EP coming out later this year. The band’s new music video features the tracks “All for the Sun” and “Eclipse.” The video was produced by Infinite Film Productions and features actor Joseph Langan.
Rafe Carlson – “Dirt Road to Heaven”
Hermantown native Rafe Carlson has a new single, “Dirt Road to Heaven.” The song is a tribute to his uncle, Jim Carlson, who died in January from glioblastoma brain cancer. The lyrics are all about hunting, fishing and growing up in northern Minnesota.
Rafe Carlson’s summer tour has him opening for country superstars Riley Green, Jon Pardi, Megan Moroney and more, with numerous stops in Wisconsin and Minnesota throughout May and June, including a performance at Rock the Bayfront in Duluth on June 21.
JamesG – “Winning Hand”
Former Duluthian James Geisler plays the cards he’s dealt in the video for his latest JamesG track, “Winning Hand.”
Homegrown Music Festival 2025 Primer
The 27th annual Homegrown Music Festival is underway. As usual, Perfect Duluth Day presents a rundown of updates, sidebar details and notes of peripheral or unsanctioned interest. (more…)
Lana Del Rey gives Duluth cold props
Last summer Lana Del Rey received the National Music Publishers’ Association Songwriter Icon award in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. Her acceptance speech included a brief mention of Duluth. (more…)
Emily Haavik – “If I Were a Ghost”
Duluth native Emily Haavik has a new single, “If I Were a Ghost.” The acoustic video was shot by Charlie Steen.
Emily Haavik & the 35s play at the West Theatre on April 30 as part of the Homegrown Music Festival.
Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners – “Dashboard Dandelion”
Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners have finished recording their next album, Two Trees, which will include the single “Dashboard Dandelion.” The band has Kickstarter campaign underway to raise money for mixing, mastering and releasing the new record.
PDD Quiz: Homegrown 2025
Homegrown is nearly upon us! Study your field guide and test your knowledge of the upcoming 2025 festival!
A quiz reviewing this month’s shenanigans goes live on April 27. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat @ gmail.com by April 23. (more…)
Charlie Parr – “On Marrying a Woman with an Uncontrollable Temper”
This video for a track from Charlie Parr‘s 2015 album, Stumpjumper is part one of a two-part visual story produced by Polecat Productions. Actors in the video are Sadie Katz and Lance Lindahl. The video was directed by Lindahl and edited by Adam Jones.
Duluth East Symphony Orchestra – “Rabbit of Seville”
This video intertwines a March 13 performance by the Duluth East Symphony Orchestra of Gioachino Rossini’s 1816 opera buffa The Barber of Seville with cartoon footage from the 1950 Looney Tunes short Rabbit of Seville.
Alan Sparhawk – “Stranger”
Alan Sparhawk‘s second solo album is not so solo. The title, With Trampled by Turtles, explains that. It releases May 30 on Sub Pop Records.
Big Into – “Patterns of the Heart”
Big Into‘s most ambitious video yet was shot over the course of four months. It is a companion video to the short film Patterns of the Heart, directed by Connor Mayne.
MN Moder – “I’m Alive”
MN Moder celebrates life and rides a scooter around Duluth in his latest music video, shot by Jaxon “JayGee” Gardner.
Trampled by Turtles – “You Never Let Me Down”
The new Trampled by Turtles EP, Always Now, is set for release on Sept. 20. The band’s annual Bayfront Park show is July 5. (more…)
JamesG – “Hottie”
Former Duluthian James Geisler, aka JamesG, spits truth about his bald head and big body.
The Rhizomes
I enjoyed the Rhizomes at Northern Waters Smokehaus last night. Every concert should start before 6 p.m.
Fat Earth – “4th Line Kind of Guy”
There’s no better time for a hockey-themed song about a goon than the first week of March during the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. It’s the first release from Fat Earth, a new band based in Duluth.
Big Into – “Gourd Millionaire”
Iron Range nerd-rockers Big Into have their moneyed interests primed and ready in their latest music video.
Duluth Album Releases in 2025
Here’s the rundown of new works from the Duluth music scene in 2025. (more…)
JamesG – “Follicle”
In a volatile world, JamesG persists in uncertainty. His latest video was shot in the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Performing Arts Center.
Gaelynn Lea celebrated at Console Room
Photo from Console Room.
Duluthian Gaelynn Lea was recently celebrated as a Guest at Console Room, the Minnesota Doctor Who convention. The music performed was sublime, the programming inflected by music in ways that the convention rarely experiences. All weekend long, I felt her impact on the convention, just as, in Duluth, I regularly feel the impact on our community. (more…)
Rachael Kilgour back in Duluth for Valentine’s Day Show
After a busy year touring her new album across the United States and Canada, singer-songwriter Rachael Kilgour is back in Duluth for Valentine’s Day. An open cynic of the romance industrial complex — known for her unflinching examination of a broken heart — Kilgour may seem like an odd choice to headline Sacred Heart Music Center’s annual Valentine’s concert. (more…)
Nolen Sellwood – “Forthcome”
Duluth’s Nolen Sellwood performed this track from his 2024 album Cadence to the Flame at Sacred Heart Music Center.