Minnesota Zoo: Monday, July 30th, $34

Ever since I pushed play on Car Wheels on A Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams, I was hooked, that glorious breathy, gravelly twang of that romantic, backroads hard-living appealed to the very core of me. That Country-meets-Americana mix of Blues and Roots music, the perfection of every guitar stroke and organ key changed the landscape of my listening habits. Since then she has put out albums that have been great, but nothing in my mind measures up to that 1998 classic. However, singles off those following records, like “Are You Alright” off of last year’s West, World Without Tears‘ “Righteously” and “Real Life Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings” and the hungry title track off of 2001’s Essence, along with her bluesier Smithsonian Folkways releases are also fantastic and make an outdoor amphitheater show in the gorgeous Mn Zoo setting, a great place for me to (finally) experience Lucinda live in concert. - Jen Paulson

Lucinda Williams - Official Site
Lucinda Williams - Wikipedia Site
Lucinda Williams - MySpace Site

First Avenue: Monday, July 30, $18, 18+

The B the O the B the B the Y, the D the I the G the I the T the A the L - RZA is coming back to town, following up last year’s triumphant Wu-Tang release and tour. First Avenue will serve as the setting for an event that will help prove whether or not the Wu’s beat-master is as skilled on his own as he is amongst his team. - Chris DeLine

RZA - Official Site
RZA - Wikipedia Site
RZA - MySpace Site

Stone Mecca - Official Site
Stone Mecca - MySpace Site

Mill City Museum: Thursday, July 3 - 6:00 FREE

Yeah, so the Mill City Museum can be kind of boring. But that is no reason to avoid the music there. Local (by way of Ghana) rapper M.anifest is spitting rhymes on Thursday night on the Mill City’s lovely patio. This guy is on the verge of blowing up, so the fact that you can catch him on an intimately small stage for free should have local music lovers foaming at the mouth. If that isn’t enough to draw you, consider that you can also brush up on your flour-milling history there as well. - Jon Behm

M.anifest - Official Site
M.anifest - MySpace Site

Turf Club: Friday, July 4 - 9:00 $7, 21+
INDEPENDENT’S DAY w/ Toki Wright, Maria Isa, Trama, Sims, M.anifest, Eddie Fingaz, more
9pm, 21+, $5 advance, $7 at the door

A cross section of some of the best the TC hip hop scene has to offer, Independent’s Day promises to be one of the hottest bills of the summer. If your mental image of the words “Twin Cities hip hop” is still just Slug’s face, be sure to check this show out. - Kyle “El Guante” Myhre

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 3:28 pm and is filed under Interviews, News, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.