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Minnesota Music Notes | Minnesota Music Notes: Seasons 1 & 2

Minnesota Music Notes: Stories from First Avenue | celebrating noteworthy artists, people and moments that shaped the history of Minnesota’s Mainroom First Avenue

Minnesota Music Notes: Seasons 1 & 2 | celebrating noteworthy songs, artists, and musical performances from Minnesota

Tall Paul Offers Prayers in a Song

Enrolled in the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Tall Paul grew in Minneapolis, listening to hip-hop and catching episodes of 106 & Park on BET. He started rapping as a teen but his music suddenly went viral when he incorporated the Ojibwe language into the lyrics of “Prayers in a Song.” Here’s Britt Aamodt with the story.

Songwriting Made Simple

Singer-songwriter Jeff Krause knows what other songwriters know: sometimes the simplest songs are the hardest to write. He came up with six. Britt Aamodt has the story of Krause’s Naked & Hardhearted.


One Voice Mixed Chorus Provides Sanctuary

One Voice Mixed Chorus is one of the largest GLBT and Allied choruses in the nation. In the past, the chorus has used music to tell the GLBT story but in 2018 their musical focus turned to Minnesota’s rich immigrant history. Britt Aamodt plays music from One Voice’s “Sanctuary.”

When Haley Bonar Became Haley

Haley Bonar has a successful music career. But something was bugging her. Britt Aamodt looks back to 2017 when Haley Bonar made the decision to change her name.

Tacky Annie’s Renegade Energy

Rahelle LaNae and Andrew Frederick met a musician’s party in 2015. But they didn’t form Tacky Annie, named after a dance step, until LaNae got a commission to write a song for a dance troupe. Britt Aamodt has the story of their single “Renegade Energy.”

The Two Harbors Ukulele Group

The ukulele originated in Hawaii in the 19th century. Britt Aamodt looks at the spread of uke clubs in the 21st century, and the Two Harbors Ukulele Group that is making the North Shore a ukulele player hot spot.

Minnesota Cajun Style

The Swamp Kings swing Cajun style. Britt Aamodt shares the history of the Mendota Heights band with a Minnesota address and a Louisiana heart.

The Rise and Fall of McNally Smith College of Music

The McNally Smith College of Music started with two guitars teachers and a dream. Britt Aamodt looks at the St. Paul music school that nurtured the next generation of talent, only to close its doors abruptly in 2017.

Another Branch of the Minneapolis Hip Hop Tree

Derrick Branch set himself a goal of writing 15 hip hop verses a day. Britt Aamodt looks at how that goal changed Branch’s sound and led to two albums in two years.

Chase Manhattan Wins One for Big Brother

Chase Manhattan didn’t want to be pigeonholed as the native rapper. But his big brother gave him some advice that, as Britt Aamodt relates in this story, put the Twin Cities rapper on the radar of the Native American Music Awards and the North American Indigenous Image Awards.

The Organ Player’s Son

Stephen Paulus’ music has played at president’s funerals and won Grammy’s. Britt Aamodt tells another story, of the organ concerto in which the St. Paul composer was able to tip his musical hat to dear old dad.


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McKnight FoundationMN Legacy