Music

Concert notes, set lists and personal impressions fill this category. From the dreamy Americana of Lord Huron to Coldplay’s stadium spectacle and intimate performances at the Dakota jazz club, I share what moved me in the moment.

June 22, 2022

At Chanhassen Dinner Theatres for Footlose! Mazie and Tyler’s first time here. 🎶🎭

Family of four posing in front of a Footloose mural at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Family of four smiling at a dinner theater table, two adults and two children in white shirts, with a darkened stage visible behind them.

Footloose stage backdrop with colorful graffiti mural at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, audience seated at tables in foreground

May 31, 2022

Sigur Rós at State Theatre

We saw Sigur Rós at the State Theatre this evening. I first heard of Sigur Rós from their 2008 album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, which I got into after visiting Iceland in 2012 and then saw them in 2013 when they played in Minneapolis. I enjoy their music but with every …

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April 11, 2022

Powerful performance by DakhaBrakha from Kyiv, Ukraine at The Dakota in Minneapolis tonight. 🎶🇺🇦 Support Ukraine.

DakhaBrakha performing at The Dakota jazz club in Minneapolis, four musicians in tall fur hats on a purple-lit stage before a seated audience.

Ukrainian folk band DakhaBrakha performing on a dimly lit stage at the Dakota jazz club in Minneapolis before a full seated audience.

March 25, 2022

Taylor Hawkins drum solo from Oct. 18, 2018 Foo Fighters show. RIP. 😢

March 25, 2022

Shocked and saddened to hear that the Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins has died. He and Grohl are the soul of the Foos. Ugh. Only 50! 😢

March 23, 2022

Tammy and I had such a great time seeing Elton John tonight at his final show ever in St. Paul, Minnesota — the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. At 74 years old he still brought it all. An amazing performer and musician! Wow! 🎶

Performer in ornate blue glasses and white costume sings at piano on a large concert stage with a giant screen behind him

Packed arena concert with a pianist on a circular stage, red and white spotlights, and a large close-up screen showing the performer

Pianist performing on a circular lit stage in a packed arena with a giant screen showing a close-up of the performer in a geometric jacket

Packed arena crowd watches Elton John perform on a colorful lit stage at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Minnesota

Elton John on a giant concert screen wearing a jacket reading Elton John during the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour finale

March 22, 2022

Our last stop before leaving Nashville was a backstage tour at the Grand Ole Opry. We got to see the artists entrance, the Opry post office, all of the various dressing rooms including Roy Acuff’s which you can even go into.

Grand Ole Opry auditorium interior with empty wooden pew-style seats facing a red-curtained stage during a soundcheck rehearsal.

Brick-walled Grand Ole Opry backstage hallway with wooden pews and framed performance photos on the walls

Grand Ole Opry Post Office wall of numbered brass mailboxes 100 through 217 set in dark wood paneling

Young woman with hands on her cheeks smiling with delight at her reflection in a Hollywood-style dressing room mirror at the Grand Ole Opry

Family of four taking a selfie on the Grand Ole Opry stage with the lit marquee sign visible behind them

March 21, 2022

We visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It was really cool to see so much history. The exhibits were fabulous as well. And some exceptionally wild outfits, cars, and stories.

Wall covered in dozens of framed gold and platinum record awards at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville

Museum display of Chet Atkins guitars including an orange Gretsch hollowbody, with a biographical placard in the background.

Black 1980 Pontiac Trans Am with Bandit lettering on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Smokey and the Bandit II exhibit behind it

Family of four smiling in front of a wall covered in gold and platinum record awards at the Country Music Hall of Fame

March 21, 2022

Ryman Auditorium

We visited the Ryman Auditorium and saw the birthplace of country and bluegrass music. It seems fitting that the Ryman was originally built as a tabernacle, because walking around it and thinking of all the amazing performances that have been there felt nearly spiritual. 🎶

Red brick Victorian Gothic concert hall at dusk with arched windows and triangular gable, surrounded by Nashville skyscrapers

Empty curved wooden pew seating surrounds a hardwood stage where a few people stand near the front apron under stage lights

Empty wooden pew seating in a historic curved auditorium with arched windows and a chandelier overhead

View from the stage looking out at the empty wooden pew seating and ornate balcony of the historic 1892 auditorium

March 20, 2022

We’re in Nashville so of course we should go to the Wildhorse Saloon and learn how to do the Boot Scoot ’n Shuffle! We all took their complimentary class together and were scootin’ and shufflin’ with the best of them. Mazie was a natural!