Shortly after I arrived in Bolivia this summer, I was lucky enough to hear my sister perform at Teatro Municipal, a grand old nineteenth-century theater in La Paz. Accompanied by the young musicians of Encuentro de Jovenes Músicos Bolivianos, she and her husband played the world premiere of Jordan Grigg’s “Concerto Semplice” for Two Violins. […]
Tag Archives: music
Chicago weekend
We went to the Chicago for Easter weekend, and the sun was shining in the city. The skies were as blue as Chagall’s stained glass windows. We strolled through the old neighborhoods where my husband used to live, taking in the museums, the aquarium, the planetarium, and the jazz clubs. And when we left on […]
Gipsy Kings
The Gipsy Kings were playing at Red Rocks, and we absolutely had to go. I’ve never been to Red Rocks before, and I drained a good portion of my camera battery just taking pictures of the natural beauty. But when the concert began, that’s when I really became excited. I have loved, loved, loved the […]
Minnesota Bluegrass
Named for the late bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, the Minnesota-based quintet Monroe Crossing performs some of the most joyful music I’ve ever heard. They played two vibrant sets this evening, combining woeful lyrics with a banjo sound so bouncy, I couldn’t stop smiling. I will confess right now that several songs about heartbreak, abandonment, loneliness, […]
Film Series: Buena Vista Social Club
I’m focusing on documentaries this year for my local film discussion series, and we kicked things off on Thursday with Wim Wenders’ musical documentary Buena Vista Social Club. As he follows the lives of Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, and other legends of Cuban jazz, Wim Wenders works with great elegance and subtlety. I always sense […]
“There’s a heaven, and there’s a star for you…”
On Friday, a group of us went to hear Daniel Johnston at First Avenue. We’d seen The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a recent documentary of the folk singer’s life and work, and we’d come away entranced by his raw, childlike songs. Daniel Johnston’s musical career has been disrupted by repeated bouts of severe mental illness, […]
Boiled in Lead
Boiled in Lead, the legendary Minneapolis folk band, performed at the Mabel Tainter Theater on Saturday night. They’re promoting their new album, Silver. It’s been nearly ten years since I last heard them in concert, and I shrieked like a teenager when my friend Susan told me she had tickets. They played Macedonian tunes, Estonian […]