A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
Gina Smith of Montrose, Minn.:
1 Super Bowl halftime show. While I doubt the Super Bowl will top the recent Buffalo- Kansas City roller coaster of a playoff game, I am looking forward to the halftime show. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar are bringing a wave of '90s/'00s nostalgia, and I am here for it.
2 Erik Koskinen residency, Icehouse. The Cactus Blossoms and Charlie Parr residencies may be ending shortly, but that doesn't mean our winter residency season is over. One of my favorite local musicians will be starting a four-week Thursday residency Feb. 10.
3 Trampled by Turtles in Madison, Wis. TBT will perform their albums "Palomino" and "Stars and Satellites" in full (plus other tunes) over two nights at the Sylvee. I'm looking forward to hearing songs that don't often make it into their set lists.
Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:
1 Dijon, "Big Mike's." On "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," the L.A. singer performed his vibey proposal to Joanna, encircled by musicians laying down chill sounds before an abrupt noisy crescendo. In real life, she said "Yes." Not surprisingly, the understated Dijon is going on tour opening for Bon Iver.
2 Miranda Lambert, "Y'all Means All." With a title suggested by her gay brother, country's queen of inclusion has crafted a perky, playful love-means-love tune (even in Texas and the Bible Belt, she sings) for the new season of Netflix's "Queer Eye." The chorus: "Yes queen, go queen. Dip it like a Dairy Queen. Put your inhibitions in a big U-Haul. Goodwill Gucci. Where my Chattahoochies? Out in the country, honey, y'all means all." Indeed, y'all.
3 Lisa Fischer, Hopkins Center for the Arts. A bigger venue than her usual intimate gigs at the Dakota afforded more room for her excellent musicians, including funky new bassist Richie Goods. The wondrous singer enthralled with reimagined classics, including "This Land Is Your Land," and the new "i. Broken Instrument" by Victory Boyd.
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