Live from Studio A

This Duluth native, now based in Minneapolis, made her first full-length album, Ease Back with her band in a cabin north of Duluth on the banks of the Lester River. The folk/pop singer/songwriter joined us in the studio on December 7 for a preview of their release show later the same night at Blacklist Beer in Duluth.

Emily Haavik and the 35s
Blacklist Beer

This Winona, Minnesota-based singer/songwriter is known for his slide guitar blues, influenced by rural Mississippi players like Fred McDowell. Munson recorded his latest album, Rose Hill, in Bentonia, Mississippi at the Blue Front Cafe, the oldest juke joint in Mississippi. It's owned by Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, who guests on a couple of tracks. He joined us in the studio on December 6 for a preview of a string of shows he did in the area, including at Mont du Lac Ski Resort the same night, Castle Danger Brewery on December 7, and Sir Benedict's Tavern in Duluth on December 8.

Duluth native Dustin Tessier spent time in his hometown music scene before moving to the Twin Cities in 2002. After playing in a band called Lazer Forever for several years, Tessier started his own project under the name Timbre Ghost, releasing an EP in 2016. He's just released his first full-length album, Life, Death, and Disintegration, featuring contributions from familiar names like Al Sparhawk of Low, Al Church, and Mary Bue.

Self-described "percussion nerds" Cory Coffman and Mikayla Haynes met in the percussion section at University of Wisconsin, Superior and formed The Cuckoo Bees in 2016. Coffman plays guitar in the project while Haynes plays xylophone and percussion, and they both sing. Although they've played a handful of shows, their main focus has been recording Weeping Willow, their debut album of quirky folk/pop, which they releases at a Beaner's Central show on November 30th. We got a preview when they joined us in the studio with bassist Matt Mobley on November 28.

In May this Duluth country band went to Nashville to record 5 songs for their new EP, Salt in the Snow. They released the EP on November 21st at Bent Paddle Brewery in Duluth. We got a preview when they joined us in the studio the same day.

Breanne Marie on Bandcamp

Bent Paddle Brewery

The past two years have been a whirlwind for this Duluth native. After winning the NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert Contest in 2016, she's toured nationally and internationally, performed with a variety of artists including The Decemberists, and given talks about disability, music, and finding inner freedom. She recently released Learning How to Stay, her first album backed by a full band. She had a release show for the album on November 17 at Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth, and she joined us in the studio the following week, on November 21.

Todd Garland, Jake Jonker, Keith Bower, and Nick Glass have been laying down jazz grooves in the Twin Ports for the past year. Garland found his way to Duluth after time spent in the Atlanta and Chicago music scenes. The group mixes covers of modern groove tunes from artists like John Scofield and Charlie Hunter with unconventional versions of pop and rock tunes. They celebrated their one year anniversary with a show at Beaner's Central on November 16. We got a preview when they joined us in the studio on November 12.

Brothers Ryan and Jesse Dermody make up this duo, who've been playing music together for nearly two decades. Their expansive, blues-and-folk-influenced rock belies the simplicity of their drums and guitar setup. On their latest album, Blue Spruce, they flesh out their sound with help from special guests including Colleen Myhre on backing vocals and Trampled by Turtles' Ryan Young on fiddle. The disc was recorded at their own off-the-grid studio in the woods of Northern Minnesota. We found out more and heard tunes from the album when they joined us in the studio on November 9.

This Minneapolis trio released its debut EP, Chrome, this year. Their soulful synth-pop grooves recently landed them on the City Pages annual "Picked to Click" list. They joined us in the studio on November 8 and gave us a preview of their show happening the same night at the Red Herring Lounge in Duluth.

Static Panic on Soundcloud

This Twin Cities performer and composer joined us in the studio on  October 22 on the first-day of her week-long residency in Duluth that culminates in a show with Eric Mayson at Sacred Heart Music Center on October 26. Their project, Champagne Confetti, has been described as "Blurring the lines between ambient neo-minimalism, chamber music, and electro-R&B..."

Aby Wolf on Facebook

Aby Wolf

This St. Paul-based indie folk singer/songwriter is working on a new project set for release in 2019. He joined us in the studio on October 5 for a preview of his appearance the same night at Prøve Collective in Duluth.

John Mark Nelson

Prøve Collective

Live from Studio A on KUMD is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

This Portland, Oregon-based band plays jam influenced bluegrass and features former Duluthian and Tin Can Gin member Harrison Olk. The band is preparing to release its second album, Chasing the Sun; they shared more about that project and played live when they joined us in the studio on September 28th. They performed later the same night at The Red Herring Lounge in Duluth.

Cascade Crescendo

Red Herring Lounge

This Michigan duo features Laurel Premo and Michael Beauchamp, whose close harmonies backed by spare acoustic instrumentation and blend of traditional tunes and original compositions create a distinctive folk sound. The pair, who play banjo, guitar, and fiddle, recently released their fourth studio album, Fall Away Blues. They joined us on September 27 and gave us a preview of their show at Amazing Grace Bakery in Duluth that same evening.

Red Tail Ring

This veteran Duluth band (which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year) continues to push boundaries with their latest album, Double Negative. They joined us in the studio on September 14, the album's release date, to share some tunes and tell us more about this latest effort.

Low

Double Negative on SubPop Records