Hi there! Welcome back to another action-packed edition of Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. With summer on the way the entire state of Minnesota is starting to thaw out from our crazy winter hibernation. I love this time of year here in the Twin Cities. Everyone finally gets out of their houses and makes up for the brutal winter with non-stop cookouts, block parties, and nights out. With that same purpose in mind, I’m extremely happy to announce the second annual Summer of Sound DJ series at Surly Brewing Company. I’ve partnered up with Surly and Copycats Media to curate the full lineup of special guests who will be playing their favorite jams for you every Tuesday night all summer long in the beer hall. Check out the incredibly STACKED lineup below.
DAAAAAAANG. Shouts to Go Media and Down In The Valley for sponsoring these events as well. Things pop off on June 4th with our very own Sims holding down the tunes. Don’t miss it!
And speaking of rad new partnerships (SEGUE), I am over the moon to announce a sweet new personal partnership with holistic health care provider Wellness Minneapolis. Wellness offers all sorts of amazing services such as acupuncture, functional nutrition, cupping, Reiki, Ayurveda, massage, therapy, and naturopathic medicine. I’ve been a skeptic of these things most of my long-legged life, but my journey over the past few years into meditation and minduflness has led me here and I’m excited to dig into all of this. Owner Jesse Haas and I have put together a six month plan where I’ll try out a bunch of the different services they offer in the hopes of getting my mind and body in tip-top shape. I’ll actually be posted up at the Wellness Minneapolis open house on Sunday, June 2nd performing some Luther songs live and talking a bit about how mindfulness and gratitude have impacted my life for the better. Should be a great family-friendly time and it’s totally FREE.99. More details right HERE. Here’s Jesse and I christening this announcement outside of the Wellness Minneapolis shop.
On top of all that, I’m thrilled to announce that Jesse will also be our first wellness expert on the very first live podcast taping of Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. Jesse is a certified nutrition specialist who has been working in holistic health care for the past 15 years. She’s going to be giving us all sorts of tips on the simple and effective things we can do every day to make our minds and bodies stronger and more healthy. It all goes down on June 11th at the The Parkway Theater. Jeyca and I will also be interviewing St. Paul legend María Isa, who just had her first baby a few months ago and is still out fighting the good fight as an activist, community organizer, and musician. She’ll be performing a special stripped-down set of music as well. You do not want to miss it. Tickets are on sale now right HERE. I’m so excited!!! Huge shouts to my good friend Andy McAlpine for designing this great flyer too.
And here’s a quick little early Bonus Jam from María, who released this awesome “Mamá Mueve” song like a week before she had beautiful baby Loíza.
Maria Isa – “Mamá Mueve”
Earlier this month I got a chance to sit down with the lovely folks of the Legacy Matters podcast and chop it up about all things music, crystals, parenting, mindfulness, community, and my longstanding public beef with Sheryl Crow. I had a total blast and we got into some really meaningful topics that are very close to my heart. You can check out the full interivew right HERE.
At the end of the episode the gang even surprised me with this 20 year old copy of my old band The Plastic Constellations first full-length album. Absolutely mind blowing. I don’t even think I have a copy of it at this point. So tight. Here’s the grand reveal.
Now for some show updates! Memorial Day Weekend is always a doozy for live music, but do not fear, we’ve got you fully covered. If you’re in the Twin Cities this Saturday the 25th you can catch my group Mixed Blood Majority playing a very rare headlining set at the Memory Lanes Block Party. We’re rocking with an incredible lineup including Lady Midnight, Manchita, Nazeem & Spencer Joles, Shannon Blowtorch, and DJ Fundo. And tickets are only FIVE DOLLARS. Come through and party hard with us, this event is always such a blast. Details right HERE.
Dessa and her band are gonna be suuuuuuper busy this weekend. They kick things off on Friday with a performance at Bottlerock in Napa Valley. Full lineup below and ticket details HERE.
Then on Saturday the 25th the gang will fly cross country to Boston for the annual Boston Calling Music Festival. Check out the full bill below and grab your tix HERE.
And on Sunday the 26th Dessa will return to the Twin Cities for a huge performance at Minnesota’s own Soundset Festival. This is one of the most stacked lineups I’ve ever seen for Soundset, and that is truly saying something. Grab your tickets HERE.
And if that weren’t enough, Dessa will be hitting the road again at the top of June for a week of dates in the Soutwest, Texas, and Mexico. Check out the full list of announced dates right HERE, including a newly revealed two-night stand at the Minnesota State Fair in September!
OK! That does it for all the Doomtree-related news this week. Time for some BONUS JAMS! Last Friday Carly Rae Jepsen released what I am 99% sure will be my #1 favorite album of 2019. Just like a lot of you, I was concerned that she’d have trouble topping the absolute classic EMOTION, but I should’ve known better. Dedicated is an absolutely flawless record. 15 smash hits, no filler. Cannot recommend it any higher and I can’t wait to take Penny to this show in July!
Carly Rae Jepsen – “Too Much”
Huge love goes out to our friend Lady Midnight who just released her incredible debut full-length last week. It’s called Death Before Mourning and I have been absolutely floored by it. No question in my mind that this will be in my Top 5 at the end of the year. You can grab it exclusively from Bandcamp this week right HERE. On top of that, I’m extremely excited to announce that Lady Midnight will be the next guest on the Tuesdays With Lazerbeak podcast, so make sure you bump this record and then get ready for a deep-dive on the creation process come June 4th.
Lady Midnight – Death Before Mourning
Super feeling this new track by vōx who is gearing up to drop a new EP later this spring. While we wait for the full thing you can check out “I Am Not A God” below.
vōx – “I Am Not A God”
Dua Saleh has been on fire this year and they continue their impressive roll with a performance on YouTube’s A COLORS SHOW. “Sugar Mama” is such a great song to begin with and this live performance takes up even further.
Dua Saleh – “Sugar Mama”
Really excited to dive into this new DāM-FunK STFU II EP. Here’s a little teaser video for “Hood Biz.”
DāM-FunK – “Hood Biz”
Man, the new DJ Khaled album has some serious bangers and none more powerful than lead-off track “Wish Wish” with Cardi B and 21 Savage. I didn’t think Cardi could get any greater, but her verse and hook on this thing are like superhero levels of good. Cannot wait to see this one performed live when she comes to town in July.
DJ Khaled – “Wish, Wish” ft. Cardi B and 21 Savage
Just got put onto New Orleans’ native Pell after jamming the latest Tink and the Bangas album last week. I’ve only heard a few songs at this point but I’m super feeling everything he’s put out. Excited to see what he does next.
Pell – “Bitch Ass”
Last week I was one of three guest judges for Go 95’s Shut Up and Rap finale, where the Northside’s own Mac Turner took the belt. The highlight of the night was Mac bringing up his friend Prince Riley to perform this new summer anthem “Real Girls” to close things out and put a stamp on the title. This song is soooooooo goooooooood.
Prince Riley – “Real Girls” ft. Mac Turner
Mac Turner showed up again recently on a new Mac Irv song. Check out the video for “Say” below. Prince Riley, Mac Turner, and Mac Irv are all on fire right now. I’m all about it.
Mac Irv – “Say” ft. Mac Turner
And lastly, shouts to Scoundrel Spence and G.P. Jacob who just released their collaborative Doodles In School EP. I’ve only gotten through a couple tracks so far but this “Buoy” joint is a definite standout. Looking forward to listening through the whole thing today.
Scoundrel Spence & G.P. Jacob – “Buoy”
Alright that’s a wrap on the Bonus Jams for this week. If you’ve got Spotify, don’t forget to add my Bonus Jams Playlist to your library so you can take these heaters with you everywhere you go. I update it every Tuesday morning with the latest jams. Coming up on 600 tracks in that bad boy!
That’s it for this post. I hope you all have an incredible Memorial Day Weekend relaxing with friends and family and enjoying this wonderful Spring weather. I’ll see some of you out at Memory Lanes Block Party on Saturday, and if not, then right back here next Tuesday for another round of TWL. Take it easy on yourself!
— Beak
Twitter: @_LAZERBEAK_
Instagram: @lazerbeak
