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Top Song of 2023

Like I said in last years post of top songs, I don't really rank them as it becomes an impossible task after a certain point. But, I figured I could make my top 5 out of this list a yearly tradition. All of these songs are great and were listened to many times over the past year by me, but these 5 stood above the rest.

Dean Johnson- Possession

William Prince- Tanqueray

EmiSunshine and the Rain- Scars and Wings

Skarlett Woods- Portland, OR

Aly & AJ- Open to Something and That Something Is You

Please note, 1 song on my list was not on Spotify, but can be found here:

Damien Jurado- Neiman Marcus

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Top EP's of 2023

10. Nina Luna - Wish You Were Here

9. Joshua Radin - Though the World Will Tell Me So, Vol. 1

8. Hailey James - Reflection EP

7. Kurt Vile - Back to Moon Beach

6. Hayley Reardon - Changes

5. Sleeping at Last - Bright Sadness

4. Brooke Annibale - Happy Together

3. Honeysuckle - Shadow Dance

2. Zach Bryan - Boys of Faith

1. Joshua Ray Walker - I Opened for the Killers and All I Got Was Appendicitis

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Top Albums of 2023

Usually I try to get my end of year lists out in the first week of January, but this one is a little late. I kept meaning to, but other things just kept coming up and before you know it, it's 2 weeks in to the new year. Below are my top 15 albums from 2023, and I will be posting my favorite EP's and songs from the past year in the following days.

15. Bloodline - Moments 14. Tommy Prine - This Far South 13. The Sweet Lillies - Equality 12. Jeffrey M. Kelly - Deer Running Aimless 11. Sammy Brue - Nocturnal Country

10. Gabe Lee- Drink The River

9. Damien Jurado - Motorcycle Madness

8. Alexz Johnson - Seasons

7. Damien Jurado - Sometimes You Hurt the Ones You Hate

6. Aly & AJ - With Love From

5. Skarlett Woods - Letters to the West

4. EmiSunshine and the Rain - Sideshow

3. Cat Clyde - Down Rounder

2. William Prince - Stand in the Joy

1. Dean Johnson - Nothing for Me, Please

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Local Spotlight: Skarlett Woods

I discovered Skarlett Woods last year at the Duluth Dylan Fest singer/songwriter contest, where she placed second. I personally felt she should have won, but either way, I felt like I had discovered a great talent in Skarlett. At intermission of the event, I texted my roommate and said "look up Skarlett Woods, we have to see her soon, she's amazing". So we looked up when she was playing close to us, went and saw her, fell in love with her music, and we've seen her about 10 times since. Her story started in Brainerd, MN, and from there she moved to Oregon, down to California, and eventually she made her way back to Brainerd in 2020 during the pandemic. I've tried to figure out a way to describe her sound, and the best way I can think of is avant-garde/folk/jazz. Her live shows contain a mixture of originals and covers, and when she does cover songs, she finds a way to put her own stamp on them. She has 1 album of originals so far, I'm Right Here, and will be releasing her second album, Letters to the West, on Oct. 27th. I've gotten a chance to hear almost all of the songs from her new album live, and if the live versions are any indication, this album should be a contender for my album of the year. Skarlett mostly performs in the Midwest, but she does sometimes make it out to the West Coast. Check her website below for her concert schedule, she performs very regularly, and I would recommend checking her out if you are able. She is another musician that has become a friend over time, and Skarlett has such a unique personality and sound, I feel thankful to have discovered her when I did.

Skarlett Woods/ Spotify / Facebook / Instagram / Live Recordings

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Local Spotlight: Josie Sanken

Once in a while, you find someone that you feel like you need to support because you believe so strongly in them, whether it be their talent or who they are as a person, or in this case, both. Josie Sanken is one of those people. Josie is a musician based out of Brownton, MN, and I discovered her purely by happenstance. I happened to go to the McLeod County Fair in Hutchinson, MN, where Josie was performing that day. As I walked by, I heard her singing Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, who is one of my favorite songwriters. I thought, "this is great, her voice is amazing", and sat and listened to the rest of it. Then, she started the next song, and it was When the Stars Go Blue by Ryan Adams, who is another one of my favorite songwriters. By this time, I thought, "I have to look her up and find out what she's all about". I came to find out she performs pretty consistently around the Hutchinson area, and looked at her upcoming schedule and picked a date to see her perform again. After seeing a full show, I knew I had discovered someone truly great, and I have become a huge fan of her music, as well as her as a person. Josie sings primarily cover songs, although she did release an EP of originals under her maiden name of Josie Olson back in 2008, and has written some unrecorded songs. Beyond being a great musician, she is also a great person, with a big heart and always kind to my roommate and I anytime we see her (which is often). The last couple of years I have felt a growing connection to the music scene in Minnesota, it has really been an escape from the day to day stress and anxiety of life, and discovering Josie and her music has been one of the biggest parts of that journey. It's hard to describe the exact feeling, I would best describe it as feeling pulled towards something or someone that you can't quite explain, but know that it's worth your time. Josie has often told me "I hope you don't feel like you have to come to every show", but in all honesty, I feel that it's a privilege to see her perform, and to call her a friend. You can find Josie at the links below, if you live in her area or feel like taking a drive to hear some great music, I would recommend catching one of her shows sometime.

Facebook / Instagram / Spotify / Live Recordings / Live Videos

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North Country Sounds

When I started this blog, I tried to pick a name that would convey what direction it would take. North Country Sounds fit the bill perfectly. I live in Minnesota, and am passionate about our music scene here, both in the Twin Cities and beyond. That extends to the 4 states that border Minnesota (The Dakotas, Iowa & Wisconsin), so North Country was a little broader than something Minnesota specific. The goal of this site was to mainly highlight the local scene, as well as any other music I might find interesting. The title comes from Bob Dylan's song "North Country Blues", and it's no coincidence that I picked a Dylan inspired name. Dylan is without question the most important musician to come out of Minnesota, and is my favorite songwriter by far. The last couple of years I have gotten way more involved in live shows in the area, and have gotten to know a lot of local musicians personally, and consider some of them friends at this point. I plan to be more active here, I have limited a few other social media/sites I run in hopes of keeping more active on ones that are more important to me, such as this one. I will be starting a new series (hopefully tomorrow) called Local Spotlight, where I try to showcase lesser known musicians from the area that I feel deserve recognition. Hopefully it opens some ears to these great people, and if people enjoy what they hear, they spread the word to people they know, and so on. Until tomorrow...

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Catching up…

It's been a while, hasn't it? Life seems to get in the way of all my intended plans and projects, and some things take longer than expected to finish. Such is life I guess, my plan is just to do the best I can in terms of posting here. The last few months have seen a lot of releases that will probably end up on my years top albums list. A few I wanted to highlight are below:

Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors - Strangers No More

Alexz Johnson - Seasons

Dean Johnson - Nothing for Me, Please

William Prince - Stand in the Joy

Those albums have been in my rotation the past few months, especially the Dean Johnson & William Prince albums in particular. Those albums struck a chord at a time when I needed them the most, and I feel they are very important albums for anyone to listen to. I have also updated my top 25 playlist, which is a rotating playlist of songs I have discover (or re-discovered) in recent weeks. Usually the songs there will be recently released, but sometimes older songs make their way on the the list that have caught my ear again after some time away from them. That playlist can be found here. Hope all is well with you, looking forward to hopefully keeping this site a bit more active. In the meantime, also feel free to check out other sites I run by clicking on the Linktree picture on the top of this site.

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Scott Orr- In the Belly of a Whale

I haven't been posting here as much as I would like, mainly because I'm trying to catch up on a lot of other work. I've been trying to finish editing a ton of photos from this past summer, as well as tracking live shows I recorded this past summer. That backlog has lead to me neglecting a few other things, such as this site. I'm reaching the end of most of those other projects (within the next couple weeks), so hopefully this site will see more activity at that point. In the meantime, check out this song I've really been digging this song by Canadian singer/songwriter Scott Orr.

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Somewhere Over the Rainbow played on a Theremin

I never cease to be surprised at what I can find on YouTube. There's a lot of junk on there to be sure, but there are a lot of gems that wouldn't be easily accessible if not for YouTube. I came across this today and thought it was too cool not to share.

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Top Songs of 2022

I don't really rank my top songs of 2022 (50 songs are hard to rank), but I will say my top 5 songs of the year are pretty easy to pick.

Hurray for the Riff Raff- Nightqueen

Roger- Damien Jurado

Corey Medina & Brothers - Hwéeldi (The Long Walk)

Zach Bryan- Tishomingo

Caitlin Rose- Getting It Right

Although those are my top 5, all of these songs became an earworm at some point in 2022, and I would encourage anyone to give this playlist a listen. 51 songs, clocking in at a little over 3 hours, it gives a pretty good overview of the year in music for me.

Please note - 1 song on my list was not on Spotify, but can be found here: The Field Birds- Troubles

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Top 10 EP's of 2022

Yesterday I posted my top 20 albums of 2022, and today I will be posting my top 10 EP's of 2022. I didn't listen to nearly as many EP's as albums this year, a grand total of 51, but I feel these ones are worthy of mentioning. I plan to collect my favorite songs of 2022 at some point in the next few days, and will be posting a Spotify playlist here. In the meantime...

10. Andrea von Kampen - A Chance Encounter

9. Valerie June - Under Cover

8. The Cactus Blossoms - If Not for You (Bob Dylan Songs Vol. 1)

7. Paris Jackson - The Lost EP

6. Leigh Nash - The Tide Acoustic Sessions

5. Jeremie Albino - Past Dawn

4. Morgan Wade - Acoustic Sessions EP

3. The Field Birds - Troubles

2. Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Moon

1. Zach Bryan - Summertime Blues

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Top 20 Albums of 2022

Well, better late than never, right? I had planned to post my favorite albums of 2022 about a week ago, a little before Christmas in fact, but the busyness of the holiday season kept me busy. So, I will be posting my top albums of the past year today, I will try to post my top EP's of 2022 tomorrow, and hopefully post my favorite songs of 2022 in the next few days as well. I listened to 284 albums this year, and have narrowed it down to these 20 as my favorites.

20. Heavy Gus - Notions 19. Becky Kapell - In It to Win It 18. Leona Naess - Brood X 17. Aria - Confession 16. Emisunshine and the Rain - Universe 15. Ryan Adams - Devolver 14. Chastity Brown - Sing to the Walls 13. Brooke Annibale - Better by Now 12. Peter Doherty & Frédéric Lo - The Fantasy Life of Poetry & Crime 11. Ryan Adams - Romeo & Juliet

10. The Cactus Blossoms - One Day

9. IV and the Strange Band - Southern Circus

8. Ryan Adams - Chris

7. Ondara - Spanish Villager No. 3

6. Zach Bryan - American Heartbreak

5. Alela Diane - Looking Glass

4. Caitlin Rose - Cazimi

3. Corey Medina & Brothers - Soak

2. Damien Jurado - Reggae Film Star

1. Hurray for the Riff Raff - Life on Earth

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Charlie Parr - 817 Oakland Avenue

Great version of the song 817 Oakland Avenue from Charlie's album Last of the Better Days Ahead.

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Clarence Ashley - “The Cuckoo”

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Alela Diane-Looking Glass

Alela Diane's new album, Looking Glass, is yet another beautiful piece of work to add to her discography. Those familiar with Alela's work have come to expect beautiful vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and lush instrumental accompaniment. Looking Glass deals with a wide array of topics, from becoming a mother (Camellia), mother nature (Howling Wind), the loss of innocence and childhood (Dream a River), and others. The album was mostly written and recorded while in the midst of a move, the album deals with letting go of the past, living in the moment, and preparing for the future. I would consider About Farewell to be Alela's crowing moment, and I find this to be a perfect companion to it, and a worthy addition to the Alela Diane body of work. Highlights from this album:

Howling Wind, Strawberry Moon, Paloma

Rating: 4/5

Official Website + Spotify + iTunes

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Hurray for the Riff Raff- Life on Earth

I was first exposed to Hurray for the Riff Raff with their previous release, The Navigator, and felt I had stumbled upon a band that in time would become one of my favorites. With their most recent release, Life on Earth, they have confirmed that feeling. Led by Alynda Segarra, and accompanied by an ever changing cast of musicians, Hurray for the Riff Raff's sound has evolved with each release. Life on Earth finds Alynda's songwriting becoming more direct, more socially aware, and stronger than ever. An overriding theme on many of the songs are the trial and tribulations of life, and how they can beat you down, but also how there is light at the end of the tunnel in the darkest of situations. While this album is an achievement, I would urge anyone to check out this band the next time they are in your area, you can see Alynda become one with these songs and they gain power when that happens. There were a few songs on this album I couldn't fully appreciate until I heard them live, and when I went back to listen to them again on the album, it gave me a new perspective. I've noticed this year a lot of my favorite albums are "take no prisoners" albums, that really just kick you in the gut and make you think. Life on Earth it towards the top of that list, and should make it's way on a lot of Top 10 albums lists, and will definitely be on mine. Highlights from this album include:

Wolves, Nightqueen, Life on Earth

Rating: 3.5/5

Bandcamp + Spotify + Official Website

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Corey Medina & Brothers- Soak

For those unfamiliar with Corey Medina & Brothers, a small intro may be necessary. Corey Medina is originally from the Navajo Tribal Nation in Shiprock, NM, and moved to Bemidji, MN in 2013. Since then he's made a name for himself in Minnesota, and along with bassist Gary Broste and drummer Eric Sundeen, they comprise Corey Medina & Brothers. I discovered the band by accident, my roommate and I stopped at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum here in MN, and it happened to be on their Memorial Day celebration where they have vendors, musicians, a pow wow, and other festivities. Corey and his band happened to be there that day, and we've been following them ever since. Soak is the newest album from Corey Medina & Brothers, and it packs a punch. I had heard a few of these songs live previously, so I knew going in this was probably going to be different than their previous albums. Lyrically, the album takes no prisoners, it speaks to the plight of Native Americans in America, love (lost and found), and social issues in general. Musically, it comes in like a hurricane starting with Sue Ahccaz, setting the tone for the rest of the album. Like music sites, I do a end of the year list of my favorite albums/ep's/songs, and this album and it's songs will definitely find it's way on those lists. Highlights from this album:

Hwéeldi - 1974, The Long Walk, Repo

Rating: 4/5

Official Website + Spotify + iTunes