Best of
the Twin Cities
We’re hardly wanting for excellent music residencies here in the Twin Cities. This January alone, local artists as notable as Charlie Parr, the Cactus Blossoms, and Andrew Broder all settled in at the Turf Club for successful month-long showcases. But even among those worthies, pop maven Messersmith’s stand at the Icehouse was distinctive for its stylistic and conceptual range. The first week featured all solo performances. There was an acoustic week (including a string quartet) and an electronic-themed installment. And for the finale Messersmith not only previewed his new album, Late-Stage Capitalism, but offered slots to 4th Curtis and Sarah White, making the bill diverse in more ways than one. Residencies can feel like a gimmicky way to lure music fans out of hibernation, but as Messersmith showed, they’re also a format in which artists can stretch and challenge themselves.
