The Paisley Purple potato, a new potato developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, made its commercial debut on the menu of local restaurant Alma. 

Named after Prince’s famous Chanhassen studio, the Paisley Purple potato has grown popular in culinary and agricultural fields because of its vibrant color and unique flavor. 

As its name suggests, the potato’s skin and flesh are both dark purple. Unlike a lot of other purple potatoes, its flesh retains its color even after cooking, said Laura Shannon, head of the University potato breeding program.

Its rich color is thanks to the anthocyanins in the plant, which are the compounds that give plants red, blue and purple colors, according to Potato Breeding Specialist Thomas Stefaniak. Most other tubers do not have a significant amount of anthocyanins, he added.

The Paisley Purple has a strong, earthy flavor that was described as nutty, according to Shannon. It tastes almost like an unsweetened sweet potato, which isn’t actually a potato at all.

“It’s outstanding,” Stefaniak said. 

Because of its unique color and distinct flavor, the Paisley Purple potato has garnered a popular reputation amongst the state’s potato community. 

Among fans of the potatoes are the chefs at local haute-cuisine restaurant Alma who have closely followed its development, Stefaniak said.

Alma is serving the potatoes roasted alongside swiss chard, a chili jus and braised beef as one of the courses on its $95 seasonal tasting menu. Vegetarians hoping to taste this up-and-coming tuber have to wait for it to be released elsewhere or ask their carnivorous friends for a taste because it is not included in Alma’s vegetarian tasting menu.

Unable to afford a meal at Alma, I was fortunate enough to be brought a sample of these tasty tubers by my roommate who works in their kitchen. Even reheated, they retained their bold flavor and dark purple color and paired nicely with a homemade aioli courtesy of my aforementioned roommate. 

Although the potato community is dying to get their hands on this wonderful new potato, it likely will not be available in more affordable settings for a few more years. Releasing a new breed of potato is complicated and time-consuming because potatoes are clonally reproduced, according to Shannon. 

Potato seeds are extracted from certified disease-free tissue cultures, not from the plants themselves like other crops. These tissue cultures are used to grow mini-tubers, which are bought by seed growers.

The seed growers then grow out the tubers and extract the eyes, or roots, of the potatoes. These eyes are then sold to farmers to plant and grow the potatoes that we eat. 

Christian Thill invented the Paisley Purple in 2006, but passed away unexpectedly in 2014, Stefaniak said. Shannon inherited genetic samples of the breed when she took over the University’s potato breeding project in 2017.

Researchers had to collect evidence that the potato was genetically stable before they began trialing it, a process which took multiple years and growth cycles to complete, Stefaniak said. 

“Our tissue culture person eradicated all the virus from those existing tubers, made plantlets from that,” Stefaniak said. “We had to put those in the field, harvest tiny amounts, grow that the next year, harvest a little bit more. It took us until about 2020 before we had enough to start trialing it again.”

In development since 2006, the Paisley Purple is finally nearing its public release, Stefaniak said. He said mini-tubers should become available sometime this coming spring.

“In Waves,” the second studio album by acclaimed British producer Jamie xx, released on Sept. 20, nearly 10 years after the release of his seminal debut, “In Colour.”  

Subtle yet soulful, the album demonstrates how beautiful electronic music can be thanks to Jamie xx’s iconic production style.

Consisting of 12 tracks with a total runtime just under 45 minutes, “In Waves” is an incredibly produced album of dance tracks combining elements of indie rock and pop with thumping beats and catchy melodies. 

Centered around the syncopated rhythms popular in British dance music, Jamie xx combined a myriad of influences and genres to create a record that is entirely unique. His creative vision fuels an album that is simultaneously complex and danceable like it was made by Daft Punk if they were one British person instead of two French ones. 

What makes “In Waves” special is its simplicity and amazing technical production, which makes it accessible and enjoyable to any open-minded listener, regardless of their understanding of electronic music.

The album’s foundation is its rhythms, which take influence from all kinds of electronica from across the pond, most notably UK garage, grime, drum and bass, and pre-Skrillex dubstep. Jamie xx combines the hard-hitting percussion and deep basslines of popular British dance music with masterfully produced melodies inspired by the disco and soul hits of yesteryear. 

“Baddy on the Floor,” the album’s lead single, is an amazing example of how Jamie xx is able to amalgamate an eclectic blend of styles into a beautifully groovy club banger. Featuring a collaboration with American artists Honey Dijon, the song combines soulful production, similar to artists like Masters at Work and Kaytranda, with eerie keys reminiscent of more experimental electronic musicians like Boards of Canada. 

The album’s first track, “Wanna,” opens with a sample of Kelly G’s Bump-N-Go Vocal remix of “Never Gonna Let You Go” by Tina Moore, immediately reminding me of Phiney’s famous bassline remix of Stormzy’s “Wiley Flow.” However, “Wanna” defies expectations by building to a mellow, reverb-heavy piano riff, not an intense bass drop like the Stormzy remix. 

Fans of PinkPantheress will enjoy “Waited All Night,” another track using the intense rhythms of British dance music to drive a spacey, upbeat pop song. “Waited All Night” features contributions from Jamie xx’s bandmates from his innovative indie rock group The xx. 

For those of you still mourning the end of “Brat” summer, the track “Life,” a collaboration with Swedish singer Robyn, features blaring instrumentals and lyrics about “giving” various things, albeit without Charli XCX’s signature snark. 

Unlike the irony-drenched dance hits that dominated the charts this summer, “In Waves” is self-aware without being pretentious. Its obvious and sometimes jarring nods to classic electronica are not punchlines but rather homages celebrating dance music as an art form.

As a whole, “In Waves” represents much of what makes electronic music wonderful, a synthesis of diverse influences resulting in a single, unapologetically unique record of experimental dance music with the broad appeal of pop music.

Over 2,000 furries from across the nation and around the globe came to Minneapolis for this year’s Furry Migration, an annual convention organized by the non-profit MNFurs. 

The three-day convention took place in the ballrooms and conference centers on the first two floors of the Hyatt Regency on Nicollet Mall. Fursuit-clad guests could be seen relaxing away from the convention in the lobby. Guests were able to connect with fellow furries and the fandom as a whole through numerous panels, vendors and events such as a furry rave and a furry burlesque show. 

Furry Migration 2024 Chairman Jonathan, who asked his last name be omitted for privacy reasons, said the convention is much like a renaissance fair or video game convention, but with furries.

For those of you who, like me until four days ago, do not know what a furry is, a furry is someone who really enjoys media featuring animal characters, according to MNFurs Director Shawn McHenry. He mentioned video games like the Sly Cooper franchise and movies like Disney’s Robin Hood are popular furry favorites. 

“They probably don’t want to admit this, but Disney has to be one of the bigger influences when it comes to furry,” Jonathan said.

Misunderstood and often ridiculed, furries immerse themselves in the world of anthropomorphic animals as an enjoyable way to escape from the drudgery of reality, much like any other fandom. Some furries are in the fandom because they enjoy interacting with furry content such as literature and art, while others are furries because they feel a deep, personal connection with their animal persona, Johnathan said.

“Some people are in it just for the literature, some are just in it for the artists,” McHenry said. “Some of them are just in it for networking with friends.”

Of course, furries do not only enjoy media centered around cartoon animals. At Furry Migration, I had pleasant conversations with attendees about shared interests like Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and house music. 

Most furries create alter egos called fursonas — a portmanteau of “furry” and “persona” — and play the role of their created character within the furry community. 

“It’s fun to play a character that you’re not,” McHenry said. 

McHenry, whose fursona is a raccoon named Rico, said he chose a raccoon because he felt represented by the animal.

“I stay up late and I tend to eat unhealthy foods,” McHenry said. 

Some committed furries create “fursuits,” custom, hand-made costumes of a fursona that they wear to embody their characters. 

Even though premade fursuit parts can be purchased from a variety of furry artisans, Jonathan said many choose to design and make their own fursuits themselves. 

Some fursuits even incorporate technology like LCD panels or internal cooling systems.

“The beauty of the fandom is the creativity,” Jonathan said. 

Jonathan, whose fursona is a Maltese tiger, said some of the most technologically advanced fursuits cost around $10,000. Many furries, like himself, opt instead to wear partial fursuits, consisting of only a head, tail and set of paws. 

McHenry said fursonas can range from realistic depictions of real mammals to completely original fictional species. A fursona does not need to have fur, and you do not need a fursuit to be a furry, he added.

“Furry is a very generic term,” Jonathan said. 

Many people think the furry fandom is inherently sexual, a common misconception which harms public perception of the community, Jonathan said. Although some engage in furry-related sexual activities, they are only a small part of the fandom and very few have sex in their fursuits.

“Most people who have fursuits don’t want to ruin them by doing that,” Johnathan said. 

At Furry Migration, a few vendors of products such as erotic art and sex toys were in an age-restricted section of the vendor’s hall, hidden behind a black curtain to ensure no guests were unwillingly exposed to sexually explicit materials. The small sexually explicit section was dwarfed by the size of the vendor section, which occupied the largest space in the hotel almost entirely.

Rows upon rows of booths selling everything from premade fursuits to artisanal soaps made up the “Dealer’s Den,” where attendees could shop for goods and support furry vendors. Surprisingly, much of what was for sale was not furry-related like artisanal soaps and political bumper stickers, rather the vendors themselves were furries. 

Outside of throwing furry events, Furry Migration and its parent organization MNFurs are committed to giving back to the community and educating people about furries, McHenry said. 

Every year Furry Migration partners with a charity to raise money for a good cause. This year, they raised $8,042 for Passionate Pines Wildlife Rehabilitation. 

Passionate Pines volunteer Terry Humphrey said she has been coming to Furry Migration for four years, despite not being a furry herself. She said she is very grateful for the convention’s dedication to giving back. 

Despite the harmless nature of the fandom, many furries are afraid to openly be furries in other parts of their lives because of the stigma surrounding the fandom. 

“I’m pretty sure you have CEOs of companies who are considered furry, but you’ll never know it because people don’t talk about that because of that stigma,” Jonathan said. 

As a non-furry who attended a furry convention myself, I was surprised to see how similar the convention was to other conventions. 

“Furry is just another fandom,” McHenry said.

As dark as it is silly, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” — the sequel to Tim Burton’s horror-comedy masterpiece — delightfully brings the original story into a modern-day setting.

Spooky, charming and funny, Burton’s signature neo-gothic style and macabre slapstick humor shine brilliantly in this hilariously zany sequel. Visually reminiscent of German expressionist cinema and surrealist painting, the film is not just an amusing comedy but a beautiful ode to horror cinema. 

Continuing the story of the original, the sequel’s plot follows grown-up Lydia Deetz, a role reprised by Winona Ryder. Now a famous medium with her own TV show, Deetz returns to the haunted house from the first film after the death of her father. She is joined by her teenage daughter Astrid, boyfriend Rory and mother Delia, played by returning actress Catherine O’Hara.

The acting throughout is incredible, with every performance bringing the bizarre horror story to life. The star-studded cast made every character enjoyable, no matter how detestable the role. 

Both Ryder and O’Hara bring another level of emotional depth to their characters, tying the events of the first movie to those of the sequel as they navigate another supernatural conundrum. O’Hara’s dramatically over-the-top portrayal of aging artist Delia Deetz stands out in a movie full of amazing performances. 

Although the returning cast members may have stolen the show, the new characters rounded out the plot and distinguished this film from its predecessor. Willem Dafoe gives a very Willem Dafoe performance as undead action star-turned-detective Wolf Jackson. 

Modern-day scream queen Jenna Ortega gives an amazing performance as the intelligent, yet moody, teenager Astrid Deetz, reminiscent of Lydia Deetz in the original film. 

Even Lydia’s insufferably douchey manager and boyfriend, Rory, is an enjoyable part of the film because of actor Justin Theroux’s great comedic timing. 

Of course, no discussion of this movie’s acting is complete without mentioning the main man himself. 

Michael Keaton reprises his legendary role as the titular character, bringing the same wild, manic energy to his performance as he did in 1988. As expected, his performance of the iconic, demonic grifter steals the scene every time he is on screen, chaotically driving the plot forward with dirty jokes and meta references. 

The movie never takes itself too seriously, emphasizing its deliberately exaggerated strangeness instead of focusing on a single, straightforward narrative. With a black-and-white sequence narrated in Latin harkening back to the early days of gothic horror, an actual soul train complete with undead disco dancers and countless instances of gags involving Cronenburg-ian body horror, the film is a stylistic love letter to the bizarre. 

All of the sets were incredibly detailed and well-designed, from the realistic Stephen King-esque New England farmhouses to the zany, surreal arthouse scenes of the afterlife.

Like the original, the sequel takes place in the fictional town of Winter River, Connecticut. Unlike the original, an independent coffee roaster and vintage reselling store can be seen in downtown Winter River, an amusingly subtle nod to the film’s updated setting. 

Fans of the original movie can be assured that the sequel is worthy of bearing its forebearer’s name, twice. Those unfamiliar with the franchise can expect a light-hearted and hilarious journey through horror history, framed by one of the most unique and recognizable stories ever told.

It is no secret that Minnesotans absolutely love their state’s fair. 

Featuring an overwhelming amount of activities, events, exhibits, rides, galleries and vendors, this year’s fair continued its 165-year-long tradition of celebrating all things Minnesota. For twelve days, visitors flocked to the fairgrounds in St. Paul, eager to experience the sensory overload of the fair. 

More than 175,000 people attended the last day of this year’s fair on Monday, which is over double the population of Duluth.

I was among those 175,000 who waited until the very last day to attend. 

Entering the fairgrounds makes it feel as if you entered some sort of carnival-themed parallel universe. 

The sheer scale of the festival made it difficult to navigate. At no point during my visit did I know where I was or where I was going. 

Huge lines formed for nearly every vendor, booth, ride and showroom. Surprisingly, the bathroom lines were quite short, although that was most likely due to the post-apocalyptic appearance of the fair’s lavatories.

My personal hatred of waiting in lines led me to seek out the less talked about attractions at the state fair.

When I arrived, I walked into the first building I saw, which turned out to be the Miracle of Birth barn, sponsored by CHS. Dedicated to celebrating mammal and avian maternity, the barn housed sows, cows, ewes and chickens alongside educational displays about veterinary maternal care. 

After reminiscing deeply about childbirth and motherhood, I exited the barn to search for fried foods where I stumbled upon a booth dedicated to Spam related food. A nearby group of people offered me their remaining Spam nuggets, which I happily accepted and subsequently devoured. 

They tasted exactly like the name implies, fried nuggets of processed pork. The flavor and texture were much better than one would expect from deep-fried canned meat, but the taste was so strange I am still not sure whether I enjoyed them. 

My hunger not yet satiated, I headed towards the aptly named “Food Building,” where I encountered more people waiting in line for junk food. Because of its log cabin facade and short lines, the Walleye On a Stick booth drew my attention.

Instead of their namesake, I ordered a walleye sandwich: two lightly fried walleye filets on a soft hoagie roll topped with lettuce and cheese. The fish itself was delicious, but the quality of toppings was terrible, especially considering the sandwich alone cost more than a meal at a fast food restaurant. 

After conducting some important field reporting in the men’s restroom near the north entrance, I stumbled across a Labor Day parade traversing the fairgrounds. All kinds of organizations participated in the eclectic parade, including drumlines, roller derby teams and trade unions. 

A never-ending clamor of conversations and live music eliminated any possibility of finding silence within a two-mile radius. The air smelled of sweat, funnel cake and, occasionally, marijuana, except for the barns where the stench of livestock and excrement overpowered any outside odors.

Apparently, the chaotic whimsy of the fair’s atmosphere made every single guest voraciously hungry, as gargantuan crowds formed around almost every single food vendor. The most popular vendors, like Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar and Peachey’s Baking Co. drew ridiculously long lines of attendees aching to try the offerings of the state fair staples. 

Because dessert might as well be mandatory at the fair, I set out on a quest to find some sweet treats without hour-long queues. 

Unfortunately, I missed the University of Minnesota’s dairy booth and ended up paying double what they charge for a milkshake at a nameless stand whose signs spelled “cone” with a K. 

Disheartened from overpaying for what ended up being a pretty good milkshake, I set out to redeem myself with another dessert. 

Fresh out of the fryer and dipped in cinnamon sugar, the donuts from Tiny Tim Donuts were among the only somewhat reasonably priced state fair fare. Future visitors should ignore Peachey’s line and instead go straight to Tiny Tim.

Despite the year-round hype about the unhealthy and overpriced food options, the real highlights of the festival were the galleries and exhibitions. The fair held many, each centered around showing the cultural diversity and artistic heritage of Minnesota. 

A beautiful collection of paintings, photographs, sculptures and textiles by Minnesotan artists covered the walls and filled the halls of the gallery in the Fine Arts Center. The Creative Arts Building held a gallery consisting of themed display cases containing art from a variety of artists and mediums. 

The Agriculture Horticulture Building contained a delightful crop art exhibit showcasing creative art made from seeds, corn and a plethora of materials found on farms. Crop art subjects ranged from politically charged portraits of Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Palestinian flags to images of Spongebob popsicles and Baby Yoda memes.

Despite the sensory overload that hits visitors as soon as they step through the gates, the Minnesota State Fair is an incredibly eclectic and fun celebration of the state’s rich history and traditions. 

Forty bands took the stage behind Palmer’s Bar from July 26 to July 28 as the West Bank dive bar sought to recreate the magic of Woodstock ‘99.

On Sunday, a crowd of mostly gray-haired punks covered in tattoos gathered around a small stage behind Palmer’s next to Riverside Plaza. Performers constantly weaved in and out of the crowd, hauling their instruments and equipment to and from the stage.

When I arrived between sets on Sunday, I was greeted by a bouncer who spoke little and would fit in with the crowd at a Hells Angels clubhouse. The cover charge was $10 and tickets were first come, first served, in true underground fashion. 

A menu printed on yellow paper proudly displayed some of the cheapest beer prices I have ever seen near campus, although they would still seem wildly overpriced in comparison to any rural dive bar. The bar also served pizza, but either no one was hungry or no one dared to try it. Probably the latter. 

As I navigated my way through a crowd of people who looked like my parents, if my parents were way too into punk rock, I settled down near a small group of people covered in American-traditional tattoos to watch the show. From the corner of my eye, I spotted a bald, sweaty man with a long gray beard watching the show alone from the rooftop.

While I tried to figure out how or why he was up there, a group of older men who shared the same physique as my father got on stage and plugged in their instruments. Not a single colored follicle of hair existed between the four of them.

The guitar player, sporting an awe-inspiring gray, handlebar mustache, churned out a feedback-laden power chord that reverberated through my skeleton, and then Vacant’s performance was underway. 

Draped in a Hawaiian shirt straight out of the late and great Jimmy Buffett’s closet, the lead singer screamed indecipherable lyrics as the band pumped out pure, unadulterated punk rock noise. 

Unfortunately, the bass did not cut through the mix, as is typical in punk rock, but I could tell by the bass player’s wild stage presence that he was rocking hard.

During the show, I noticed a man covered in fake blood wearing sunglasses, a leather harness, a bedazzled leather jockstrap, wrestling boots and nothing else while dragging a life-sized dummy behind the stage. After Vacant’s set, he took the stage, joined by a shirtless guitar player in a pig mask and a towering bassist sporting a Hawaiian shirt full of sharks and a pink cowboy hat that said “Sassy.”

Led by the man in the leather harness, the band Murf put on a similarly noisy show, with a few more theatrics. The lead singer threw the human dummy into the crowd, put on a knit ski mask, covered himself in even more fake blood and joined the mosh pit a few times.

After the show, the leather-clad lead singer changed into his street clothes and would have been completely unrecognizable amongst the crowd of people with Rat Fink tattoos had it not been for the few spots of fake blood on his neck that gave him away.

Rain threatened to move the final shows onto the small stage of the cramped bar, but after a brief period of uncertainty, the Houstonian punk band Daikaiju took the stage outdoors.

Completely silent, the band wore Kabuki masks for the entirety of their set, only removing them briefly to drink beers and smoke joints handed to them by the crowd. Naturally, the band’s set consisted of raw punk noise and flamboyant theatrics accentuated by their mime-like stage presence. 

At one point during their show, the members of Daikaiju moved their instruments into the crowd as members took turns playing droning riffs to keep the crowd going as they transitioned their set into the mess of people gathered around the stage. 

Towards the end of their set, the drummer stood up, poured lighter fluid on one of his cymbals and set it on fire as a crowd member played it. Normally, I would be terrified of this fire stunt going horribly wrong, but I was surprisingly calm because it was clear this was not their first rodeo. 

Heart pounding and ears ringing, I left PALMFEST 2024 excited to return next year.

“Y2K!” the debut studio album from New York rapper Ice Spice, is 24 minutes of hard-hitting drilled beats and rapping about butts.

Released on July 26, the album has 10 tracks, none of which are over 3 minutes long. Travis Scott, Gunna and Central Cee are all featured on the album.

A lack of stylistic variety makes many of the songs sound the same, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Fans of Ice Spice will surely find something to enjoy from the album with drill rap and pop music. 

Anybody else, though, will likely find it repetitive and boring. 

Ice Spice raps about her body and success in her signature low and slow tune on every single track, often coming across as if she is trying to sound lazy.

“You just gotta know I’m bad with a lot of ass,” she raps on “Plenty Sun.”

Pretty much every other bar on “Y2K!” is a variation of that line. 

Although not particularly clever, her lyrics are, at worst, inoffensive and, at best, pretty funny. There is feces-related wordplay on multiple tracks.

On “BB Belt,” Ice Spice raps, “I’m Ms. Poopie, but I never smell,” and on “Gimme A Light” she calls herself Ms. Poopie again, rapping “I’m Ms. Poopie like I need a diaper.” Of course, she also raps about poop on the viral hit “Think U the Shit (Fart).”

Some of the songs are pretty catchy, provided you do not mind a little repetition. At the end of the intro track “Phat Butt,” she repeats the line “Fat butt, pull my pants up” 18 times in a row, reminiscent of the Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up.” 

RiotUSA, Ice Spice’s longtime producer, produced the entire album and it shows. The album is full of Jersey-club-influenced drill beats that are synonymous with Ice Spice’s music.

The pounding bass drums of Jersey club music, the distorted and warped 808s of drill music and the repetitive snares and hi-hats of trap are featured throughout the album, lacking versatility, just like the vocals. Despite an absence of variation, the beats feature some creative sampling and sound tailor-made for Ice Spice’s carefree, club-friendly raps.

“Popa” and “Plenty Sun” have some of the best beats on the album, with instrumentals that sound heavily influenced by early Chief Keef mixtapes produced by drill pioneers Young Chop and DJ Scream. 

Surprisingly, some songs on “Y2K!” feature creative sample flips, which make them stand out from the other copy-and-paste drill songs Ice Spice has made.

“Gimme A Light” features a sample from “Gimme The Light” by dancehall superstar Sean Paul, making it sound unique despite its drums sounding exactly like any other New York drill song. A dreamy vocal sample of singer Lily Kaplan is used on the cheating anthem “Did it First,” a collaboration with British Rapper Central Cee that has sparked relationship rumors between the two rappers.

Central Cee’s verse is one of the three guest verses featured on the album, and the only guest verse remotely noteworthy. Rappers Travis Scott and Gunna lend their Dirty-South vocal deliveries to the cookie-cutter drill tracks “Oh Shhh…” and “Bitch I’m Packin’.”

As an album, “Y2K!” is a forgettable drill record that makes you wonder how Ice Spice managed to receive four nominations at last year’s Grammy Awards. However, there are some bright moments throughout the album that unpretentious listeners will appreciate.

The album is less than half an hour long, so listening to it is not a huge waste of time. It is probably not worth listening to multiple times though. You will likely hear these tracks in clubs and on top 40 radio stations well into next year.

Over four years after the COVID-19 pandemic, local guitar stores continue to adapt to industry changes brought about by the pandemic.

Ever since the first lockdown, the market for instruments and equipment sales changed completely, according to Alan Estevez, owner of El Diablo Amps & Guitars in Minneapolis. 

Today, customers are much more willing to shop online whereas musical instruments were previously sold almost entirely in person.

“Back when you could go to a guitar store, the culture was to go in and try a guitar,” Estevez said. “When you couldn’t anymore, it became okay to never have tried the guitar.”

Because COVID-induced supply line shortages halted the mass production of new guitars, demand increased drastically, according to Nate Westgor, owner of Willie’s American Guitars in St. Paul. He said being stuck at home inspired many to use their newfound free time to pick up an instrument.

“Now, basically one in four people you know play guitar,” Westgor said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Willie’s shifted to an appointment-only model, which has stuck ever since. Westgor said sales have almost doubled since shifting to appointments only because customers, especially women, can shop for instruments without being bothered by older men who would hang out at the shop without buying anything.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Willie’s was completely closed to the public, fulfilling orders through curbside pickups and deliveries. 

Estevez said sales in 2020 were the highest they have ever been, eclipsing the record year they had in 2019. Although stay-at-home orders limited how many employees could come into the store, he said El Diablo had so many online sales during the pandemic that he had to find ways to bring in as many employees as possible to keep up with the demand. 

Estevez said El Diablo has sold guitars online since opening in 2012 and was an early user of the online music sales website Reverb. El Diablo is one of the 300 biggest sellers on the platform. 

Estevez said Reverb has become an online behemoth in the music industry. 

“It’s the Amazon.com of the market,” Estevez said.

Beyond allowing brick-and-mortar stores to continue doing business during the pandemic, online sales gave stores access to an audience of clientele outside of the region, according to Dale Hanson, owner of Vintage Strings in Minneapolis. Hanson, who personally repairs and sets up every guitar sold by Vintage Strings, said he has shipped orders all over the country and even internationally. 

Certain niche instruments, like accordions or discontinued guitar models, are more sought after by international buyers, Hanson said. Reverb made it easier for him to sell some of the more unique instruments in his shop. 

Stores without Reverb pages or online sales had to find alternative ways to deal with the impacts of the pandemic. Cadenza Music is a store in St. Paul that still does not do any online sales, according to owner Dan Lehn.

Lehn said over half of Cadenza’s business is music lessons. All of their instructors had to teach online during the pandemic. 

Lesson retention rates were actually higher during the pandemic, and dropped off about 40% once stay-at-home orders began to lift, Lehn said. He attributed the higher retention rates to people wanting to do consistent activities during the pandemic. 

Nowadays, music stores are reverting back to how they conducted their businesses before the pandemic.

Guitar prices skyrocketed during periods of manufacturing and shipping shutdowns but have started to drop as people are less desperate to get their hands on a new axe, Estevez said. 

“Business is slower now that the irrational exuberance is gone,” Estevez said.

Despite the increased business brought on by the feverish demand of the pandemic, store owners are glad to see the market revert to normal. Even though fewer people are coming into stores and more are purchasing instruments online, Westgor said he is happy to see how much interest in music has expanded since the pandemic. 

“In times of trouble, it’s the musicians that stand up,” Westgor said.

A new mural featuring colorful renditions of the flora and fauna present in Dinkytown’s natural surroundings has been painted on the side of the Chateau Student Housing Co-op building.

The mural is part of an ongoing effort to revitalize the space between the Chateau and the neighboring Fourth Street Co-op, said Gunnar Carlson, the community engagement manager of Riverton, the company that oversees both properties.

Carlson said the small plaza between the two buildings was recently renovated.

The mural, designed and painted by muralist Jacqui Rosenbush in collaboration with the board of the Chateau, is based on the results of a community survey conducted by Chateau board members.

The survey asked residents and neighbors about what they wanted to see in the mural, including color palettes, themes and emotions. Many said they wanted a nature-inspired mural that represented feelings of happiness and serenity. 

“I really wanted to make something that did bring a spirit of peace, a spirit of joy to the neighborhood,” Rosenbush said. 

Chateau residents and neighbors also had the opportunity to participate in painting the canvases of the polytab mural, said Nileena Nandakumaran, a Chateau board member. The canvases were designed in a “paint by the numbers” style so community members could come together and directly contribute to the mural.

Board member Vrishali Salian said the mural was the result of a collaborative effort of residents, neighbors and community members funded by the University of Minnesota’s Good Neighbor grant. She said the project took two years to get funding from the grant, which board members owed to the enthusiasm of the community to liven up the gray concrete facade of the Chateau.

“It just shows how strong the student community is,” Salian said. 

Rosenbush’s design also considered the brutalist architecture of the building itself, she said. 

The images of chickadees perched atop bare tree branches and the Mississippi River, joined by solid blocks of bright colors, were inspired by brutalism’s emphasis on natural materials and straight lines, according to Rosenbush.

“The design is a representation of finding a home away from home,” Nandakumaran said. 

Rosenbush said she chose chickadees specifically because they do not leave Minnesota. She added she wanted the chickadees to represent residents of the building and of the surrounding community of students. 

“These birds have their original nests, and they’ve come to find a sturdy branch here before they take off again and soar to new heights,” Rosenbush said.

A University alumnus, Rosenbush said she was inspired by the “seasonality” of students coming and going from the area as they progress through their collegiate careers. In contrast to the lively trees painted in the mural’s background, the branches the birds are perched atop of are barren to represent Minnesota’s winters, she said. 

Rosenbush said she designed the mural as a project with multiple phases, with the final design reaching the top of the 20-story building. She and the Chateau board are currently working on securing funding for the next phases of the project. 

A mural unveiling event will be held on July 27 at 11 a.m.

From Friday to Sunday, the whirring of tattoo machines filled the St. Paul RiverCentre as tattoo artists from all over the country gathered for the second annual Twin Cities Tattoo Festival. 

Some artists booked appointments in advance, while others did walk-in tattoos. 

Jesse Brady, a local artist who tattoos at the Sacred Siren Tattoo & Art Parlor in Minneapolis, booked her tattoos in advance, doing only one eight- to nine-hour piece daily. She said she wants to tell a story through her artwork.

“I feel like it’s more than just doing a tattoo, it’s giving someone something to hold on to,” Brady said. “Being able to tell those stories is very important to me.”

Brady described her style as illustrative neo-traditional, taking inspiration from American traditional tattoo designs and her background as an oil painter.

Freddie Brown, an illustrative neo-traditional artist from Illinois, said this style of tattooing combines the solid, thick outlines of American traditional designs with contemporary imagery and dynamic colors and shading. He said he dabbled in many styles before focusing on illustrative neo-traditional.    

Almost every style of tattooing was represented, from blackwork and traditional to new school and illustrative realism. The subjects of the art ranged greatly as well, with horror movie imagery and classic American traditional designs being some of the most popular designs.

Chicago-based artist Kelly Severtson said he does a lot of tattoos based on fantasy designs. His flash book was filled with drawings of wizards, goblins, knights and other fantasy-inspired images. 

Tattoo conventions like the Twin Cities Tattoo Festival are great places for tattoo enthusiasts to get tattooed by some of the best artists in the world.

“You got some of the best people in the country coming right to your hometown, and you can easily get something done that weekend,” Brown said.

Many tattoo artists do multiple conventions a year, many of which are organized by the same company as the Twin Cities Festival. Artists like Brown and Brady go to more than 12 festivals a year.

Artists said the ambiance at a festival is completely different than at a parlor.

Kayne Anders, who tattoos at the Black Sheep Tattoo and Art Collective in St. Paul, said at festivals he talks less with clients and takes fewer breaks to tattoo efficiently. He said at his first convention, he was so nervous the floor felt like a wave to him, and he was almost seasick.

Nowadays, Anders is much more comfortable tattooing at conventions. At the Twin Cities Festival, he said he was booked throughout the weekend, working on his full-color new school designs. 

Artists said they love tattoo conventions because it not only allows them to showcase their work, but they are also able to meet and work with some of the best artists in the country. 

“It’s great because we are around high-caliber artists that we’re able to pull inspiration from,” Brown said. 

Each night, the artists gathered to go out together after the convention. Many of them meet friends from across the country at tattoo conventions. 

“The comradery of a convention is like no other place,” Brady said.