Wendy
V's Local
BlendWendy
V's Local
BlendThe newsletter formerly known as "Local Folk", taking a look at some music and musicians you don't hear enough about
Celebrating 12 years of local music support!
WHAT IT'S ABOUT AND A BRIEF HISTORY...
If you are a regular reader of the arts/music sections of any of the local daily or weekly papers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, you see that most often the lion's share of the coverage is given to area rock bands. Every now and then you find some mention of musicians in other genres who reached a level to have built a name for themselves. However, many, many talented but not yet widely known musicians are playing regularly (most often for tips) in Twin Cities coffeehouses and clubs. You may have seen their names in the weekly listings for the coffeehouses now and then. But when you're short on money and time and planning your entertainment and leisure choices, you probably didn't think much about checking them out. Perhaps because you didn't know anything about them, opting instead to spend the time and dollar on the familiar, tried and true names. So, Wendy V's Local Blend aims to give space to those coffeehouse performers to bring a little name recognition to them and tell people about their music. Thus, hopefully, the next time you're scanning those music listings wondering what to do, you might spot a name or two you read about here and decide to take a chance and go hear them. These days, everyone's a critic. That's not my job. The intent here is to lift up and encourage these folks.
For the first few years of its existence, beginning as a paper publication, it was a newsletter known as "Local Folk". So why the name change? Though most artists tend to play "unplugged" or acoustic in coffeehouse or club settings, musical styles run the gamut from folk, blues, pop, jazz and other genres. The switch to the title "Wendy V's Local Blend" made in March/April 1998 more accurately reflects the variety and "blend" of styles you'll hear in these venues (and of course, "blend" can also refer to coffee..).
As things continue to change both in technology and lives, these days Wendy V's Local Blend is now more in blog style. I've gone into other life directions and don't always keep the structured schedule I was keeping back when I called Local Blend a newsletter. Now it works better for me to post when I have something to say.
Though Local Blend's purpose is to promote these musicians, you won't find a lot of gig dates and listings within the publication itself. That information is readily available from previously mentioned other sources around town or other entertainment sites found on the links section of this website. Online readers can also check the Gig Calendar which contains links to gig date pages for artists and venues. The idea here is to concentrate on news and background on the musicians, and to let you know about related support organizations, resources and activities which benefit both the musician and fan segments of the readership.
Remember how you felt the first time you heard
that famous musician who rocked your world? The same experience can happen right
in your own area, by a new face and voice, in a small, intimate setting of a
coffeehouse or club. Take it from me. It was one or two experiences in
discovering wonderful local talent that led me to start this work. It's a reward
that works both ways. You are touched by the words and music of others, and you
in turn are encouraging musicians in achieving their dream of reaching others
through their music. Give it a chance soon.--Wendy V