A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:

Don Watson of Minneapolis:

1 Dave Rave, Capybara Lounge. The Canadian singer put on another amazing show at this yard concert. His once-a-summer stop was as exciting as flying on a Learjet, thanks to the great hospitality of Laura and Scott Burns.

2 Vinyl Fridays, Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative. Each Friday in the northeast Minneapolis brewery's B-Side Lounge, there is a different theme where DJ Jeremy Mathison plays full sides of vinyl. It's like having a your own record flipper.

3 HiFi Hair and Records alley shows. The schedule is out for HiFi's alley shows near Loring Park this year. Four great Sunday afternoon shows, starting July 16 with Eleganza, put on by the only one who could. Stop in, check out some records, get a little off the top and get all the details from proprietor Jon Clifford.

Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:

1 Girl in Red, U.S. Bank Stadium. Opening for Taylor Swift for two nights, Norway's pop-punk singer Girl in Red, aka Marie Ulven, rose to the occasion in an oversized setting, showing spunk, verve and a sense of place, mentioning that there are a lot of Norwegians in Minnesota and Vikings, as well. Next time, she'll definitely draw fans to a more fitting venue.

2 Malina Moye, the Dakota. She returned to her former hometown to shred and the celebrated blueswoman did. Her guitar prowess is why she received a Minnesota Black Music Award before the show. However, her vocals, pacing and patter don't quite measure up just yet to her guitar flash and fire.

3 "When the Rodeo is Over (Where Does the Cowboy Go?)" video by Tanya Tucker. The video of the pedal steel-kissed ballad is a perfect melancholy melding of melody, vocals and visuals, with broncos, belt buckles and leather-faced cowboys including former rodeo champ Bobby "Hooter" Brown. Shoutout to Joanne Gardner, who came out of retirement to direct the video.

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