In August 2025, we reviewed a group of local bands who were playing as part of a Northstar Original Revue event. Take a look at that review for a little more background, but NOR are doing some great work to give both new and established local artists an opportunity to perform. On a grossly sleet-filled evening in Saint Paul, it was a great chance to see a variety of acts in the warm confines of the Midway Saloon.

Up first was The Flying T, brainchild of Tony Mills, a singer, song writer and multi-instrumentalist. They came to stage as a duo (vocals/guitar, stand up bass). Starting with Rabbit with Knives was a great beginning, as it highlighted the dark humor and the solid folk rock sound of The Flying T (check Bandcamp for a collection of singles). Trains and Thunder had a dark guitar riff and let both musicians have fun with an extended musical section. On the Day that the Devil Came to Town had a good introductory joke (hint, it was January 6th) and was a bouncy instrumental belying the song’s title. Closing with Horror Movie, a pretty dystopian take, The Flying T had started the evening off strong. The trio (they normally have a mandolin player) will be opening for The Roe Family Singers over at the 331 Club on April 13, and is a great chance to catch this deviously fun band.

Up next was Taylor Robert, coming to stage solo on acoustic guitar. Having released an album Brighter Day last year, he was already playing some new songs planned for the next album. This was very Americana folk, and the first song with its chorus of “when the prayers run out” connected well. This was a straightforward sound and Robert had a good vocal tone that worked with the musical vibe. After a quick tuning, we got a slower ballad that let Robert croon. There was the most country sounding number and Robert finished up his set with a song called The Anthem, his take on recent times up here.

Coffee Vanilla Band was a duo (vocals/keyboards and vocals/guitar) whose female lead singer had a bit of a Stevie Nicks sound. That keys & guitar combo also had a bit of a 70’s retro rock feel and this was definitely a change of pace from the earlier artists. A deep cut of a Judas Priest song Angel was next and had a switch of lead vocalist. Given that there were only the two musicians, they made this feel big and that’s pretty impressive. Thanking NOR and Midway Saloon for the opportunity, it was appropriate that the next number was titled Thank You, a quieter number that let both musicians have their chance at lead vocals.

Zola (full name Zola Rosenfeld) was introduced as a storytelling singer and came to stage solo with guitar. Her first song, Active Citizen, is part of the compilation album Thaw, an anti-ICE album with 30 local Twin Cities artists. Zola had a strong vocal tone that cut through the crowd noise. Unreliable Narrator was pretty brilliant indie rock and Zola had great stage presence and a really strong voice that got to ride free on the end of that song. After a quick sip of water, Zola finished up her set about her OCD and deep research into disasters which was offset by “If this doesn’t resonate for you, that’s probably a good thing”. The song itself was another very good number, and I’d be willing to bet we will see a lot more of Zola going forward.

Next was Dylan Wylde, playing solo on guitar with his country Americana style. Utah was a good opener and his strong baritone voice rang through the entirety of the Midway Saloon. A “this is more upbeat, but not happier” led to Heartbreaker, which was a very accurate description and actually got the crowd to clap along in the latter part of the number. Wylde had a very good sense of humor and rapport with the audience between songs before jumping back into those pretty bleak Americana songs. For the genre, this was pretty peak, and we’ll be looking for that upcoming LP for sure. A heartfelt intro to The Love I Loved the Most was a perfect close for Dylan Wylde’s heartfelt style.

The Peter Rivard Duo (vocals/banjo/ukelele, guitar/vocals/mandolin) continued the Americana theme and the pair started with letting the audience know they had been playing together for twenty years, “so we’re going to start with an argument”. A dry sense of humor “I’m going to play a little guitar” as he switched to uke, we got a song about being a grandfather, and the duo had a comfortable control of things. There’s something to veteran musicians just doing their thing, and these guys had it in spades. There was a banjo heavy instrumental number and it really fit the vibe of the evening. Heading in a different direction, they closed on a bit of a St. Patrick’s Day theme with a nice instrumental and The Peter Rivard Duo finished their set with a real Irish sound.

Last up was Quarter Moon and it was a complete change of pace, both from age (13-18 year olds!) and genre. The punk rock trio (vocals/bass, guitar/vocals, and drums) were hot out of the gate, and those lower tenor vocals had that slight punk whine, which was perfect for the material. Quarter Moon was blowing the doors off in terms of tempo and volume and the crowd (including many of the Americana performers) were into it. That might be the calling card for NOR, a community of musicians who love music, and it’s a pleasure that such a thing exists. A quick tuning and bad joke, and Quarter Moon were back into it, with crashing drums leading into dual vocals from guitarists and bassist. A change of guitar gave us a reverb heavy intro and Quarter Moon was in full thrash mode. As they closed out the set and evening, all of the bands had shown up strong and NOR continues to promote great local events.