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Jon Bream

Critic / Reporter
Pop Music
Bream has interviewed such music royalty as the King of Pop (Michael Jackson), the Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin) and Prince as well as Bob Dylan, U2, three Beatles, four Rolling Stones and all of Maroon 5. He has performed with Alice Cooper, jogged with Willie Nelson and walked the streets of New York with Bruce Springsteen. A longtime voter for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bream has also written for the Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Vibe and other publications. He has a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota, where he established the Jon Bream Scholarship for Arts Criticism.

Latest from Jon Bream

Our top 5 picks for food and music at free Taste of Minnesota festival

From Joan Jett and Nur-D to wings and momos, there is something for everyone at the free downtown Minneapolis festival.
July 5, 2025
Estelle Alexander enjoys some sweet corn while at the Taste of Minnesota Sunday.

Heading to Twin Cities for July 4th, Al Jardine will honor fellow Beach Boy Brian Wilson

He reflects on Wilson and his own new music with Neil Young and Flea.
July 4, 2025

Palmer’s, legendary 119-year-old Minneapolis dive bar, will close in September

The owners cited declining alcohol sales at the watering hole once hailed by Esquire as one of the best bars in America.
July 3, 2025

The Big Gigs: 10 top concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week

Highlights for July 3-9 include Teddy Swims, Trampled by Turtles, Obi Original, Al Jardine, and Taste of Minnesota with Joan Jett and Ludacris.
July 2, 2025

The Big Gigs: 10 top concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week

Highlights for June 26-July 2 include Pride festivities, the Blue Ox fest, the Klituation, the Killers, Weird Al and Billy Corgan.
June 25, 2025

Bob Dylan has another book coming this fall — an art book

There also is a new audiobook of his 2004 memoir but not the anticipated Volume 2 yet.
June 24, 2025
FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2015 file photo, Bob Dylan accepts the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year award at the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year show in Los Angeles. Dylan's "Tarantula," a stream-of-consciousness work first released in 1971, is finally coming out in audio. Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, that Will Patton is the narrator, reciting such lines as "raggedy ann daughter of brazos and teeth in the necklace." Dylan first wrote "Tarantula" in the mid-1960s, at the heigh

Country star Dustin Lynch will perform after Aug. 15 Twins-Tigers game

This concert follows rapper Nelly’s postgame gig on July 11 at Target Field.
June 23, 2025
Dustin Lynch performs first during the Luke Bryan Kick The Dust Up Tour at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis June 20, 2015. (Courtney Perry/Special to the Star Tribune)

Billboard ranks best R&B artists of all time, and guess who’s No. 1

Prince rates No. 7, his favorite number.
June 19, 2025
In an undated handout photo, Prince performs in Birmingham, England. In his latest confounding move, Prince has simultaneously released two albums: ìArt Official Age,î a studio production billed as his first solo album since 2010 and ìPlectrumElectrum,î on which heís backed by the three-woman rock trio he has been touring with, 3rdEyeGirl.

The Big Gigs: 10 top concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week

Highlights for June 26-July 2 include Pride festivities, the Blue Ox fest, the Klituation, the Killers, Weird Al and Billy Corgan.
June 25, 2025

Bob Dylan has another book coming this fall — an art book

There also is a new audiobook of his 2004 memoir but not the anticipated Volume 2 yet.
June 24, 2025
FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2015 file photo, Bob Dylan accepts the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year award at the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year show in Los Angeles. Dylan's "Tarantula," a stream-of-consciousness work first released in 1971, is finally coming out in audio. Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, that Will Patton is the narrator, reciting such lines as "raggedy ann daughter of brazos and teeth in the necklace." Dylan first wrote "Tarantula" in the mid-1960s, at the heigh

Country star Dustin Lynch will perform after Aug. 15 Twins-Tigers game

This concert follows rapper Nelly’s postgame gig on July 11 at Target Field.
June 23, 2025
Dustin Lynch performs first during the Luke Bryan Kick The Dust Up Tour at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis June 20, 2015. (Courtney Perry/Special to the Star Tribune)

Billboard ranks best R&B artists of all time, and guess who’s No. 1

Prince rates No. 7, his favorite number.
June 19, 2025
In an undated handout photo, Prince performs in Birmingham, England. In his latest confounding move, Prince has simultaneously released two albums: ìArt Official Age,î a studio production billed as his first solo album since 2010 and ìPlectrumElectrum,î on which heís backed by the three-woman rock trio he has been touring with, 3rdEyeGirl.
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