Will Moore, WTIP, North Shore Community Radio | 04/27/20
Paul Metsa has been making music for 50 years, be it growing up in his hometown of Virginia on Minnesota's Iron Range, down in the Twin Cities, or travelling with his band Cats Under the Stars. He talks with Will Moore on the Scenic Route about his beginnings, influences, wild parties, strange shows, and the myriad of songs he's written over the years, concluding with his latest "You Can't Be Brave If You're Not Scared."
By Martin Keller, Media Savant Communications | 01/30/20
TWIN CITIES – January 30, 2020 – The Minnesota artist from Virginia, Minnesota, that the Huffington Post once called “Minnesota’s other great Iron Range songwriter,” Paul Metsa, realized yet another Bob Dylan benchmark recently. On January 24, 2020, he helped celebrate “Gerde’s Folk City at 60” — the 60-year anniversary of the opening of Gerdes Folk City club in New York, the famous and intimate Greenwich Village spot where Dylan made his New York City debut in 1961, opening for bluesman John Lee Hooker. The club subsequently supported an array of artists, from folk to blues to rock including Sonic Youth.
BlogTalkRadio | 01/11/20
Gerde’s Folk City - 60th Anniversary Concert Friday, Jan. 24th 8:00 PM- 9:30 PM (Doors 7:00 PM) Info: http://www.theiridium.com/ 1650 Broadway NYC, $30.00. Featuring folksinger, author, activist Paul Metsa from Minneapolis, hosted by Richard Barone of the Bongos and Bob Porco, grandson of Folk City’s founder and a lineup of great artists who made their mark at Folk City in Greenwich Village. Folk City officially opened January, 1960. Rolling Stone’s “Book of Lists” called Folk City one of the three top music venues in the world. Artists: Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Simon & Garfunkel, Bette Midler, the Mamas and the Papas, Patti Smith, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Suzanne Vega, The Byrds and many others.
To celebrate 40 years in a volatile and ever-changing business, Paul Metsa hopes to assemble a poetry book for you AND record a spoken word album with some of the best musicians in the business. Please support this heartfelt IndieGoGo campaign! Read about Paul’s project and the perks offered to those who lend a helping hand.
Paul reads his poem, Liquid Heart, at his show at the West Theater in Duluth, MN on November 10, 2019.
This poem will be included in Alphabet Jazz, Paul's new book of poetry.
By John Bream, Star Tribune | 12/24/19
On Monday night, Minneapolis singer-songwriter Paul Metsa seemed almost as discombobulated at the Parkway Theater as the Vikings’ offense did at U.S. Bank Stadium. The difference is that while the Vikes had a playbook that went nowhere, Metsa worked without a setlist yet still managed to triumph. That’s because he’s a captivating storyteller, whether in song or in conversation, and an adept audible caller, especially when he gets help from his highly skilled musical friends.
Jacob Frey, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, proclaims Monday, December 23, 2019, as Paul Metsa Day in the City of Minneapolis!
This original poem was written by Paul Metsa and read and produced by Andy Watson.
"Memo from Rego Park" is included in Alphabet Jazz, Paul's new book of poetry.
Audio only version (mp3)
By Pamela Espeland, MinnPost | 12/18/19
Monday at the Parkway: Paul Metsa “Holiday on Ice Cubes” 40th Anniversary Concert. HuffPost called him “the other great folksinger from Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range.” A fixture on Minnesota’s music scene for decades, eight-time Minnesota Music Awards winner, radio and TV host, author of “Blue Guitar Highway,” writer of the great American folk song “Jack Ruby in a Cavanagh Hat,” devoted dog lover and newly minted poet (he’ll release his first collection, “Alphabet Jazz,” at this show), Metsa will share the stage with guests including Cats Under the Stars, Sonny Earl and Master of Ceremonies Bobby Vandell. Expect some tender memories of Willie Walker, Metsa’s Thursday-night musical partner at Shaw’s neighborhood bar for eight years, who died on Nov. 19. This event will also be a benefit for a Northeast food shelf. 7-9 p.m.
This original poem was written by Paul Metsa and read by Priscilla Watson. Produced by ANDVD Media.
"Gods and Monkeys" is included in Alphabet Jazz, Paul's new book of poetry.
Audio only version (mp3)
"Summer" is a poem written by Paul Metsa for the book and spoken word recording "Alphabet Jazz." Produced by Andy Watson.
“Summers days fade into early twilightand then at first slippery leavesbecome crisp and crumblebetween honest hands and fingersnow brown having given up the green, red, and goldwith the snap of a finger become nothing but forgotten dustboth so and fast and then so oldwhich the wind accepts for just a moment to beholdthen whatever to be left in this universeall by now both bought and soldthe ancient age from whence they camewelcomes them in silent whispersWhere have you been my silent leavesa seed again now welcome home.”
This original poem was written by Paul Metsa and read and produced by Andy Watson.
"Love is a Dangerous Highway" is included in Alphabet Jazz, Paul's new book of poetry.
"Wild Pony Dream"is included in Alphabet Jazz, Paul's new book of poetry.
This poem was written by Paul Metsa, read by Priscilla Watson, and produced by Andy Watson.
If Junior Mints Could Talkis included in Alphabet Jazz, Paul's new book of poetry.
This original poem was written by Paul Metsa and read and produced by Andy Watson.
"Amy" is included in Alphabet Jazz, Paul's new book of poetry.
The video was created by artist Doug Kallberg, with Paul Metsa’s Acoustic Quartet featuring Wee Willie Walker (winner of the Living Blues 2018 Critics Poll for Outstanding Blues Singer of 2018), Sonny Earl and singers Mari Harris and Randi Starr Hudson.
This video premiered online in conjunction with the live performance of the Paul Metsa Blues Quartet at the Actions for Change concert in Parkland, Florida on September 30, 2018.
By Martin Keller, Media Savant Communications | 09/23/18
A dramatic new video will premier online this week underscoring the hateful legacy of gun and racial violence in America to accompany the new Civil Rights anthem “Ain’t Gonna Whistle Dixie anymore,” which will be one of the featured live performances September 30 during the annual Actions for Change Concert in Parkland, Fla., site of the February 2018 tragic school shooting in which 14 students and 3 staff members died.
By Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune | 08/08/18
A cross-section of Twin Cities music vets have banded together to record a new anti-racism anthem, which they released today ahead of a white supremacist rally planned this weekend in Washington, D.C. Memphis-reared blues belter Willie Walker takes the lead in “Ain’t Gonna Whistle Dixie Anymore,” a song written by and recorded with Minneapolis troubadour Paul Metsa. Local gospel/soul choir Sounds of Blackness also lent their giant voices to put an exclamation point on the song.
By Adrian Williams, Local Current Blog | 08/08/18
Today Rock the Cause Records released a new single from Minnesota artists Paul Metsa, Wee Willie Walker and Sounds of Blackness, titled “Ain’t Gonna Whistle Dixie Anymore.” The new release comes around the same time in August as the anniversary of last year’s march in Charlottesville, Va. and the four-year anniversary of the uprising in Ferguson, Mo.
By Christa Lawler, Duluth News Tribune | 08/09/18
Paul Metsa was there. The Iron Range-bred bluesman still occasionally pops up on the bluesfest schedule, though not this year. His invitation to the first fest has a touch of lore.
