This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Colleen is originally from Washington, D.C. and now lives in Minneapolis. She is the founder of Pass The Mic, a blog dedicated to amplifying the voices of women, trans, and non-binary folks in music. When she’s not writing about music or recording a podcast, Colleen plays guitar in local bands and visits music venues around the Twin Cities. You can catch her at The Cedar Cultural Center or 7th Street Entry seeing a show, or curled up at home where she enjoys knitting, baking, and reading feminist novels.
Features, Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf: Imagining a New Future with Janelle Monáe and Octavia Butler
This piece is part of Off the Shelf, a column where I give a book recommendation inspired by one of my favorite albums. ...
By Colleen Cowie | November 22, 2019
Dream Setlist
Dream Setlist: Lizzo
No one can put on a live performance like Lizzo. From flute playing to spitting through killer rap verses to twerking wi...
By Colleen Cowie | October 31, 2019
Album Reviews, Reviews
Colleen Reviews Chastity Belt’s “Chastity Belt”
Chastity Belt turn the focus inward on their latest album. The self-titled LP treats existential dread with compassion a...
By Colleen Cowie | October 11, 2019
Features, Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf: Roxane Gay, Mitski, and the Invisible Weight
This piece is part of Off the Shelf, a column where I recommend a book based on an album that I love. Throughout my life...
By Colleen Cowie | October 05, 2019
Album Reviews, Reviews, Uncategorized
Colleen Reviews Sampa the Great’s “The Return”
Sampa the Great’s latest album, The Return, is an impressive feat. After years of crossing the globe, writing musi...
By Colleen Cowie | September 30, 2019
Album Reviews, Reviews
Colleen reviews Mallrat’s Driving Music
“When I get my braces off, I’m gonna be a rockstar,” Grace Shaw sings decidedly on her latest EP, Driv...
By Colleen Cowie | September 19, 2019
Album Reviews, Reviews
Colleen Reviews Lana del Rey’s “Norman Fucking Rockwell!”
Lana del Rey doesn’t ease you into her latest album, she drops you smack dab in the center of her apocalyptic yet ...
By Colleen Cowie | September 14, 2019
Album Reviews, Reviews
Colleen Reviews WAAX’s “Big Grief”
While Australian quintet WAAX emerge from a legacy of pop-punk and garage rock, they unapologetically assert their own v...
By Colleen Cowie | September 07, 2019
Features, Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf: Tackling the Beast with Kamasi Washington’s “The Epic” and John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden”
This piece is part of Off the Shelf, a column where I recommend a book based on an album that I love. Throughout my life...
By Colleen Cowie | September 03, 2019
Album Reviews, Reviews
Colleen Reviews Clairo’s “Immunity”
For her full-length debut, Clairo takes her career-launching bedroom pop out of the bedroom. The result is a dynamic and...
By Colleen Cowie | August 24, 2019
Features, Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf: Finding Common Ground in Stella Donnelly’s “Beware of the Dogs” and Ali Smith’s “Autumn”
Summer, for me, has always been an opportunity to lose myself in the world of books: whether it’s required summer ...
By Colleen Cowie | August 17, 2019
Album Reviews, Reviews
Colleen Reviews Strange Ranger’s “Remembering the Rockets”
For a band of twentysomethings, Strange Ranger convey an aching sense of nostalgia on their latest album — but als...