GIRL AT THE ROCK SHOW
Howard Zinn Died For Your Sins
Saturday night was the celebration of the release of Cindy’s newest album, ;‘¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!’. If you haven’t heard this four-song album, you need to stop reading this immediately and check it out. It’s not only a slice of garage-punk perfection, but also a testament to the times we are living in. Each song captures what we have all been going through, especially those of us here in Minneapolis. It’s an angst-driven fuck-you to the government and the people in charge. It’s a hug of support for those affected by all the nasty chaos we are surrounded by. Langen Goldstein, GIRL AT THE ROCK SHOW. https://girlattherockshows.com/2026/10/25/20261024-cindylawson-cloudland/
Cindy's Bio
She's an American singer/songwriter both charming and profane.
Cindy Lawson began her rock and roll career in Minneapolis in 1985 with the all-female rock band, The Clams. Over the years, she played in several bands in Minneapolis and New York City, but then took a break starting in the late '90s. Cindy returned in full force in 2021, and in 2022 released “New Tricks,” her first full-length record in 25 years on Boston’s Rum Bar Records.
New Tricks got airplay both nationally (on Little Steven’s Underground Garage and on Little Steven’s Coolest Songs in the World) and internationally, garnering rave reviews and airplay across the globe. In quick succession, she released a new single and video called “Don’t Come Crying To Me” in 2023 that was immediately picked for Little Steven’s Coolest Songs in the World Channel on Sirius XM. The eponymous EP was released later that year, and landed in the top ten of 2023 local releases on RacketMN, and listed on KFAI's list of "Best Local Releases of 2023." Two songs from the EP, "I Don't Want You Anymore" and "Screamin' White Jezus," were in daily rotation on Stevie's Coolest Songs station in winter of 2023-2024.
She released the single “The Reckoning” in September of 2025 on Hygh Tension/Virgin records, then recorded three more songs inspired by the strength and resilience of the good people of Minnesota, and will be releasing the EP, ¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE! on October 3, 2026 with assistance from Boston’s own Rum Bar Records. Since her return to performing in 2021, she's played hundreds of shows throughout Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Boston. During that time she's opened for Everclear, The Dollyrots, The Dogmatics, The Suburbs, Tina and the B Sides, The Melismatics, Mark Mallman, The Von Tramps, Run Westy Run, Colin Bracewell, Venus DeMars and All the Pretty Horses, Flipp, and many more.
¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE! Press Quotes
“The four rockers are ball-busters in a Stooges-esque sort of way.”
Peter Jesperson, Music Producer (The Replacements), Writer, DJ
“If ‘punch the fuck back’ is on your to-do list, then this is your soundtrack. It’s a slamming new EP from the awesome Cindy Lawson and her band, four tracks that never let up. Turn it all the way up, and may the lord have mercy on everyone in your way!”
Jacob Slichter, Professor, Musician (Semisonic)
“The best and most important album about the ICE occupation of Minneapolis!”
Taylor Carik, Artist, Writer, Musician
¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE! QUOTES
"Cindy Lawson debuted on this blog as singer of The Clams, when the band's work was re-released in 2022 and remained a fixture through the years since after she picked up her music career. In 2026 she releases a four song EP, that rocks loudly from beginning to end. She has an urgent message to share and has no time to spare for subtleties. Single 'The Reckoning' has already received a spot on this page but rocks so hard that it deserves mentioning once again. In the lyrics Lawson goes full out and makes it a reckoning to all who have done her wrong over the years. That punkrock/garagerock attitude is taken along into the second song 'Burn'. "Minnesota fights against fascism", "don't believe the lies". Just a two lines from the song and you know that the resistance is in full force here. Cindy Lawson and band nail the blatant fascism in the U.S. to the musical wall. Again, the story that in modern music there is no political outrage any more is laid by the wayside. Punk music (and folk music) have always been politically outspoken and Cindy Lawson has enough anger in her to want to vent it, from a personal and public point of view. Long Live The Resistance vents it all. To top it all, she shares 'Howard Zinn Died For Your Sins' with us. It doesn't get more angrier than this song. "How do you sleep at night?". "We were there, we saw it happen ... in our town, you shot them down". This is all about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, denying everything writer Howard Zinn (1922-2010) stood for. At the same time this is not just punk rage and anger, but also musically the song is so good. "
Wout de Natris, WoNo Blog, The Netherlands
“Cindy Lawson has delivered an EP that remembers punk was never meant to sit quietly in the corner and behave itself. There are some cracking guitar riffs here, a healthy dose of attitude and enough venom in the vocals to make the message stick...Punk rock still has teeth, and Cindy Lawson isn’t afraid to bite.”
Steve Ritson, Rock The Joint
“The EP as a whole is a powerful counter to the billionaire-fed media garbage that seeks to downplay government atrocities. ‘¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!‘ defies the behaviour and rhetoric of the fascist regime in four timely, catch-as-hell tracks which prove that Punk protest songs are still essential!”
Ruth Rae, Punktuation
“On ‘The Reckoning,’ she purrs, bellows, snarls, and squeals with not just power but command, an amalgam of Ronnie Spector, Joan Jett, the Runaways, and Tina Turner, while her band roars like the Stooges meets Motorhead. The lyrics tell the tale of a cad who gets his due.”
Jim Testa, Constant Listener:Jim Testa
“I’m saying it again. The Reckoning is a masterpiece and will be in my forever rotation. Music that deserves to be heard and it shall be.”
Boris Boden, Woody Radio ‘The Secret Weapon’
“The indefatigable rocker is back with garage-punk fury, rhyming ‘avoid’ with ‘schadenfreude’ and declaring ‘Karma’s a bitch and so am I’ en route to the the chilling coda: ‘If you could get away with it would you do it again?’”
Keith Harris, Racket MN
“A punk-rock rager befitting the times, this fire feminist blast of a benefit single for Dia Hablos Hoy and Monarca gives us all the shoutalong chorus of ‘Don’t believe the lies!’ and confronts the likes of Trump, Bovino, Homan et al with roaring guitars, drums and vocals:
You kill what you don’t understand
Does it make you feel like more of a man
We’re the daughters of the witches you couldn’t burn
You stupid git you’ll never learn
Jim Walsh, MINNPOST
