No event has as many cherished Minnesota traditions as the State Fair — and yet, every year the first thing fairgoers ask is, “What’s new?” The Fair’s website has a complete rundown of what’s on deck this year, but that’s a lot of information to digest, so here are my personal picks for ten can’t-miss […]
Aside from all the other superlatives, the State Fair is Minnesota’s largest annual music festival — and most of the live performances are free with Fair admission. For the biggest icons (say, Meghan Kreidler and Kevin Costner), Grandstand performances understandably come with an extra ticket charge. If you’re going to the fair this year, be […]
The impact of Bob Dylan’s formative years in Minnesota is something he’s often spoken about — including in his Nobel lecture — but much less often sung about. Even if you stretch (and as you’ll see, I most definitely stretched), a playlist of Dylan’s officially released songs referencing or recorded in Minnesota doesn’t fill 90 […]
Turning 80 this month, Bob Dylan has certainly had an epic life. He’s also written some epic songs — and we mean epic. Although he kept things pretty concise at the beginning of his career, Dylan soon began to draw on the folk tradition of long story songs, putting his own surreal touch on the genre. […]
Yusra Jara isn’t aspiring to fit your idea of a pop artist. Known by the stage name Yusra J, she plans to carve a path into the music industry on her own terms: as a young Somali-Oromo woman with a scarf on her head and sneakers on her feet. Jara, 21, first dove into music […]
Yesterday, I bought concert tickets for the first time in more than a year. The day beforehand, I received my first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. After a year of tension and austerity, these steps make me feel like a door is slowly creaking open — to what, I’m not sure. But I still find […]
Today, Minneapolis band Kind Country shared the news that Max Graham — lead vocalist, mandolinist, and a co-songwriter in the group — has died. “It is with deep regret and sorrow that we inform you that our dear brother, Max, has left this earthly home,” the group wrote in a statement on Facebook. “We are […]
Minnesota’s legendary for its cold winters. How do we survive? By steaming them up. As part of The Current’s Valentine’s Day celebrations, our local music team picked 17 songs that put the X in sex and prove that Minnesota can go toe to toe with any state in the union when it comes to…well, uniting. […]
As Caleb Brennan noted here on the Local Current blog last fall, TikTok is changing the way we interact with music, and fueling music discovery around the world. I thought I’d check back in to see what Minnesota musicians are up to on TikTok this winter. Any great local artists on TikTok that I missed? […]
Happy Christmas Eve! Yesterday, we played all new holiday music for the Coffee Break. Today, let’s focus on classic holiday songs. See if you can only suggest songs that came out 40+ years ago, so prior to 1980. For today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what classic holiday songs do you want to hear? Respond with your […]
