As we approach the two-year anniversary of Prince’s untimely passing next Saturday, April 21, hundreds of people from around the world will make the pilgrimage to Minneapolis to honor him in his hometown. The week will culminate in the big Prince from Minneapolis symposium at the University of Minnesota on April 16-18 and the now-annual Celebration […]
Ten years ago tonight, it was a Friday and I was leaning up against the house-left wall of the Triple Rock Social Club, the holder of a much-coveted spot at the first Minnesota performance by a young band out of New York City. I’d discovered the group in 2007, when their single “Oxford Comma” made […]
The sun has set, the band’s last lingering note has faded, and the fans are headed towards the exits. What’s left on the ground? Hopefully just the sweat and emotions from a long day of outdoor music. That’s the goal of an increasing number of artists, venues, and companies working to reduce the environmental footprint […]
Over 150,000 people have already watched a guitar “shredding” duel broadcast live on Facebook this morning from A440 Studios in New Hope, Minnesota. It was a promotional stunt for tax preparation company H&R Block, which billed it as “the first ever guitar-powered document-shredding live event.” Famed metal axe-man Michael Angelo Batio held it down on […]
I’m sure Lo Moon occasionally play shows in surroundings that aren’t pop-up warehouse venues under skies of artificial clouds, but I’ll have to see it to believe it. The L.A. trio couldn’t have had a more perfect setting for last night’s SXSW performance than the Sony-sponsored Trinity Warehouse. Multi-hued lights razored past the band into […]
After The Current’s Pledge House party yesterday (follow along again today on our website and Facebook page), our staff celebrated over barbecue in true Austin fashion, then split off to explore SXSW. Without a predetermined plan, I opened the showcase guide and followed my instinct, checking out four artists’ sets and a Dutch-curated “Living Museum.” […]
Today is International Women’s Day, and the Current is in the midst of a 24-long celebration of influential women artists — find our full day of programming here. As we spend the day reflecting on the issues facing women around the world, it got me thinking about all the incredible, pioneering artists who have broken […]
Venue. Venue. Venue, venue, venue. With welcoming signs unmissable on sidewalks throughout downtown Red Wing, it seems like every bookstore, wine bar, and Scandinavian gift shop (okay, maybe not the latter) has been deputized as a music venue for the first-ever Big Turn Music Fest. It’s a triumphant homecoming for Sam Brown, who’s had such […]
Kendrick Lamar’s new album is a soundtrack. Black Panther: The Album was curated by Lamar, who performs on five of the 14 tracks. In Ryan Coogler’s movie, which opens Friday, music from Lamar’s album is artfully blended with music by Ludwig Göransson, whose orchestral score incorporates musicians recorded in Senegal and South Africa. The way Lamar’s […]
Dosh just sent “some random e-mails to friends,” he remembers, asking them to sing the songs of Mister Rogers. “Just record them into your cell phone, make it kind of low-fi, don’t even worry about going into the studio. Just send it to me and then I’ll sort of do my thing with it. I’ll […]
