Bob Dylan has just announced a show at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center on Oct. 25, with Mavis Staples. When Dylan last came to town, in 2014, The Current’s staff set out to review every one of Bob Dylan’s studio albums since his 1962 debut. Freshly updated with coverage of Dylan’s newest releases, written by […]
I didn’t believe all those music heads who told me to listen closer to The Joshua Tree. I didn’t believe all my friends and mentors, who see U2 live every chance they get and rave about it for weeks after the fact. I didn’t even believe Brian Oake, who I believe about most things, when he […]
Walking onto the light rail around 7 p.m., I noticed several people obviously headed to the same place as me. Five teens in crop tops chatted about rappers YG and D.R.A.M. On the other side of the train, one girl faced her friend. “I have to get a T-shirt,” she told him. “At Kendrick? I have […]
Being at a Sylvan Esso concert feels like standing in a confetti shower. That’s not how I would’ve described their music before last night’s show at First Avenue. But standing as small strips of noise tumbled onto each other, watching one of the best light shows I’ve ever seen, I felt a silly glee that’s […]
“My first time playing here was in January 2013,” Donna Grantis told the audience on Friday night. At the Dakota, she and 3RDEYEGIRL — Grantis on guitar, Ida Nielsen on bass, and Hannah Welton on drums — made their live debut with Prince. “We were so new we didn’t even have a band name,” Grantis […]
“Epic” is the word that comes to my mind to describe last night’s Guns N’ Roses: Not in this Lifetime performance at U.S. Bank Stadium. Yes, I said epic. I’ll be honest: My expectations were low. I may have been too quick to judge how age affected the music by watching a few YouTube videos […]
Just when I thought myself exhausted, the Revolution took the stage. It’s been a long weekend, what with Current/Walker Art Center fest Rock the Garden on Saturday and day-after coverage taking up my Sunday. I normally avoid writing about concerts two days in a row, trying to stay healthy and well-rested — but I’ve made […]
Ever since Prince died, I’ve made it a mission statement to see the legends live. When Ms. Lauryn Hill came to First Avenue, I bought tickets to go with K.Raydio. Likewise, I wouldn’t have missed legend-in-the-making Beyoncé at TCF Bank Stadium last summer. So when I heard Diana Ross, 73, had booked a date at […]
“I love outdoor shows,” said Natalie Merchant, warmly but also sarcastically. “Can you tell?” On Monday night at the Minnesota Zoo’s Weesner Family Amphitheater, the singer-songwriter battled bugs, birds, airplanes, and imaginary tigers, but emerged triumphant. Merchant’s always been a compelling live performer, in part because she’s not afraid to let her occasional onstage discomfort […]
“We all see a reflection of ourselves in at least one of Grant’s songs,” said Mary Jane Mansfield — a friend of Grant Hart and a fellow musician — as she introduced an evening full of music and friends gathered to pay tribute to Hart at the Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge on Saturday […]
