Wye Oak performs live from SXSW March 15, 2008 Baltimore duo Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack chose the name Wye Oak after they realized Monarch, their first choice for a name had already been claimed by 7 other bands. Their recorded sound is layered and lush. They try to capture that same sound when the two of them perform live, but they also feel that if a song is good enough, it should be able to stand on its own. Read More ›
Lightspeed Champion performs live from SXSW March 15, 2008 Devonte Hynes used to draw a comic strip called Lightspeed Champion to kill time while he was in math class. When his indie-buzz band Test Icicles broke up in 2006, Hynes resurrected the name for his new project. Read More ›
Carbon/Silicon performs live from SXSW March 14, 2008 No, Carbon/Silicon isn't a chemistry lesson about the periodic table of elements. It's a collaboration between The Clash's Mick Jones and Tony James of the Billy Idol-fronted Generation X, which sounds more like dance rock rather than their punk roots. Read More ›
Darondo and Nino Moschella perform live from SXSW March 14, 2008 Here's the short story: being compared to Al Green, he recorded three soul singles in the early 1970s, disappeared for 25 years until BBC Radio 1 host Gilles Peterson brought Darondo, also known as Double D or Dynamite D, out of hiding in 2005 on his "Gilles Peterson Digs America" compilation. That's also the long story. Read More ›
Billy Bragg performs live from SXSW March 14, 2008 With a music career spanning over two decades, the sometimes folk and sometimes punk singer/songwriter Billy Bragg has teamed up with legendary artists like Wilco and Johnny Marr (The Smiths) as well as new artists like Kate Nash in addition to his abundant solo work. Read More ›
She & Him perform live from SXSW March 14, 2008 Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward first met when they were recording a Richard Thompson song for a movie soundtrack. The actress and the singer-songwriter hit it off and soon after that, Deschanel shared with Ward some of the songs she had written. Volume One is their first CD together. Read More ›
The Duke Spirit performs live from SXSW March 14, 2008 The Duke Spirit is coming to America again, despite a 2006 tour that saw all their gear stolen in Portland and a broken elbow for bassist Toby Butler in Las Vegas. Read More ›
Dizzee Rascal performs live from SXSW March 14, 2008 Dizzee Rascal grew up in the East End of London, and honed his MC skills as a teenager at raves and on pirate radio. Read More ›
White Williams performs live from SXSW March 14, 2008 One critic wrote that the music of White Williams ties pop eclecticism to peripateticism. We figure that's exactly what 23-year old Cleveland native Joe Williams was hoping for while he was recording Smoke (because nothing is more rock and roll than peripateticism). Read More ›
Karen Vieno Paurus performs in The Current studio March 14, 2008 If you get out to nightclubs in the Twin Cities at all, there's a good chance you've heard Karen Vieno Paurus play and sing. She's often seen with Lili's Burlesque Revue as the "Sultry Chanteuse" and has been involved with a few MPR "Stage Session" shows at the Fitzgerald Theater. Read More ›
Mike Doughty: Virtual Session January 15, 2021 Mike Doughty joins Morning Show host Jill Riley from his home in Memphis to talk about his new project Ghost Of Vroom, his latest book I Die Each Time I Hear The Sound. Plus, hear performances of a few recent tracks and a familiar favorite. Read More ›
Bartees Strange: Virtual Session December 23, 2020 Bartees Strange joins Jade for a virtual session to play songs from his latest record, Live Forever, out now on Memory Music. They'll also be talking about leaving places that prevent you from feeling free, covering The National and SAMIA, and what he's working on in his studio for his family this Christmas. Read More ›
Nilufer Yanya: Virtual Session December 22, 2020 Nilufer Yanya joins Sean McPherson to play songs from her new EP, Feeling Lucky? which was released earlier this month. They'll be discussing the freedoms of releasing EPs over albums, why she loves writing angry songs, and recalibrating to a year without live shows. Read More ›
Jade Bird: Virtual Session December 17, 2020 Jade Bird joins Jill Riley of The Current's Morning Show to talk about moving to Austin, working with legendary Nashville producer Dave Cobb on her upcoming release, and what she's been up to this year. Read More ›
Interview: Matt Berninger of The National talks about 'Serpentine Prison' December 16, 2020 Last month Matt Berninger of The National released his debut solo record, 'Serpentine Prison' on Book Records, a new imprint formed by Berninger and Booker T. Jones with Concord Records. Jade caught up with Matt about working with Booker as a producer, and how he's been spending his free time lately. Read More ›
#Current15: The Best of The Current in a new stream January 06, 2020 We're celebrating the 15 years The Current has been on the air, so we took your favorite songs from the past decade and a half and made them into a brand new stream. Read More ›
Download The Current app January 29, 2018 Download The Current's app to hear a crisp, high-fidelity stream of our station (and our additional streams) wherever you go! Read More ›
Listen to The Current via Smart Speakers July 23, 2018 Listen to The Current on Google Home and Amazon's Echo devices. Similarly, you can use your smart speaker to listen to Purple Current, Radio Heartland and Rock the Cradle Radio. Read More ›
Prince: The Story of 1999 bonus feature: Dr. Fink, 'When Prince sang live, he was just impeccable' January 03, 2020 Matt Fink - aka Dr. Fink - was one of Prince's first keyboard players and is a member of the Revolution. In conversation with Andrea Swensson, Dr. Fink reflects on performing, recording and touring with Prince. 'He was always transforming himself into something different with every record,' Fink says. 'There was always something new and original and exploratory.' Read More ›
Coffee Break: The sound of 2005 January 22, 2021 The Current will be celebrating our Sweet 16 on Sunday (look ma! we can drive!), and since we can't celebrate with our normal birthday parties at First Avenue this year we thought we'd take a look back on 2005, the year it all began. Read More ›
Today in Music History: Remembering Michael Hutchence of INXS January 22, 2021 Steve Perry was born; MTV hit the West Coast; Buddy Holly made his last recordings in his New York City apartment; The Beach Boys went into the studio to record "Wouldn't It Be Nice"; MTV started broadcasting to the West Coast; and Michael Hutchence of INXS was born, Today in Music History. Read More ›
Coffee Break Suggestions and Archive November 08, 2016 Got an idea for a Coffee Break? Want to see what we did a while back? Read More ›