Mark Wheat on 15 years at The Current and a lifetime of celebrating music February 18, 2020 As The Current celebrates 15 years on the air and we launch our winter member drive (join now!), Minnesota Public Radio’s Michael Popham is asking the hosts who’ve been with us since the beginning about their history at The Current and in radio. First up: Mark Wheat. Michael Popham: Hey, Mark! Thanks for agreeing to… Read More ›
Listen to 'Look What They Did,' a brand-new song from Low Cut Connie February 18, 2020 The first single off Low Cut Connie's forthcoming album, 'Private Lives,' is a song that Adam Weiner describes as a sequel to Bruce Springsteen's 'Atlantic City.' Read More ›
Shining stars: Black musicians in their own words February 18, 2020 As The Current honors Black History Month, we've done a very deep dive into autobiographies and memoirs by jazz, blues, R&B, soul, and hip-hop icons, collecting a compendium of origin stories, 'aha!' moments, philosophical musings and life lessons. Read More ›
Theft of the Dial: Metronomy February 17, 2020 When U.K. band Metronomy visited the Twin Cities for a show at the Varsity Theater, band members Joe Mount and Oscar Cash stopped at The Current to host a Theft of the Dial, playing some of their favorite songs and telling their story. Read More ›
Music on TV this week: Cold War Kids; encores from Caroline Polachek; Patti Smith; Andy Shauf; Caitlyn Smith; St. Vincent February 17, 2020 Artists heard on The Current are frequently featured on TV programs, and we've gathered the listings in one convenient place for you. See the complete listings and find performance videos as the week progresses for a curated listening experience. You can also subscribe to receive the week's schedule in your inbox to plan your TV viewing around music. Read More ›
Inspired by Ken Burns, Aster Cafe launches country-music series February to June February 17, 2020 The third Wednesday of the month for the next five months will be dedicated to live concerts by Minnesota musicians, playing country music organized by time period, roughly mirroring the popular PBS series by Burns. Maygen Lacey, one of the event organizers and performers, visited Radio Heartland to talk to Mike Pengra about this live series. Read More ›
Listen to powerful songs by Sister Rosetta Tharpe February 17, 2020 Sister Rosetta Tharpe is a founder of rock and roll. An innovator with vocals and electric guitar, Tharpe's sound influenced artists including Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Bob Dylan - and therefore everyone that those artists went on to influence. Read More ›
Top 89 Songs of 2019 January 05, 2020 Celebrate another year of great music! Review the top 89 songs of the year, as chosen by you. Read More ›
Top 89 of 2019: The Current Staff Picks December 02, 2019 Selecting your votes for Top 89 of 2019? Get some inspiration from The Current staff, who've put together their own lists of favorite music of the year. Read More ›
Prince: The Story of 1999, Episode 1: My Mind Says Prepare to Fight November 19, 2019 Prince: The Story of 1999 is a four-part audio documentary series brought to you by The Current in collaboration with the Prince Estate, Paisley Park, and Warner Records. Read More ›
Heart Bones serve 'Hot Dish' in The Current studio February 18, 2020 Ahead of the release of their new record, 'Hot Dish,' Heart Bones visited The Current to play a few songs and chat with Local Show host Andrea Swensson. Read More ›
Watch Calexico and Iron & Wine live in concert February 14, 2020 Watch Calexico and Iron & Wine live in concert from the Palace Theatre in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The show is expected to begin at approximately 8:30 p.m. Central. Read More ›
Watch Madison Cunningham live in concert at the Palace Theatre February 14, 2020 Watch Madison Cunningham's concert, recorded live at the Palace Theatre in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Read More ›
Polica bring 'When We Stay Alive' to The Current studio February 04, 2020 Before going on a tour which will start in England on Feb. 7, Poliça — comprising frontwoman Channy Leaneagh; Chris Bierden on bass and vocals; Drew Christopherson and Ben Ivascu on drums; and producer Ryan Olson — stopped by The Current studio for a session hosted by Mark Wheat. Read More ›
Low Cut Connie's Adam Weiner plays a solo Microshow February 03, 2020 On Saturday, Jan. 11, Low Cut Connie frontman Adam Weiner played a Microshow at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater in Minneapolis. The generous performance featured great songs on piano or guitar, interspersed with stories about the origins of many of the songs. Weiner also delighted the Minnesota audience with covers of songs by Bob Dylan and Prince. Read More ›
#Current15: The Best of The Current in a new app-only 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, and it's only available in The Current app. 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, and get enhanced functionality -- song names, requests, song of the day -- with our Alexa Skill. Read More ›
Coffee Break: Teenage Kicks February 27, 2020 Each Saturday morning, Jim McGuinn takes listeners on a trip into our collective retro past - from 1970s punk to '90s grunge, and everything that happened in between. Read More ›
Today in Music History: Happy Birthday, Paul Humphreys February 27, 2020 Chubby Checker notched another No. 1 single, Gloria Gaynor earned a Grammy for Best Disco Record (a category that would not survive), James Brown went free, Ray Charles had a No. 1 album, Pink Floyd recorded their first single, and Paul Humphreys 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 ›