Record Store Day is coming up fast and will take over Minnesota’s many independent stores on Saturday, April 20. For the uninitiated, Record Store Day is a call to action and a way to raise awareness of the many fine physical record and CD stores we still have in our midst, and the tradition seems…

Marianne Combs talks about three innovative shows taking the stage this weekend -- with themes piscine or paternal.

To celebrate Public Radio Music Month, we're having a daily vote for the best in-studio tracks from The Current's performance archive. We've gone through and picked some of the most beloved performances by the staff and by our audience. We'll play the winner during the Live Current track of the day the following day.

  Des Moines, Iowa’s 80/35 festival continues to grow in size and scope. The lineup for this year’s sixth annual event will feature heavyweight headliners David Byrne & St. Vincent and the Wu-Tang Clan, with an additional roster that includes indie favorites Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Wavves, and many more. Just a three and a half hour…

Low are minimalists in every sense of the word. Every note, every rise and fall in dynamic, every snippet of between-song banter is intentional, and measured. The Fitzgerald Theater was an ideal setting for the band's poignant show on Saturday, March 23. Enjoy audio from the event.

  Monday, April 1 Punk Rock Bowling with Buildings Memory Lanes, Minneapolis 10 p.m., free, 21+ Catch excellent power trio Buildings before they head out on tour at this unique show, which takes place directly on a few of the lanes at this South Minneapolis bowling alley. They’ll be joined by Miami Dolphins, Blackthorne, and…

  It’s not often that a band comes along that hits me square in the gut, but that’s what happened the first time I saw Southwire perform last year at the Duluth Homegrown Festival. Their sound was so distinct, and their emotions so unadulterated that I had no choice but to stand on my tip-toes at the…

  The Wisconsin town where I grew up, about 70 miles south of Duluth, was small. Think “under-900-people-in-the-whole-town” small. The local music scene consisted of a handful of bands cobbled together from kids living in surrounding towns, who somehow seemed to find the same influential bands despite the nearest record store being 50 miles away…

  The 12th annual Independent Music Awards—an international program aimed at honoring “exceptional independent artists traditionally ignored by mainstream media and big box retailers”—has announced its nominees for over 80 categories of awards. Among the nominees? Minneapolis power-pop quartet Sleep Study, and last year’s locally grown tribute compilation Minnesota Remembers Vic Chesnutt. I’ll admit, I…

Low are celebrating a few landmarks with their latest album, The Invisible Way: It's the Duluth trio's 10th studio recording, and it marks their 20th anniversary as a band.