The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
The Current Music News

Music News: Minnesota Twins to host Prince Night on June 16

The 'Purple Rain' umbrella
The 'Purple Rain' umbrellaMinnesota Twins

by Jay Gabler

May 02, 2017

Okay, this announcement was made a couple of weeks ago, but we're just catching up on it: June 16 will be Prince Night at Target Field. The first 10,000 fans in the gate will receive Purple Rain umbrellas, Prince's music will be played during breaks in the game, and Prince-themed fireworks will light the sky after the conclusion of the Minnesota Twins' game against the Cleveland Indians. Most importantly, the Twins are donating $10,000 to music education in the Minneapolis Public Schools.

"All of us in the Twins organization were deeply saddened by the loss of the late Minneapolis icon Prince," said Twins president Dave St. Peter in a statement on the team's website. "Along with our fans, we look forward to remembering the legacy of a man who brought an international spotlight to our great city."

Today's vinyl news

Beyoncé has announced a deluxe edition of her 2016 album Lemonade. In addition to the first vinyl release of the album, a $300 box set will also include a 600-page coffee table book with behind-the-scenes photos and written content including poetry by Warsan Shire. Or, you can save $270 and just get the records on their own. (NPR)

The numbers are in, and classic rock ruled Record Store Day. The top-selling special LP releases this year were live albums by the Grateful Dead and the Doors. The top-selling special single releases were by U2 (a new mix of "Red Hill Mining Town"), the Beatles ("Penny Lane" b/w "Strawberry Fields Forever"), and Pink Floyd ("Interstellar Overdrive"). The week of Record Store Day marked the biggest week for vinyl sales outside of a holiday season since exact sales tracking began in 1991. (Billboard)

Remembering Col. Bruce Hampton

Singer-songwriter Col. Bruce Hampton has died after collapsing onstage during a concert celebrating his own 70th birthday. Hampton was playing an encore at the sold-out show in Atlanta on Monday night, "locked in a groove" according to a local news report, when he suddenly collapsed, dying a few hours later.

Hampton — whose honorific title was self-proclaimed — was best-known as an icon of the jam-band circuit, where the jazzy, often outrageous musician toured or collaborated with artists including the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, Frank Zappa, Widespread Panic, and Mike Gordon of Phish. (Billboard)

Radiohead tease OK Computer anniversary

Radiohead have been dropping hints that they plan to acknowledge next month's 20th anniversary of their classic album OK Computervoted the sixth-greatest album of all time by The Current's listeners. A short teaser video features lyrics from "Climbing Up That Wall"...but what, if anything, are the band planning? A reissue? A live performance? Right now, it's anyone's guess. (Billboard)

It's gonna be May

Streams of the 2000 *NSYNC hit "It's Gonna Be Me" surged over the weekend as the "It's Gonna Be May" meme recirculated. Even band members Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass took to social media to acknowledge what Bass called an "annual tradition." (Billboard)