Lizzo, a Detroit-born artist who rose to prominence during her years in Minneapolis; and Bon Iver, the band of nearby Eau Claire’s Justin Vernon, were among the big honorees when this year’s Grammy nominations were announced. As had been widely expected, Lizzo was nominated for Best New Artist; her hit “Truth Hurts,” though, also landed…

Wee Willie Walker, one of the earliest and greatest soul singers to emerge from the Twin Cities scene, has died at age 77. Walker’s wife Judy confirmed the sad news in an e-mail; a cause of death was not immediately available. Update 12/22: Judy Walker has announced that a celebration of Willie Walker’s life will…

Driving down Central Avenue in Minneapolis one summer, Mary Tjosvold and Larry Dunsmore decided to take a chance on a dream. They noticed that the familiar Shorewood Bar and Grill was a little too quiet that night and, after finding out that the venue had shut its doors, they made an offer on the property.…

Thirty minutes after her scheduled set time, following a half-hour of increasingly urgent electronic music, FKA twigs floated in front of the velvet curtain of the Palace Theatre on Thursday night. Her eyes were covered in ruby red crystals and she wore a massive volume of lavish fabrics that made it impossible to tell where…

The loudest moment of Angel Olsen’s Tuesday night show at First Avenue came a few songs into her set at the end of “Lark.” The tune concluded with Olsen’s husky vocals echoing the phrase “dream on” over a sparse drum beat and a bass line that resembled a heartbeat. It was impossible to hear the…

The Current learned Saturday that Terry Katzman, a longtime fixture in the Minnesota music scene, has died. For decades, Katzman has been a champion of bands like Hüsker Dü, the Suburbs, the Replacements and many others. Notably, in January 1982, Katzman was on hand to record a performance by the Replacements at a rent party…

Bo Weber, a Minnesota musician who’s also the founder of MusicInMinnesota.com, just wants to “Pump This Town.” Or, more precisely, these Twin Towns. So do dozens more artists, who all cameo in a new video for his song by that title. Weber took half a year to film the video, which functions as both a…

Cecilia Johnson, our regular Friday Five curator, is on vacation this week, and here’s what I’ve learned stepping in for her: there are way more great new music videos coming out every week in our fair Gopher State than we could ever fit into a five-track roundup. But a “Friday Fifteen” would be a little daunting,…

Minneapolis singer-songwriter Andy Cook shares an account of his recent adventure in New York City. Making music and running a marathon have a lot in common, it turns out. Immense amounts of time and effort put into preparation; the ebbs and flows of anxiety and excitement along the way; and then the moment it all…

From 1920 to 1933, Prohibition outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol — but Minnesotans found other ways to enjoy their spirits. St. Paul’s bootlegging business was booming and the city’s bands provided the soundtrack. When the Volstead Act went into effect in 1919, saloons and beer parlors closed up shop and new establishments…