The Current is partnering with Radio Milwaukee and Manitoba Music to present the annual Midwest Music Exchange. The exchange will include performances across the three regions by Manitoba’s Silence Kit, Milwaukee’s Zed Kenzo, and Minnesota’s own Lady Lark. As they prepare to take the stage at Icehouse this coming Wednesday, April 10, here’s a brief…

As the weather starts to feel a bit more like spring around the Twin Cities, many formerly snowed-in cyclists are dusting off their rides and re-experiencing the outdoors on two wheels. Nothing beats the sensation of listening to your favorite tunes while riding for exercise or leisure, and studies show listening to music can even increase…

Listening to the music of Bailey “26” Cogan — songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and leader of the Minneapolis-based group 26 BATS! — is not a passive experience. While listening to the band’s latest album, Onyx, on the Green Line recently, the sharp rays of sun bouncing off windowed office buildings and fresh puddles mirrored the album’s…

Paisley Park may be the most widely recognized brick-and-mortar locus of Prince Rogers Nelson’s half-century spent creating and producing in Minnesota; until quite recently, little was done to recognize or even protect the other homes, studios, and venues where the artist spent many years honing his sound, recording some of his best-known work, and playing…

Frankie Lee – “Downtown Lights” (Premiere) After wandering the Middle West and beyond, American Dreamer Frankie Lee goes home in his latest album. Stillwater is his birthplace; the site of his high school; and the former home of actress Jessica Lange, to whom Lee dedicated this song. He says, “When she moved away, she said it was because…

When sisters Iman and Siham Hashi were children, they both dreamed of singing, writing and producing music someday, but the road to becoming musicians would prove to be far from easy. Iman, meaning “faith,” and Siham, meaning “arrow,” come together to form the duo’s name FAARROW. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia and now based in Toronto, the…

Jenny Lewis and her band kept us On the Line for a two-hour show Friday evening and the audience undoubtedly seemed to agree that the show was off the hook. As the third stop on her tour that began March 22, Lewis stopped by the Palace Theatre to put on a performance that mainly centered…

After precisely five years as a music venue in downtown Duluth, the Red Herring Lounge will close on June 10. The news comes via a Facebook post from owner Bob Monahan, who notes that the venue’s 1st Street building is up for sale. “It has been a WILD RIDE to say the least,” writes Monahan,…

On April 13, South Minneapolis record store Solid State Vinyl will retire its name in favor of a new identity: SolSta Records. SolSta Records will function as an “independent record label and retail store” in its current location at 4022 East 46th Street. Husband and wife Phil and Hannah Borreson opened Solid State Vinyl in 2016. The couple…

Freaque – “Bag Lady” If you, like me, had never listened to Freaque before hitting play on this video, settle in. Gabriel Rodreick dedicates this Pony Rug performance to “people with no homes” before leading us through a image-heavy, well-sung tale. Guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker provides eerie, pedal-shook accompaniment. Freaque is currently recording his first project, and…