With the conclusion of this year’s sizzling Rock the Garden performances, we can direct some of our festival excitement about 400 miles southeast to another jam-packed open-air event, in Chicago’s Union Park. On July 19-21, Pitchfork Music Festival will host up to 60,000 music fans of all ages and a total of 42 acts. Since…

At their sold-out show on Saturday night at the Fine Line, Remo Drive delivered energized performances of songs from their new album Natural, Everyday Degradation. Remo Drive are a pop-punk band from Bloomington, Minnesota, fronted by brothers Erik and Stephen Paulson. Erik plays guitar and sings, while Stephen plays bass. Natural, Everyday Degradation is Remo Drive’s…

Amber “ACE” Cleveland never planned to start her own hip-hop festival, until one day inspiration struck her while walking around St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood with hip-hop/spoken word artist Desdamona. “It’d be so cool to see a show down here,” Desdamona remarked, and Cleveland ran with the idea. “My brain turned that into: I should throw…

What comes to mind when you think of the Andrews Sisters? Maybe holiday classics like the Bing Crosby collaborations “Jingle Bells” and “Mele Kalikimaka.” You might remember the Andrews Sisters’ appearance in the comedy Buck Privates or the WWII-era hit “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” You might even know that the Andrews Sisters spent their childhood…

This week at the Current, we’re looking forward to Rock the Garden, the single-day fest we’ll put on this weekend with the Walker Art Center. So I thought Friday Five might as well reflect that today. Before you lather on the sunscreen, dig out your water bottles, and pull out your tickets (available here), you…

Minnesota musicians including Semisonic, the Jets, Judy Garland, and the Andrews Sisters likely had original master recordings destroyed in a 2008 Los Angeles studio fire that claimed a vast swath of historic tapes by artists ranging from jazz founders to ’90s rockers. Original recordings made in Minnesota by Janet Jackson and Nirvana may also have…

David Crosby strokes his beard and reminisces about the beginning of the Byrds. “After we started to get good with it,” he says, “Dylan showed up.” His interviewer, Jakob Dylan, says dryly, “You’ll have to be more specific.” Among the many things we learn in the new documentary Echo in the Canyon, one of them is…

Last night, Minneapolis band Apollo Cobra received a surprise shout-out from Jimmy Fallon, when he played their song “Sweatpants” on The Tonight Show. The song was included in “Do Not Play,” a segment where Jimmy Fallon shares a selection of “music you might want to avoid.” Fallon began by telling the audience, “Before we start, I…

If $11 million was a little much for your budget but you’re still hoping to vacation like a Minneapolis music legend, good news: Prince’s Caribbean estate has sold to a buyer who says he plans to rent it out when he’s not using it, and yes, he’s keeping the purple driveway. The Wall Street Journal…

By the presumed popular demand of the 1,242 people who read my 2018 guide, it’s back and fresh for 2k19! For actual information about these dishes, click on their names. For more new Minnesota State Fair foods, see MPR News. Bada Bing Sandwich Two guys. One sings Sinatra, the other does Dino. Pianos? Dueling, baby!…