On May 11-12, the Loft Literary Center will stop traffic in the East Town neighborhood of downtown Minneapolis to make way for more than 100 writers and thousands of eager readers at the largest literary festival the Twin Cities has ever seen. “Anybody who thinks of Minnesota should think about books,” said Britt Udesen, the Loft’s…

At the tail end of my recent interview with Dua Saleh, I pulled up a Ness Nite tweet making the rounds: We can drop genre-defying now since everyone is at this point — ness nite (@nessnite) January 7, 2019 “Yes!” Saleh exclaimed upon reading it, and I got the feeling they hear “genre-defying” often. As…

Though the Twin Cities lost the local R&B legend Willie Murphy earlier this week, he is far from forgotten. From fans and fellow Minnesotan musicians alike, here are just a few of the tributes to the “godfather” of the Minneapolis music scene that have spread on social media since the musician’s death. Willie also told…

After hearing All American Rejects’ 2005 hit “Dirty Little Secret” while driving his tomato red Toyota Camry down the streets of Atlanta, Tim became a rocker. Defying what he calls the “heavy stereotype” that black people are exclusively hip-hop, rap, and R&B fans, Tim Dooley decided to venture into the world of rock and pursue…

For years, rumors have circulated about the making of a documentary about Bob Dylan’s “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour. Now, Netflix has confirmed that those rumors are true. Martin Scorsese is directing Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, which Netflix described, in a statement provided to Variety, as “part documentary, part concert film, part…

St. Paul Peterson – “You Got 2 Love” St. Paul Peterson funked around in Prince’s orbit for decades, filling in as a replacement member of the Time and serving a short-lived stint as bassist/vocalist in the Family (now known as fDeluxe). He’d soon depart (and break up) the latter band in search of a solo career,…

Ron Burgundy, the world’s most well-coiffed local newscaster (as embodied by Will Ferrell in Anchorman) may have only tweeted a few times, but one of his tweets is the second salvo in a battle between pop culture’s sultriest flutists. “Lizzo, I accept your challenge,” he declared. “This is for you.” .@LIZZO CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! YOU WANT…

It’s not often you hear a sold-out Turf Club go dead silent. But that’s what happened before a special “audio presentation” early in the first night of Andrew Broder & PEOPLE’s January 2019 residency, a series that’s become a Turf Club tradition in its third year running. Except for the odd chug of a soda…

This is part two of a two-part conversation with three up-and-coming Minnesota-based hip-hop artists — Kamilla Love, booboo, and Student 1 — and Medium Zach, an artist with two decades of experience, about Minnesota’s hip-hop scene. Read Part 1 here. Sean McPherson: As a media person — a host here at The Current — I…

Four local artists discuss collaboration, creative barriers, and the future of rap in the North Star State. Sean McPherson: I’m Sean McPherson and I’ve been playing bass in Twin Cities hip-hop groups for 20+ years now. I went to St. Paul Central, and I started a band that’s still active today called Heiruspecs, and I…