Year after year, Pitchfork Music Festival proves to be one of the most celebrated music festivals in the country. Its small size gives it a leisurely feel (the three-day festival in Chicago’s Union Park draws an estimated 50,000 attendees compared Lollapalooza’s 300,000 in Grant Park). Vendors help support the local economy, and the lineup is…

Less than a year before his death, Prince bought the house that appeared in exterior shots in his iconic film Purple Rain. The Minneapolis house was placed on the market in 2015 for an asking price of $110,000, with the seller cautioning that the house was in need of very significant repairs. The purchase happened quickly, but…

This past weekend in New Jersey, Michael J. Fox joined Coldplay onstage for two songs performed by Fox’s character Marty McFly in Back to the Future: Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and the Penguins’ “Earth Angel.” In a video shown before the songs, Chris Martin’s son asked his dad to play a song from their shared favorite movie. (Pitchfork) Tour…

Last summer, the Minneapolis house that appeared in Purple Rain as the home where Prince’s character “the Kid” lived went up for sale. Who bought it? Prince himself, it turns out. To celebrate Prince’s legacy, we’re going all-Prince on our Local Current stream of Minnesota music every day through Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016, from 11 a.m. to noon.…

Braving 83º heat, about 30 fans lined up outside St. Paul’s RiverCentre Sunday afternoon to catch glimpses of celebrities arriving at the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s 16th annual “So The World May Hear” gala. “We’re hoping to see Johnny,” said Kimberly Lantto, 32, of Maplewood. “I’ve almost cried five times today thinking I’ll see Johnny Depp.”…

Yesterday at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minnesota musicians including Lydia Liza, PaviElle, Eric Mayson, deM atlaS, Fort Wilson Riot, ZULUZULUU, and BDP took the stage at a benefit concert that raised funds for the family of Philando Castile.

Alan Vega, singer in the seminal duo Suicide, has died of natural causes at age 78. The band’s 1977 self-titled debut album, with a dark and minimalist yet melodic sound, is widely considered one of the most influential releases of that decade. One of the band’s most ardent fans is Bruce Springsteen, whose classic Nebraska was influenced by Suicide…

Inveterate collaborators John Munson and Matt Wilson (Semisonic; Trip Shakespeare; E. Brown) dropped their second Twilight Hours album, Black Beauty, today; they’ll play a sold-out Turf Club tonight and the 7th Street Entry tomorrow. To celebrate, Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges and St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman made Twitter declarations declaring “Only John Munson Day” and “Only Matt Wilson Day,” respectively,…

deM atlaS, “Sum-Mo” deM atlaS is at the top of his game in this new track from mF deM, a new album featuring his rhymes over previously released MF Doom beats. Distrakt directed and animated the video. mF deM drops today, with CDs, vinyl, and free digital copies available at Fifth Element. Astronomique, “Masquerade” Astronomique follow up their self-titled…

For a man who was so mercurial creatively, Frank Zappa was resolutely focused and consistent throughout his career when it came to his message about who he was and what he did: he was a musician, and he just wanted to be free to make the music he wanted to make for the fans who…