As disco died, the venue at 701 First Avenue North changed its name from Uncle Sam’s to Sam’s and finally — on Dec. 31, 1981 — to First Avenue. The illuminated dance floor was removed, revealing checkered terrazzo tile — much to the surprise and delight of club management, who had expected to spend a hefty…

After Prince died on April 21, those who knew him had to figure out how to respond. What would help them process the loss personally? What should they do in the public eye? How should they honor their loved one? A little over a month later, each one is still answering some of those questions. For…

Chance the Rapper and Skrillex joined Stephen Colbert on The Late Show this week to “remix” Colbert’s monologue about Tiny Toast: a new cereal from Golden Valley food giant General Mills. Later, the two appeared with Hundred Waters to perform “Show Me Love.” (Rolling Stone) See Chance in the company of 9,900 more waters on June 18 at Rock…

New York has a gritty music history – underground punk shows in the Lower East Side, rap battles burgeoning in the Bronx, rock legends starting as childhood friends from Queens. New York is a scene of grit and grime, but undeniably, it’s rock and roll at its core – which I have been dying to be a…

Minneapolis and St. Paul have both released their summer music and movies series, which boast an outdoor movie, sometimes with a band, for nearly every day in the summer. Also in the mix: the Walker Art Center’s annual music and movies series. Below is a list of movies, concerts and locations. All movies begin at sunset unless…

It’s just a few sleeps ahead of More Funk ’16 – Old School ’80s and the Mplsound at First Avenue, the funk flo’ filla party I’m organizing along with DJ Cowboy, Dean Vaccaro, Roy Freedom and the ace First Ave crew. On deadline, I look online for some inspiring funk to drive home this Current…

Rare video of Prince playing basketball has surfaced in the form of a music video shot in 2000 by David Schwartz, who remembers “he was a trash talker.” (Billboard) Meanwhile, Judge Kevin Eide will decide by Thursday “whether music-industry specialists should be hired to help manage estate assets for potential heirs” of Prince, reports the Star Tribune. Carlin Q.…

“Isn’t the sky beautiful tonight?” That’s how Prince greeted The Current’s program director Jim McGuinn, who reported on his summer 2010 visit to Paisley Park in one of the first Prince stories ever published on The Current’s website. The Current was launched in 2005, and Prince became a supporter of the station. He showed that support…

Sure, there are plenty of obscenities. There’s alcohol. There’s a venue easily accessible by public transit in the heart of the city. And instead of the entertainer radiating confidence, confidence feels in-your-face. But there is the ambiance of a last-minute, spontaneously planned event. There’s a pre-show deejay set where hundreds of phoneless folks eagerly and…

On Sunday, Swedish pop icons ABBA celebrated the 50th anniversary of their band’s founding by performing together for the first time since the mid-1980s. All four members of the group were in attendance at a Stockholm gala celebrating the group, and when Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad started singing their song “Me and I,” Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson joined in…