Natalie Cole was laid to rest on Monday with a memorial service at the Church of God in Los Angeles. Among those in attendance at the service were Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, and Chaka Khan. “I feel so blessed to have called you my friend, and my buddy, and many times my confidante,” said Robinson. “You are…

10. Decorated with what looked like the cheapest decorations you could get at Party America, France Camp’s release show was fantastically weird. Jay, pictured above, failed in his coordination of a raffle to let a crowd member smash a guitar. He then handed the guitar off to a friend who gladly destroyed it. This was…

Each week on the Local Show, we’ll meet a new person from the Minnesota music community who has some fresh discoveries to share in a feature called “Ask a Cool Person.” These people will come from all corners of the scene, including record store clerks, recording studio engineers and producers, artists, writers, bookers, photographers, and…

The day the music died — when a plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson crashed in Clearlake, Iowa — was also the day that a new young performer from Fargo would begin his rise to fame. That night, 15-year-old Bobby Vee replaced the lost stars in their scheduled performance, and…

Bob Mould has announced a new album: Patch the Sky will be released March 25. Mould says it will be the “darkest” yet “catchiest” of his recent albums. He’s also responded to Hüsker Dü reunion rumors that have circulated since the band launched an official merchandise site. “No reunion,” said Mould. “I never want to take advantage of…

When you go to look back on David Bowie’s performances in Minnesota, perhaps the most surprising thing is that there weren’t more of them. In a 50+ year career, Bowie played just five public and ticketed shows in in Minnesota, on four concert tours. (Bowie’s band Tin Machine also played a short set at Minneapolis’s Marriott…

Sunday night, Sam Smith won the 2016 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for “Writing’s On the Wall,” the song he performed for the James Bond film Spectre. Accepting the award with co-writer Jimmy Napes, Smith graciously thanked the film’s producers and director. Kanye West has announced a release date for his long-awaited new album Swish: Feb. 11. He’s…

I’ve enjoyed birthday parties for as long as I can remember. I grew up going to movies and eating cheesecake for mine — and the presents didn’t hurt, either. But this week, my concept of birthday parties widened dramatically; I might never see them the same way. On Friday, I joined at least 500 others…

Drone Not Drones has announced the lineup for their third annual event, which will be held at the Cedar Cultural Center from Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. to Feb. 27 at 11 p.m. The lineup features Will Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy) and a number of local acts — including Alan Sparhawk of Low — and other musicians from around the…

For the past few months, The Current has been inviting local musicians to take over our all-Minnesota music stream to talk about the local music scene and to share tracks from other local artists. 2015’s roster for Local Current’s DJ in Residence included Sophia Eris, Gabriel Douglas, Mark Mallman, Reina del Cid, and many others.…