You don’t often find Cher, Ariana Grande, MC Hammer, Ricky Martin, and Stryker all expressing similar views, but one man has united them: Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, who’s sparked cries of outrage from musicians among many others for his killing of an African lion named Cecil. (Billboard) can’t believe this man counted it as valor to lure #CecilTheLion out of his…

After six months of renovations, Burnsville’s storied all-ages venue the Garage re-opened this month as a nonprofit music space and music education center. The remodeling added bathrooms and a new cafe to the Garage, as well as a recording studio to be completed in the fall. The Garage spent 15 years as Burnsville’s community youth center.…

You should never throw trash out your car window—but be especially careful along Hennepin County Road 16, where you might be creating extra work for some civic-minded punk rockers. Legendary local band the Suicide Commandos have adopted a 1.5-mile section of McGinty Road, which runs through Wayzata. On Facebook, frontman Chris Osgood has posted photos of…

Cloud Cult are making a new movie—and they might want you to be in it. Motion 117 Productions is auditioning non-union acting roles for Cloud Cult’s forthcoming, title-TBA music film. The band’s new album will coincide with the movie’s release, which, according to its auditions announcement, is “an experimental art-drama serving as a metaphor for humanity’s…

Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews will welcome an all-star lineup to Farm Aid’s 30th anniversary concert on Sept. 19 in Chicago. Among the other big names: Imagine Dragons, Jack Johnson, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Mavis Staples. (Billboard) On Sunday, police in Renville County, Minnesota, arrested Puddle of Mudd singer Wes Scantlin after he forced them to give chase at speeds…

Como Dockside, the new restaurant and venue on Lake Como in St. Paul, will host a revamped Music and Movies in the Park series through August. The Como Park pavilion’s new business is kicking off the free Friday evening series August 7 with a performance by soul groovers Southside Desire and a screening of Bill…

Homeless & Big Cats: Polar Bear Rug Local producer Big Cats works with a menagerie of local talent—most notably rappers Toki Wright and Guante—and this summer he’s teaming up with poet, writer, and rapper Ryan Kopperud, whose moniker is “Homeless,” for their debut collaboration together, The Polar Bear Rug EP. If you spoke as loudly…

When Doomtree proclaimed last fall that their 10th annual multi-night Blowout at First Avenue would be their “Last Blowout Ever,” many wondered what the powerhouse hip-hop crew would conjure up next. It turns out we didn’t have to wait very long to find out: Today, the seven-piece group announced the Doomtree Zoo, an outdoor festival…

Venture capitalist Roger McNamee probably thought he was being clever when he and bandmate Jason Crosby decided to call their classic rock cover band the Doobie Decibel System. However, the Doobie Brothers are unamused and have sued the Doobie Decibel System for “willful intent to trade on” their “fame and reputation, or to cause confusion, or to cause mistake,…

For the second year in a row, The Current made a summer road trip to the Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas: that would be Duluth, which welcomed us with open arms this weekend for a broadcast and some great musical performances. We also met some of Duluth’s most interesting personalities, including a co-founder of…