Kendrick Lamar‘s new album To Pimp a Butterfly was released last night on iTunes and Spotify, a week ahead of its scheduled release date. Later this morning, it was taken down from iTunes—and then, in another reversal, it was made available again. It now seems to be out for real, and listeners are digging it. (Billboard) Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL played…

Sarah Jane Perbix officially expanded her piano studio to become “Sarah Jane’s Music School” on March 1 when the school moved into a cozy location in Northeast Minneapolis. The new location at 2522 Central Ave. suits the school’s new goals and plans for development. The space is cheerful with colorful accents set against an interior brick wall,…

As vinyl sales surge—growing over 50% last year nationwide—the annual Record Store Day is becoming an increasingly massive event for music lovers, whether or not platters are their preferred platform. Locally, this year’s Record Store Day (April 18) will be highlighted by the annual block party at Hymie’s Records as well as a Replacements reissue…

Carrie Brownstein, a member of Sleater-Kinney and a co-star of Portlandia, has written a memoir. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl will be published on Oct. 27. (Rolling Stone) Read Andrea Swensson’s recent interview with Brownstein and bandmate Janet Weiss. Mike Porcaro, the bassist of Toto, has died of ALS at age 59. Mike Porcaro was one of three brothers in Toto, along…

At the Triple Rock Social Club tonight, Taggart and Rosewood—the mysterious new duo comprising GAYNGS alumni Ryan Olson (Poliça, Marijuana Deathsquads) and Zach Coulter (Solid Gold)—are leading a buzzworthy bunch of local artists curated by their label Totally Gross National Product. The show is part of the Red Bull Sound Select series, which series spokesman Ernest Wilkins…

Previously: Women’s History Month: Minnesota’s earliest pioneers We are making our way through Women’s History Month 2015, a month dedicated to documenting, preserving, and honoring the stories of influential women throughout our nation’s past. This year I’ve decided to zero in on all of the amazing women who blazed trails across the Minnesota music scene,…

Forefeather, a Minneapolis hip-hop artist, recently made a pilgrimage to India that has heavily influenced his music and changed his view on life. During his travel, he captured a variety of sounds for his energetic new album, 3Rhythms. Forefeather grew up in the Twin Cities, which allowed him to experiment with several genres of music. This experimenting…

Happy Friday! We are about halfway through this month’s Women’s History celebrations, with another hour-long playlist coming up at noon on Local Current and the Women’s History Month edition of The Local Show happening Sunday night from 6-8 p.m. While researching the artists who I’ll be spinning on the Local Current and Local Shows, I…

The year is 1984 and the Minneapolis music scene has officially exploded. I am a St. Paul girl going on 13 years old, growing up by Macalaster College listening to WMCN radio station kick out some serious Twin Cities talent and catching the 94B bus downtown to attend every all-ages show possible at First Avenue. The first…

Prince is kicking off his “Hit & Run” tour in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, and while no further stops have yet been announced, he and his band 3RDEYEGIRL are showing Louisville a lot of love. They’ve added two Sunday shows to the originally announced pair of Saturday shows, for a total of four shows this weekend. They also gave a…