William Joseph “Billy” Sverkerson, a longtime behind-the-scenes fixture of the Twin Cities music scene who got his start managing the 400 Bar and recently worked backstage at First Avenue, passed away early Sunday morning. He was 60 years old. Billy came from a large family—he was the fifth of 10 children in the Sverkerson clan—and…

If 2013 has taught us anything about Prince, it’s that there’s no way to predict what he might do next. He could release a new song without warning; invite fans to Paisley Park for a last-minute pajama party, complete with pancakes; Livestream a rehearsal at Paisley for the world to see; or simply show up…

It’s Friday! What better excuse is there to bug off of work for a little while and catch up on some of the best new Minnesota music videos? We have a lot of great ones on deck this week, starting with a fiery (literally) new video from Haley Bonar… Haley Bonar We already knew Haley…

By now we’ve all heard plenty about the vinyl resurgence, and how the sale of vinyl albums have skyrocketed past CD sales in recent years despite the challenges plaguing the music industry. And we’ve seen this play out on the local level as well, with vinyl manufacturer Noiseland Industries continuing to press more and more LPs.…

Northrop Auditorium, the University of Minnesota venue that’s hosted innumerable performances in all genres—including, most notably in recent years, the 2008 election-night show at which Bob Dylan said something not entirely decipherable but unmistakably positive about the forthcoming presidency of Barack Obama—will reopen on April 4 after over three years of construction that are radically…

Mark Gehring and musician Martin Dosh stopped by the Current’s Morning Show today to share the details for the fifth volume of Minnesota Beatle Project, an annual covers compilation that raises money for music education in Minnesota schools. Gehring, who launched the project back in 2009 with his nonprofit Vega Productions, says that they’ve managed…

Thursday, November 21 Dave Boquist and Friends Turf Club, St. Paul 8 p.m., $5, 21+ A founding member of alt-country group Son Volt, Dave Boquist is a master of the lap steel, banjo, fiddle, guitar, and dobro, and has recorded with big-name roots artists like Joe Henry and Peter Bruntnell. It’s anyone’s guess which of…

This past weekend I got to live the rock and roll dream like I haven’t for nearly a decade, joining local noise pop band BNLX as second guitarist for a weekend of shows at BNLXFest 2 at Cause. The fest featured five local acts per night, from buzzy new kids on the block Gloss and…

Though it was one of the largest and longest-running regional gatherings in the metro area, Stillwater’s Lumberjack Days garnered enough negative feedback from its community and ran into steep enough financial challenges that it was shut down by the city in 2011. But residents in the area knew that the St. Croix riverside community deserved…

Duluth Mayor Don Ness can still remember the marquee lights of the NorShor Theater shining bright on East Superior Street in the 1990s. “It was the birthplace of the Homegrown Music Festival,” Ness said, “and a lot of prominent bands in Duluth all started at the NorShor. It was a really important part of my…