Don’t let a little late-winter snow slow you down—there are plenty of reasons to shovel a path out the front door and get out to see some live music this week. As always, you can find more suggestions on the Current’s event calendar. Tuesday, March 5 Atmosphere’s Welcome to Minnesota Tour First Avenue, Minneapolis 8…

  Tonight, three finalists will face off at Mill City Nights for the latest installment of Vita.mn’s Are You Local?, an annual showcase and competition that aims to turn over new talent and send an undiscovered band to SXSW. This year, Vita.mn received 223 submissions for their contest, and ended up selecting two brand new…

  Last night we celebrated the second installment of Local Current Live, a free music series curated by the Minnesota music team here at the Current. The goal of the series is to introduce fans to new music from every corner of our bustling local scene, and last night’s lineup was especially diverse: Prissy Clerks…

Now in its fourth year, the Mid West Music Fest is set to take over Winona, Minnesota on April 18, 19, and 20. MWMF unveiled its initial lineup of headliners today, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg for a roster that will eventually include over 100 acts. Rapper and master freestyler Astronautalis, jam band the…

Sparta, Minnesota is such a blip on the radar that you won’t find it on most maps of the state. Too small to be a town, the population of 50-odd citizens that reside in Sparta technically call their spot on the Iron Range a “location.” Pulling off the county highway onto a dirt road, there’s…

A fire can tear apart a person’s life in an instant, and it’s a devastating reality that a group of musicians and music scene supporters have unfortunately had to learn first-hand. It’s been a difficult month for the house that contained Andy Bothwell (who performs as Astronautalis), Vicky Seymour (who distributes delectables at hip-hop shows…

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Minneapolis-based Nobel Peace Prize Forum, and the second year that the Forum is incorporating hip-hop into its programming. Following on the heels of last year’s successful presentation and Q&A session with Dessa, this year’s summit will include a special evening with Minneapolis’s own Brother Ali and Syrian-American…

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write in my lifetime: The Replacements debuted a new song today. The Replcements debuted a new song today. After months of lead-up, the band’s founders Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson have released their cover of “I’m Not Saying,” a Gordon Lightfoot song brought to Westerberg’s attention via Nico.…

Happy Friday! I don’t know about you, but the cabin fever has really started setting in for me this winter. Just last night, I caught myself contemplating how far south I’d have to drive before I could get out of the car without a coat on. In lieu of that, I’m planning to spend the…

  Are you keeping up with all this? As promised, 2013 is shaping up to be a busy year for Prince and his new bandmates. In the past few weeks alone the Purple One has appeared on the Grammys, released a series of demo songs and videos via the new 3rdEyeGirl site, and announced a…