Morning Show host Jill Riley recently had a chance to connect with Mavis Staples as a part of The Current’s Phone a Friend series. The two discussed Staples’s new song, “All In It Together,” produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, as well as her fond memories of John Prine. Jill Riley: Mavis, how are you doing?…

The album is a blend of their ever-urgent rock songs, alongside richly emotional, powerful ballads that sometimes verge on being outright power ballads.

If you have a music video you’d like to be considered for an upcoming feature, send it my way at fridayfive@mpr.org! John Mark Nelson & The Quarantine Chorale – “You Are The One” The silver linings in the state of the world today have so quickly revealed themselves to be our communities and the art…

In an effort to help support the local music scene, Minneapolis music staple Har Mar Superstar has teamed up with a crew of artists to produce two coloring books. The sales from these family-oriented novelties will go directly to support the staff at Palmer’s, Grumpy’s NE, and First Avenue; all of whom have been unemployed…

Jill Riley continues to check-in with musicians on The Current’s Morning Show. She recently caught up with Craig Minowa of Cloud Cult to talk about his use of Patreon to keep the band afloat, living in the moment, and homeschooling your kids. How’s Cloud Cult? How are things going for you guys right now? Well,…

April is Minnesota Music Month and today, we're shining a light on Husker Du. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear from bands there were part of the birth of the Twin Cities punk/indie scene?

To keep busy during quarantine, Morning Show host Jill Riley has been spending lots of time on the phone with various musician friends. She had a chance to connect with John Munson — of Semisonic and Trip Shakespeare — last Friday to chat about how to cope during this crisis, as well as how to…

As the iconic Minneapolis music venue First Avenue celebrates its 50th anniversary, Mary Lucia recommends a documentary about it from Twin Cities PBS that you can stream right now. 'It's so informative,' Mary says, 'because you learn so much about the very beginning of it, and from all the original players.'

As a part of her “Phone a Friend” series, Morning Show host Jill Riley made her first call to Canada to check in with Montreal-based singer-songwriter Sam Roberts. Roberts discussed his response to the global pandemic both as a musician and as a parent, ranging from how one should explain what’s going on to children,…

Morning Show host Jill Riley has being phoning many friends across the music world locally, nationally, and internationally. With the 50th anniversary of First Avenue landing while the venue is closed due to the global health crisis, it seemed essential to check in with longtime First Ave employee Roy Freid, who is one of the…