As we head into this 3-day weekend, we are excited to announce our next set of Oake & Riley in the Afternoon happy hour events. In the meantime, what songs do you want to hear for today's 9:30 Coffee Break that mention happy, joy, glee, etc?

Paul Dickinson is Minnesota’s premier punk poet, frontman of Frances Gumm, co-founder of Dead Media, and former proprietor of the Speedboat Gallery — a St. Paul art space with a literally underground music venue where Green Day once played for $100. He certainly puts the “auto” into his new autobiography, Junker Dreams. The memoir brings…

Velvet Negroni – “Confetti” You’d think someone who’d just announced a new album would feel pretty amped, but Velvet Negroni looks unfazed in this hibachi-centered video. Welcome to the nighttime, cold-as-ice, gorgeous vibes of NEON BROWN, out August 30 via 4AD. Jillian Rae – “Medication” Jillian Rae released “Medication” as a single almost a year ago,…

Chastity Brown is dropping by the studio this morning to announce her debut with the Minnesota Orchestra on June 8. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear with a string section or elements of a symphony orchestra?

Jamila Woods played a radiant show at the Turf Club last night in front of a sold-out crowd, along with special guest Nitty Scott. The Turf was the first stop on her national tour in support of her latest album, LEGACY! LEGACY! , which was released just this month. “This is the first time I’m…

It’s been a busy year for singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist Eric Mayson. Having spent a lot of time collaborating with other musicians on their projects, Mayson recently made the switch back to taking the lead on some of his own projects — releasing not one, but two different albums in 2019. From May 23…

Today is World Goth Day - a day where the goth scene gets to "celebrate its own being, and an opportunity to make its presence known to the rest of the world". And the weather in the Twin Cities today is perfectly cooperating as it's cloudy and rainy and moody and broody. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what goth songs do you want to hear?

Jonathan Scott's new book 'The Vinyl Frontier' chronicles this story of the Voyager Golden Record: humanity's double-disc message shot to the stars in 1977, with Chuck Berry (but not the Beatles) on board.

Weyes Blood played a sold-out show at the Turf Club last night with special guest Jackie Cohen. Throughout the 90-minute set, the stage was awash in warm light with flickering electronic candles; and draped over the keyboard, a gauzy white fabric was lit from beneath in psychedelic blues and greens. The atmosphere remained cozy while…

Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train” is one of Minnesota’s iconic songs, its success propelling the 1992 album Grave Dancers Union to multi-platinum status. The song is also known for its distinctive video, which put the faces of three dozen actual runaway children on MTV — helping families and authorities to recover contact with most of the kids. A…