For this year’s variety of free (with Fair admission) concerts, the Minnesota State Fair has booked some ringers. On the recently announced free music lineup, names like Belinda Carlisle and Dessa are at the top. Carlisle, a Go-Go gone solo, will perform one evening for the Fair at the Leinie Lodge on Aug. 23, most…

Geoff Edgers's 'Walk This Way' is a whole book about 'Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song That Changed American Music Forever.'

Joan Osborne has performed and recorded with Bob Dylan, but she doesn’t claim to really “know” him. “I think he’s a very mercurial person,” she said in 2017, shortly after releasing an album of Dylan covers. “So, I think I’m probably just as in the dark as anyone else when taking on his songs, but…

When My Brightest Diamond - aka Shara Nova - recently stopped at The Current studio, she had just received a brand-new Jaguar guitar direct from Fender. 'I'm super pleased to have my new, shiny blue Jag to drive around today!' Nova says.

The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) is getting ready to host its 24th annual Art-A-Whirl festival. As the largest open studio tour in the country, Art-A-Whirl will showcase over 800 visual artists this year at more than 60 locations across Northeast Minneapolis. Although the event’s focus is on visual art, many of the area’s bars…

Cage's strength has always been their signature dirty bluesy guitars that sound radio ready yet always with a touch of friendly menace.

“This is a really bad idea,” said Stephen King, “especially considering that the band that first had a hit with this song came from Minnesota. Anyone remember the Trashmen?” Some of us remembered the Trashmen playing “Surfin’ Bird” on that very stage in First Avenue’s Mainroom. King dropped his guitar and stepped forward for that…

This Sunday is Mother's Day, and in honor of the occasion I talked with maybe the most famous rock star mom out there: Virginia Hanlon Grohl, mother of Dave Grohl. She's the author of the fascinating book 'From Cradle to Stage,' in which she profiles other moms of famous musicians. We talked about what she's learned over the course of the project.

Julia Jacklin doesn’t ease her listeners into the emotional turbulence of her songwriting. Instead, she jolts them out of their seats with startling opening lines. “It might make for good TV/ the grieving process for all to see/ but I don’t want my father’s ashes/ scattered over strangers’ couches,” Jacklin sings on the beginning of…

Friday Five is a little later than expected today, due to a project I jumped on this morning with fellow blogger Jay Gabler. He interviewed Stephen King, Amy Tan, and a half-dozen other members of Rock Bottom Remainders, the author-comprised cover band who sold out their show tonight at First Avenue. We’ll get you that…