We battled the elements this morning to make it into the studio and are daydreaming about what it would be like to have a snow day. So let's extend that dream right into today's Coffee Break. What songs do you want to hear that represent the things you would do on a snow day?

Echo Helstrom, the Duluth native known to Bob Dylan fans as likely the prime inspiration for the 1963 song “Girl from the North Country,” has died at age 75, reports the Star Tribune. Helstrom grew up with Dylan — then known as Bobby Zimmerman — in Hibbing, where the two had a high school romance…

Minnesotans who checked out the recent Guillermo del Toro exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art were well-primed to embrace the Mexican director’s triumph in this year’s Academy Award nominations: his strangely sexy merman story The Shape of Water leads nominees with 13 nods. Not much connection to The Current’s playlist there, unless you count the…

Although the Vikings weren't what Charles Bradley meant when he sang "gotta stand tall / because life is full of sorrow / heartaches and pain", it feels appropriate for the way Minnesota football fans feel this morning. How are you doing, everyone? What sorrowful songs do you need to hear today?

Following a decidedly spunky first night of The Current’s 13th Birthday Party on Friday, a First Avenue Mainroom crowd gathered on Saturday to keep the party going. With a lineup that included local acts Reina del Cid and Lady Lark, as well as Ron Gallo and headliner JD McPherson, it is safe to say that…

Here at The Current, we like to think ourselves resistant to trends. But one in particular has impressed me this winter: residencies, or weekly sets of concerts captained by one local artist at one local venue once a week. I actually got so excited about this month’s shows that I decided to see one from…

The Current’s two-day birthday party kicked off Friday night in First Avenue’s Mainroom.  The lineup included local artists deM atlaS, the Social Animals, and Now, Now, with the headliner for the night being Nashville-based band Bully — whose frontwoman Alicia Bognanno originally hails from Rosemount, Minnesota. The excitement built throughout the night, with each act…

All 10 songs on "Ruins" stay true to the formula that Johanna and Klara first charmed listeners with - lush vocal harmonies and infectious melodies. With some added instrumentation from Peter Buck and Wilco's Glen Kotche, the album is some their finest work yet.

This Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will go against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game that could send the Vikings to the Superbowl if they win (have you heard?). In the spirit of brotherhood and moving karma in the right direction leading up to Sunday, what songs do you want to hear from Philadelphia AND local musicians?

Here at The Current, we’re getting psyched for our 13th Birthday Parties, which we’ll throw at First Avenue tonight and tomorrow. We’ve been talking to Bully about bandmates, asking JD McPherson for teenage parenting tips…and now, spotlighting a few of our favorite music videos by birthday party bands. See them all at First Avenue this…