Two clown-related news stories have been making the Oake & Riley staff uncomfortable lately. So for today's Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that reference clowns, laughing, funny, etc.?

On Saturday and Sunday, the Dixie Chicks became the first act to headline the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on back-to-back nights since Alabama did so in 1988. In addition to covering Fleetwood Mac (their hit version of “Landslide”), Bob Dylan (“Mississippi”), and Beyoncé (“Daddy Lessons”), the Chicks paid tribute to Prince with moving covers of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” (City…

The man who captured hundreds of jazz's greatest recordings -- by Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock -- died August 25 at his home studio. He was 91.

Last weekend Monty Lee Wilkes, a reputable Twin Cities sound engineer and tour manager passed away from terminal cancer. Help us remember Monty Lee Wilkes with a 9:30 Coffee Break. What songs do you want to hear from bands that Wilkes worked with?

Apollonia, the singer and actor who co-starred with Prince in his iconic film Purple Rain and became one of his musical proteges as a member of the Prince-formed group Apollonia 6, has shared a long, emotional essay about her last memories of Prince. “I feel like your widow,” Apollonia writes on Facebook. “I was so excited…

Glass Animals' frontman Dave Bayley created characters from little snippets of stories he was hearing from people he's encountered on tour. The result is an album of songs based on those stories.

Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson has suggested that Apollonia 6 will be present for at least one of the Revolution’s upcoming reunion shows at First Avenue. “I’ll be down at First Avenue Sept 2nd,” Nelson writes on Facebook. “My gurl Apol[l]onia and the 6 will be there along with Andre Cymone and The Revolution.” Two years ago, Apollonia returned to First Avenue…

The Minnesota State Fair isn’t where I expected to have a reflective, rejuvenating, low-key experience — let alone one involving a bunch of Minnesotans decked in purple and dancing to pounding beats. Last night the masses descended per usual upon the fairgrounds on a gorgeous, hazy Friday. The weather was cool enough to wear a…

During their first headlining tour in a decade, the Dixie Chicks showed off the many ways they've always been more than the usual Nashville act. In her review of the Dixie Chicks' Nashville concert, NPR Music's Ann Powers gives fans a hint of what they may experience on August 27 and 28, when the Dixie Chicks play two sold-out shows at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

Yesterday kicked off the first day of the Minnesota State Fair and the morning crew is prepping for an afternoon broadcast tomorrow with special guests, food tastings, contests, ticket giveaways and a special performance by local band Fraea. So for today's Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that reference things you might find at the fair?