When Buddy Guy named Gary Clark Jr as the potential savior of the blues, that had to create some pressure. Clark's follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2012 debut took three years, and the result displays Clark's blues influences as well as his other inspirations. 'The Story of Sonny Boy Slim' is in fact, the story of Gary Clark Jr. And it's a very good read.

John Malkovich announced that he’ll release an album as a Record Store Day Black Friday vinyl exclusive. The album, as Rolling Stone describes, “finds Malkovich reciting classical musician Eric Alexandrakis‘ version of Plato‘s Allegory of the Cave over original material composed and produced by Alexandrakis.” The musical material was then mixed by collaborators including Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon, Dweezil…

Yesterday, Festival Palomino returned to Canterbury Park for its second annual celebration of Americana, faced with the challenge of facing the dreaded sophomore slump. Fortunately, the effort and planning behind the Trampled by Turtles’s festival was apparent. Having the Stars Stage and the Satellites Stage next to each other was a blessing for every fan…

Star Tribune music critic Jon Bream has just published a new book, Dylan: Disc by Disc. It’s our pick this month for The Current’s Rock and Roll Book Club, and Bream stopped by our studios to record an interview with David Campbell. Hear selections from the interview, and the songs discussed in it, tonight on The…

The 2015 Americana Music Festival and Conference spans Sept. 16 to 20 in Nashville. The Current's Bill DeVille and Jim McGuinn attended the conference. See what they saw with a social-media roundup from their days and nights of music meet-ups and shows.

Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys teamed up with his recording buddies to form a new collaboration called the Arcs, and he sat down with host Bill DeVille to chat about their debut album Yours, Dreamily.

Matt Berninger of the National and Brent Knopf of Menomena and Ramona Falls have teamed up to form EL VY whose debut album Return to the Moon releases Oct. 30 via 4AD.

Trampled by Turtles host Festival Palomino on Saturday, Sept. 19. The lineup consists of Trampled by Turtles and some of their favorite musicians. For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear by artists who are playing Festival Palomino? Send us your requests.

Happy Friday! I hope you guys like salads, because we’re going to kick things off this week with a whole bunch of ’em… Bad Bad Hats I CAN’T. STOP. IT’S TOO MUCH. L’Assassins To celebrate a new song they co-wrote with Suburbs frontman Chan Poling, L’Assassins conjured all the fiery spirits and traveled back to the Stone Age to…

On the release date of Keith Richards' solo album, 'Crosseyed Heart,' The Current's Jim McGuinn had a chance to chat with Richards. 'Crosseyed Heart' is Richards' first solo album in 23 years. 'What took me so long? Well, I've got this other band ...,' Richards jokes. Listen to the full conversation and read a transcript.