The latest person to be recognized with a star on First Avenue‘s iconic wall is Slim Dunlap, a local singer-songwriter who’s well-known as a member of the Replacements. Since 2012, Dunlap has suffered adverse health in the wake of a severe stroke, and local musicians have rallied to raise funds for Dunlap with projects including…

In February, Jack White realized his dream and got coffee with “Weird Al” Yankovic. Now, Yankovic has stopped by White’s Third Man Records in Nashville to record a bizarre chant in the store’s make-your-own-record booth. The chant is a multi-song medley that Yankovic and his band typically perform live as part of the song “Yoda.” Yankovic’s review…

Bobb Bruno of Best Coast explains how he came to play an Eastman T386, enjoying the feel and sound of the guitar so much that he made it one of his go-to instruments in Best Coast's live set. Bruno also describes some of the main effects he employs when playing live.

At The Current, we love music and we also love books about music. In partnership with MPR’s The Thread, we’ve started a new series we’re calling The Current’s Rock and Roll Book Club. Each month, we’re picking a book about the music we love, and one of our staff members is sharing his or her take on the…

Saturday, June 13 will bring Northern Lights.mn’s fifth annual Northern Spark event to six zones of Minneapolis; according to the website, every post-dusk visitor can expect to see “the city in a whole new light.” For the uninitiated: Northern Spark is a free all-night arts festival that will take place on Saturday night from 9:00…

Our Coffee Break idea today comes from Marissa in Columbia Heights, Minn., who wants some attention given to accordion. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that feature accordion among the instruments? Send us your requests.

Before this week, I’d never been to two concerts on the same day before, much less two concerts by the same band. But on a first-time-for-everything Tuesday, June 9, I got to see two Purity Ring performances. During both the 5:00 and 9:30 p.m. shows, visitors to First Avenue’s Mainroom enjoyed the music, nodding along…

This July, legendary local label Amphetamine Reptile Records is hosting a bash celebrating its 30th anniversary with special headliners the Cows. The two-day festival will take place in the Grumpy’s Downtown parking lot on July 10 and 11. The rest of the lineup consists of the Melvins, Run Westy Run, Les Butcherettes, Hammerhead, Gay Witch Abortion and Hepa-Titus. The show will mark the first time…

Between its bold title, its stark black and white cover, and its gilded pages (!), Jessica Hopper's new collection is presented to readers as a Very Important Book. And you know what? It absolutely is.

In 1977, the Sex Pistols signed with Virgin Records. The long evolution of the Virgin brand now includes a bank called Virgin Money, which has announced that it will offer a pair of Sex Pistols credit cards. “The Sex Pistols challenged convention and the established ways of thinking,” Virgin Money’s card director told The Guardian, “just as…