Coffee Break9:30 Coffee Break: International Happy DayJill Riley and Sean McPherson • Mar 20, 2015As Pharrell Williams and the UN team up to raise climate-change awareness through International Happy Day, we're wondering what other songs about being happy you'd like to hear. Tell us your requests.
SXSWPizza is good: SXSW dispatch, Day ThreeBridget Bennett • Mar 20, 2015The first thing I had to do was find the holy grail of free Bloody Marys that I didn’t get to enjoy yesterday. I arrived at the purported hot spot with my friends, feeling as thought I had already conquered the day, but defeat fell upon me when I realized all the Samsung promotional event offered…
Local Current BlogWanda Davis talks about returning to the stage and the studio 40 years after ‘Save Me’Andrea Swensson • Mar 20, 2015There are few soul artists from the Twin Cities whose legacies have shined on quite as brightly as Wanda Davis, whose 1970 single “Save Me” has become an underground hit—and a valuable find for record collectors. Although Wanda was quite active throughout the late ’60s and early ’70s in the Twin Cities scene, she left music…
Local Current BlogFrankie Five: Frankie Lee debuts his ‘American Dreamer’ video pentologyAndrea Swensson • Mar 20, 2015So here’s something I’ve never done before. Each week, the Friday Five is typically the space where I round up and share some of the coolest music videos to emerge from the Minnesota music scene that week. But this time around, I couldn’t resist the idea of reserving the entire five spots for an ambitious…
DuluthIron Range Invasion: Duluth Homegrown Festival ventures to VirginiaAustin Gerth • Mar 20, 2015The Duluth Homegrown Festival is branching out to Virginia—as in Virginia, Minnesota—on March 27 for a one-night mini-festival called the “Iron Range Invasion.” The Invasion is free to the public, featuring eight bands at three different venues and “a mix from acoustic folk to punk rock.” The event will serve as a (relatively) modest precursor to…
Local Current BlogHaley Bonar brings a rich sound to the Ordway’s new Concert HallJade • Mar 20, 2015The Ordway has been running at a fever pitch to celebrate their newly opened Concert Hall, hitting every genere for their 22 Days of Opening Nights—from opera to dance to youth symphonies, and for fans of The Current, on Wednesday there was a night with Haley Bonar. Before Bonar took the stage, she invited her…
The Current Music NewsToday’s Music News: Sinéad O’Connor is done singing ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’Staff • Mar 19, 2015Sinéad O’Connor has announced that she will no longer perform “Nothing Compares 2 U,” her chart-topping hit from 1990. “After 25 years of singing it, nine months or so ago I finally ran out of anything I could use in order to bring some emotion to it,” the Irish singer wrote on Facebook. (Billboard) Though O’Connor didn’t…
SXSWDay 1 at SXSW: Hitting the ground runningJim McGuinn • Mar 19, 2015Checking in from the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, The Current's Program Director Jim McGuinn provides a first-day report, noting that female-fronted acts were the best he saw yesterday.
SXSWKeep your hands off the security: SXSW dispatch, Day TwoBridget Bennett • Mar 19, 2015I woke up in a new Bugatti (and by “Bugatti,” I mean a hotel room in southeast Austin) without a plan. I headed downtown, and I hoped that I would cross paths with something interesting. Once downtown, a friend and I made our way to the Floodfest day party—I’m not sure why, because the show’s artists…
Coffee Break9:30 Coffee Break: 'Leave' SongsJill Riley and Sean McPherson • Mar 19, 2015As a social media-based transport provider threatens to leave Minnesota over pending legislation, we're wondering what songs that mention "leave" or "leaving" you'd like to hear. Send us your requests.