In a mid-size Midwestern city not so different from Minneapolis, a nonprofit music promoter is bridging the distance between Winnipeg and the Twin Cities by helping local artists bring their music to new audiences—not an easy feat when its closest tour cities are either a 20-hour drive away or in another country. Manitoba Music’s first…

Kurt Cobain‘s “Montage of Heck” was aptly named: the 1988 mix, made by a 21-year-old Cobain before Nirvana‘s debut album was released, includes everything from toilets flushing to William Shatner covering “Wild Thing.” You can listen to the 15-minute audio collage at Consequence of Sound, if you dare. It wasn’t a big surprise that Taylor Swift‘s new album 1989 didn’t…

Pillsbury House Theatre’s “Late Nite Series: Non English Speaking Spoken Here” will return on Nov. 8, 15, and 22. The annual celebration of new work, now in its 17th year, will feature a unique lineup comprising emerging artists from Minnesota and New York. The artists and performers will explore contemporary culture through music, dance, theatre, film, literary…

Can't fight the inevitable. Let's put together a playlist of "darkness" songs. What do you want to hear?

“What a thrill to be in the physical and spiritual home of A Prairie Home Companion!” Joey Ryan, one half of L.A.’s the Milk Carton Kids, addressed a packed house at the Fitzgerald Theater on Saturday night. St. Paul marked the duo’s 13th stop on a 16-part national acoustic tour with Texan folk singer-songwriter Sarah…

On Halloween, Arcade Fire released a 24-minute horror/comedy film made during their Suburbs tour in 2011. Festi, which features guest appearances by the National and Fleet Foxes, dramatizes Win Butler‘s fear of joining “the 27 club” (in other words, turning 27, the age at which a number of prominent rockers have died). Jim Morrison, who died aged 27, appears and…

Robert Plant's new album opens your ears and your mind to musical possibilities. It's American music reinvented by 21st-century world troubadours.

Update: Prince and 3rdEyeGirl brought their A-game last night, ripping through a medley of “Clouds” (with Lianne La Havas in person), “Plectrum Electrum,” “Marz” and “Another Love” for their 8 minute mini-concert on SNL last night. Here it is in all its glory: Earlier this month, Prince announced via Twitter that he and 3RDEYEGIRL will…

When Bob Dylan released “Full Moon & Empty Arms,” a rendition of a 1945 song previously best-known in a performance by Frank Sinatra, in May, his representative told Rolling Stone that the track would appear on a new studio album forthcoming this year. An ad inserted into advance copies of Dylan’s release The Basement Tapes Complete—the latest installment…

Teenage Kicks host Jacquie Fuller has dedicated today's episode of Teenage Kicks to rock's deceased heroes. But why would anyone celebrate Day of the Dead? Jacquie shares the historic and cultural roots of this day that honors those who've gone before us. Check it out as you listen to Teenage Kicks.