When Maria Isa and Muja Messiah of Villa Rosa got the chance to travel to Cuba last November to teach a series of workshops and work with some of the country’s innovative musicians, they never imagined they would witness a key moment in Cuban history, the death of longtime leader Fidel Castro. Villa Rosa arrived…

“The Revolution will be heard,” yells a chorus of voices in “Wonderful Ass,” one of the new songs on Purple Rain Deluxe: Expanded Edition. They were indeed; Revolution members guitarist Wendy Melvoin, keyboardist Lisa Coleman, bassist BrownMark, keyboardist Dr. Fink, and drummer Bobby Z backed up Prince during his most commercially successful period, from about 1983-86.…

Actual Wolf, “Baby Please” First Baby Driver, now “Baby Please.” Like the Simon & Garfunkel song, this Actual Wolf single sounds like it could be from the turn of the ’70s, given its gorgeous vocal layers over unhurried electric guitars and tambourine. As the starring heisters prove in this Erik Nelson-directed “road story,” the song also makes…

A three-decade-old recording of a Replacements concert has been unearthed from the Warner Music vaults and is going to become the next Replacements live LP. The release of the two-disc live album, For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986 was announced today, with the release date set for Oct. 6. The album is a recording of a concert that the…

When Mitski performed last night at the Triple Rock, she mostly stood stock still at a stage-left mic surrounded by monitors, plucking a bass and keening into her vocal mic. Meanwhile, guitarist Patrick Hyland and drummer Casey Weissbuch whipped up furious storms of sound, storms that Mitski herself seemed to be both summoning and weathering.…

Maybe Agent Cooper is better off in his stupefied “Dougie” state. He’s a publicly celebrated hero, he’s winning points with the boss, and the spark is back in his marriage. Meanwhile, all of the supposedly lucid men and women around him are being drawn into a tightening web spun by the evil Mr. C. Episode…

With immigration front and center in conversations across the country, a group of Minnesota musicians representing Eastern European and Middle Eastern traditions have come together to create collaborative songs and videos that confront dominant narratives. The musicians were brought together through Boston-based Raga Labs (a project of the arts education startup IndianRaga), a performing arts program…

Greg Grease, “Migraine” Greg Grease is an unconventional doctor in “Migraine,” a great wub&B track produced by Psymun, Grease, and his ZULUZULUU bandmate Trelly Mo (who guests in the video). Alan De Leon Taverna directs. Reflectivore, “Ticonderoga” Duluth band Reflectivore will play the Bayfront Festival Park with Cloud Cult on July 22. Before that date, check out their new…

If you saw Baby Driver and dreamt of a click wheel, you’re not alone. Since the Edgar Wright-directed movie opened on June 28, $76 million worth of people have watched a young man called Baby (a drawling, versatile Ansel Elgort) thumb through his various iPods, land on the perfect song, and pull off thrill-packed getaway driving.…

Rochester is nicknamed “Med City,” and many people might not think of anything else when it comes to the Minnesota city — but Rochester also has a growing arts and entertainment scene, and locals are now working to turn it into a destination for music fans. Steven Schmidt, executive director of Rochester Civic Music Department/Riverside…