Well, that was surreal. If there was one word uttered more than any others after Billy Idol’s six-song acoustic set with Steve Stevens at the Turf Club on Monday night, it was just that: Surreal. Surreal to see such a household name in such a tiny club. Surreal to watch Idol’s sinewy body prowl around…

Two legendary local rock groups came together on Friday to celebrate The Current’s 10th anniversary and a shared 10″ record release—joined by none other than “the most rock ‘n’ roll mayor west of New York.” Those were St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s words, at least, when he proclaimed Friday, Jan. 16 to be 89.3 The Current Day in the…

Mystery Date: New Noir Mystery Date are back with their sophomore effort, New Noir. The crunchy opening bass line on “Wouldn’t You Like to Know” is just one of the irresistible rhythm parts that make the band’s grooves stick. The manic guitar parts meld together with crooned vocals by Johnny Eggerman (Real Numbers, Cozy) to form the…

The four surviving members of the Grateful Dead have announced that they will reunite for three 50th anniversary shows this July, at Chicago’s Soldier Field—the venue where the band played their last show with Jerry Garcia before he died in 1995. Standing in for Garcia at the reunion shows will be Trey Anastasio of Phish, perhaps the most successful jam…

Motion City Soundtrack celebrated their second album Commit This To Memory by kicking off a tenth anniversary tour at the Varsity Theater. After selling out the original show on Jan. 17, the band added another show on Jan. 15, which sold out as well.  A variety of artists—including Hawthorne Heights, William Beckett, and Hellogoodbye—will be…

When it comes to intimate performance spaces, it doesn’t get much more in-your-face than the tiny confines of the Bryant-Lake Bowl’s 82-person capacity theater. On Sunday night, seeing the established and revered singer-songwriters Dan Wilson, Caroline Smith, and Jeremy Messersmith pour their hearts out from just feet away felt not just rare but dangerously special, like a…

After a busy 2014 that saw the release of two new studio albums, 2015 so far has seen Prince staying busy and in the public eye. He wowed the Golden Globes audience with a surprise appearance to present the award for Best Original Song, and now he’s released a video for “MARZ,” a song from…

It’s no secret that the Current plays a lot of local music (fun fact: there are 6,430 songs by Minnesota artists in the station’s digital library, which amounts to about 15% of the total catalog), and it’s a practice that dates all the way back to the first day the station launched in January 2005.…

Happy Friday! While away the final hours of the workweek with a fresh match of Minnseota-made music videos, including a new one from rapper Dem Atlas, a family affair from Adam Levy, and a rock quartet decked out in plastic PVC suits. You know, the usual stuff. Dem Atlas Young rapper Dem Atlas turns inward…

Mash-up artist YepImTheToaster has mixed Taylor Swift’s anthem “22” with Semisonic’s “Closing Time” in a combined song and video that’s so convincing, it even won praise from Semisonic bassist (and Wits bandleader, and occasional Morning Show co-host) John Munson, who shared the video on his Facebook timeline and said he’s still proud of “Closing Time” 17 years after…