Comprising sisters, brothers and cousins, the hip-hop/classical hybrid Nocturnal Unit produces a unique sound. “Nocturnal Unit combines the intellect and precision of classical music with the energy and grittiness of hip-hop,” said Rolf Haas, vocalist and violinist of the group. “I am constantly pushing the boundaries of both classical and hip-hop music.” The members of Nocturnal…

Okay, it’s not actually Saruman, heroic-turned-evil wizard of Middle-Earth: it’s Christopher Lee, the 92-year-old actor who plays Saruman in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. Among Lee’s many pursuits on stage and on record have been heavy-metal holiday singles he’s released each year since 2012. Previous releases included Lee’s takes on “The Little Drummer Boy,” “Silent Night,”…

Forged Artifacts: The Greatest Of All Time #1 Forged Artifacts label owner Matt Linden told me recently that the idea for The Greatest Of All Time #1 compilation had just popped into his head—and that idea is now available. All the bands on the release fall somewhere in the spectrum of punk, but take a…

Eric Mayson, well-known for lending vocal and multi-instrumental support to live and recorded work by a multitude of Minnesota artists, is going solo with a forthcoming EP to be released via RiverRock Music Group. To celebrate the signing, Mayson has recorded a cover of the seasonal classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” with help from…

It was almost exactly two weeks ago now that I landed at LaGuardia and flipped my phone out of airplane mode at the exact moment that a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., was announcing that they had decided not to indict Darren Wilson for shooting and killing an unarmed teenager, Michael Brown. As soon as…

News that Bob Dylan is to release an album of Frank Sinatra covers has been leaking out slowly, first with a Dylan representative confirming a new album as Dylan streamed his cover of “Full Moon and Empty Arms,” then with a teasing insert in copies of Dylan’s new Basement Tapes Complete box set. Now, it’s officially…

If the future is 3D, Paul McCartney is there already. He recently released 3D footage of a live performance of “Live and Let Die” via a special app, and now he’s debuted a new video for his song “Hope for the Future” in which the former Beatle appears as a hologram singing his way through a futuristic…

When we started playing Paolo Nutini I thought “Wow, where did this guy come from? He’s got some talent—is he a new artist?” Turns out he’s been releasing records for years and has a huge following already for someone in his mid-20s. We were very pleased and lucky to host an intimate, private performance from Paolo…

Nominations for the 57th annual Grammy awards were announced on Friday. Leading nominees are Beyoncé and Sam Smith, who each received six nominations; that vaults Beyoncé past Dolly Parton to become the woman with the all-time most Grammy nominations, now a total of 47. Minnesota’s Okee Dokee Brothers were nominated for Best Children’s Album, an award they won two…

Wednesday sure didn’t turn out the way anyone expected it to. The staff of the Current was ecstatic at the prospect of getting Nick Lowe, Los Straitjackets, and Ian “Mac” McLagan into our studios for a recording session on the day of their tour launch at First Avenue. Instead, just as Lowe and the band arrived,…