As we provide the A-Z soundtrack to your Fourth of July weekend, we know that another important part of this weekend’s soundtrack will be provided by rapidly heated metal salts detonating in the evening sky. (In other words, fireworks.) The Twin Cities metro area will have no shortage of festivities this Independence Day, so we’ve created…

In a remarkable discovery related to one of Minnesota’s greatest musicians, California record collector Jeff Gold—a former Warner Bros. executive who now runs a music memorabilia business called Recordmecca—has purchased a previously unknown trove of 149 acetate records pressed during the making of Bob Dylan’s albums Nashville Skyline (1969), Self Portrait (1970), and New Morning (1970). Gold announced the find…

Just in time for their performance at MN Music-on-a-Stick on Saturday, August 30 (where they’ll play alongside Brother Ali, Bob Mould, Cloud Cult, Har Mar Superstar, and the Cactus Blossoms at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand), Doomtree have announced that they’ll self-release a massive 500-page book on August 26. Doomtree: Every Single Day promises to include glossy photos from…

Allan Kingdom: Future Memoirs With little warning, over the weekend Allan Kingdom decided to drop his new record Future Memoirs. The album features intricate rhymes, catchy hooks, and great features—including Internet mystery Spooky Black on the track “Wavey” and some production work from Ryan Olson (Poliça, GAYNGS, Marijuana Deathsquads). No release show has yet been announced. The Jayhawks:…

When you live in Minnesota, trying to understand the magnitude of Prince’s accomplishment is kind of like trying to talk about the sun when you’re standing on it. Here’s a story that helped me get my mind around the extent of Prince’s musical celebrity. When Michael Jackson agreed to play a set of wildly-anticipated comeback…

On July 1, the Jayhawks albums Sound of Lies (1999), Smile (2000), and Rainy Day Music (2003) will be reissued in deluxe editions with new liner notes and bonus tracks. The Jayhawks’ Gary Louris as well as PD Larson—archivist and one of the producers of the reissue project—stopped by the Current’s studios this week to talk with David…

Happy Friday! This week’s selection of videos really runs the gamut, from a new song from Trampled by Turtles to the latest from our state’s biggest Top 40 pop artist of the moment to a complete newcomer who just released their debut album. In other words, business as usual here in Minnesota… Trampled by Turtles Need further…

Prince is funny. That may sound like too basic a descriptor for one of the most iconic, eccentric, and enigmatic pop artists of our time, but after spending several hours with him last night at Paisley Park I was left thinking that he is really, really funny. It’s rare that more than five minutes goes by without Prince…

Update 7/9: Vita.mn reports that the space currently occupied by Cause will become the Iron Door Pub, expected to open on or near September 1. The new owners “plan to knock out the wall separating the bar and venue side, add plenty of TVs and bump up tap beer offerings from six to 24.” Cause Spirits and…

“Where’s he from again?” I heard amongst the audience. “Minnesota!” another cheerfully replied. This was the first I’d heard mention of my humble home since I arrived in London over a month ago. In the basement of the Borderline on Saturday night, Mason Jennings made a name for our great state across the globe. I…