As part of this week’s Current Presents special on the Best-Selling Minnesota Artists of All Time, I had the chance to talk to songwriter Dan Wilson about his single “Closing Time”—whose success propelled Semisonic’s Feeling Strangely Fine to platinum status—and his thoughts on the music industry at large. In addition to his work in Semisonic…

I made a Ray Charles playlist in the middle of the night. It was two in the morning when I turned out the lights and hit play. Shortly after “Busted,” as “Mess Around” descended down its eighth note cartoon stairway, I began to see pictures in mind. I pieced together a piano man from performances…

“It’s so good to be here in Minneapolis,” Jeremy Messersmith said near the beginning of his second sold-out night at First Avenue. It’s a line that’s been punted off that stage by artists from around the world, and it was the first of many signs throughout the night that Messersmith has advanced past the status…

Now in its fifth year, Winona’s Mid West Music Fest will once again call on talent from throughout the state to fill 13 different venues throughout the city. This year’s MWMF is taking place April 24-26, and will culminate in headlining performance by Minneapolis’s Lizzo, Caroline Smith, and the 4onthefloor and Duluth’s Charlie Parr. Other…

Introducing the final song of his set with Paul Simon on February 23 at the Xcel Energy Center, Sting said, “This is a song I would’ve written if I were twice as talented.” Actually, even with all the talent in the world, it’s unlikely that Sting would have ever written a quietly urgent story-song like…

This week’s Current Presents special was dedicated to tracking down the numbers and determining the best-selling albums and singles to come out of Minnesota—and as promised, the singles category delivered some surprises. A few notes about these results: The Andrews Sisters dominated the Gold category here, but their results are a little tricky. Prior to…

Who are the best-selling Minnesota musicians of all time? It’s a big question, and after digging into the sales data for hundreds of Minnesota releases, it’s proven to be quite a complicated answer. As I discovered while researching this project, no one knows precisely how many copies of any given album or single have sold,…

At SXSW, Spandau Ballet are playing their first American show in 28 years, but this year has already seen an even less likely 80s comeback. Spacey, ambient sounds are increasingly pleasing the ears of music buffs both nationally and locally, and a new historical compilation has sparked a reappraisal of the often-derided genre of new…

Each year Hopkins High School Orchestra hosts a Spotlight Concert featuring a special musical guest. Students are gearing up for this year’s February 21 performance alongside the Ericksons. The eight-year-old sister duo have their musical roots in Minneapolis. Bethany Valentini and Jenny Kapernick bring a stylistic blend of soulful and rich indie-folk. Both are excited to…

Earlier this week we asked you to guess the highest-selling singles and albums to come out of Minnesota—and the answers to those two big questions will be revealed this Sunday night on the Current Presents: The Best-Selling Minnesota Artists of All Time. But before we get down to brass tacks, I wanted to share a…