Keren Ann released her full-length debut, "La Biographie de Luka Philipsen," in 2000. La Biographie was received well in Europe and earned several nominations for the Victoires - the French equivalent of the Grammy - for Best New Discovery (Artist and Album) and Best Song of the Year.

Chances are, if you've heard any live music in the Twin Cities at any time you've seen Dan "Daddy Squeeze" Newton in his trademark hi-top Chuck Taylors playing the accordion. He's the founding member of several area bands including the Cafe Accordion Orchestra, the Rocking Pinecones, Jumbo Yaya and others.

Bob Mould has written the song of his career! However it won't be on his new album, "District Line," but the former Husker Du guitarist/singer/songwriter Bob Mould played a snippet of it when he stopped by The Current.

What do you call a string ensemble when it adds a wind instrument? "Good question," say the members of the Spaghetti Western String Co. They've added a clarinetist in the past year which moved them in new musical directions while maintaining their indefinable sound.

The third installment in our series of conversations with songwriter Ann Reed as she continues her statewide tour and writes a new Minnesota song with help from listeners and audience members.

Ellis is talented singer-songwriter based out of the Twin Cities with a loyal, involved fan base. So involved, in fact, that they had a large part in producing a recent live album by helping her decide the album's musical direction and which songs to include.

Named after the seventeenth-century French king, San Diego's glam-punk rockers Louis XIV are back with their sophomore album "Slick Dogs and Ponies." They've decided that you will either love it or hate it.

From a 1,000 copies limited-release single at the start of 2005 to having their beer "borrowed" by Paul McCartney and a platinum album, Editors have done it their way and triumphed.

Toumani Diabate comes from a long family tradition of kora players including his father, Sidiki Diabate, who recorded the first ever kora album in 1970. In September 2005, Toumani Diabate released In the Heart of the Moon, a collaboration with the late Ali Farka Toure, his mentor.

Brothers Mike and Tom Mangione have influenced each other musically from their earliest days. Mike's first chord was the upside down E he learned from Tom. Together they've made a career of playing the instrument incorrectly.