To me, Fleet Foxes are welcome visitors from a musically benevolent dimension, from a time when rock and folk and country and pot and hallucinogens and love and the wonders of the multi-track recording studio were coming together in a spirit of innocent and earnest exploration and expression.

Brute Heart is probably the only Minneapolis band with not one, but two members named Crystal. The three female vocalists lead the pack of Twin Cities avant-garde musicians with haunting (at times, howling) vocals and moody instrumental landscapes.

Like many acts these days, the Brian Just Band got their start by accident. Brian and his bandmate Josie invited their friend Rick to play trumpet on their couples' duet, but when he sang the horn part instead, the resulting harmonies inspired them to start a band together.

Ellen Stanley, aka Mother Banjo, talks about her new EP, "Stray Songs" on Radio Heartland.

Low's ninth album is a true return to form. With the help of guitarist Nels Cline (Wilco), and banjo player Dave Carrol (Trampled By Turtles), the band used Sacred Heart Studios (housed in a church in Duluth) to create what might be the the best album of their career.