We'll check in from time to time as singer-songwriter Neko Case creates the follow-up to her 2009 album Middle Cyclone. In the first installment, we listen in to a song that's not quite finished, not quite recorded, not even quite written.

M. Ward has been extremely busy the past few years: recording and touring with several side projects like She and Him and Monsters of Folk, producing bands and putting out two solo records. Somehow he's remained calm and thoughtful through it all and has been able to balance his life. This introspection and calm resonates in his latest album "A Wasteland Companion," with Ward's smoky voice covering topics of love and loss.

Now in its fifth year, Soundset is easily one of the largest and most consistent festivals in the Twin Cities, on par with high-drawing events like We Fest. And yet for all of Rhymesayers’ heft in Minnesota, it’s easy to forget that there are still many, many people in our fair state that have no…

Watch video recaps and read Dessa's perspective of being on the road

After some worry last year that the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts would end its run on St. Anthony Main following the death of its founder, Ira Heilicher, the event has been picked up by a new owner and will return this year as the Stone Arch Bridge Festival.  “Father’s Day weekend in Minneapolis…

As reported earlier this spring, Nicollet Ave’s Yeti Records will be vacating its storefront this summer in pursuit of a mobile record shop, which would be the first of its kind on the Twin Cities festival and street fair circuit. Co-owners Lisa and Jake Luck opened their all-vinyl store in the fall of 2010, and…

This past weekend, Jeremy Messersmith brought an experiment to the Fitzgerald Theater under the guise of Muse for Music. Exploring the origins and stories behind some of music’s most famous songs, Messersmith teamed up with P.O.S. and Chastity Brown to bring new renditions of these works to a live setting.    

Local bands that deserve must-hear status this week

David Lee Roth: "We bit off way more than we could chew when it came to scheduling"

Robin Gibb, who with his brothers Maurice and Barry in the Bee Gees acored numerous hit records in the 1960s before going on to help define the disco era, has died after a long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. He was 62 years old.