On the Ball with Mark Wheat is a new Monday feature on The Current that celebrates the connections between music and soccer, with an eye to the past weekend's results. This week, Mark looks at West Brom's 2 - 1 defeat of Manchester United in the Premier League.

The Olms stopped by The Current studios after performing bright and early on Peavey Plaza to play a few songs off their self-titled debut. They chatted with host Mary Lucia about Andre Agassiz, the Sound City documentary and the experience Pete Yorn had during his first songwriting collaboration.

We here at The Current love having our favorite artists perform exclusive shows in the UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio. This Friday, Oct. 4 at noon, local act Polica will play a handful of songs for an intimate performance, and this is your chance to see Channy and company perform up close and personal.

A new tribute to the Nigerian bandleader features Jim James, Kronos Quartet, tUnE-yArDs and more.

Thanks to listener Trevor for today's suggestion for hotel and motel songs.

Today Michael Rand chatted with The Morning Show's Steve Seel and Jill Riley about the Vikings win in London, Lynx being the champs of the Western Conference, and they debate whether Ron Gardenhire should return to the Twins.

Friday night was a big one for Caroline Smith, who brought her much-anticipated new soul band to First Avenue’s stage to play to her largest hometown crowd of the year. With her new album, Half About Being a Woman, out on the same day, the show symbolized the last step in her transition from cute…

Mason Jennings stopped by the Current this morning to premiere three new songs off his forthcoming Always Been, which is due out November 12. The album is his 10th studio release, and finds him exploring a rootsier, fuller sound. “I think I wanted to make the warmest possible acoustic-based record,” he told The Morning Show…

In the last 10 years, few British rock bands have managed to translate their success into American sales. But this week, Arctic Monkeys' latest, AM, sits at the top in the Alternative Billboard charts and at #28 in the Top 200. Arctic Monkeys have definitely earned their place in the rock 'n' roll canon — on both sides of the Atlantic..

Gipsy Kings - Samba Samba, from the new album "Savor Flamenco."