The Replacements are among the headliners of the Converse-sponsored Rubber Tracks Live festival, taking place in Boston from April 27 through May 1. The ‘Mats will play on April 27, along with Dinosaur Jr., in a performance sandwiched in among others on their spring “By Unpopular Demand” tour. Other acts at the five-day festival include Slayer, Passion Pit,…

Last week, thousands of authors met up in Minneapolis for the annual Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference (also known simply as “AWP”); while many panels and readings delighted the crowds, one of the highlights of the conference featured local artists Dessa and P.O.S, as well as agile poet Adrian Matejka and hip-hop expert/Rhymesayers…

This evening is Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's State of the City speech at the newly opened Concert Hall at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul. When he stopped into the studio earlier this week to talk with The Current's Morning Show, he said "this isn't your father's State of the City address." He's adding a musical component to the event, to highlight the local music scene in the Twin Cities. Since tonight's event will focus on the state of the city of Saint Paul, let's put together a list of bands that identify their home as (or got their start in) Saint Paul.

MPR News Arts Reporter Marianne Combs joins Jill Riley and Sean McPherson (in for Steve Seel) to talk about some very good museum shows happening right now. "I could've waited till May, which is National Museum Month," Marianne says, "but I like to go rogue, just do things a little different." Plus, if you wait until May to see some of these, you might miss them.

Buddy Holly's first single was released; a Led Zeppelin got a gold record; Hutch from Starsky and Hutch had a big hit; Kiss put the makeup back on; composer Henry Mancini was born; and Desmond Dekker broke boundaries by becoming the first Jamaican artist to have a bona fide hit in the U.K. and U.S.

It takes a little navigation, but you can find it on the Duluth Trading Co.’s website. Scroll to the bottom of the site, then click on “about us,” then look at the bottom of the left-hand menu, and there it is: “Apology to Don Henley.” “As many of you know,” reads the statement at that…

Alabama Shakes are at #1 for the third time; Florence and the Machine and Tame Impala see bumps after playing Coachella; Sufjan Stevens makes his debut; Courtney Barnett and the Punch Brothers are inducted to the Chart Show Hall of Fame.

Carson McHone got hooked on songwriting while still a high-schooler. She's been touring heavily on the strength of her self-titled EP, and she and her band stopped into the Radio Heartland studio while on tour road-testing songs from a forthcoming album.

Just after the Target in Victoria, British Columbia closed on March 31—along with other Target stores across Canada—a group of employees recorded a cover of Semisonic‘s “Closing Time” for a poignant video that’s now gone viral. (Vita.mn) Don Henley has accepted the Duluth Trading Co.’s apology for an e-mail ad headlined, “Don a henley and take…

A recent article in 'The Atlantic' explored the virtues of being short. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs would you like to hear by musicians who are short on height but long on talent?