Laura Marling's latest album presents a California-tinged evolution of Marling's sound, exploring new ways of using her gifts and searching her creativity for a new form of muse. Although Marling may twist our expectations, 'Semper Femina' may be her most accessible album yet.

Today's top music news stories include Lorde's performance on SNL, the Brooklyn Nets honoring Biggie Smalls, and Pearl Jam's announcement that all five of their drummers will be invited to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

For the second night in a row, the Palace Theatre was packed with fans eager to see a lineup of all-local artists. They definitely drew an older demographic than Atmosphere on opening night, but the venue still felt like a perfect fit. The Cloak Ox opened the show, with Jake Hanson (Halloween, Alaska; Mason Jennings)…

It was one year ago today that 236 people attending a sold-out tribute to Ray Charles at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres got the surprise of a lifetime: Midway through the song “Let the Good Times Roll,” the city’s most famous resident, Prince, stepped out of the wings and onto the side of the stage to…

As the first show announcements rolled out, it seemed unclear what the very first public performance at the reopened Palace Theatre would be. It wasn’t a certainty that the first performer would be local, particularly with the room’s 2,800 capacity. Atmosphere, though, were a perfect choice for the first act to headline the stage: their local pedigree can’t…

GRAMMY award-winner Thundercat and his band stopped by The Current to chat with host Mac Wilson and to perform songs off his new album, 'Drunk,' live in-studio.

In town to perform at the First Avenue Mainroom, California rockers The Growlers stopped at The Current for a session hosted by Sean McPherson. Although they originally described their music as 'beach goth,' the Growlers have distanced themselves from that categorization. 'We make this music for ourselves and decide to share it with people,' frontman Brooks Nielsen explains.

Prefiguring the June 2 release of his next album,' Witness,' the New Orleans-based guitarist and songwriter returns with a personal, political gospel track, lent moral urgency by Mavis Staples. Hear the song and read Benjamin Booker's accompanying essay.

The 48th annual NAACP Image Awards took place last month, and in the audience in Los Angeles were some very special nominees from the state of Minnesota. Going up against artists such as Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars, and Common were students from St. Paul’s High School for Recording Arts (HSRA) — for their collaboration with Sounds…

We'll be springing forward this weekend for Daylight Saving Time which begins first thing on Sunday. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs that mention time or clocks, or make tick tock sounds would you like to hear?