Today's top music news stories include the death of drummer John Blackwell Jr., a first look at an unauthorized Morrissey biopic, and sales of Warren Zevon's library and Daft Punk's drum machine.

Not everybody is at work today because it's the Fourth of July. It's kind of a skeletal crew, so Mary thought, 'What would be the right thing to do? Who would I like to bring in to work with me?' Naturally, Lefty and Crash came to mind. Watch video of these friendly pugs in the studio.

This week, most programs are on break for the Fourth of July holiday and are airing reruns, but those encore broadcasts include performances by Fleet Foxes, Spoon, Gary Clark Jr., Father John Misty, Dead Man Winter and others.

Tomorrow is July 4 — Independence Day — and although it may be on a Tuesday this year, there are still plenty of fun festivities planned. As is tradition, many of these celebrations involve the ritual of lighting fireworks, but fireworks are not the only way you can celebrate America tomorrow. There are countless other events…

The Church of St. Joseph’s annual Fourth of July party will be remembering Minnesota and North Dakota music legend Bobby Vee this year. Joetown Rocks is an annual musical celebration which Vee and his wife Karen helped start in 2006; this will be the event’s first year without the Midwestern music icon. The July 3 concert will feature…

Benjamin Booker has a great ability to make retro appreciation sound very modern. On his second album -- filled with brightly lit, rocking blues, soul, and gospel-inspired tunes -- Booker clearly is brimming over with new ideas and thoughts about the world we occupy.

“We all see a reflection of ourselves in at least one of Grant’s songs,” said Mary Jane Mansfield — a friend of Grant Hart and a fellow musician — as she introduced an evening full of music and friends gathered to pay tribute to Hart at the Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge on Saturday…

We're gearing up for a long weekend of cabining, small towning and staycationing that will gloriously conclude on July 4 - Independence Day. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that mention America or the USA?

Two years after his first Red House album Stumpjumper, Charlie Parr is back with a new record, due out Sept. 8 on the St. Paul label. Packed with Parr’s signature, detailed observations and musings, the album’s title track “Dog” is out today. Listeners can expect the themes in “Dog” to appear throughout the album, as Parr tackles “emotional issues,…

Marvel Comics launched a title based on the band Kiss; Huey Lewis and the News hit No. 1 in the album charts with 'Sports'; guitar great Chet Atkins passed away; the Buzzcocks released the second-shortest single of all time; and fans rushed the stage at a Pearl Jam concert, Today in Music History.