Topics

Pop/Rock

  • After 30 years, metal band Anvil becomes an overnight success
    Friday night, some longtime unsung heroes of heavy metal music played in Minneapolis. Members of Anvil have been rocking together since the early 1970's and they are credited as being a formative influence on many of the big name bands today. Yet despite playing regularly for more than 30 years, until recently they were relatively unknown. That's changed as a result of a new documentary.May 8, 2009
  • Jearlyn Steele at the Fitzgerald Theater
    Jearlyn Steele concludes her statewide Troubadour concert series at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul with family and friends.April 25, 2009
  • Two former Jayhawks make music together again
    Minneapolis alt-country pioneers The Jayhawks may no longer be a band, but two of its co-founders have reunited as a folk duo. Mark Olson and Gary Louris have released a new CD entitled "Ready for the Flood."February 20, 2009
  • Looking for love songs
    Mark Wheat is looking for love songs. Every Valentine's Day, he hosts a special program on 89.3 The Current featuring some of the greatest love songs of all time. There are some songs that come up over and over again. But every year brings new surprises.February 13, 2009
  • Savage Aural Hotbed at 20
    Take the driving intensity of Japanese Taiko drumming. Add the rhythmic precision of drum and bugle music. Then place it in a post-industrial setting, and you have Savage Aural Hotbed, which turns 20 this year.February 6, 2009
  • Bringing a message of change - from Africa
    Vusi Mahlasela is known as "The Voice" in his native South Africa. A singer, guitarist, percussionist and poet, he came of age during the turmoil of the waning days of apartheid. He now plays around the world, singing of the joys and challenges of his homeland. This week, Mahlasela launches a U.S. tour with a concert Saturday night at the Ordway Center in St Paul.February 6, 2009
  • Hedwig comes to town
    A local producer is launching a new interactive movie program in the Twin Cities, and as a result, Hedwig is coming to town. Later this week the creator, star and director of the cult film "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" will appear as the first guest of "The Talkies" at the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights.February 3, 2009
  • Ask the MPR president
    Minnesota Public Radio President Bill Kling joins MPR's Gary Eichten in the studio to answer listener questions.Midday, January 30, 2009
  • 50 years since the day the music died
    Fifty years ago this week, one of the defining moments in rock and roll history occurred, when musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash. Several events are planned to commemorate the anniversary in Clear Lake, Iowa, where they played their last concert.January 29, 2009
  • Making the Scene: an Oral History of Twin Cities Rock
    "Making the Scene: An Oral History of Twin Cities Rock," traces the evolution of the local-music scene from the mid-1960s through the '90s, through the eyes and ears of key figures from each decade.Midday, December 23, 2008
  • Songs for the lovelorn
    For centuries, lovelorn souls have written letters addressed to "Juliet, Verona, Italy." They're writing to the heroine of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. A production at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis takes a musical and theatrical look at "The Juliet Letters."September 11, 2008
  • A history of Twin Cities rock music
    "Making the Scene: An Oral History of Twin Cities Rock," traces the evolution of the local-music scene from the mid-1960s through the '90s, through the eyes and ears of key figures from each decade.Midday, August 7, 2008
  • The music of summer
    Sunny days, warm breezes, and languid nights all make us think of summer, and so do certain songs. Midmorning takes a look at the great songs of summertime.Midmorning, July 23, 2008
  • Film director celebrates 1994
    While 1994 may not stick out in many people's minds as being one of the watershed years of U.S. history, it does for film director Jonathan Levine. "Much like 1776, just with more rap music," he says. It's the year he set his new film "The Wackness."July 11, 2008
  • Steven C works his piano
    St. Paul musician Steven Anderson, or Steven C., as his stage name goes, has built a thriving behind-the-scenes career in the "New Age" music industry as a producer and pianist. Now he's stepping out of the shadows with a new CD.May 16, 2008

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