Music

Thunder in the Valley - in studio
Award-winning Minneapolis band Thunder in the Valley has been compared to Tom Waits, Sixteen Horsepower, and DeVotchKa, but they have a style unmistakably their own.
New Classical Tracks:  Kissin and Levine
Last May, more than 2,000 lucky ticket holders were on hand for a rare performance of Schubert's piano duets with two world-class performers, James Levine and Evgeny Kissin. With the release of this new, live recording, you can be a witness to that sold-out Carnegie Hall performance too.
Minneapolis is a new center for the sale and preservation of violins from the 18th and 19th century. In the past these instruments were worked on in places like Italy, London and New York. But new technology has enabled people involved in violin restoration to live anywhere.
Covering Van
Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison performs in the Twin Cities this weekend. If you can't make the show, you can get a dose of "Van" another way -- by listening to a Minneapolis cover band devoted almost exclusively to Morrison's music.
Chris Walla
Chris Walla is more than just the guitarist and keyboardist for the band Death Cab for Cutie. He's also their un-official spokesman and producer. The Current's Mary Lucia spoke to Walla about his other projects and his current tour.
Post-punk poet Richard Hell
Richard Hell, the man credited as being at the forefront of the first wave of East Coast punk rock, is now a poet and novelist. His latest book of poetry titled "Godlike" is set primarily in the East Village of New York, circa 1972.
New Classical Tracks: The Art of Barry Tuckwell
At his best, horn virtuoso Barry Tuckwell has a rare combination of big sound and refined technique. As Julie Amacher listened to a new retrospective marking Tuckwell's 75th birthday, she heard these qualities and more.
Margot and the Nuclear So-and-So's - in studio
Margot and the Nuclear So-and-So's is an eight-member musical collective from Indiana whose intricate melodies and gentle lyrics tell of having more experience than only a single album to their name.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been touring to support their new record, "Show Your Bones", a mellower but still hard-rocking sophomore effort that, Karen O explains, was not written about her cat.