In this series, we highlight independent radio stations across America who are keeping alive the dream of human DJs, unpredictable playlists, and free airwaves.
“The Current is the heart and soul of Minnesota music.” This official proclamation came from none other than the state’s governor, Tim Walz, as he declared January 24, 2025, to be 89.3 The Current Day, in honor of the radio station’s 20th anniversary. And like a good Minnesotan, Governor Walz then requested a song by The Replacements.
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Two decades is a big deal for any independent station, but especially one in a music scene as iconic and iconoclastic as the Twin Cities’. Back in 2005, though, that scene was in jeopardy. 20-year veteran of The Current, DJ Jill Riley, remembers that the famed Minneapolis club First Avenue had briefly closed its doors so, “There was a lot of fear in the Twin Cities. There needed to be a media hub for the venues, for the musicians, for the music fans.”
Thankfully, it was around this time that Minnesota Public Radio’s Senior Vice President for Cultural Programming and Initiatives Sarah Lutman pushed to launch a format-free radio station that could compete musically with what her own children were listening to via file-sharing services like Napster. The name came to Lutman when walking along the Mississippi River. According to then intern and now current program director Lindsay Kimball, “She was like, ‘That’s it: The Current.’ You’ve got radio current, electrical current, the rivers between both cities… it connects not just the Twin Cities, but Minnesota in general.
(Credit: Bump Opera for MPR)
The Current launched in January 2005, and according to Kimball, “The beginning was very scrappy. It was literally DJs bringing their music in and us ripping CDs, day in and day out, to build up the library. We were building the plane as we were flying it.” But despite any kinks, the station took off. Riley shares, “It reignited this energy for local music, for people hearing that music on the radio and then going out to see the show and buying the album and buying the shirt. The whole ecosystem was reinvigorated by the launch of The Current.” The station caught on industry-wide too, hosting more than 200 studio sessions in its first year alone, with artists like Brandi Carlile, the National, and Sharon Jones.
Listeners keep coming too, because as Kimball explains, “A sense of trust has developed where it’s like, okay, if you tell me to listen to this, I’m gonna actually sit through it, even if it feels like a weird song. We’re able to not only break new music, but also push the boundaries on where music is going. I really appreciate that special relationship with the audience.”
What would you say separates independent radio from commercial radio?
Jill Riley: When we have ideas or feel passionate about something as DJs, we’re actually heard. Each individual DJ is choosing music that’s unheard of in the radio world.
DJ Zach McCormick: One of the coolest things is that, over 20 years, The Current has earned a reputation for being an incubator for really cool bands. Especially in the wake of the death of alt weeklies and other places where bands would get their first coverage, we get to be the ones who introduce them to new folks. I also feel like we’ve gotten to this point with the algorithmic-driven source for music discovery where you’re only pushed the thing that you already like again and again and again. People are getting tired of that, and one of the cool things we hear from listeners is that they’re looking for our human curatorial element.
What is the most Minnesotan thing about The Current?
Lindsay Kimball: This sounds cliche, but we talk about the weather all the time. Because we have the four seasons, but we get them in extremes, and you hear it reflected on-air. Like when you’ve got that first warm spring day, you might hear “Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff. Or the first time it snows, you’re gonna hear “Snow Days” by The New Standards.
ZM: Minnesotans are very provincial in a good way. We’re proud of the stuff that gets made here, which I think comes with living in this place where just earlier this week we had like negative 20 degree temperatures. It leads to this really cool community of artists, which includes The Current. What was Prince’s line about it, “It’s so cold it keeps the bad people out?”
Any celebrity listeners or supporters?
LK: One of our champions who was very supportive, but quieter about it, was Prince. On occasion, he would even reach out and give feedback. A couple times, he reached out to our previous program director and was like, come over, I wanna talk to you. And when we’d hear that he might be coming to one of our shows, we’d all go on “Purple Alert.”
Current artist (no pun intended) that you want more folks to hear?
ZM: There’s this guy Will Anderson, who fronts a band called Hotline TNT. They’re this really cool shoegaze, stoney, indie rock, pop punk band. I had been familiar with his work in a previous band he was in, with a very radio unfriendly name called Weed, in underground punk rock circles, and only puts out music on like cassette singles that he would sell at his shows. So when he signed to Third Man Records for an album that was getting a wide release, I’m like, now is the time. We spun it a fair amount on The Current, got some great listener feedback, and then he’s playing like a bigger, above-ground venue called the Turf Club here in Saint. Paul. It’s amazing when you get to see the results of The Current’s signal boost in real time.
JR: Our music director came back from South by Southwest and was like, “All this buzz is around this band Brigitte Calls Me Baby.” She wanted me to listen to them, and I’m hooked right away because this guy is singing like Elvis, Roy Orbison, Morrissey—but it doesn’t sound like an imitation. They have a very fresh take on their influences, and that resonates with me. Their songs make me want to connect the musical dots to the next songs in a playlist, like, here’s a great New Order song, or how playing Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” is gonna sound beautiful coming out of (Brigitte Calls Me Baby’s) song. I like bands that inspire me as a DJ.
Any goals for the future of the station?
LK: My hope would be that in 20 years we can reconnect and have the same conversation, about how we stayed relevant and how we’re still here because of listener support, and talk about another couple decades of artists that have shared their music with people because The Current’s been a part of that.
And to prove people wrong. Radio’s not dying. Good radio will always be here.
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