Roy Hargrove was born October 16, 1969. In his too-short life (Hargrove died in 2018) he became an icon; sharing stages with musicians from across genres, winning Grammys and penning songs with will live on. Minnesota-based trumpet player Omar Abdulkarim had occasion to share stages and conversations with Hargrove during Abdulkarim's time living in New York. Omar was nice enough to visit our studios and chat with Sean McPherson about his memories of Roy Hargrove.

Skarlett Woods, Brainerd singer-songwriter celebrates her new CD, Letters To The West, next Saturday night at Ginkgo’s in Saint Paul. In her writing, Skarlett turns her attention to intimacy as well as big societal issues. When she talked about her work with Phil Nusbaum, Skarlett first talked about one of her romantic songs.

Billy McLaughlin and Simple Gifts celebrate songs of Neil Young, in Harvest at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, 7PM on Sunday October 22. The show reimagines songs from Neil Young’s harvest and Harvest Moon albums. Phil Nusbaum got together with Karen Paurus, Amy Courts and Carin Vagle to talk about the production. When Phil asked about the appeal of presenting Neil Young’s songs.

When Raycurt a.k.a. Fiddla plays for brunch, he often calls it Bach for Breakfast. But it’s really a lot more than that, as at the Harriet Brasserie, Sunday October 15 from 11 till 1:30. The music often reflects a wide range of Raycurt’s musical experiences. When Raycurt spoke with Phil Nusbaum, Raycurt first addressed how he started.

Stablemates is a Twin Cities Piano Trio. The group plays at the Metronome in Saint Paul, Thursday October 12 at 7:00 PM. When Phil Nusbaum met up with the trio, it was running through some repertoire.

Stokley is an internationally acclaimed R&B star, both as a solo act and with his 20+ year career with Mint Condition. Hailing from the Twin Cities, Stokley can keep a low profile in town and he doesn't perform in town too often. But when he does. . .it's an EVENT. This Saturday Stokley is playing at the Uptown Theater alongside Jordan Johnston, Bakarii and LA Buckner and Big Homie. This week Stokley, Bakarii and LA Buckner stopped by the studio to talk about the big show and more.

Peter Solomon spoke with Gary Hines, music director for the Grammy-winning Twin Cities ensemble Sounds of Blackness about their participation in a program called “Behind the Curtain: Ever After in Concert” The story is a developing musical, an extension of the Cinderella Story and incorporates historical figures like The Brothers Grimm and Leonardo Da Vinci. Performances are Friday, October 6th and Saturday, October 7th at the Ordway Concert Hall. The show will also feature five Broadway actors and a fourteen-piece orchestra.

Scott Keever issues his second CD of original guitar music at Celtic Junction in Saint Paul Saturday night October 21. There will be an opening set by guitarist Phil Heywood. Scott has interests in many world music styles, but one of his strongest groundings is the work of fellow Minnesota Leo Kotke. In a conversation with Phil Nusbaum, Scott explains his feeling for the Kotke style.

Joan Hutton plays in many musical settings. We’ve known Joan through her work in the Ancia Saxophone Quartet for example, playing modern classical music. But she’s also a noted jazz musician with a growing catalog of original work representing varied jazz styles. When Joan sat down with Phil Nusbaum, she talked about her jazz funk side.

Grammy award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling took some time out of his touring itinerary to chat with the Afternoon Cruise's Sean McPherson about his new album SuperBlue 2: The Iridescent Spree. Listen to find out how the tour is going and how some of the best songs on the new album came to be.