Andrea Swensson is a host and writer at Minnesota Public Radio’s The Current, where she helms The Local Show, a weekly show dedicated to exploring the Minnesota music scene, and the O.K. Show podcast, which investigates the intersection between music and wellness.
Andrea has been covering Minnesota music actively since 2005. Prior to joining MPR she was the music editor of City Pages, where she founded the AAN AltWeekly Award-winning Gimme Noise music blog, and edited and contributed to online music sites Reveille Magazine and HowWasTheShow.com.
You can hear Andrea when she hosts The Current’s Local Show every Sunday night from 6 to 8 p.m.
Prince's first guitarist, Dez Dickerson, talks with The Current's Andrea Swensson, taking us back to the early days, into the recording studio, and from the smallest clubs to the biggest stages. 'From the very beginning,' Dickerson says, 'Prince had a clear idea of what he wanted, how he wanted it, how he wanted us to coalesce as a band, what he wanted to say, and what message that would send.'
Author Duane Tudahl has said, 'The sound of '1999' is the sound of Prince and Peggy McCreary.' An audio engineer at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, McCreary worked extensively with Prince not only on '1999,' but also on 'Purple Rain' and 'Parade,' plus some of Prince's other projects with the Time and Vanity 6. Andrea Swensson connected with McCreary for a fascinating conversation.
In gathering information for episode 1 of 'Prince: The Story of 1999,' The Current's Andrea Swensson spoke to former Los Angeles Times music critic Robert Hilburn, who interviewed Prince in 1982, the year '1999' was released.
How do you make a catalog of deftly delivered rap hits a classical collaboration? Dessa walks through the process of making 'Sound the Bells,' her new album of her greatest hits with the Minnesota Orchestra providing the score behind the celebrated singer and rapper.
In a session for the Local Show, Reina del Cid performed songs from her new album 'Morse Code.'
It's been five years since Minneapolis rapper MaLLy has put out an album, and he's been through a lot in those five years. What has he been up to? 'Transformation, practicing a sober and clean life, meditation, and Buddhism — really just focusing on the music,' he told Andrea Swensson on the Local Show.
Twin Cities-based singer-songwriter Kara Laudon released the album 'Old Lives' on September 27. Shortly after the album's release, Laudon and her band performed songs from the album on The Local Show, and Laudon chatted with host Andrea Swensson.
Ingrid Chavez told us about the poignant night she first met Prince in Uptown, Minneapolis, their sweet friendship, and what it was like to work together at Paisley Park back in the winter of 1987-1988, when the building was just opening its doors.
Loki's Folly performed live on the Back to School episode of the Local Show on Sunday, and chatted with host Andrea Swensson about their musical beginnings and what it's like to play a 21+ show when you're under 18.
Following the release of their new album, 'Blood Moon,' John Swardson and Bad Blood stopped by The Current studio to talk with host Andrea Swensson on The Local Show.
Jeremy Nutzman has been a man of many stage names, but he seems to have found a special sound as Velvet Negroni. Stopping by The Current on a break from tour, he performs three songs from his album 'Neon Brown' and shares a conversation with Local Show host Andrea Swensson.
Bon Iver has embraced the idea of passing the mic, and using his gigantic platform to lift up the voices of the marginalized on 'i,i'.
Lady Midnight performs three songs off her debut solo release 'Death Before Mourning' in the Local Show studio.
Hear three incredible new Graveyard Club tracks in The Current studio.
'Can You Really Find Me' is Night Moves' third album on the Domino Recording Company label. 'We've kind of figured out the rhythm of working on a label and with a team of people,' says Night Moves frontman John Pelant. Night Moves visited The Current studio for a session hosted by Andrea Swensson ahead of their show Saturday night in the First Avenue Mainroom.
In the universe of this album, J.S.'s bottomless, booming voice is the sun, and his songwriting is the North Star.
Chavez visited the Purple Current studios to talk with host Andrea Swensson about working with Prince and recording an album of poetry at Paisley Park. She shared the stories behind some of Lovesexy's songs and Prince's influence on her solo work.
'I've always loved [hip-hop],' Nur-D says, 'but I never thought it'd be something that I would do - mostly because I'm weird.'
Excited for new Prince album 'Originals'? Read as Prince biographer Duane Tudahl breaks down the tracks.
On the cusp of releasing her new solo album, 'I Can't Be The One You Want Me To Be,' Jillian Rae visited The Current studio to play songs from the new record and to talk with The Local Show's Andrea Swensson. The album documents Jillian Rae's continuing growth as an artist. 'I ended up giving myself permission to put out the sounds that I love and that I'm feeling with this collection of songs,' she says.