MPR News with Angela Davis

20 years On Air: The Current’s impact on Minnesota music

three people posing for a portrait
Berit Dybing (left), a singer/songwriter from Bemidji also known as Ber, Lindsay Kimball (center) programming director at The Current and Bill DeVille (right), a host at The Current, pose for a portrait in the Kling Public Media Center in St. Paul on Tuesday.
Nikhil Kumaran | MPR News

Twenty years ago this week, MPR launched The Current — a new music service devoted to playing a wide range of genres including Americana, rock, hip-hop and electronic.  

Now part of Minnesota’s music culture, The Current is where new artists break through, local voices shine, and music lovers discover their next favorite song. 

MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks with some of the voices behind the music, including DJs who curate The Current’s signature sound, staff that make the station run and artists whose careers were shaped by the station’s support.

four people smiling in the broadcast studio
MPR news guest host Chris Farrell (left) talks with Berit Dybing (center left), a singer/songwriter from Bemidji also known as Ber, Bill DeVille (center right), a host at The Current and Lindsay Kimball (right) programming director at The Current, in an MPR News studio in St. Paul on Tuesday.
Nikhil Kumaran | MPR News

Guests:

  • Lindsay Kimball is the programming director at The Current. She started her career at The Current as an intern in 2005 and has worked throughout MPR for 20 years. 

  • Bill DeVille has been a host at The Current since the first day the station went on air. He also hosts the show, United States of Americana, on Sundays from 8-10 a.m.

  • Berit Dybing, known as Ber, is a singer and songwriter from Bemidji, Minn.

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