A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:

Chris Steller of Minneapolis:

1 Greg Brown, Cedar Cultural Center. This Dec. 16 show with sidekick Bo Ramsey is billed as a "retirement party" — as in, briefly coming out of retirement, I think. It's a now-rare performance from the onetime West Bank stalwart and "A Prairie Home Companion" regular, who always delivers a folky concoction of the sweet and the cynical in a warm, low register.

2 Song of the Day on MPR's "Minnesota Now." Cathy Wurzer's noontime show just marked one year on the air. Its Song of the Day feature, with DJs from stations around the state each spinning a song of their choice, is a nice break from the news and a reminder that great radio is everywhere.

3 Minneapolis Music History Report. The City of Minneapolis conducted an in-depth survey a few years back of the people and places in the Mill City's musical heritage up through the 20th century: minneapolismn.gov/musichistory. The research project is a solid step toward what should someday (soon?) evolve into a program of plaques, markers or events at musically important spots around town.

Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:

1 "Sweet Symphony" video by Joy Oladokun featuring Chris Stapleton. The captivating clip features Muppet-like puppets of these two singers offering this heart-warming, midtempo Southern soul tune about being open-minded and facing challenges together. This could be Oladokun's overdue breakthrough in Nashville.

2 Chaka Khan on SiriusXM's "Radio Andy." Andy Cohen got the great R&B star to tell it like it is: She was never told why she was removed from Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" record (but she got credit for arranging backup vocals), and she never liked producer Arif Mardin's work on her hit "I Feel for You," specifically having rapper Melle Mel repeating "Chaka Khan" over and over.

3 Charlie Musselwhite, Hopkins Center for the Arts. Musselwhite's expansive tones on his harmonicas, his expressive shouting blues voice, and the terrific in-the-pocket drumming by June Core added up to a wonderful performance by the veteran bluesman and his band.

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