For today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that make you feel optimistic?

Edith Piaf was born, Paul Simon hosted SNL, The Rolling Stones aired their show live, and Carl Perkins wrote about his shoes, and Lady Sovereign was born, Today in Music History.

The local alt-country act put on a memorable performance in St. Paul on Saturday evening. Rock supergroup Golden Smog was the opening act.

The Burnsville alt-rock group, featuring siblings Austin and Taryn Durry, performed to a sold-out crowd in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday.

Houck performed solo at Angry Catfish Bicycle Shop + Coffee Bar in south Minneapolis on Friday evening for The Current’s latest MicroShow.

For today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs about longevity would you like to hear?

Billie Eilish and Keith Richards were born; Sly and the Family Stone went No. 1 with “There's A Riot Going On;” James Brown and Loretta Lynn were honored for their contributions to U.S. culture; The Tokens started a three-week run at No. 1 with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” Today in Music History.

Our Album of the Week is Stax Christmas by Various Artists.

Minneapolis singer-songwriter Luke LeBlanc recently released Places, his third full-length album in as many years. LeBlanc and his band visited The Current studio to play songs from the new album in a session for Radio Heartland.

For today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, which songs featured in video games would you like to hear?