A Tribute to Minnesota’s Musical Glory

It’s a well-known fact that Minneapolis has a great music scene. Bob Dylan is our collective source of pride, and when someone asks if there’s anything other than farms in Minnesota, we can rant for hours about Prince (Those boots! That voice! Did you know my aunt knows a guy who worked with another guy who dated a girl who’s old roommate was the girl with the raspberry beret?). To those who don’t know better, it may seem as though our days of musical glory have passed. But all Minnesotans know that our glory will never pass, with so many fantastic venues and some musicians who aren’t native coming to Minneapolis just to get started.

First of all, the Twin Cities hosts a score of venues, ranging from arenas to more intimate theaters. They also host for many skill levels. Starting from the bottom, it’s not too hard to stumble upon coffee shops that host open-mic nights. Even if you aren’t planning on performing, it’s still fun to see all of these young musicians show off their talent.

Citypages.com has lists of all the concerts that are going on in actual venues too, and most of them haven’t gotten much (or any) publicity. Sure, they might have a weird name (my favorite so far has been Chicken Nugget Cult), but the tickets are cheap, and if you have nothing better to do, might as well.

Then, there are the venues for more well-known artists. There’s the Turf Club in St. Paul and the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, who also hosts the Minnesota Rollergirls about once a month. I saw The National at the Roy, and it’s a great place to fit a lot of people, but if the band isn’t able to fill up the space, it turns out to be less of an experience.

And when someone really exciting comes, there’s only two places to go: Target Center or the Xcel Energy Center. These venues have boasted huge stars such as Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Ariana Grande coming in March. Arcade Fire came to Target Center last spring, and even though it was a huge space, and I was in the nosebleed seats, it was one of the best concerts I’ve been to.

But sure, all these venues are great, but now we must address Minneapolis’ crowning glory: First Avenue. First Avenue is legendary. The stars on their outside walls document only a fraction of the bands that have played their stage. The intimate, standing-room only feeling you get when you see a show there is like no other. Yes, it’s small and freezing cold when you wait for a show in the winter, and when the dancing gets heated, so do you (like, seriously, even if you never move a muscle, you will be dripping sweat). But all of this is worth it to see bands you’ve only dreamed of perform right in front of you.

I saw the Arctic Monkeys play on Valentine’s Day this year, and even before they came onstage I was ready to jump out of my skin because I was so excited. Some shows get so loud you feel your bones rattle in your body, some connect you with everyone else there, and it feels not so much like a concert, but more so like a renaissance of live music. Artists from Minnesota dream of performing there, even former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has dropped some sick beats on the mainstage. For those who really care about live music, First Avenue is considered to be the epitome of the Minnesota music scene.

Artists who flock to the Twin Cities to perform are only half of what makes this state such a hotbed for great music. We are also producing scores of artists of our own. Bob Dylan and Prince are obvious, they reached national fame in the twentieth century. But there are many up-and-coming artists who are ready for fame, especially in the hip-hop scene. Rap group Doomtree, who started in 2001, also produced Dessa, one of the most influential women in the Minneapolis hip-hop scene. A poet, rapper, singer, author, and all-around beautiful person, Dessa dropped her second album last year as well as a book of poetry, “A Pound of Steam”. She performed at Rock the Garden this June, and is gearing up to go on tour this April. Also from Minnesota is Brother Ali, Atmosphere (who opened for Imagine Dragons at the All-Star concert in July), and P.O.S. (also from Doomtree).

But we have more than just hip-hop. Festival Palomino, which went down on September 20th, was hosted by Duluth’s Trampled by Turtles, and saw a performance from Duluth’s Low. Another interesting connection is Dan Wilson, co-writer of Adele’s “Someone Like You”, who was born in Minneapolis.

Some artists who weren’t born here move to the Cities to get their start in music, and say Minnesota is their home state. Mason Jennings, born in Hawaii, dropped out of school, and moved all the way here for his music career. Jeremy Messersmith, born in Washington, wrote an entire album titled “The Silver City” (a synonym for St. Paul). Something about Minnesota just grows and attracts musical talent.

Even those without talent are able to appreciate our music. 89.3 The Current, one of the branches of MPR, hosts a passion for local music. There’s even a weekly show dedicated to local music on Sundays at 6pm, hosted by David Campbell. Some internationally famous bands credit Minnesota with part of their journey. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl said that the Foo Fighters would not have made it as a band without the influence of Minnesota’s own Hüsker Dü. Courtney Love, the wife of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, was part of Minneapolis-based girl band Babes in Toyland.

Those who think that Minnesota is fly-over territory, nothing but cornfields in the summer and arctic tundra in the winter, need to face the facts: we’re anything but. Sure, the governor had to cancel school across the state last year because it was dangerously cold outside, and yeah, we do have lots of farms, but Prince, Bob Dylan, Dessa, Low, Jeremy Messersmith, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, and scores of other artists call this wasteland their home. They’re proud, and so are we.