A giant cherry on a spoon, the Minnesota State Fair, the Mall of America (which is technically in Bloomington) — Minneapolis and St. Paul are known for many things, but few are as paralleled or integral to their communities as their music scene. I moved to Minneapolis for college in 2014. I knew little about Minnesota aside from its reputation for snowy winters, and without knowing it stumbled upon a bustling, collaborative, and supportive music scene.
With venues like the legendary First Avenue (formerly one of Prince’s stomping grounds), the now-closed punk haven Triple Rock Social Club, and genre-defying Cedar Cultural Center, the Twin Cities are full of stages large and small that foster dedicated crowds and amplify the music of both local and touring bands.
It’s hard to pin down what the Cities sound like, so I put together a playlist of some of my favorite bands that are shaping the area’s sound, from the upbeat rock of ahem to Scrunchies’ raucous riffs and Dua Saleh’s genre-melding beats.
Check out the full playlist below:
