Hey, everyone. So I’ve been meaning to put together this list of the best bands in Minnesota, and I finally got around to it. I spent a good chunk of my weekend digging through online stuff and checking out upcoming concerts.
First, I started by searching online for a few things like “concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week,” and then I started looking into each band I found. The list was pretty huge at first, so I spent some time narrowing it down.
Then I started searching for things like “upcoming concerts in Minneapolis” to find out who was playing soon. I wanted to see which bands were active and which ones people were actually excited about. It felt like I was looking at hundreds of events. I even found that jazz trumpeter Chris Botti had six different upcoming shows. That was nuts. I made a note to look more into him later.
After that, I switched gears and started looking at some individual artists. I stumbled upon Jon Batiste and remembered he was a bandleader for eight years. That’s a long time! I added him to my list since he’s obviously talented and has a lot of experience. I was getting tired at this point, but I kept going.
I also wanted to get some recommendations, so I searched for “personalized recommendations for upcoming concerts.” I found some cool tools that suggested bands based on your interests. I played around with those for a while and discovered a few more bands that I wanted to add to my list.
Finally, I took my messy list of bands and artists and started organizing it. I grouped them by genre, checked their upcoming tour dates, and even tried to find some info about their history and what they’re up to now. I was pretty much glued to my computer all day, but I think it was worth it.
So, here’s what I ended up with:
- Jon Batiste: I’m really impressed with his versatility after being a bandleader for so long.
- Billie Eilish: Yeah, she’s not exactly local, but she’s playing here, and she’s huge, so I had to include her.
- Happy Apple: I saw these guys recommended a few times, so I’ll have to check them out.
- Ana Gabriel: Another big name coming to town.
- Ashley Cooke: I found her through one of those personalized recommendation things, and she seems pretty cool.
- Usher: Another major artist playing here soon.
- Vince Staples: He’s playing here and looked interesting.
- Halloween Parties: Not a band, but there are tons of Halloween concerts coming up, so I thought it was worth mentioning.
- Chris Botti: This guy is playing six times! I gotta see what he’s all about.
- Arcwelder: I saw them on a list of highlights for January, so they’re probably worth checking out.
- Zeitgeist: Another band from that January highlights list.
- The Joe Flip’s Blues Brews feat. The Craig Clark Band: Just sounds fun, right?
This was a lot of work, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I hope this list helps you discover some great music in Minnesota!
