Oracle Online

Over the last 35 years, we’ve had greats like Bob Dylan and Prince emerge from this freezing metropolis, but these bright points have always been accompanied by years where the Minneapolis scene is largely ignored on a national level.

Change is afoot though, as more and more bands of all genres from the metro area are receiving recognition in the mainstream music scene.

It seems that this time, recognition is here to stay. A few examples:-Quirky Jazz cats “Happy Apple” recently released a new record on France’s Universal records and on September 16th, Rhymesayers Entertainment had their first CMJ showcase in New York City to a sold out audience.

Along with them, emo pop band “Quietdrive” was recently signed to Epic records and are receiving generous commercial airplay for their single “Rise from the Ashes”; and the folk/rock/turntablism act “Fog” has been receiving encouraging press throughout the nation for their latest release “10th Avenue Freakout.”

A&R reps for record labels of all sizes seem to have descended on the Twin Cities in an unprecedented manner, looking for a piece of what many call the “North Coast” sound.

It is by no means easy to garner the attention of record labels, management, or press. Davin knows this all too well, “In the past few years, it seems that younger bands have [had] a stronger ‘go get ‘em’ attitude. It’s only made us more proud to call Minneapolis our hometown.”

It used to be that one could only achieve fame by moving to either the East or West coast; nowadays Minneapolis is considered the L.A. of the Midwest.

This newfound fame for our Twin Cities is no doubt a result of many factors, one of which is surely that we have some of the most hardworking musicians in the world.

Though many bands have been getting signed to labels, music here is not solely seen as commercial product. “The bands in Minneapolis are very dedicated to their art,” said Davin.

We also have many venues, such as the Triple Rock, that bring in world class musicians on a nightly basis. The music scene in the Twin Cities is thriving; hopefully our shining light doesn’t burn out.