Welcome to Event Horizon, your weekly roundup of the best events in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and beyond.
MONDAY 8.19
Steel Toe 13th Anniversary Week
Steel Toe Brewing
Thirteen years ago may have been Peak Craft Beer, a moment in time when mustaches and Red Wing boots were liberally waxed and IPAs ruled the day. Those trends have waned in recent years, but at least one thing has remained consistent: The stellar beer pumped out by the finest brewery in St. Louis Park. (Also Size 7 is still elite—sue me, IPA haters.) To celebrate 13 years in the suds game, Steel Toe is rolling out a week of anniversary programming, which begins today with a special Märzen release. Subsequent days include Trivia Mafia, yoga, brewery tours, beer tastings, additional special releases, and a whole lotta live music on the patio, including a Saturday night performance from Kind Country & Big Wu. Free. 4848 W. 35th St., St. Louis Park; find the full schedule of events here. Through Sunday—Jay Boller
Northside Slow Roll: Greenway
Folwell Park
A new Greenway is coming to Minneapolis? Yes, but not quite yet. While the city is still in the exploratory stage, some sort of Northside Greenway is scheduled to be finished by 2028. So Slow Roll MSP is going to do some exploring tonight, inviting neighbors and cycling enthusiasts to join them as they casually bike the proposed route from Folwell Park to the 26th Street bikeway to the Theodore Wirth Parkway and back, ending with a free meal in the park. Afterward, you can share your thoughts by taking a survey from the city and adding to the project’s interactive map. Learn more about tonight’s ride here, including a number to text if you need to borrow a bike. Free. 5-8 p.m. 1615 N. Dowling Ave., Minneapolis.—Jessica Armbruster
TUESDAY 8.20
Built to Spill
First Avenue
On this tour, Boise lifer Doug Martsch and his latest rhythm section celebrate the 30th anniversary of There’s Nothing Wrong With Love, Built to Spill’s justifiably celebrated breakthrough album. It’s an album of lysergic epiphanies recalled with clear-eyed sobriety, offhand melodies casually backed into, and reedy yearning that never whines. Plus it gave us one of the greatest single lines of the late 20th century: “If I don’t die or worse I’m gonna need a nap.” You don’t necessarily go see BTS (confusing abbreviation now, huh?) for specific songs—you go to hear Doug play guitar, and these old cuts will certainly get beefed up live. After all, no indie rocker made more of their Neil Young fandom in the ’90s than Martsch. (And believe me, 30 years ago lots of indie rockers took a crack at it.) OK, maybe J Mascis. But Martsch has better tunes. With Floating Witch’s Head and Rich Mattson and the Northstars. $35. 7 p.m. 701 N. First Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris
THURSDAY 8.22
Minnesota State Fair
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
This is the big one, folks. The one you wait all year for, the one you plan for, the one you don’t really need me to tell you about. Well, I’m a big fan, too, so I’m gonna tell you all about it anyway. Grandstand shows this year include Chance the Rapper, Ludacris with T-Pain, Mötley Crüe, Matchbox Twenty, and Becky G. Oh, and Kidz Bop. I don’t know why you would go to that, but they have your back, Kidz Bop fan. There are plenty of free shows, too. I’m told there will be over 900 (!), with highlights including Marky Ramone, Semisonic, Mae Simpson, and Maggie Rose (see the blurb below for Keith’s picks). There will be over 1,600 foods; the new eats this year include deep fried ranch (yes, as in ranch salad dressing), dill pickle tots, lobster eclairs, mushroom calamari, and waffles on a stick. (See the complete list and our predictions here; Racket’s opening day mega review goes live on Friday!) There will be animals, from gentle bunnies to costumed llamas that spit when they’re annoyed. The Midway and Kidway will return for thrill seekers, giant veggies will be displayed, and there will be wonderfully weird art in mediums including seed, cross stitch, and cake. It’s truly the great Minnesota Get-Together, and a great way to say farewell to summer. Find more info at mnstatefair.org. $16-$18. Daily gate hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Labor Day. 1265 Snelling Ave. N., St. Paul. Through September 2—Jessica Armbruster
Free Live Music & Shows
Minnesota State Fair
And speaking of the fair: One of the joys of the State Fair is just stumbling across free live music that you weren’t especially looking for. One year my crew overheard Sheila E. at the Leinie Lodge and hooked up with a bunch of other friends just in time to all dance crazily to “The Belle of St. Mark.” But it’s still nice to give the free music schedule a once-over just so you don’t miss anything. On the first four days of the fair, country singers Phil Vassar and Maggie Rose will headline the Leinie Lodge stage, though you might want to stop by earlier in the day to catch Tommy Prine (John’s kid). Headlining the Schell’s Stage are locals Tina Schlieske & Friends and Mae Simpson, with some other fine musicians. And there’s a whole mess more where that came from. 1265 Snelling Ave. N., St. Paul; find complete listings here.—Keith Harris
Summer of Sound: Kiss the Tiger
Surly Brewing Co.
File this one under: neat! Doomtree’s Lazerbeak has been curating a free weekly live and local music series all summer long at Surly, and this installment features wild rock ‘n’ rollers Kiss the Tiger, who you may remember from this Racket profile. (Savvy readers may have also spotted our low-key Summer of Sound hyping each week in Freeloader Friday.) Our highbrow, Greil Marcusian critical assessment of KtT? Frontwoman Meghan Kreidler & Co. rock. The Summer of Sound series concludes next Thursday with twangy indie rockers Keep for Cheap. All ages. Free. 7-8:30 p.m. 520 Malcolm Ave. SE, Minneapolis.—Jay Boller
FRIDAY 8.23
Drop In Skate Deck Art Show
Modist Brewing Company
Modist, Rogue Citizen, and Otherworldly Arts Collective are teaming up for this cool-as-hell sounding show, which brings 80+ artists to the North Loop for a celebration of skate deck art. Painting, printmaking, sculpture, and more—all kinds of mediums will be on display, and all of the work will be available for purchase. (Shoutout to Uptown’s Cal Surf for providing the decks artists used to make these pieces.) Grab a beer or a THC bev, admire the decked-out decks, and maybe find a new piece of deck-or (decor? Get it?) for your home. Free. 6 p.m. 340 Fifth Ave. N., Minneapolis; more info here.—Em Cassel
Chance the Rapper
State Fair Grandstand
This year’s Grandstand lineup is solid if not especially remarkable. Erstwhile teenpopper Becky G put out a very nice regional Mexican album last year. Ludacris and T-Pain will make for a fun twofer. Matchbox Twenty recorded more good songs than the Goo Goo Dolls and the Counting Crows combined. Obligatory country act Blake Shelton feels even more obligatory than usual. I’m neutral on throwback balladeer Stephen Sanchez. Mötley Crüe’s retirement is long överdüe. Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of the Turtles killed hip-hop. And then there’s Chance. Rap’s gleaming beacon became an unfair backlash target in 2019 when he released The Big Day, a sweet if sprawling album about getting married that rubbed a bunch of snotty cynics the wrong way. And after all that, the marriage didn't work out. His latest single "3333" suggests that he's at the "taking stock" stage of his career—the number refers to how many tickets he sold for this show and lyrics include this paraphrased quote from his agent “The venue holds 14,000, at this point you should probably think of pulling out.” So, uh, I assume seats are still available. $48-$148. 7 p.m. 1265 Snelling Ave., St. Paul; find more info here.—Keith Harris
Iliza
Orpheum Theatre
Huh, so apparently Iliza Shlesinger is so famous these days that she’s going the mononym route. Additional evidence: She’s selling $200 VIP tickets to a 2,600-capacity theater. Good for her! Shlesinger, 41, slugged it out in the standup and improv trenches while attending college in Boston, and by 2008 she had the chops to win NBC's Last Comic Standing. All that dues-paying has been paying off in a major way: Since 2013, she has dropped six Netflix specials plus a short-lived sketch series. “The most relatable, juiciest stuff is what’s in all our minds,” Shlesinger told The Guardian last fall. “The craft of comedy comes from realizing that what I’m thinking is probably what many people, many women, are thinking and it just takes saying it out loud.” $39.50-$199. 7 p.m. 910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller
SATURDAY 8.24
Open Streets Lyndale
Lyndale Avenue
What will an Our Streets-less iteration of Open Streets look like? We’ll get our first glimpse this weekend, when the beloved take-back-the-streets-for-people summer series returns to Lyn-Lake with events including a… car show? (*Deep, mournful sigh.*) It’s hard not to feel like the city of Minneapolis either doesn’t get or just doesn’t care what made Open Streets such a wonderful event for the last decade-plus, from the unceremonious way it cut ties with longtime organizers Our Streets Minneapolis (now Our Streets MN) to the fact that this year’s series appears to be cut down to just three events. But we’re willing to be surprised by Open Streets Lyndale, which is now being organized by the Uptown Association, even if there are precious few details about what’s going on this year and vendor/artist/community org registrations are still open. There’ll be food; there’ll be fun; it’s still a reason to get outside and connect with your community. Free. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lyndale Avenue South, from 22nd to 36th Streets, Minneapolis; find more info here.—Em Cassel
Zach Bryan
U.S. Bank Stadium
I didn’t begrudge the fame this Oklahoma-born Navy vet turned self-made troubadour’s 34-track breakthrough American Heartbreak brought him, but I wasn’t exactly eager to pan for gold in what I heard as “two hours of melodically ambient and vulnerably macho country-folk.” But Bryan muscled past my reservations last year with his self-titled album, 16 songs trimmed down to less than an hour, with a full band kicking him in the ass. He’s a better storyteller and journalist than most fatalists, and aside from his thoughts on that “Oklahoma Smokeshow” whose “big dreams” will be killed by the “small town” (jeez bro, just let the girl have a few drinks and get laid, wontcha?), the women he sings about sound like real people he’d like to understand. I'm less enthused by this year's The Great American Bar Scene, Springsteen cameo/cosign or no. But Bryan projects an epic decency and non-toxic masculinity without hiding his shortcomings, and I’m looking forward to hearing how this connects with a football stadium full of believers. I’ll admit it, though—I still wish he’d lighten up some. With Turnpike Troubadours & SunDown47. $165 and up. 8 p.m. 401 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris
SUNDAY 8.25
Racket’s 3rd Birthday Party
Fair State Brewing Cooperative
Come celebrate the third anniversary of Racket with us! Grab some union-brewed/bankruptcy-exiting Fair State beer, snag a seat on the patio, and chat with us about all the stuff you loved and/or hated about our three years as a local news/arts/culture publication. Will the Salsa Collaborative food truck be slingin' their elite smash 🍔 right next to the patio? You better believe it. If you're curious, you can read our year-three report here. But the point isn't to give you homework. The point is to have some fun! Free. 6-9 p.m. 2506 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis; RSVP here.—Em Cassel
Rhythm and Beats Block Party
Get Down Coffee Co. and North Market
Setting aside the horrifying realization that it’s somehow already back-to-school time, this little school year kickoff sounds like a lot of fun! They’ll have live DJs and lawn games, food, face painting, and other fun, including sidewalk chalk art and big bubbles. But the event, sponsored by groups including Target and MN POC Pride, doesn’t stop at fun and games—they’ll also be connecting Black families with community support, and the first 100 kids to arrive will receive a free backpack full of essentials for the new year. Free. 4 to 8 p.m. 4414 Humboldt Ave. N., Minneapolis; more info here.—Em Cassel
ONGOING
The Long Take
Trylon
This series brings you just what it says: movies featuring long, uninterrupted takes. And fittingly, it’s a long series, running throughout the summer. But though they all include at least one bravura sequence, these films offer much more than just flashy technique. Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil got things rolling in June, and works by international arthouse champs like Tarkovsky and Antonioni, modern movies featuring Asian greats like Hong Kong action master Johnnie To and Park Chan-wook, and flicks you can never see too often like Children of Men have also screened. The final movie in the series screens this week: Scorsese's Goodfellas. 2820 E. 33rd St., Minneapolis; find complete showtimes and more info here. Through August 27—Keith Harris
Colbert: Sexy, Sophisticated, Hilarious
The Heights
It Happened One Night is about as classic as classics come, a zany comedy and a reminder of how horny folks were for Clark Gable in an undershirt way back in the ’30s. I only refrain from calling The Palm Beach Story screwball master Preston Sturges’s best because I don’t feel like arguing with fans of The Lady Eve. Both are part of this month-long Colbert tribute, and neither would work without her. But lots of people know those movies, so I am here to praise Mitchell Leisen’s undersung Midnight, a comedy built from synopsis-defying twists and turns that also features Don Ameche as a Hungarian. The series is rounded out by Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra, one of those Old Hollywood extravaganzas that’s more read about than seen these days, and the original Imitation of Life. (They’ll be showing the better known Douglas Sirk version as well, so you cineastes can compare and contrast.) $12. 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights; find showtimes, ticket prices, and more info here. Through August 29—Keith Harris
Lowertown Sounds
Mears Park
Proper, functioning cities should rock. With the annual, free, weekly, outdoor Lowertown Sounds program St. Paul is privy to this in ways Minneapolis could really learn from. When this year’s lineup was announced, organizers noted that over half of the acts are new this summer. Non-musical offerings include great beer from Wabasha Brewing Co., Dual Citizen Brewing Co., Utepils Brewing, and MetroNOME Brewing, plus wine from Alexis Bailly Vineyard and a rotating cast of 20 food trucks. Free. 6-9:30 p.m. 221 5th St. E., St. Paul; find more info here. Weekly through August 29—Jay Boller
TC River Rats
Mississippi River
What is Ratagascar? It’s not a place (we checked); it’s not a movie about a vermin chef (we think). It’s this summer’s thematic show from the Twin Cities River Rats, the local water skiing crew that has been carving up the Mississippi River since 1979. Specifically, the Rats say, “Ratagascar is filled with adventure, including high-flying jumps, tall pyramids, powerful balancing acts, and barefoot tricks.” Hm, sounds a lot like all River Rats shows, but there ain’t a damn thing wrong with that. As always, this team of rivertop tricksters performs for free and for the whole family. Bring some chairs and blankets, buy some concessions, and enjoy a Minneapolis summertime institution. Free. 6:30 p.m. 1758 West River Rd. N., Minneapolis; find more info here. Thursdays through August—Jay Boller
Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody
Walker Art Center
Keith Haring was a hugely influential artist in the 1980s and, whether you know it or not, he still is today. The Pennsylvania-raised, NYC-based artist first gained notoriety in the early ‘80s for his subway graffiti art, adorning unused black ad space with crawling babies, barking dogs, and UFOs. A year or two later, he would emerge with projects above ground, including a billboard in Times Square, a mural on the Lower East Side, and the covers of Vanity Fair and Newsweek. His friends and collaborators included Madonna, Grace Jones, and Jean-Michele Basquiat. Regardless of his meteoric rise, Haring wanted his art to be approachable, accessible, and affordable, so he kept most of his pieces in the public sphere. Though his work was crowd pleasing, it was also political, whether it was celebrating queer love, calling for an end to apartheid in South Africa, or promoting safe sex. Though Haring died in 1990 from complications from AIDS, his prolific collection and enduring messages live on. For “Art Is for Everybody,” over 100 works and archival pieces will be on display at the Walker, including ephemera from his 1984 residency at the museum. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis. Through September 8—Jessica Armbruster
Pickup Truck Opera Volume Four: Faust
Various Locations
Now in its 16th year, Mixed Precipitation’s Pickup Truck Opera returns with a mashup of opera, Top 40 hits, and theater in the parks, gardens, and bluffs of Minnesota. This time they’re tackling Faust, Charles Gounod’s operatic take on the legendary tale where a man makes a classic “buy now, pay later” deal with the devil. This version takes place in the not-so-distant future when Dr. Faust strives to save people on our dying planet before Méphistophélès comes to collect. Add in some new wave disco tunes and Depeche Mode, and you’ve got a thoroughly modern take on a work penned in 1859. Find a list of locations and make reservations at mixed precipitation.org. $5-$45 suggested donation. Through September 15—Jessica Armbruster
Minnesota Renaissance Festival
Ren Fest Grounds
Huzzah, motherfuckers! It’s time for Ren Fest, the most anachronistic event of the summer. For the next few weeks folks will make the trek to Shakopee to enter a realm that is a mix of medieval (of course), a hunk of Renaissance (duh), a few splashes of 800s era vikings and BCE Celts (sure, why not!), and, some weekends, a sprinkling of baroque and rococo (the more the merrier!). Whatever! The time is irrelevant, as long as it’s ye and olde. Attendees, mostly of the 2024 variety, will be able to enjoy the delights of the past. There will be entertainment, including goofy comedy acts, nail biting tightrope walking, lute players jamming out to metal tunes, and jousting. There will be vendors selling practical stuff (pottery, textiles, candles), New Age-y stuff (crystals, oils, incense holders), and wild oddities (drinking horns, daggers, tiny words written on rice–sorcery!). And, perhaps most importantly, there will be giant turkey legs as well as wine and beer (be sure to stop by the free tasting events to get buzzed for free). Fun inside the grounds is all about organized chaos, but you’ll want to plan your car situation beforehand by either reserving an onsite spot online or using the free park-and-ride system. Find more info on all of that at renaissancefest.com. $16.50-$24.95 presale; $18.95-$27.95 at the gate; $67.95-$108.95 season pass. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sat.-Sun., plus Labor Day, September 2, and Friday, September 27. 12364 Chestnut Blvd., Shakopee. Through September 29—Jessica Armbruster
Skyline Mini Golf
Walker Art Center
Speaking of stuff to do on rooftops, Skyline Mini Golf is also back this week. While some putt-putt courses aim for putting green realism others go full spectacle. At the Walker, it’s all about the latter, with holes featuring giant hot dogs, mirrored surfaces, tiny odes to the cities, and wacky opportunities to become an obstacle for putters yourself. Don’t expect to work on your handicap here; this course takes mini golf almost to the point of parody as you’ll find yourself testing your skills at ping pong, pool, and Plinketto. Just roll with the chaos–that’s part of the fun. $12 ($10 Walker members and ages 7-18); free for ages 6 and under with paid adult. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis. Through October 6—Jessica Armbruster
Movie Night at the Green
North Loop Green
Star Tribune columnist Jim Buchta recently wondered if the new North Loop Green, the new mixed-use tower overlooking Target Field, could be a “model for languishing downtowns.” But why take his word for it? You can judge the development for yourself at this ongoing series of outdoor movie nights, which takes place on the Green’s… greens (the grassy park along Washington Avenue). So far this summer, they’ve screened Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Little Big League, and the MN-made cult classic Drop Dead Gorgeous (a perfect film, we will not be hearing dissenting opinions). Free. 7:30 p.m. 240 N. Washington Ave., Minneapolis; more info here. Through October 9—Em Cassel
Warehouse District Live
Downtown Minneapolis
Every weekend a part of First Avenue will be closed to cars—and not just for construction reasons. Described as “an enhanced pedestrian zone,” Warehouse District Live will offer things that big cities normally have in their downtown areas: food trucks, extended seating areas, and more public bathrooms. Wow! So do some bar-hopping, sit outside and eat, walk in the middle of the street, and wonder why so many exurban Twitter users are so scared of downtown. Free. 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fri.-Sat. First Avenue, between Fifth and Sixth Streets, Minneapolis; find more info here. June 7 through October —Jessica Armbruster
