Warm Weather Means Hot Outdoor Concerts
Here in the North Loop, hot and cool live music has already begun warming up the outdoors as Spring slides into Summer. Pick your dates and locations right, and enjoy the heat—I mean the best—right into October:
Monthly Saturday concerts at the Graze Yard continue thru September.
Graze Yard is hosting monthly concerts through September.
Frequent family- and pet-friendly Friday evening concerts at North Loop Green also continue into September.
Both are free and with open seating. Just show up!
The 6th Rooftop Summer Concert Series at the Hewing begins Sunday, May 17, with the Dan Israel Band.
Photo of Dan Israel Band courtesy of Hewing’s website.
The Hewing will host sixteen more shows most Sundays thru October 10. Although there’s seating for about 225, several shows have already sold out. Says General Manager Catherine Hall, “It’s not unusual for fans to book much of the entire season in advance.” See the Pro Tips below for workarounds.
Says Director of Lifestyle Ron Heichert, “We build out the series to combine maximum range of music— folk, rock, pop, jazz, alternative, hip hop—with drawing power. All the groups are Minnesotan, and many tour nationally, even internationally. We began with a base of groups already in demand at the Hewing thanks to prior appearances, then completed the season with artists making their Hewing debuts.” Ron came to the Hewing after years of bringing artists for the Dakota Jazz Club, so he’s well-positioned to curate at the Hewing.
Hewing’s Director of Lifestyle Ron Heichert thinks horizon-wide when planning the Rooftop Series.
Drinks and food are available, says Hall, “which allows us to keep ticket prices approachable.”
And if it rains? Says Heichert, “Summer rain is usually quick, so we usually just wait it out. We have also kept a few Sundays open as rain dates.”
There’s also the Rooftop’s indoor bar area. Says Hall, “One group just tarped their electronic setup and moved indoors, doing an acoustic show while sitting on the bar. It was intimate and unforgettable.”
The Rooftop Series started with just six or eight groups as a solution to the COVID Pandemic problem of no indoor programming. Says Hall, “We are thrilled that it’s only grown in popularity since.”
Music has been a thing at the Hewing for decades before. Originally—1897—the building was purpose-built as a farm implement warehouse. There was a railroad spur right into the basement so cars could be loaded and unloaded in shelter.
In later decades, usage swerved radically to music: “When there were recording studios here, plenty of local artists used them—including Prince,” says Hall. “ There was also a music school, where the Hewing’s current Director of Engineering was a student.”
So the full range of live music has been happening at the Hewing for generations. Check out the Rooftop Series, and help the legacy continue.
Pro Tips
Consider wearing shorts. The hotel’s plunge pool is in the middle of the expanse of chairs set out for each show. Says Hall, “Concert guests can and do sit around it with their legs in the water.”
Get a room. Although several concerts are already sold out—Dessa in less than 48 hours—hotel guests don’t need tickets. Booking one of the 124 rooms just so you and a friend can enjoy a rooftop concert? It happens.
Consider booking a room at the Hewing—like this sumptuous king—so you’re guaranteed a seat even for shows that are sold out to the public.
Plus you can enjoy that newly-refreshed room, part of an ongoing glow-up of the hotel’s private and public spaces. It’s hoped that the rooftop area can be (gently) expanded as well, so even more fans can enjoy great music with the City’s sparkling skyline as backdrop.
— By Louis Raymond, NLNA Board Member + Culture Correspondent