The music of Minnesota began with the native rhythms and songs of Indigenous peoples, the first inhabitants of the lands which later became the U.S. state of Minnesota. Métis fur-trading voyageurs introduced the chansons of their French ancestors in the late eighteenth century. As the territory was opened up to white settlement in the 19th century, each group of immigrants brought with them the folk music of their European homelands. Celtic, German, Scandinavian, and Central and Eastern European song and dance remain part of the vernacular music of the state today.
Ethnic music has influenced and developed into modern folk music, and American musical genres such as gospel music, blues and jazz also are part of the state's musical fabric. Musicians, such as the Andrews Sisters and Bob Dylan, often started in Minnesota but left the state for the cultural capitals of the east and west coasts, but in recent years the development of an active music industry in Minneapolis has encouraged local talent to produce and record at home. The city's most influential contributions to American popular music happened in the 1980s, when the city's music scene "expanded the state's cultural identity" and launched the careers of acclaimed performers like the multi-platinum pop singer Prince. The Replacements and Hüsker Dü set off the national alternative rock boom of the 1990s. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Twin Cities played a role in the national hip hop scene with artists such as Atmosphere and Brother Ali.
The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra was founded in the early 1900s, and by the 1930s it had attained international stature in performance and recording. Since renamed the Minnesota Orchestra, it regained much of its former renown in the first decade of the 21st century. Classical music aficianados also enjoy and support the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the only full-time chamber orchestra in the nation. Choral groups and community ensembles are located in many communities. The state's educational system provides comprehensive programs in music education. The nation's largest public radio network provides classical and other music programming regionally and to the nation, and independent public stations program a variety of college, folk, and new music.
History The music of Minnesota has its roots with the music of Indigenous peoples of the area. Traditional arrangements are generally based around vocal, percussive and dance music; Dakota folk songs can be celebratory, martial or ceremonial. Early European settlers (French and Métis voyageurs) brought French chansons, which they sang while traveling along their fur trade routes.Nute, pp. 105–55 These songs were described by one visitor as "light, airy & graceful", and were often adapted to the rhythm of their paddles while canoeing.Mayer, pp. 159–60 Later European settlers also brought with them traditional folk and classical music, especially choral and Christian-themed music, opera, and varieties of ethnic folk music including Slavic and Scandinavian styles. Modern-day traditional dance music is based mostly around schottisches, polkas and waltzes with instrumentation including fiddle, mandola, accordion and banjo.
The first singing school in Minnesota opened in St. Anthony (now part of Minneapolis) in 1851. The Plymouth Congregational Church of Minneapolis began a singing group in 1857, followed by the first such club for women only, the Lorelei Club (later the Ladies' Thursday Musical Chorus), in 1892.
Thousands of Norwegians settled in Minnesota in the last half of the 19th and first quarter of the 20th century. Subcultures formed based around village of origin (bygde), and then formed organizations to maintain their home dialect and musical traditions. These organizations held annual meetings (stevne) which featured folk dancing, singing, fiddling and poetry. In the late 1860s, male choirs with Norwegian and Swedish singers formed in cities and Lutheran colleges in Minnesota. These choirs sang a variety of popular and patriotic songs, hymns and folk tunes. In the 1880s, these choirs inspired the organization of singing societies that sponsored music festivals; in 1886, five singing clubs joined to become the Union of Scandinavian Singers,Levy, p. 871 and the Norwegian Singers Association of America has met biannually since 1910.
The end of the 19th century also saw the foundation of two long-running music groups, the Thursday Musical Chorus and the Apollo Men's Musical Group. Two of the most important Minnesota musical institutions were founded in the early 20th century, namely the MacPhail School of Violin (1907, later becoming the MacPhail Center for Music) and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (1903, later the Minnesota Orchestra).
Minneapolis became a home for vaudeville comedy known as bondkomik (rustic humor), which featured multi-act plays, dances, songs and monologues. Vaudeville shows usually ended with social dancing.Levy, p. 869 Minneapolis' most famous performers were the Norwegian-descended Eleonora and Ethel Olson and Ernest and Clarence Iverson (Slim Jim & the Vagabond Kid), and Swedish immigrant Hjalmar Peterson, whose company dominated the stage for two decades before the Great Depression. General enthusiasm for Scandinavian musicals diminished in the face of intense propaganda and agitation toward foreign influence following the end of World War I, a process which was accelerated by the economic decline of the 1930s, and by the outbreak of World War II. Rural and regional dance music slowly died out, and became largely unknown.Levy, p. 866 During this era, however, the Leikarring movement (song-dances without instrumental accompaniment) began. Leikarring celebrated national Norwegian folk dance and song through musical societies like Minnesota's Norrona Leikarring.Levy, p. 867
Education
Minnesotan law provides that public elementary and middle schools offer at least three and require at least two courses in the following four arts areas: dance, music, theater and visual arts. Public high schools must offer at least three and require at least one of the following five arts areas: dance, media arts, music, theater or visual arts. Students may take music at the elementary and middle school ages, and many choose to take the subject as an elective in high school, where schools often organize marching bands, choruses and other performance opportunities. The Perpich Center for Arts Education is a school of choice which draws students from across the state, and has an extensive modern and classical music education program.
The MacPhail Center for Music employs instructors from all over the world, who teach classes on 35 different instruments, the Suzuki method, and art therapy, to more than 7,200 students each year at 45 locations.
Higher education in music is an important part of the programs at several of Minnesota's universities, including the University of Minnesota, which offers the Bachelor of Music degree in music education, therapy or performance, and graduate degrees in education, conducting and musicology. The School of Music also offers masters and doctorate degrees. The Duluth campus offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre. McNally Smith College of Music, a college of contemporary music based in Saint Paul, offered Bachelor of Music degrees in music performance, recording technology, and music business, and Associates Degrees and diploma programs in recording technology as well as the nation's first diploma in hip hop. McNally Smith College of Music closed in December 2017 due to a lack of funds.
Venues Large venues for popular national music acts in Minnesota include the Target Center, Grand Casino Arena,Shepherd, p. 252 and US Bank Stadium. Northrop Auditorium on the University of Minnesota's main campus has a capacity of about 3,000, and hosts a variety of music and arts events. Among these is the University of Minnesota Marching Band's annual indoor concert series, which have been performed at the venue since 1961. The Armory and Roy Wilkins Auditorium also fill the need for mid-sized arenas at capacities of roughly 8,000 and 5,000 respectively.
Classical music is heard at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, a 2,500-seat auditorium "justly renowned for its rich, lively acoustics", and St. Paul's 1,900-seat Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Older traditional theaters seating about 2,000 include Orpheum Theatre, Pantages Theatre, and State Theatre, all in Minneapolis, and the Ordway Center. The Guthrie Theater holds over 1,000, and The Cedar Cultural Center can seat 465.
First Avenue, an influential music club in downtown Minneapolis, was opened as "The Depot" in 1970,Noran, pp. 15–16 and went through several name changes until it became "First Avenue & 7th Street Entry" in 1980. Its history of launching renowned acts such as Prince solidifies its importance in the current local scene and in Minnesota music history. The owners of First Avenue also operate the Palace Theatre in St. Paul.
Mid-sized clubs also comprise a large part of the Twin Cities music scene. One popular club is the Myth Nightclub (Also referred to as Myth Live) in Maplewood, a suburb of St. Paul. Numerous bands/artists have performed there including Akon, All American Rejects, Fall Out Boy, Lifehouse, Maroon 5, Melt-Banana, and many more renowned bands. Others include the Cabooze and the Amsterdam Bar & Hall, all of which host all-ages shows as long as they meet local curfew laws (Although some may be listed as 15+ or 16+ for legal liability reasons involving hardcore dancing and other forms of moshing). A notable St. Paul venue that serves local musicians is Minnesota Music Cafe; opened in 1997 it continues to offer live music 7 days a week.
Youth music venues, many of which operate as youth centers by day, include The Garage in Burnsville, Depot Coffee House in Hopkins, Enigma Teen Center in Shakopee, and on some occasions the Apple Valley Teen Center. Also, a few venues catering to crowds of all ages, now gone, are remembered as significant to the Twin Cities music scene. These include the Foxfire Coffee Lounge in downtown Minneapolis and the Fireball Espresso Café in Falcon Heights, St. Paul.
Other defunct but historically important venues include the Pence Opera House,Blegen, p. 504 the Coffeehouse Extempore or Extemporé,Keller, p. 42 Jay's Longhorn Bar,Cost, J., Earles, A., Fritch, M., Hickey, M., Klinge, S., Miller, E., Olson, D., Rowland, H., Ryan, M., and Valania, J.: A Tale Of Twin Cities: Hüsker Dü, The Replacements And The Rise And Fall Of The ’80s Minneapolis Scene , Magnet, June 12, 2005. and the Uptown Bar. The Prom Ballroom and Treasure Inn in Saint Paul and the Marigold Ballroom and the Flame Cafe in Minneapolis featured prominent jazz, rock, country and other bands in the mid-20th century.Greene, p. 153
Outside of the Twin Cities Metro Area important venues include the NorShor Theatre in Duluth, Chisholm's Ironworld U.S.A. (renamed the Minnesota Discovery Center), the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, the Verizon Center in Mankato, and Ralph's Corner, for many years one of the premier indie rock clubs in the Fargo-Moorhead area.Byron, p. 111. Byron calls Ironworld a "theme park of iron-ore mining and European immigrant cultures". These venues are often played by hard rock bands such as Halestorm and Avenged Sevenfold that tend to draw more in "B-Markets".
Radio
AMPERS is a state-wide association of independently owned noncommercial stations that play music by local artists. These stations include KAXE, KBEM-FM, KFAI, KMOJ, KMSU, KMSK, KQAL, KSRQ, KUMM, KUOM (Radio K), KVSC, WDSE-FM and WTIP.
Minnesota Public Radio's KCMP "The Current" also plays the music of Minnesota artists.
Recording studios and record stores