Soul Coughing was an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty, keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey of AllMusic describes the band as "one of the most unusual cult bands of the 1990s... driven by frontman Mike Doughty's stream-of-consciousness poetry. Soul Coughing's sound was a willfully idiosyncratic mix of improvisational jazz grooves, oddball samples, hip hop, electronics, and noisy experimentalism." The band's sound was described by Doughty as "deep slacker jazz."
Shellac is an American indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois, composed of Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer and formed in 1992. Their music genre has been classified as post-hardcore and noise rock but they describe themselves as a "minimalist rock trio."
Semisonic is an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1995. The band has three members: Dan Wilson, John Munson, and Jacob Slichter. They are best known in the U.S. for their 1998 single "Closing Time."
The Suicide Commandos are an American punk rock trio from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. They formed in 1975 and released two 7" EPs on an indie label in 1976 and 1977 before signing with Blank Records in 1977 and releasing one album, Make a Record. Despite their short original 4-year stint together, the Suicide Commandos are considered the pioneers for jump-starting a punk rock music scene in the Twin Cities, which eventually produced bands like The Suburbs, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and Soul Asylum.
Dillinger Four is an influential American punk rock band formed in 1994 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They have released four full-length studio albums. Since 1996, the band's lineup has been Patrick Costello on bass guitar and vocals, Erik Funk and Bill Morrisette on guitars and vocals, and Lane Pederson on drums.
Cows were a post-hardcore/noise rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were known for a unique mixture of punk rock played with large amounts of noise and surreal humour; their music is often considered noise rock. Their CD releases are often difficult to find, as most of them are out of print, with the exception of Whorn and Orphan's Tragedy. Some of their albums were never released in CD format. After disbanding, Shannon Selberg went on to front The Heroine Sheiks.
The Suburbs are an alternative punk rock/funk/New Wave band from Minneapolis, Minnesota that was popular in the late 1970s and 1980s. The band frequently headlined at Minneapolis's most influential music clubs, including Jay's Longhorn Bar and First Avenue.
Trip Shakespeare was an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The band included Dan Wilson and John Munson, who would later go on to be founding members of Semisonic.
Arcwelder is an American punk band which formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1988. The band, a perennial local favorite, consists of brothers Rob and Bill Graber and Scott Macdonald, all of whom share in the tasks of songwriting and singing.
The Gear Daddies are a rock band originally from Austin, Minnesota. Randy Broughten, Nick Ciola (bass), Billy Dankert, and Martin Zellar played their first shows together in 1984. They released singles and albums between 1986 and 1992 and became an important part of the Twin Cities music scene. Most songs were written by Zellar, but Dankert had several of note, including crowd favorite "Time Heals".
Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the '80s revival fads of the early 2000s. Arguably, however, the band is most known for frontman Craig Finn's elaborate lyrics, which often relied upon an established universe of drug-addled coeds, cash-strapped nightclub proprietors, murdered ravers and other nostalgic excursions in Minneapolis and Boston.
Tapes 'n Tapes is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Trampled by Turtles are an American bluegrass/folk rock band from Duluth, Minnesota. They have released eight full albums, three of which have reached US Billboard bluegrass chart number one spots. Their fifth release, Palomino, maintained a position in the Top 10 on the bluegrass charts for 52 straight weeks. Their latest album, Life is Good on the Open Road, was released on May 4, 2018.
The Honeydogs is a band from Saint Paul, Minnesota that opened at First Avenue in 1994.
Curtiss A is a musician and visual artist from Minneapolis. One of the original artists on the Twin/Tone Records label, he performs one of the most popular shows in the Twin Cities, an annual tribute to John Lennon held at First Avenue.
David Curtis Glover, better known as Tony "Little Sun" Glover, was an American blues musician and music critic. He was a harmonica player and singer who was most notably associated with "Spider" John Koerner and Dave "Snaker" Ray in the early 1960s folk revival. Together, the three released albums under the name Koerner, Ray & Glover. Glover was also the author of diverse "harp" songbooks and a co-author, along with Ward Gaines and Scott Dirks, of an award-winning biography of Little Walter, Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story.
Rifle Sport was an American post punk band active in the 1980s and 1990s, from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Hang Ups are an indie pop rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, formed in 1990 and fronted by vocalist and guitarist Brian Tighe. Other members include Jeff Kearns, Stephen Ittner (drums), and John Crozier (guitar). Producer and band friend Bryan Hanna replaced Ittner on the drums while the band toured. The Hang Ups released their debut EP Comin' Through in 1993, and have since released four studio albums. The band's efforts have been met with warm local and national critical response, and are perhaps most well known for the songs "Jump Start", which appeared in the Kevin Smith film Chasing Amy, and "Top of Morning," which featured in an episode of Dawson's Creek.
Chris Strouth is an American, Minneapolis-based musician, producer, writer and filmmaker who has been active since 1986, most notably as the founder and organizer of 1990s/2000s electronica collective Future Perfect Sound System, and most recently as the bandleader and composer for experimental/electronic band Paris 1919. His behind-the-scenes production work includes Indianapolis multimedia artist Stuart Hyatt's Grammy-nominated album The Clouds. Strouth also gained national attention in 2009 when he received a life-saving kidney transplant from a donor who connected with him on Twitter, which is believed to be the first such transplant arranged entirely through social networking.
