August 7, 2014, Thursday - Mill City Live at Mill City Museum

Mill City Live returns for its eleventh season with four outdoor evening concerts in August.

Set in the museum's dramatic open air Ruin Courtyard, "Mill City Live" features four great evenings of outdoor music by top local artists.

• Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
• Fee: $5 includes concert and museum admission from 4 to 9 p.m., an opportunity to visit Mill City Museum at a significant discount. Free for Minnesota Historical Society members.
• In case of rain, Mill City Live goes on indoors!

August 7th, 6-8pm

Crankshaft and the Gear Grinders

Blues, roots

 

Crankshaft (a.k.a. Alex Larson) has been forging his own brand of high-energy, low-brow, upper Mississippi blues, a new genre of music he likes to call "Pork Neck" since 2008.

Performing and as the leader of his trio, Crankshaft and the Gear Grinders, fans of Mill City Live can expect a new breed of foot stompin' country blues that appeals to young and old alike. Crankshaft writes great songs, and sings them with passion. The energy at his live shows is undeniable, and he won't rest until everyone in the room is rockin' and rollin' with him." - Page Burkum, The Cactus Blossums

 

August 13th, 6-8pm

The Cloak Ox

Indie Rock

 

The Cloak Ox is made up of indie rock vets Andrew Broder and longtime friends and sometimes bandmates Jeremy Ylvisaker, Mark Erickson and Martin Dosh. In 2011 the group topped City Pages new artist Picked to Click list and in 2013 their full length Shoot the Dog made top ten lists by the Star Tribune and City Pages. “Shoot the Dog is loaded with the nervous, sensory-grinding energy of urban life…and the jaggedy frayed art-rock noodling of bands like Television and latter-day Wilco.”

-Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune

 

Wednesday, August 20th, 6-8pm

Fort Wilson Riot Electro-Pop

 

This Minneapolis-based avant pop duo of Amy Hager and Jacob Mullis have no shortness of ambition. They recorded an indie-rock opera, Idigaragua, and performed it with a full cast of actors and dancers. In 2010 the recorded and produced the full length follow up Predator/Prey. In 2011 they gave us the Generation Complex EP which experimented with pristine vocal harmonies married to jarring electro-garage-pop. Through 2012 and 2013 they made a mad dash around the USA into clubs, bars, living rooms and festivals. And now, “trIllIun”. With the former 12 Rods and Mystery Palace man, Ryan Olcott, at the production helm, Fort Wilson Riot promise an album that blurs boundaries while immersing the listener in hypnotic waves from some sunset alien shore. The first taste is “Yes Indeed,” a sultry psychedelic R&B jam that showcases a new side of FWR and gives a tantalizing glimpse of the exciting new ground they are covering.

 

Wednesday, August 27th, 6-8pm

Erik Koskinen Country, folk

Erik Koskinen grew up in a rural, working class town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He got his first guitar from his father when he was 12 years old. Over the years he’s made a living as a carpenter, welder, snow blower, truck driver—the list goes on. But since he moved to Saint Paul he’s built a following as a guitarist (Molly Maher, Randy Weeks), songwriter, producer (Trampled by Turtles) and engineer. “America Theatre” (2014) is Erik's second album, the follow-up to the acclaimed Keep it to Yourself. “Erik Koskinen should be recognized as a masterful songwriter and rousing country singer..." - Chris Riemenschneider - Minneapolis Star Tribune