A Great Feeling While Watching Jazz at Taste of MN
I spent all day on Saturday at Taste of MN. I am a DJ at Jazz88 at we sponsor the Jazz88 stage and this year we had a great lineup which I had a fair amount to do with. Steve Heckler did the calling, scheduling and advancing but a lot of the artists that played were artists I recommended and artists that I have fostered relationships with like BZ3 Organ Trio, Jennifer Grimm, HeyArlo, LA Buckner and Big Homie, MPLS String Project and more. What an honor to get to see these bands play a stage at a major free festival in Minnesota. I believe we need more free festivals in Minnesota. NOTE: I don’t mean musicians should play for free. . .I mean the economics of the event should be such that the event can turn a profit without making audience members come out of pocket for a ticket. It isn’t the only model, but it should be part of the offerings.
This particular Saturday was perfect even if it was demanding. Due to scheduling needs for my wife I brought my two heroic daughters to Taste bright and early circa 10:40. Because I’m a dumb dumb and forgot to do something at the studio I had to roll out to St. Louis Park before that, stuff them with vending machine candy and then take the bus into downtown. But I’ll be honest, I love the bus. We love the bus. When my seven year old sees the 74 on Randolph she rolls down the window and says “thanks for taking us to most of the places we go”.
From jump the vibe was great. Some shade. Not painfully hot. Trees. Food. Got my kid a seven dollar vegan cupcake that she stored upside down on the pavement below the table for safekeeping. Got my other kid a refill it yourself sno-cone situation and I’m certain that no one after her got anything but a sousant of root beer. As Jack Brass started off the festivities I was reminded that music is magic and it can turn a strange gathering into the most reasonable thing on Earth. Before they had played a note the vibe at Taste of MN was just. . .anticipatory. What am I doing here? I should have gone to the cabin. Holy crap, $7 for a cupcake with no cream in it? But then suddenly the music plays and I am more human, we are more human, we are together, there is art. There are speakers. There’s a tuba. Fuck that cabin. $7? A bargain? How bout a sno-cone?? About halfway in to the first band my wife came to pick up the kids and serve them something vaguely more healthy than I had offered so far that morning.
The day progressed. The crowds grew. The good vibes grew. A many with a classy ponytail said he loves “setting sail” with me every afternoon at three. I am grinning from ear to ear. HeyArlo sounds better than they ever have. The drums sound like someone is playing a record from 1978 on speakers from 1986. It’s spectacular. And the night ends with LA Buckner and Big Homie. I look out at the crowd. Young. Old. Black. White. Asian. Native. Latino. Nobody is looking at their phones and tolerating the music. Nobody is just tolerating the music to finish up the food they didn’t want to stand up for. The crowd is full of enthusiastic people who at this moment are connected with Mr. Buckner and his cast of incredible musicians. I also think some of the folks are there because they connect with Jazz88, they like what we have going, it’s what makes sense to them. It’s what works for their radio. I’m with Patty Peterson and Johnny. We are working the tent, we are working the area. Davide from Jazz88 is recording. And it’s a big ass crowd. I think it might be 850 people actively watching. More just breezing by. The band is the winner. The music always wins. The radio never wins. But radio and music have to work together and that night we did. Beautiful sounds. Some of which were broadcast on our airways. An amazing night filled with a music and a scene that I have played some role in cultivating. Grinning from ear to ear as something cool happens in the Twin Cities. It’s almost enough to go lick that cupcake frosting off the pavement, but it’s root beer flavored by now because my daughter spilled the sno-cone too.