Minnesota
Review: Wallflowers, McBride bring musical flavor to revamped Taste of Minnesota
The location, layout and general vibe may be very different this year. Like Taste of Minnesota festivals of old, however, the free music lineup Saturday in the revamped event’s new downtown Minneapolis site offered an oddly mish-mashed, nostalgia-heavy but crowd-pleasing mix.
Country music veteran Martina McBride, ’90s adult-rock hitmakers the Wallflowers, and homegrown alt-country veterans the Gear Daddies were the top-drawing acts for the first of two days in Taste’s second year in a setting that also feels quite hodge-podgey.
The fenced-off Taste grounds are spread out between empty parking lots and blocked-off streets around the Minneapolis Central Library and the north end of Nicollet Mall. It’s not the prettiest of sites, and finding somewhere to sit is harder than spotting a low-calorie food option.
However, the new digs did smoothly accommodate the strong turnout amid Saturday’s golden weather, with organizers reporting more than 35,000 attendees through the gates by 3:30 p.m.
Considering the festival’s old location on Harriet Island has been flooded in recent days, the new spot certainly felt sufficient for Taste’s many offerings — including a new fleet of food trucks, four music stages, an amateur wrestling ring and even a zip line.
The biggest of the four new Taste stages is in a crumbly lot sandwiched between the library, Four Seasons Hotel and other tall buildings. Thanks to this site, U.S. Bank Stadium may no longer hold the distinction of being Minneapolis’ most echoey music venue. A mid-afternoon set by rapper and DJ Sophia Eris with beatmaker pal Makr was especially muddied by the bouncing acoustics and other technical issues.
The sound and vibe at the Jazz 88 stage on the north end of the Taste layout was much more appealing, in part because it’s one of the few places you’ll find trees or grass. Local jazz stylist Jennifer Grimm had fans there cooling in the shade and singing along to Billie Holliday’s “I’ll Be Singing You,” and the BZ3 Organ Trio with all-star drummer Kevin Washington had them up and grooving through an instrumental cover of Prince’s “Controversy.”
Since none of the other mainstage acts enjoyed huge Instagram followers or TikTok numbers, it was no surprise that many of the attendees who stuck by the big stage looked old enough to have regularly attended Taste of Minnesota’s prior iterations, evolving over the mid-1980s to the late 2000s on Harriet Island and the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul.
Performing between Eris and an ultra-hyping intro by comedian Fancy Ray McCloney, Gear Daddies’ frontman Martin Zellar joked that his band was “going to cut the energy in half.” Of course, their old favorites such as “Zamboni” and “Stupid Boy” did the opposite and sparked big, smiley audience singalongs. Even the downers in the Daddies’ set were well-received, including “Color of Her Eyes” and “Cut Me Off.”
The Wallflowers started out feisty and loud with songs off their last album, highlighted by “The Dive Bar in My Heart” — reminiscent of Minnesota legends the Replacements, whose bassist Tommy Stinson was watching from side-stage. Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan greeted the crowd by cheekily noting that, unlike his dad Bob, he did not qualify as a taste of Minnesota.
“You guys do know I’m not from here, right?” he cracked. “But I thank you for this as some kind of homecoming.”
Despite personnel changes over the years and a long lull in the 2010s, the rock scion’s band sounded as rock-solid and full-spirited as ever as it revisited some of their best-known tunes, including a rootsier-styled “6th Avenue Heartache” and “One Headlight.” Instead of offering a taste of (Bob) Dylan for the Minnesota fest, Jakob paid tribute to Tom Petty with covers of “Refugee” and “The Waiting” at the end of their set.
In the headlining slot, McBride played to a smaller crowd but showed why she’s endured in the male-dominated Nashville music biz for three decades. Her 1993 breakthrough hit “My Baby Loves” kicked off a series of feel-good love songs, including “Safe in the Arms of Love” and “Love’s the Only House.” Her covers of country classics “Rose Garden” and “You Ain’t Woman Enough (to Take My Man)” came off sweet, too, given they were launched by two female country music legends. Too bad Taste’s spotty sound system cut out during the former song.
Taste of Minnesota continues Sunday with a music lineup that is more truly Minnesotan — and should attract a lot of Prince fans — as Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Morris Day and other members of the Time are slated to stage a rare reunion tied to the 40th anniversary of “Purple Rain,” preceded by Sounds of Blackness and more.
Minnesota weather forecast. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Most of Minnesota will be under a marginal risk of severe weather on Thursday, with rain and rumbles expected.
Thursday weather forecast
Local perspective:
A line of storms is expected to develop in west-southwest Minnesota on Thursday and grow in coverage as well as intensity tracking east into the early evening.
Large hail and damaging winds are the prevalent threats, but an isolated tornado is also possible along the line.
Isolated showers are expected to form in the western part of Minnesota on Thursday morning.
Rain chances in the Twin Cities area increase in the afternoon, as a line pushes through with possible thunderstorms.
Stay Sky Aware with FOX 9 for the latest.
The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.
A TikTok creator is no longer banned from parks in St. Paul, Minnesota, after appealing the city’s restriction, according to his agent.
St. Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez earlier this month accused Josh Liljenquist of going to Pig’s Eye Park to “harass, record and profit from vulnerable adults residing there without said individuals’ permission.” Liljenquist, who is known for giving away food and cash in his videos, denied the allegation.
On Wednesday, Liljenquist’s agent shared a new letter from the city.
“Based on an evaluation of the facts of this situation as they were relayed during your appeal meeting, I will be rescinding your ban from our parks, effective immediately,” the letter from Rodriguez read.
Rodriguez also wrote the city expects “all residents and visitors to our parks to abide by the rules.”
“Our responsibility is to ensure park spaces remain safe, respectful, and accessible for all, and we appreciate your partnership in that effort,” the letter read.
Liljenquist told WCCO he has only recorded at Pig’s Eye Park once, and it was with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office’s consent. He said he and his videographer always get consent from individuals they film, too.
Local organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness are split on Liljenquist’s impact. Sue Phillips, director of the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, said his content “is exploiting people experiencing homelessness/housing instability.” Feeding St. Paul founder Michael Brendale, on the other hand, said, “Josh has changed many lives, taken people off the streets.”
Liljenquist told WCCO he films his efforts instead of making them private in hopes of “inspiring other people to do it, showing that it doesn’t take a lot of money, it doesn’t take a lot of resources to go out there and do something for somebody.”
The National Weather Service confirmed that at least five tornadoes touched down in southeastern Minnesota on Friday, including four that hit Olmsted County. At least another three twisters were confirmed in southwestern Wisconsin.
The NWS was still analyzing data and other information to determine if more tornadoes occurred in the area.
The storms started Friday afternoon, with the first tornado touching down north of Sargeant in Mower County around 1:45 p.m. The short-lived EF0, with top wind speeds of 80 mph, traveled about 3 miles northeast into rural Dodge County near the unincorporated town of Oslo. It lasted for about five minutes in total, the weather service says, and caused minor damage to a grain silo before dissipating.
A new tornado formed a few minutes later, less than a mile away south of Oslo. The storm was also considered an EF0, with wind speeds around 80 mph. Lasting less than 10 minutes, it traveled 4 miles into Olmsted County, causing light damage to farm outbuildings and trees.
The line of storms seemed to pick up intensity as it entered Olmsted County.
Around 2:17 p.m., the EF2 tornado that would later hit Marion Township first touched down just northeast of Stewartville. The weather service estimates that the twister had wind speeds of about 130 mph and traveled nearly 10 miles northeast, before dissipating around 2:31 p.m. Multiple homes were severely damaged with roof removal and partially collapsed exterior walls.
An EF1 tornado was also confirmed to have hit near Potsdam around 2:30 p.m.
The first portion of the tornado was weak, the weather service said, with mainly EF0 damage. On the second portion of the 12-mile track, the tornado intensified to produce approximately 100 mph winds with tree and farm outbuilding damage. It lifted around 2:54 p.m.
A second EF2 tornado was confirmed in Olmsted County around 2:46 p.m. about 5 miles east-northeast of Viola and traveled about 7.5 miles, ending in Wabasha County, a few miles south of Plainview, around 3 p.m. Maximum wind speeds were around 125 mph. The storm affected mainly rural areas and damaged trees and outbuildings. One farmhouse lost a roof and a garage roof, the weather service said.
No injuries were reported in the Minnesota-Wisconsin outbreak.
Friday was a historic day for the NWS La Crosse office, which issued 26 tornado warnings – the most for any one day since the office opened in 1995.
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