On Saturday, February 25th, Caravan du Nord will be at Paramount Theatre in Austin, featuring Mae Simpson, with Maygen & The Birdwatcher and Amanda Grace. 

This multi-genre musical experience will be an unforgettable showcase of amazing Minnesota talent in the beautiful historic Paramount Theater in downtown Austin. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and is sponsored by The Current and Explore Minnesota. 

Caravan du Nord features Minnesota musicians of different genres and backgrounds from across the state. This year’s showcase series launched in October 2022 stops in St. Paul and Red Wing, and will continue January-March, 2023 with tour stops in Rochester, Northfield, Austin, and Duluth. Each tour stop also features a workshop and networking event for any local musicians. Learn more about all Caravan du Nord events at https://www.mnmusiccoalition.org/caravan-du-nord/ 

Schedule for the Day 

3PM Music Careers in 2023, Presented by Scott LeGere

Paramount Theatre Annex, 125 4th Avenue NE, Austin, MN

Creating a career in music is a constantly changing and sometimes challenging endeavor. In order to empower your next steps, this workshop will cover topics including digital distribution, revenue streams, and resources for Minnesota musicians to help you broaden your potential opportunities in our exciting music environment.

4PM Musician Panel: Making it in Minnesota - How Musicians Build Successful Career Paths

Paramount Theatre Annex, 125 4th Avenue NE, Austin, MN

A panel of musicians will discuss how they have built their careers, what they learned along the way, and how those lessons can translate to your musical journey. Panelists include: Mae Simpson, Josh Whalen, Maygen Lacey, Jae Havoc.

5:30PM-6:30PM Networking Social Hour Dusty’s Bar and Lounge, 422 N Main St, Austin, MN 55912 

Register for networking and workshop events HERE 

7:00PM Doors / 7:30PM Show: Caravan du Nord concert, featuring Mae Simpson, with Maygen & The Birdwatcher and Amanda Grace ONSALE DATE To be announced 

Paramount Theatre, 125 4th Avenue NE, Austin, MN

Purchase tickets HERE 

About the Artists 

Mae Simpson shook up the Twin Cities' scene in 2019, Winning battle of the bands, and City Pages reader’s choice “Best New Band” along with being named a nominee for “Best Live Concert”. Mae and her seven piece band including a horn section, blur the lines between a wide range of influences. From the depth and energy of funk and rock, down to the melodic edge of R&B and folk. Led by Mae Simpson, who's '...voice is larger than life — but not as large as her uncontainable energy that radiates from the stage." Helen Teague - Minnesota Public Radio. Known for their Intense and exciting live shows, the band has an immediate impact that favors the human connection between the musicians and the audience. Opening up for acts like Dermot Kennedy, Karl Denson, Rubblebucket, Robert Clay, Langhorn Slim, Pert Near Sandstone and Playing many notable stages across the Midwest like First Ave main room, The Fillmore mpls, Basilica Block Party, Live On King Street, and Blue Ox. If you are a fan of artists such as Alabama Shakes, Lake Street Dive and Bruce Springsteen, Mae Simpson is right up your alley. https://www.facebook.com/MaeSimpsonMusic/

Maygen & The Birdwatcher - Coming off the successful release of their award-winning "stunning" (Americana UK) debut full-length album, Moonshine, Maygen & The Birdwatcher are off and runnin’. The folk duo-turned 6-piece adventurously blur the sounds of country, bluegrass, folk, and blues - keepin' it all fresh. With the versatility to play in a number of stage configurations ranging from an intimate duo to their boot-stomping full band, the group can charm a broad range of audiences. From beauty to grit, sadness to silliness, the common thread is that this group loves music, and playing it together. It shows. To ensure the full spectrum of their sound is available to listeners, the band is releasing a 6-song EP Sept 9 called Bootleggin’ At The Flower Shoppe. They went right back to Flowers Studio (The Jayhawks, Mason Jennings, Soul Asylum, Jeremy Messersmith, Lizzo) with Kris Johnson, who was their engineer on Moonshine, and recorded the more energetic and good-timin’ songs that were written around the same time as Moonshine, but hadn’t gotten the chance to be properly recorded and shared with their fans. They like to think of Bootleggin’ as Moonshine’s companion, released less than a year from each other, with many different things to offer listeners that have grown to look forward to their diverse approach to songwriting. The band has only been playing together for two years but has already landed opportunities to join festival stages with bands like Old Crow Medicine Show, Paul Cauthen, Grace Potter, and even support a childhood favorite, Travis Tritt. "In many ways, Maygen & The Birdwatcher feel like a collaboration between two distinct artists versus a more seamless band-- but it's that individuality, those visible seams, that make them such a fascinating act." - Adventures In Americana   www.MaygenandtheBirdwatcher.com 

Amanda Grace - Amanda is a Minnesota born and raised singer-songwriter producing music drifting between folk and rock with an emphasis on melody and ballads. With roots as a pianist her writing is thematically varied with an emphasis on melody; with ballads wrapped in warm vocals. In 2016 she received a "Front Of The Line" pass from The Voice. She’s released 7 albums and travels regionally. Her latest album, "Please Dear Sun" was nominated for "Blues & Roots Album Of The Year." https://musicbyamandagrace.com

About the Workshop Panelists:

Josh Whalen: Joshua Whalen is a singer/songwriter, guitarist, and music educator from Southern Minnesota. He is best known as front man of the Alt-Rock group Whalen and the Willows. With almost 2 decades of experience Joshua has recorded multiple records, played all over the country, and has had his music featured on radio stations all over the world.

Mae Simpson: Mae Simpson shook up the Twin Cities' scene in 2019, Winning battle of the bands, and City Pages reader’s choice “Best New Band” along with being named a nominee for “Best Live Concert”. Mae and her seven piece band including a horn section, blur the lines between a wide range of influences. From the depth and energy of funk and rock, down to the melodic edge of R&B and folk. Led by Mae Simpson, who's '...voice is larger than life — but not as large as her uncontainable energy that radiates from the stage." Helen Teague - Minnesota Public Radio.

Maygen Lacey: Maygen Lacey is not to be painted with one brush. Born and raised in MN with a love of music and singing, but an anxious mind at the thought of performing, she took a long and winding road to where she is today: with millions of streams on Spotify, a touring band, a studio vocalist career, and accolades from the Midwest Country Music Organization for Album of the Year and Americana Artist of the Year with her band Maygen & The Birdwatcher. With a post-high school serious case of stage fright, Maygen pursued a degree on the business side of music. She spent some years working at a record label in Chicago, before realizing nothing quite measured up to the way she felt when she performed. She decided to go into business for herself and has since collaborated with producers around the world on a vast array of musical projects, has played music festivals like Blue Ox in WI and Red Ants Pants in Montana, and toured the country with her band Maygen & The Birdwatcher. She has released original music as a solo vocalist as well as with her band Maygen & The Birdwatcher. There are not many stones Maygen has left unturned. Music is in her soul and she'll be doing it forever. 

Jae Havoc: The world is a wild place and we’re all out here just trying to adapt. Since a teen Rochester, Minnesota-based emcee/producer Jae Havoc (aka Joe McShan) has worked that philosophy into his life and music. Growing up in the home of the Mayo Clinic, Jae saw his city grow along with him and become more diverse as he also gained a greater understanding of the workings of the universe. With one grandfather who was a Jazz musician touring the south and another of whom was a programmer for IBM, it’s no wonder why Jae immersed himself in music and the production of it since he was young. Hip Hop captured his heart, but a love of music led to interest in other genres, as well. From fronting Punk Rock band “Corporate Failure”, to emceeing solo, to performing guest spots with soul, funk, brass, and metal bands, Jae is constantly pushing his boundaries and reinventing what to expect from his craft. Blending his brand of honest, thought-provoking lyricism with a production palette often painted by genres like soul, punk rock, and jazz, he takes you on a ride through everything from the surreal to the too real. Recently, Jae has released 2019’s Everyday Infinite EP (recorded at The Hideaway Studios by Joe Mabbot), 2020’s MORTALS LP, and, not being one to slow down, is currently in production on the upcoming LP, The Only Way Out Is Through.

Scott LeGere: Over the past 20 years, Scott LeGere has played key roles in the ownership and operation of audio recording facilities, independent record labels, media schools, and commercial music production companies. During this time, he has engineered Grammy nominated albums, produced critically acclaimed independent projects, lectured nationally at conferences and events, and foolishly hauled both Yamaha CP-70s and Hammond B3s (concurrently) to gigs all over the country.

In 2010, he co-founded NoWare Media, a composition focused sound agency, and helped produce Clio, Emmy, and Cannes Lion award winning commercial spots for corporate clients such as Target, Walmart, The Minnesota Wild, Bauer Hockey, BluDot, and others.

In addition to his professional commitments, Scott has concentrated much of his recent time and efforts into empowering the next generation of creatives, teaching at a variety of Minnesota colleges and universities. Now an Assistant Professor of Music Industries at Minnesota State Mankato, Scott tries desperately to translate the above “career” into a model for aspiring musicians and industry professionals.