Minnesota music gets its Big Turn in Red Wing
by Diane
February 22, 2023
Discovering new, exciting music can be challenging. Frequenting reputable venues, listening to the radio, scouring social media pages, and keeping up with your quintessential music nerd friends are fabulous go-tos. But none of these quite hold the discovery power of music festivals.
For new and relevant national artists, you can enter unrecognizable names off Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza festival posters into your YouTube or Spotify search engine. Or, if you’re truly die-hard enough, you actually buy the tickets, book travel, and research them in person. Good thing for Minnesotans, our state hosts locally curated festivals like Big Turn Music Fest in Red Wing.
I attended the second day of the two-day event on Saturday, Feb. 18, and caught eight of the 206 booked bands/artists.
Big Turn’s founder and organizer Sam Brown understands the value of community-based music. “I love live music. And I'm a musician myself, and I love giving opportunities to other musicians,” he told me from a bar table at the American Legion, the festival’s “jazz club.”
Red Wing is located on the sharpest bend of the Mississippi River between the Twin Cities and New Orleans, hence the name Big Turn. With a population of less than 17,000, the community successfully accommodated approximately 2,500 people at 21 different venues over the weekend.
What is special about Big Turn is that it is highly accessible to artists of varying skill levels. Most applicants get booked, including some inexperienced, yet promising, players who may get the inspiration and jumpstart they need to continue on their journey. Still, numerous music-scene veterans like Mark Mallman, Chris Koza, and Lady Midnight and outstanding up-and-comers like Harlow, Molly Brandt, and Natalie Fideler also flock to this festival to be one with the community.
My only major qualm of the weekend was FOMO. All venues were within walking distance, but it was physically impossible to catch everything, plus it was mighty cold outside — at least for me.
However odd it may be to book a music festival during a Minnesota winter, Brown strategically did so to give his hometown an economic boost during its slowest months.
“I also really value utilizing the infrastructure that exists, like bars and restaurants that are in town that maybe need more business,” Brown told me.
This might’ve been something he learned studying on the West Coast after high school, and then transitioning after college to booking bands and festivals in New Salem, Oregon, with headlining artists such as Kimya Dawson. Not to mention, Brown founded another one of Minnesota's most popular local music events — Mid West Music Festival based in Winona. MWMF will celebrate 13 years this May. Past headliners include Lizzo, Charlie Parr, Poliça, and Bad Bad Hats.
Brown’s popularity with festivalgoers was palpable. Everywhere I went, standing next to him or talking to him, people wanted to give him a verbal or physical high five.
There are numerous perks to performing at music festivals. For one, the opportunities are rare due to the cost and difficulty of organizing them. But the best advantage for artists might be the opportunity to build stronger relationships with other nearby fans and artists. It’s different from hopping around to different venues in the Twin Cities on weekends. Within blocks, a musician or fan can experience a broad spectrum of artistry in just a few-hour period. Proximity is key.
Here’s what I encountered on Saturday:
I experienced my first rock band performance in a Brazilian jiu-jitsu studio: Cassandra Cole. Locker-room stools and punching bags were used as chairs, while Cole and her three-piece band performed well-crafted heavy rock ballads in front of wooing fans.
Colin Bracewell’s superpower might be his lucent voice, which echoed nicely inside of St Paul’s Lutheran Church. The pop singer enthusiastically performed songs heard on The Current’s rotation, including “Making Me Crazy” and “Autumn,” and he even gave us a nice shout-out.
Acoustic-Americana band Maygen and the Birdwatcher performed to a packed audience inside a children’s clothing boutique, Tootsie Too’s. The band also mentioned their recent appearance in The Current’s studio for Radio Heartland. I especially fanned out over their performance of “Desperado,” an emotionally expressive original song embellished with a gorgeous mandolin lead.
“Sacred” is the best word I can use to describe the music of Buffalo Weavers, who perform minimalistic folk music with spoken-word poetry and Native-American chanting. Aptly performed inside a church, their art carried messages of inner stillness, grace, and peace: “love is stronger than war.”
I ran into a fan of The Local Show earlier in the evening and he excitedly recommended checking out The Right Here. A sharp contrast to the previous act, this rowdy four-piece presented a raucous set of songwriter-based country-punk songs that had a packed sports bar hooting and hollering.
Singer-songwriter J.E. Sunde played a solo set at one of the festival’s smallest venues, the non-profit artspace ArtReach. “Thank you for choosing me,” he said to a chuckling audience before starting. Strumming a locally built classical guitar handcrafted by his uncle, Sunde’s set was lyrically and musically intricate, dexterous, warm, and thoughtful.
I stumbled upon NATL PARK SRVC simply by opening a door to warm up and figure out which direction to go next. Two horn players, two backup singers, bassist, drummer, fiddle player, guitarist, and one ambitious lead singer/guitarist filled a large contemporary church called Cornerstone with modern indie rock.
By the time I reached my eighth venue, American Legion, I was ready to stay firmly planted. Midnight Love provided the perfect soundtrack to sink into. The supergroup consisting of members who’ve backed artists like Prince, Tina Schlieske, Chastity Brown, and Sounds of Blackness played smooth instrumental jazz, fusion, and funk-pop standards by artists like The Crusaders and the late Burt Bacharach.
The experience of live music shouldn’t be a commodity for some, rather for all. And it’s a marvel to witness a small town come together to celebrate local talent. Kudos to all the artists, volunteers, organizers, venues, and music fans for allowing an event like Big Turn to thrive in our state.
Listen to The Current’s Local Show on March 5 for Diane’s on-air review of this year’s Big Turn Music Fest.
