Celebrated First Avenue stage manager Conrad Sverkerson has died
by Reed Fischer
October 01, 2025
Minneapolis music venue First Avenue owes its signature look to the names painted on silver stars all over the building. The stars detail a history of so many notable nights at the club. There’s U2, Radiohead, and Prince, and then there’s Conrad.
Conrad Sverkerson, mostly known by his first name, had worked at First Avenue since 1988 and held the title of stage manager since 1990. He has said that the first show he worked there featured Soul Asylum. (In 2007, he told a story to Mary Lucia about hitting the road with Soul Asylum.) Over the past 35 years, he was an integral part of the venue’s culture and experience for artists and patrons alike. Due to his mane of curly red hair, he was easy to spot.
In 2012, Conrad told Andrea Swensson about how he felt about having his own star among all the rest. He didn’t want it at all. “They were like, ‘Well, the star committee insists that you have a star and it be by your door [the door where he helps bands load in their equipment].’ And then when they repainted it they put it right in the center of the door." He pauses, blushing. "People think it’s bigger than the other stars. And I don’t think it is, it’s just because it’s there by itself, and I’m by no means a big star."
After a CaringBridge page circulated earlier in the day, it was confirmed by First Avenue director of operations Damon Barna that Conrad died on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 30. “Rest easy, Conrad. Say hi to Billy for us,” Barna wrote on Facebook. Conrad’s brother Billy Sverkerson, who had also worked at First Avenue, died in 2013. Conrad was 66.
According to Star Tribune, Sverkerson died at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth on Tuesday afternoon of lung cancer.
On the morning of Oct. 1, First Avenue updated its profile photos on social media to feature Conrad’s star. “Conrad touched the lives of so many—his friends and family, his First Avenue family, bands and artists and crew from throughout Minnesota, across the country, and around the world,” a post on First Avenue’s Instagram reads. “This loss feels endless and unimaginable to us as individuals, to our Twin Cities community, and the entire live music industry.”
Prior to working at First Ave, Conrad grew up in a family of 10 children. "We grew up out in New Hope, back when it was the Wonder Years kind of times, when everything was innocent and you could run around the neighborhood," Conrad’s brother Mark Sverkerson told Andrea Swensson in 2013. "We had a cool upbringing."
Conrad was a doorman at the now-shuttered West Bank music venue the 400 Bar and later the 7th Street Entry. In July of 2021, Conrad joined other First Avenue staffers onstage at 7th Street Entry to mark the reopening of the club after its closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We welcome you back," he said from the stage before the Suburbs performed.
In the time since his passing was announced, an outpouring of tributes have been circulating online.
After the passing of Low singer and drummer Mimi Parker in 2022, Conrad reached out to The Current and spoke to Diane, host of The Local Show. What he shared about his relationship with the band, and specifically about Parker, says so much about his role at the club, and how much he cared about the people he helped every day.
“I work as a stage manager, so I have to deal with the bands and help them load in,” he said. “All that fun stuff, and, you know, help them get set up and introduce them to so and so. I've been very fortunate in my life at work. I've met a lot of great, great people. …
“The times people ask me, ‘What's your job description?’ I go, ‘Well, I'm a stage manager, but I'm kind of more of a babysitter than anything.’ … Low's always great to deal with. One of the first Christmas shows we did at the club, it was [sound engineer] Tom [Herbers] and it was Alan [Sparhawk] and Mimi and I believe Zak [Sally] was still when I was playing bass, and they had the kids with. Hollis was walking. Cyrus was still in a baby buggy. …
“We loaded in, brought in Christmas trees and whatnot. It was something we all did together. It was fun. … So the band starts the sound check, and there was nobody really to watch the kids. So I became the babysitter that day. I sat onstage with Cyrus and with Hollis. I made sure Hollis didn't go running off the stage and Cyrus didn't yelp too loud while he was sitting in his baby chair. I know Mim was right there, but you know, she trusts me with her kids. That was pretty cool.
“I can say on behalf of everyone at the club: sound engineers, lighting people, bookers, how much Low is meant to us. … I say ‘We're a functional, dysfunctional family,’ and Low is a part of that family. And it's great to have them as a family, and I'm happy to be their crazy uncle. You know, I've always said, ‘It's easy to be good to good people,’ and it was very easy to be good to Mim and to Alan and all their bandmates, you know, throughout the years.”
Today, family, friends, First Avenue, artists, fans, and so many others are missing Conrad.
As there is more information available, this post will be updated.
Learn more about Conrad
