Minneapolis multi-hyphenate artist Dessa spoke with host Jill Riley of her experience during the federal occupation, and what shows are coming up in 2026.

Listen to the full interview in the player above, and find a complete transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: You're listening to The Current, I'm Jill Riley. Special guest on the line this morning: singer, rapper, musician, writer and collaborator, Dessa is on The Current. Hi, Dessa, how are you?

Dessa: Hey, I'm doing well. Thanks for having me.

Jill Riley: Very good. I know you're getting ready for a couple shows, an early and a late, at the Dakota in Minneapolis coming up this Sunday. Can you tell us about what you are planning to do with the Dakota?

Dessa: Yeah. So, you know, my bandmate and musical director Joshua Williams and I, have been trading like late night texts and emergency phone calls. We're trying to do some new arrangements that evening. I feel like the Dakota is a particular kind of room in the Twin Cities, and I've always been pretty sensitive to what set list matches the vibe of the room, both acoustically and then, just ambience. You know, you're sitting down, you're standing up, you're crowd surfing, or you're sipping a cocktail or whatever, so trying to put together a cool set with some new arrangements for that night. And Lady Midnight will also be opening,

Jill Riley: Very good. So that is this Sunday at the Dakota in Minneapolis. Well, Dessa, I just wanted to take a couple minutes to talk with you. With the spotlight being on Minnesota and the strength of Minnesotans being in, really the international spotlight, Dessa, I know that you grew up in South Minneapolis, and you wrote a piece that was published last month by Mother Jones, 'How to Resist Like Minneapolis." And my takeaway had a lot to do with how people can participate in their communities. So to you Dessa, what does Minnesota resistance look like?

Dessa: I think, like a lot of people who grew up in Minneapolis, it feels surreal to see us in the headlines across not the just the country, but the planet. I think receiving messages from Northern Ireland and Iran, let's say, like, "Hey, we're looking at you." I mean, I have goose flesh even just talking about that. And I think, like a lot of folks, when you're little I imagined "what would it be like if I lived in one of those pivotal points in history?" And you kind of think, how could you possibly do anything other than join the movement and join the protest? And then as an adult, you realize nobody goes door to door and invites you to a pre-planned, orchestrated, scheduled, resistant movement, it is something that you make up. And I think watching Minneapolis and Minnesota by extension, make it up block by block instead of county by county. I mean, it really was just individuals in the morning being like, how could I get in today? Like, what could I help [with]? As you well know, and everybody listening does, does that mean I'm driving groceries? Does that mean I'm bundling up in eight coats and gonna appear with my sign at whatever procession is scheduled for today? But to me, self invention was such a big part of it. People organizing, with friends and with whoever lived across the street, even if they're not your friends, to meet the moment. I think Minneapolis felt itself appropriately under a huge threat. Very neighborly, very, very community oriented. I think the whole force and swell of that city rising up was surprisingly indie. It felt indie. It felt the same way indie music works. You know, it's like, print a flyer, go to Kinko's, hand it out. 

Jill Riley: Right. And I think there's almost a lesson to be taken away moving forward about what it looks like to be a community member. I mean, really.

Dessa: I think so too. And you know, everybody might not agree with me, but one of the final handful of points that I tried to create in that Mother Jones piece that you mentioned, was I want to be mindful about how I argue. I want to be mindful about how — a hot take is so rewarded on socials, and they can be funny, you know what I mean? And I'm sure I've penned some, if I were to sift through all of my online history, but when you need to form a coalition with people that you otherwise don't have much in common with, when something really big happens, Independence Day vibe like, “Oh my God, we are under these masked federal super armed agents rolling into town.” You know, you do see this sort of linking of arms by people who would otherwise probably not be kicking it. And so I want to make sure that we don't poison the well that's going to become like the only water source when times are troubled.

Jill Riley: Talking with Dessa on The Current. Dessa, you participated in the protest march in Minneapolis on January 23 and I wonder if you could share what that experience was like.

Dessa: I think the feeling — collective experiences. I know some people get that at church, I get that from music and from art, you know. But I, like a lot of folks, I got really cold. I wasn't dressed well enough, my bad. I've been scolded by all sorts of people online, but I wasn't dressed well enough, and so I ducked into one of the tunnels that we have in Minneapolis, that's a story above the ground. And I just could hear everybody making the same collective vowel sound as the crowd passed beneath that tunnel. Like, "ooooh," you know, you just hear it like a chant — "look at how many, they're still coming, they're still coming." We are so many. And protesting isn't super fun, usually. It's cold, it's a pain, there's no parking. There's really nothing to do. You just stand, or you walk and you wait for the helicopter to circle overhead that takes the picture that runs in The New York Times to prove how many people there were who wanted to voice their dissent by missing a day of work in the cold.

Jill Riley: And to put a fine point on how cold it was, I mean, however many degrees below zero it was, it shows this, I think this strength and hardiness of the people of this region.

Dessa: Hard agree. I was talking to a journalist from the BBC, and I was like,  it was negative eight degrees that day on the 23rd, high, right? I know you don't work in Fahrenheit at the BBC, but that's almost when you see those people throw in boiling water and it freezes before they hit the ground. We are in that kind of territory, almost. And, yeah, I just think it spoke so well of us. We're imperfect, like every community. But man, I think we came out and we showed up in a way that I felt really proud to be a small part of.

Jill Riley: Talking with Dessa on The Current. Dessa, I'd like to get your point of view on this as a writer and an artist; there's been just this wave of new music responding to the moment in Minnesota, and whether it be from local artists, like Laamar has this great song that he felt inspired by the death of Renee Good, and he just wrote this beautiful piece of music to, artists like Bruce Springsteen writing this song the "Streets of Minneapolis." And then you've got U2, who have also been inspired by the moment in Minnesota. I think there's something really special about the way that art, and music as a form of art, has captured and almost documented these moments in history. I wonder if you could speak to that a little bit, and if you've been inspired to do any writing,

Dessa: Yeah, I think a lot about this sometimes, because you know when you feel called to do something, you're upset by the conditions that you find yourself in. I think probably, like a lot of musicians, I've wondered, is songwriting the best response to this? And I think sometimes, yeah, it's part of the best response. I don't think a song changes anything, but I think a song can be an emotive catalyst to make people want to change something. The reason that we listen to music at the gym. You know what I mean? It's because you get that lip curling surge of adrenaline that pushes you on for another five minutes, or you turn the stair master up to nine. We are physically affected. There's a philosopher, I think it was [David] Hume, who would talk about, the education of the sentiment. There's one thing to know something is messed up and wrong and needs to change. And it's another thing to feel deeply that something is wrong and messed up and needs to change. And it's usually that latter category of knowing, that prompts action, right? I think similarly we hear politicians talk in statistics, and then they always bring up like, "And here is little Timmy, and Timmy doesn't have insurance," right? They humanize it in an effort to connect it to the sentiment. And I think that's part of the service that music does. It's also just weird, hearing Springsteen sing the word Minneapolis is mad weird.

Jill Riley: Yeah, it is. And then to show up to Minneapolis and be on the stage at First Avenue to sing it, I mean I think that really hit home for a lot of people, and just to be moved knowing that so many people outside of the place we live are taking notice. Talking with Dessa on The Current this Sunday at the Dakota in Minneapolis, there's an early show and a late show. Lady Midnight will be there as well. Dessa, I know that you're making some plans for the rest of spring. You do have some other shows coming up in Minnesota. Well, I know that there's one in Mankato in April, and then you'll be headed to Eau Claire, Wisconsin. So you have some upcoming shows. And as I was looking at your schedule of when you're headed out on the road, we know that you have worked with the Minnesota Orchestra a couple times, but it looks like you're going to be doing something kind of similar out in Oregon. Do you want to talk about that? I thought that was a cool thing.

Dessa: Yeah. So I performed with Minnesota Orchestra several times, and for me, those are always highlights of the year. They're big productions. And we've got budget to do some rad stuff. I've been hoping to be able to take that show on the road, essentially. And so this will be my first big performance in the States, outside of Minnesota in an orchestral capacity. So I'll be bringing the same cast of singers that I usually work with, and Joey Van Phillips on drums will join as well. So I'm writing a new monolog currently, and I'm looking forward to that one this autumn.

Jill Riley: Okay, so Dessa with the Oregon Symphony, so that'll be really cool. I know you as someone who is a collaborator. You have a collaboration in the works with Insight Brewing Company. What are you brewing up, Dessa? What is this thing?

Dessa: I do. We have a project that'll be coming out in April, so very soon. And I can't quite share all the details yet, but this project will benefit the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, which is also true of the show that I have upcoming at the Dakota, that group has done an amazing — I cannot imagine the number of incoming calls that firm must be receiving. So it's been awesome to see so many people doing some fundraising, and I'm glad to be part of it, along with Insight, and we will have a bev to share.

Jill Riley: Okay, all right. Well, we'll keep our eye on it for next month. Dessa, singer, rapper, musician, writer and collaborator and community member, Dessa on The Current. Dessa, appreciate you and have a great spring and summer, and we'll see you again soon.

Dessa: Okay, thank you so much, Jill. All right, you are listening to The Current.

Credits

Guests – Dessa
Host – Jill Riley
Producer – Nilufer Arsala
Digital Producer - Natalia Toledo

External Link

Dessa – Official Website