Recap & photos: Hippo Campus play their last show for "a second" at Turf Club

October 20, 2026

Hippo Campus performed at Turf Club on Monday, October 19.Sara Fish for MPR

“This is like the weirdest birthday party ever,” Hippo Campus frontman Jake Luppen said jokingly at the Turf Club on Monday night. The line alluding to the gathering of friends, family, and fans may have sounded confusing to people not familiar with the singer’s recent public revelations about his life. In short: Luppen is taking a break from the band to focus on his health.

Hippo Campus have been a staple in Minnesota music over the past decade. After jumping into the local scene in 2015 with their sunny, indie-rock debut EP Bashful Creatures, the First-Avenue-star-awarded band has grown an international following while retaining roots in the Twin Cities.

Hippo Campus performing on stage — Hippo Campus performed at Turf Club on Monday, October 19.
Sara Fish for MPR

Those on the Gen Z/Millennial cusp who were in touch with local music during early adulthood have distinct memories about the band’s rise.

“[I] listened to their Landmark album nonstop in college,” Anne Guttridge recalls. “Every time I play it, I’m brought right back to my study spot in the college library.”

Amanda Erickson feels similarly: “My freshman year of college was 2016-17, and I think I saw them five times. It was ‘Vines,’ ‘Suicide Saturday’ blaring everywhere.”

Gretchen Brown first heard Hippo Campus on The Current. “I specifically remember Jill Riley saying, ‘This band was so young their friends couldn’t get into the venues,’” she says. (Guttridge and Brown work for Minnesota Public Radio.)

So of course, fans jumped into the ticket website’s queue for the hometown show announced just five days prior to the performance. In front of an intimate crowd at the Turf Club, the band spent two hours previewing unreleased music and playing classics that had the room’s floor bouncing with excitement.

Fans holding up heart-shaped signs — Music fans show their appreciation for Hippo Campus at Turf Club on Monday, October 19.
Sara Fish for MPR

You may be wondering, why is a band that sold out the Armory, a 8,400 person venue, in 2022 playing a significantly smaller (350-person capacity) bar in St. Paul?

The last-minute show announcement came in the wake of Jake Luppen’s public statement regarding an upcoming brain surgery. In Instagram and Substack posts, the singer detailed a history of neurological complications that have led to the necessary removal of a slow-growing tumor. “We’re playing a show at Turf Club to rage for one last time before I’m on my ass for a few months,” he wrote.

In the bar downstairs before the show, Hippo Campus percussionist DeCarlo Jackson seemed concerned for his friend and told me to expect brain surgery jokes from Luppen later. Surprisingly, the singer only gave a subtle onstage nod to the situation, telling the crowd not to worry; his sweat was not a result of the brain tumor.

Still, a sense of unease lingered throughout the night. Guitarist Nathan Stocker became serious during the encore and took a moment to tell Luppen the band members are proud of him. The statement may have seemed cryptic to anyone unfamiliar with the singer’s medical condition.

In light of uncertainty, Luppen spent the show in buoyant spirits. Bouncing onstage with various guitars, his face lit up with the usual expressiveness ranging from joyful to pouty. A look of anguish on his face when he sang, “I’m going to kill you / With this guitar” on the opening track quickly faded into a grin at the close.

The first portion of the set included nine unreleased songs for the audience to nibble on as a sneak peek to an upcoming album. Jackson says the LP is complete — though he hasn’t listened to it yet. And he’s not in the loop about the release date.

Although Luppen admitted the group hadn’t rehearsed, their performance said otherwise, and the musicians appeared polished. The new material didn’t include significant surprises or unpredictable genre change-ups, fitting smoothly into the Hippo Campus catalog of indie rock with catchy pop sensibilities. Occasionally, opening chords would hint at older songs, then expand into fresh work.

The unreleased tracks featured Luppen’s expansive voice, from deep, breathy vocals, to higher pitched choral releases. Luppen opted for fuzzy guitar strings more like radio static than an instrument on a blazing rock track. A slower, almost folky, track twinkled like “Monsoon” from Landmark. Zach Sutton held down the sturdy basslines, Whistler Allen experimented with new drums, and synthesizer loops from Samuel Calvo Rosenstone’s keyboard provided texture.

Jackson’s brass and percussion role can’t be overstated. The musician’s trumpet notes in the majority of old and new tracks added a regal accessory and tied together the band's signature sound. Many songs wouldn’t sound complete without the instrument’s shine.

The band couldn’t put on a show without at least a few tunes that mark listeners’ memories from a decade ago — like “South,” “Way It Goes,” and “Buttercup.” “Bashful Creatures” was the first recognizable song in the set, and it created a sonically fitting vibe within the context of the new music. Among the deep cuts, Luppen selected another from the debut EP, “Opportunistic,” to return to the youthful glow of the band’s beginning.

Favorites from a bit more recently came from 2022’s LP3 that ushered in electronic components. Luppen modulated his vocals, and reverb rang out for a skin-tingling “Bang Bang.” The album’s “Boys” showcased the band’s most dreamy and dancey era.

Toward the end of the show, Stocker asked, “Is this anyone’s first Hippo show?” Only a few cheers came from the back of the room.

“Rest assured I will work as hard as I can to get back onstage asap,” Luppen wrote in the social media posts. Monday night, he followed up with optimism: “Really appreciate all the support all those years… We’ll be back.”

(Writer’s note: I had a similar neurological condition to what Luppen outlined, and I can sense his determination. As someone who had a brain lesion, plus an amygdala and a small part of a hippocampus removed, people ask me if I feel like a different person with less brain. I do, but likely more because of the personal growth I’ve experienced in the years since the surgery. I have a new mindset not just because of a physically altered neurological makeup, but because of a more comfortable everyday life.)

During the encore on “Warm Glow,” Luppen sang, “Arm's length, shoulders wide / Looking for a fight / Peace sign, getting by / People, we'll be alright,” with an intense look in his eyes. He gave one more, “We’ll be back,” before exiting the stage. Fans will certainly be waiting.

Gallery: Hippo Campus at the Turf Club

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