Nick Elstad of the band Winona band Sleeping Jesus spoke with host Nilufer Arsala about the fourth annual Sleepy Weekend Festival, happening Saturday, Nov. 7 at The Hook & Ladder in Minneapolis.

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

Interview Transcript

Nilufer Arsala: You're listening to The Current's Morning Show, I'm Nilufer Arsala. Sleepy Weekend brings together artists from across Minnesota for a one-night celebration of indie rock, and for the first time this year, it's coming to Minneapolis. The one-day fest is put on by Winona band Sleeping Jesus, and it'll be at the Hook and Ladder on Saturday. Joining me to talk about it is Nick Elstad from the group Sleeping Jesus. Nick, welcome to The Current's Morning Show.

Nick Elstad: Hey, thank you so much for having me.

Nilufer Arsala: Well, tell me about the story of Sleepy Weekend. What was the first year of this event?

Nick Elstad: Sure. So this will be the fourth year, actually year one through three. We held in Winona, Minnesota, and that's where the band started. And our kind of favorite place down there to play is No Name Bar, so we've held it down there the last three years. And then, kind of slowly over time, I moved up to Minneapolis in 2020. Ty, our drummer, moved up a few years ago, and our newest bassist, Alex Schaaf, he lives in Minneapolis too. So now, with more of the band being in town, it just seemed like kind of a natural progression to give it a go up here for the first time.

Nilufer Arsala: Yeah, and Sleepy Weekend will be at the Hook and Ladder on Saturday, and that's one of the changes that has come to the festival. But there's more also. Can you talk about some of the other things that are new for Sleepy Weekend this year?

Nick Elstad: Ah, yeah, sure. So we've always done it on just one stage. This year, there's going to be two stages, and music is going to be pretty much nonstop the entire day, which is going to be really fun. I guess I should say evening. But in years past, it was a two-day festival because of the one-stage situation. Just made more sense so it could squeeze in enough bands. But now having the option to use The Hook and Ladder space, we have two stages, and then actually a smaller stage where DJ SumthynSumthyn is going to be spinning in between sets. So that's going to be really really fun to kind of have like just space for people to hang out and chill while bands are getting set up, and not have to go anywhere. It's in November, so it might be a little chilly outside. So we can all kind of just hunker down at The Hook.

Nilufer Arsala: And that's one of the things I noticed is that those set times are staggered because there is two stages. So yeah, you're talking all day long.

Nick Elstad: Yeah. So you might catch 20 minutes of one band, pop in, catch another 20 of the other band, then hear DJ SumthynSumthyn for a little bit, and you can just kind of keep moving around all day.

Nilufer Arsala: You're listening to The Current's Morning Show, I'm Nilufer Arsala, talking with Nick Elstad from the band Sleeping Jesus. The group is putting on their Sleepy Weekend Festival this Saturday at the Hook and Ladder. Well, Nick, let's talk about the lineup for Sleepy Weekend this year because there's some really familiar names I saw, and there's also some that are a little bit less familiar to me. But it's really stacked. How'd you put this together?

Nick Elstad: Yeah, kind of a lot of thought between the rest of the band and I. We wanted to showcase some Winona friends that have been a part of the music scene that we came from, and that we also wanted to showcase some of our friends in Minneapolis. So there's a few bands that have played the fest before. There's a few bands that have never played it before. So we really just wanted to show a wide variety of genres and pull people from a few different music scenes to try to make an eclectic day.

Nilufer Arsala: Yeah, and so when I'm looking at the lineup, I'm seeing Molly Brandt, anni xo, Harlow, of course, Sleeping Jesus is headlining the whole thing. Talk to me about some of the groups from Winona.

Nick Elstad: Sure. So Sugar Lads, they're actually going to kick off the festival in the theater. They are a great group of folks down in Winona. I think they started around maybe a little before COVID happened, but they've been so supportive of us as a band, and they are just so much fun to watch. And they put on a great show. I think it's going to be the perfect way to start off the festival. We're not easing into it. They're gonna come out with a bang for sure. So that's really exciting. And then another person who, kind of has some Winona roots, but is more of an Iowa guy originally, is Simon Cropp. He's kind of a troubadour, he's all over the place. He plays in town. Plays all around all over the country, and he actually just moved to the Winona area, so it's kind of cool that he's down there now. And our friend DJ SumthynSumthyn is from Winona too. So those are kind of the Winona connections. And then Molly Brandt has played in the past. Kiernan has played in the past. Sugar Lads played it in the past. Harlow has played in the past, so we are bringing a lot of what would you say veterans to Sleepy Weekend back, which is really fun.

Nilufer Arsala: Yeah, and I really like how the lineup really is Twin Cities talent and Winona talent together. What was the mission when you very first started, or when the band very first started Sleepy Weekend, this two day festival in Winona? What was the purpose of it back then?

Nick Elstad: At the end of the day, really just getting together with our friends and getting to put on a show that we also want to see. So often, I feel like you get to play with one or two bands on a bill, and it's really fun to just pick seven, eight, nine, ten bands that you love from your state and just put on a show with them, see who their friends are. It's kind of a big family gathering almost. So that's why we started it, and that's why we keep doing it.

Nilufer Arsala: So your band Sleeping Jesus is closing out Sleepy Weekend. If someone has never been to Sleepy Weekend before, and if they've never seen Sleeping Jesus, what can they expect both at the festival and from a Sleeping Jesus show?

Nick Elstad: We always try to make it the most friendly environment that we can. Everybody is welcome. We kind of are a genre-hopping band, so the festival is genre-hopping, I should say. So it's eclectic, and that's really what we wanted to showcase. If you like country music, you're going to see a little country. If you like indie rock, you're gonna see a little indie rock. You're gonna see a little hip-hop. So there's a little bit for everybody, and the sets aren't super long, so things are gonna keep moving. So you're gonna just get to take in a lot of music that you maybe wouldn't have heard otherwise in a short setting.

Nilufer Arsala: And you think Sleepy Weekend's gonna stay in the Twin Cities moving forward?

Nick Elstad: I hope so. It's really nice for me being a Minneapolis resident now to have it just a few miles from my house. I have a young daughter and wife, and I'm hoping they can stop in for a little bit. It just makes it a lot easier for us. Since moving up here, I've slowly gotten to meet more and more people, which has been great, and you Minneapolis is really starting to feel like my community now too. So I hope that we can keep growing it in Minneapolis.

Nilufer Arsala: Well, Nick Elstad is the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist in Winona group Sleeping Jesus. The band is the force behind Sleepy Weekend, which is happening this Saturday at the Hook and Ladder in Minneapolis. Nick, how can people learn more?

Nick Elstad: They can go to thehookmpls.com, and you can find the whole lineup there. A little info about each band, and you'll even find the set times for all the bands, and whether they're playing in the Zen Arcade or the theater, along with other info that's important. So that's the best place to go.

Nilufer Arsala: Well, Nick Elstad is the lead singer, songwriter, and a guitarist in the group Sleeping Jesus. The band is the force behind Sleepy Weekend, which is happening this Saturday at the Hook and Ladder in Minneapolis. You can also learn more about the festival at The Current's gig list at thecurrent.org/giglist. And since Sleeping Jesus will be headlining Sleepy Weekend, let's go out with the song Caroline. Nick, can you help me set this one up?

Nick Elstad: Yeah, sure thing. I've spoken a little bit how we genre hop this kind. This song is kind of a more of a folky Americana song. This was on our last record, Shotgun, that came out in 2025.

Nilufer Arsala: And Nick, thanks for joining me today on The Current.

Nick Elstad: Thanks for having me.

Credits

Guests – Nick Elstad
Host – Nilufer Arsala
Producer – Nilufer Arsala
Digital Producer - Natalia Toledo

External Links

Sleeping Jesus - Official Website
The Hook & Ladder – Official Website