S5, E23: Travel to Listen: The Minneapolis Sound and Prince

Welcome to “Travel to Listen,” a brand new Unpacked collection hosted by veteran music journalist Tim Chester. Over 4 episodes rolling out each different week, Tim takes us into the cities the place music is greater than leisure—it’s the shortcut to a spot’s soul.

This week, he heads to Minneapolis to listen to how a neighborhood heart, a chilly local weather, and a once-in-a-generation genius mixed to create probably the most distinctive sounds in American music, plus how town is celebrating a decade since Prince’s passing.

Transcript

Some folks need to die to allow them to be free.

Tim Chester: I’m Tim Chester, that is Unpacked: Travel to Listen and that’s “Controversy” by Prince, a basic Minneapolis soundtrack. As a journey and tradition author and editor, I’ve all the time beloved music. In reality, I’ve spent the previous 20 years exploring the world by the lens of music, as a reporter for magazines like NME, Spin and Afar. I’ve traveled to a few of the world’s finest festivals and music scenes in all places from Manhattan to Malawi and Beijing to Berlin.

One factor I discovered fairly rapidly: music actually is a shortcut to a metropolis’s soul. And on this new unpacked collection, we’re going to take that shortcut collectively. We’ll be discovering the soulful sounds of Macon, Georgia, getting misplaced in music with the desert rockers of California, and listening to about large information at Detroit’s Motown Museum.

On this episode, we’re heading to Minneapolis.

What time is it?

Tim: It’s time to get funky. In the late Nineteen Seventies and early Nineteen Eighties, one thing particular occurred in Minneapolis. A bunch of artists coalesced within the metropolis and created a model new sound. An energetic mix of R&B and pop, and a hearty dose of funk that turned often called the Minneapolis Sound.

Like a Queen.

Tim: Key artists included The Time, Morris Day, Sheila E and, in fact, Prince. Prince handed away in 2016, however this 12 months town will likely be partying prefer it’s 1984, with a ton of celebrations and occasions to mark the tenth anniversary of his demise. And even for those who can’t go to in 2026, there are many methods to revisit the Prince legacy and uncover that the Minneapolis sound is alive and kicking. One of the folks devoted to honoring his legacy is his former bandmate and collaborator Paul Peterson.

If I have been a wealthy man.

Tim: Dubbed Saint Paul by the Purple One, he’s the chief of an all star band referred to as the Minneapolis Funk All Stars.

Paul Peterson: We are an All Prince alumni supergroup, I assume you’d name it. It definitely isn’t a tribute as a result of we have been there. We have been all elements of the bands that he had, together with The Revolution, The Time which I used to be in, The Family that I used to be in. A variety of us have been in Purple Rain, The New Power Generation and Mint Condition, as nicely within the Paisley Park House band.

Tim: The Minneapolis Funk All-Stars placed on a terrific reside present. Check out their variations of Prince’s “1999” and “When Doves Cry” on YouTube for proof. It may simply be the subsequent neatest thing to seeing Prince reside, and the band is having a riot holding the legacy alive.

Paul: Prince might be the Mozart of our time, so far as I’m involved. I simply occur to be fortunate sufficient to witness him in his factor on the peak of his creativity through the Purple Rain years for me, I used to be 17, 18 years outdated, and it was the very best school I may have ever gone to. And what he didn’t essentially say to me, however he taught me, was the way to produce a file, the way to manage a band, the way to model a band. So many various issues that individuals pay a lot cash to go be taught at these music schools. It’s simply my responsibility at this level to make it possible for all these classes that we discovered are carried on from technology to technology. And, you understand, unfold the phrase of the sound that Prince created as a result of it’s joyous, it’s funky, and it makes you progress.

Tim: Minneapolis has had a tough 12 months, however Paul is an enormous believer within the energy of music to deliver folks collectively.

Paul: Our goal is to deliver unity and therapeutic by the Minneapolis Sound. We had a live performance that we have been contemplating canceling due to the homicide of Alex Pretti, and our followers reached out to insist and say, No, no, no, no, don’t cancel. Please don’t cancel. So we didn’t. And we actually carried out at a gorgeous venue referred to as the Green Room, which might be a mile away from the place Alex was killed. And the entire level was to deliver a therapeutic to the neighborhood and supply a service for the neighborhood, as a result of it’s actually the one time, the one factor we are able to appear to agree on is music. And to have the ability to do this for our neighborhood was so necessary to us.

Do you’re feeling what I really feel?

Tim: The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul are nicely price a go to. There are parks and lakes galore and a few world class cultural spots just like the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Minneapolis was even ranked prime in a listing of happiest cities within the U.S. in 2024. If you’re trying to hear some reside music within the metropolis, Paul has the guidelines.

Paul: You must go to Bunkers on Sunday or Monday nights to listen to the combo, Doctor Mambo’s Combo. Prince used to go down there on a regular basis.

Tim: That’s Bunker’s Music Bar and Grill within the historic North Loop. Doctor Mambo’s Combo play each week. Check out their tremendous funky tackle Rufus and Chaka Khan’s Tell Me Something Good on YouTube if you would like a taster.

Tell me one thing good.

Paul: Of course there’s The Dakota, a terrific jazz bar that’s been round for many years that I performed at, Prince has performed at, and all of the proteges have performed at, and so many extra venues which might be scattered round.

Tim: The Dakota is an intimate venue downtown with a packed calendar each night time of the week, and there are many newer acts taking to the stage and holding issues vigorous.

Paul: This simply won’t ever cease being a hotbed for musicians. There’s a younger man by the identify of LA Buckner. And he’s acquired a band referred to as Big Homie. He is extremely proficient, extremely optimistic, and performs so nice. He’s a drummer.

David Feeley is one other younger man who’s simply crushing it. And in fact, Cory Wong, he’s a little bit bit older than these guys, and Cory Wong has been doing so nicely, and he’s considered one of considered one of our expensive pals. And it’s so enjoyable to observe his meteoric rise over the previous few years.

Plenty of expertise right here, Dylan Sulfur. Great nice blues artist. He might need simply moved out of city, but when he’s, uh, occurs to be enjoying right here, you must test him out. Chris Lawrence, Alex Rossi, the checklist goes on and on.

Tim: Check out the present notes for hyperlinks to all of the folks Paul is speaking about. So what’s it about Minneapolis that made it such a crucible for expertise?

Paul: Because it’s too chilly right here and it retains the Prince mentioned it retains the unhealthy folks out. But really what it does is it retains us within the studio creating as a result of we don’t need to go outdoors.

Tim: Paul’s joking, in fact. In reality, there have been a bunch of interconnected elements that led to the start of the Minneapolis sound. After the break, we’ll be listening to from an skilled on the way it all went down.

Kristen Schloemer is aware of just about all there may be to find out about Prince. She’s the co-founder of the International Center for Prince Studies. She provides guided excursions of Prince’s Minneapolis, and he or she’s launched Sound Around Tours, an app that gives self-guided excursions of town. For her, Prince is private.

Kristen Schloemer: You know, after Prince died, I used to be type of left with a way of sorrow. He was such an necessary a part of my life rising up. You know, after I grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota. Great place. But I prefer to joke that we had each sorts of music, nation and western. Right? So when MTV got here on and I began getting uncovered to, you understand, New Wave artists, London artists, all that, it opened up an entire new world for me. And then when Prince appeared, I used to be similar to, who is that this magnificent being so proficient, so stunning, beloved his music. And then after I fouWelcome to “Travel to Listen,” a brand new Unpacked collection hosted by veteran music journalist Tim Chester. Over 4 episodes rolling out each different week, Tim takes us into the cities the place music is greater than leisure—it’s the shortcut to a spot’s soul.

This week, he heads to Minneapolis to listen to how a neighborhood heart, a chilly local weather, and a once-in-a-generation genius mixed to create probably the most distinctive sounds in American music, plus how town is celebrating a decade since Prince’s passing.nd out he was from Minneapolis, you understand, I used to be like, oh my God, he’s like my neighbor. That’s so cool.

Tim: Any encounter with Prince is fairly memorable. I bear in mind seeing him play on an enormous stage formed like his well-known image at London’s O2 enviornment, and it was an unforgettable present. Kristen needed to honor his legacy and he or she had the proper background for it.

Kristen: My day job, I’m a historian and I do initiatives the place I’m making an attempt to determine the place are there historic locations, issues that might be worthy of recognition to the National Register of Historic Places. So I began researching the place he was, when he was there, and I put collectively this very in-depth doc and tracked over 50 totally different areas that Prince lived at, labored at, recorded at, all through his life right here in Minneapolis or Minnesota. And that work corrected loads of narratives that individuals had about Prince. And so I actually needed to get the knowledge on the market. So I, I do do private excursions and in-person excursions, however once more, eager to have it’s extra accessible. That’s type of what led us into telling this story.

Tim: Kristen doesn’t simply inform the story of Prince. She explains how the entire funk pop style emerged because of plenty of various factors.

Kristen: The story of the Minneapolis Sound and the entire funk scene is simply, to me, actually unbelievable. It is that this final result of African Americans transferring to the Minneapolis space as a part of the Great Migration, fleeing the South, and loads of the oppression, solely to return right here and discover a totally different sort of segregation by housing covenants and redlining districts. But but you, you understand, this unbelievable music type of comes out of that have, this mixing of soul, jazz, funk with a heavy rock factor that, you understand, was very dominant right here within the Twin Cities.

Tim: Like a lot of the nation, Minneapolis went by a interval of unrest within the 60s.

Kristen: There have been some riots in north Minneapolis in 1966 and 1967, the place African Americans have been annoyed by, you understand, the shortage of financial progress and alternatives. So it boils over into some protests, the National Guard being referred to as in. And whereas not quite a bit modified substantively, one factor that got here out of that was the creation of a neighborhood heart referred to as The Way, they usually provided all types of packages for folks, for African Americans residing right here. But one factor they’d was a home band they usually had musical devices. So folks like Prince, Terry Lewis, Morris Day, Andreas Monk may go in and be taught to play these totally different devices, but additionally jam with some older musicians like Sonny Thompson.

Tim: That was actually a catalyst for the scene, however the media panorama of the time performed an enormous half, too.

Kristen: Because it was such a predominantly white neighborhood, there was loads of rock music stations, however not loads of black music radio stations. There have been packages, however not essentially absolutely devoted radio packages. So you had loads of these musicians rising up on Santana and Led Zeppelin. And so that actually turned a part of that crucible.

Wanna complete lot of affection. Wanna complete lot of affection.

Kristen: I feel once we take a look at the choice rock that got here out of teams like Hüskär Dü and The Replacements, it was additionally issues like, we had some file shops right here, the Electric Fetus, that have been bringing in loads of new wave music from New York, punk music from London. And in order that additionally turned a part of The Crucible. But sure, such as you mentioned, too, venues have been critically necessary. Jay’s Longhorn was actually the birthplace of that, you understand, Minneapolis alt music scene. First Avenue, by its varied iterations, was bringing in nationwide acts, but additionally giving a platform for native acts. So there are loads of issues that simply all type of got here collectively at the moment to result in these totally different musical genres being developed right here.

Tim: Many of the important thing historic venues have disappeared or modified. In reality, Kristen says that the primary recording studio Prince labored at is now an insurance coverage company and The Way neighborhood heart closed, however there are different neighborhood initiatives on supply.

Kristen: There is a gaggle referred to as Purple Playground, which works with loads of the artists who’re a part of the Minneapolis Sound, and each summer time they’ve a session the place college students can be taught the engineering aspect of issues, musical aspect of issues, songwriting.

Tim: There are nonetheless some important stops on any Prince pilgrimage. Paisley Park, his dwelling and studio, is the apparent first port of name. And then there are the lesser identified areas, unassuming locations with loads of significance. Lots of them function on Kristen’s excursions, and he or she’s really labored in the direction of getting two of them added to the National Register of Historic Places. One of them is Prince’s childhood Home, a single story constructing in north Minneapolis.

Kristen: It’s the place he mastered the piano, the place he actually began his craft of songwriting. He talked about in his stunning however tragically brief autobiography that he was engaged on on the time of his demise, that a terrific day for him was going to the file store, getting an album, going dwelling, enjoying it on the turntable behind him whereas he found out the chording, after which additionally found out the lyrics and never simply the phrases that individuals have been saying, however the phrasing, how lengthy they held to notice the areas in between. So he was solely devoted to doing that work at this home.

Tim: The second is the Sound80 studio the place Prince labored within the late 70s.

Kristen: It was the premier recording studio right here in Minneapolis. It’s the place he recorded the demo tapes that acquired him his Warner Brothers contract when he was 19 and likewise, as he mentioned, acquired hip to Polymoog and Linn drum machines, synthesizers and issues that have been actually coming into style and have become a lot part of his sound aesthetic. He actually began working with these at that location.

Tim: You can hear Prince utilizing the Polymoog on tracks like “I Want to Be Your Lover,” significantly within the latter half of the music. Kristen is presently making an attempt to get a 3rd place added to the National Register. First Avenue, a music venue that you simply may acknowledge.

Kristen: He made it well-known along with his 1984 film Purple Rain, however he additionally recorded the music Purple Rain. The first time it was ever carried out was carried out on the venue.

Purple rain. Purple rain.

Tim: First Avenue calls itself your downtown danceteria since 1970. The Minneapolis Sound continues to at the present time and there are a bunch of musicians to take a look at.

Kristen: We have up and coming artists like Nerdy or None Above, which is a gaggle of 4 siblings who’re type of persevering with that that custom too. So it’s, you understand, we’re very blessed right here to have a terrific public radio station referred to as the Current. And they’ve a Purple Current reside stream, which performs Prince music and music that, you understand, he was impressed by an artists who have been impressed by him. They even have a gig checklist. So folks can actually take a look at like who’s performing the place. And it’s outstanding. There’s simply there are such a lot of concert events occurring on a regular basis right here within the Twin Cities.

Tim: 2026 is a particular 12 months. It marks a decade since Prince’s passing.

Kristen: Celebration is an annual occasion that the Prince Estate places on this 12 months. It’s going to be a five-day occasion, I feel, June 3–7, and there will likely be quite a lot of concert events, dance events, you understand, unseen footage. It’s a good time.

Tim: Kristen recommends Prince followers and anybody who desires to be taught extra concerning the music of Minneapolis to return early. Her group, the International Center for Prince Studies, additionally holds conferences and fan occasions and has some programming deliberate for June 1 and a couple of. And considered one of her curator pals is opening a brand new museum within the north of town.

Kristen: And it actually displays on folks’s tales round Prince. So it’s not like, right here’s Prince’s guitar. It’s right here’s the outfit I used to be sporting the night time Prince pulled me onto stage to bounce with him. So it’s actually type of inverting that curatorial lens, and it’s a very smart way to consider Prince’s affect and why his fan base is so large and so robust.

Tim: I needed to ask Kristen if there was one music that sums up town, what wouldn’t it be?

Kristen: Rock and roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis. That’s a great one.

Rock n roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis. Rock n roll is alive. Rock n roll is alive.

Tim: To be taught extra about this 12 months’s celebrations and the Minneapolis Sound, take a look at the present notes. We’ve included hyperlinks to the music venues and musicians, and a playlist in your subsequent flight or highway journey.

This has been Unpacked: Travel to Listen, a manufacturing of Afar Media. This present is part of the Airwave Media Podcast Network. The podcast was produced by Aislyn Greene, Nikki Galteland and me, Tim Chester. Music composition by Chris Colin. I’ll be again in two weeks exploring the spacy, grungy desert rock scene in Southern California and discovering on the market’s hundreds extra to the area than Coachella.

See you then.