Minnesota Original Music Festival launches its third year in St. Peter
Six songwriters gather for a Songwriters in the Round forum at the 2023 Minnesota Original Music Festival in St. Peter.
Courtesy of the Minnesota Original Music Festival
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Thursday night kicks off a unique summer music festival in southern Minnesota. It’s the third year of the Minnesota Original Music Festival in St. Peter and it features musicians from across the state.
The director of the festival, Eli Hoehn, joined Minnesota Now to play some local music and talk about how the festival has grown as the city gets ready to celebrate the Minnesota music scene.
The Minnesota Original Music Festival runs July 17-21. See the lineup here.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: Tomorrow night kicks off a unique summer music festival in southern Minnesota. It's the third year of the Minnesota Original Music Festival in St. Peter, and it features local musicians from across the state. Joining us right now is the director of the festival, Eli Hoehn, as the city gets ready to celebrate the Minnesota music scene. Eli, welcome. Thanks for taking the time. I'm sure you're terribly busy.
ELI HOEHN: Yes. Thank you, Cathy. Nice to be here.
CATHY WURZER: Likewise. Thanks for taking the time. Third year of the festival, I understand. It looks like it's grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years.
ELI HOEHN: Yeah, I think we try to identify the things that work and the things that don't work and make changes when we need to.
CATHY WURZER: How did you come up with this-- or I should say maybe it wasn't you specifically, but who came up with the idea of having this kind of homegrown music festival?
ELI HOEHN: Well, our area has a couple of really cool music festivals that I've been associated with a little bit. There's the Rock Band Folk Festival, for example. But I guess I'm coming at this from a slightly different perspective. This is actually a festival that's more about the people that are putting it on than about the people coming to watch it. It was intended to provide resources and opportunities for musicians and songwriters and composers in the state of Minnesota.
CATHY WURZER: Great. I love that. So it's an important to have a festival for folks who are actually participating in the industry. So you get to gather with other local musicians?
ELI HOEHN: Absolutely, we do.
CATHY WURZER: Good. I see you have a composers showcase. Now, that looks interesting.
ELI HOEHN: Yeah, this is the first year that we're doing this. And we have a jazz pianist from St. Paul, Larry McDonough. And it looked like I saw on Facebook today that there's an article that just is appearing in the Star Tribune about him. But Larry is a great talent.
He was involved with a project a few years ago, where he worked with some special needs children. They created some melodies. He took those melodies and made full compositions out of them. And so he is going to be talking about that process, and he will be playing the songs with his quartet.
CATHY WURZER: Are you a composer? Will you be performing at all. Do you compose, do you perform? What do you do?
ELI HOEHN: Yes and yes.
[CHUCKLING]
I'm a songwriter/composer, I guess. I'm playing with a group called The Quantum Mechanics. And so for this particular event, we have our new lead singer. Her name is Cara Lucille. So it'll be Cara Lucille on The Quantum Mechanics. And we dabble with subatomic particles and songs about them.
CATHY WURZER: Subatomic particles. I like that. I love your workshops too, and I thought one was quite interesting. The music industry post-COVID. What are you going to be talking about there?
ELI HOEHN: Well, that's a session that's going to be led by Scott Legare. And Scott is a well-known Minnesota Music educator. He was the chair, I believe, of the music department at Mankato State University down here a year or two ago. And he is going to be talking about where the music industry is headed. And that's what he does. He keeps track of those kinds of things. And the rest of us would like to know, so I'm going.
CATHY WURZER: Good. Well, what's your gut feel as to where the industry is going post-COVID? I mean, you're out there, you're performing.
ELI HOEHN: That's a really good question, and I'm really hoping that Scott has some answers for me.
[CHUCKLING]
CATHY WURZER: OK. We should listen to some music. I think that would be fantastic. We're going to listen to the band, The Orange Goodness. They have a song called Love, Life, and Lies. Let's play some of that.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(SINGING) Love, love, lies
Bella, bella
Love, life
CATHY WURZER: Hey, tell us about this band, The Orange Goodness.
ELI HOEHN: Well, I don't know a lot about The Orange Goodness, except that I really, really enjoyed their music. We have an application process that started on January 1st, and anybody who wants to perform at the festival can sign up to do it. They provide us with some songs and information.
And we have a number of groups of people who vet this. And every single one of them had The Orange Goodness on the top of their list. So they-- yeah, so I reached out to them, and we were able to get them on. So I'm really looking forward to, to hearing them live.
CATHY WURZER: Excellent. Well, as we're listening to them, I'm wondering. This festival is in St. Peter. And when we start talking about the music scene, we always think about the Twin Cities. But we have found here on this program that the music scene is really rich, not only, of course, in the Twin Cities, but all over the state of Minnesota. Southwestern Minnesota, southeastern Minnesota, Duluth. Does it kind of rankle you a little bit as a musician when people just kind of-- they're so metro-centric at times?
ELI HOEHN: Yeah, I think so. But it's also interesting that it seems like when you're at a certain level, and you're making money as a musician, it's a little different than when you're not quite there yet. I think it's very competitive trying to find venues in the cities to play at that pay you something that's measurable. And I think oftentimes, you can find better paying jobs out state.
But to get to your point, absolutely. It's very-- it does rankle me a little bit, but it's OK. It's just natural. People know what they know because it's in their yard and that's where they go. So that's part of why we have the Minnesota Original Music Festival is to expand that a little bit.
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, we are going to play another band here. This is The Big Wu with their song Minnesota Moon.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(SINGING) Look who just walked in the door
We've all seen your face before
It's time to settle up the score
Eat those promises you swore
Look who just walked in the door
CATHY WURZER: I like them. I like them a lot. Do you know anything about these guys?
ELI HOEHN: Well, they're a national touring band. They've been around, I think, since the 1990s. My understanding is that they come from the Northfield area, which isn't that far away from where we are actually. And yeah, they were brought to my attention. One of the musicians from the band, Mark Joseph, was performing in Mankato. And I got a chance to meet him and talk to him. And so it was-- yeah, what's the chance of getting the Big Wu to play at the Minnesota Regional Music Festival? And it turned out that it was a lot more possible than I thought.
CATHY WURZER: But remember, the answer is always no unless you ask. And you asked, and they said yes--
ELI HOEHN: That's true.
CATHY WURZER: --so that's great. [CHUCKLES] So--
ELI HOEHN: I'm not shy about asking.
CATHY WURZER: No, which is good. You need to do that. So this is four different venues. Is that right? So folks can check out music throughout the weekend at four different venues in St. Peter?
ELI HOEHN: Yeah, there's not four going at the same time, but we have venues throughout St. Peter. So we have-- this is the third year for our 48-hour band challenge that we're going to have. We have a new brewery in town, and they're going to be-- it's called Paddlefish Brewing.
They're going to be hosting the band draft, which is where all the musicians that have signed up get paired into groups, and they start the process. And then 48 hours later, they're going to be having a contest at Patrick's on 3rd, which is a fairly well known place in St. Peter, and that's where the actual contest is going to go on. So those are two of the venues.
We also have a really vibrant arts center, the Arts Center of St. Peter, and they are going to be hosting Larry McDonough's composers showcase. And they're also going to be hosting an event we call the songwriters in the round. And this year, that features a host, a local musician, Mal Murphy, who will be talking to Annie Mac, Vinny Donatelli, and a local guy named Kayla Brown Schultz.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, you got a lot going on. Eli, thanks for taking the time to talk to us about this, and really, have a great time.
ELI HOEHN: Thank you, Cathy. Thanks for having us, and hope you can make it down sometime.
CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. Eli Hoehn is the director of the Minnesota Original Music Festival. It's taking place tomorrow through Sunday in St. Peter, and it is free. Busy day again today. Wow.
Tell you what, we've got a heck of a show here. In case you missed anything on the program, we have a podcast for you. Just check it out wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now here on MPR News.
ELI HOEHN: Yes. Thank you, Cathy. Nice to be here.
CATHY WURZER: Likewise. Thanks for taking the time. Third year of the festival, I understand. It looks like it's grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years.
ELI HOEHN: Yeah, I think we try to identify the things that work and the things that don't work and make changes when we need to.
CATHY WURZER: How did you come up with this-- or I should say maybe it wasn't you specifically, but who came up with the idea of having this kind of homegrown music festival?
ELI HOEHN: Well, our area has a couple of really cool music festivals that I've been associated with a little bit. There's the Rock Band Folk Festival, for example. But I guess I'm coming at this from a slightly different perspective. This is actually a festival that's more about the people that are putting it on than about the people coming to watch it. It was intended to provide resources and opportunities for musicians and songwriters and composers in the state of Minnesota.
CATHY WURZER: Great. I love that. So it's an important to have a festival for folks who are actually participating in the industry. So you get to gather with other local musicians?
ELI HOEHN: Absolutely, we do.
CATHY WURZER: Good. I see you have a composers showcase. Now, that looks interesting.
ELI HOEHN: Yeah, this is the first year that we're doing this. And we have a jazz pianist from St. Paul, Larry McDonough. And it looked like I saw on Facebook today that there's an article that just is appearing in the Star Tribune about him. But Larry is a great talent.
He was involved with a project a few years ago, where he worked with some special needs children. They created some melodies. He took those melodies and made full compositions out of them. And so he is going to be talking about that process, and he will be playing the songs with his quartet.
CATHY WURZER: Are you a composer? Will you be performing at all. Do you compose, do you perform? What do you do?
ELI HOEHN: Yes and yes.
[CHUCKLING]
I'm a songwriter/composer, I guess. I'm playing with a group called The Quantum Mechanics. And so for this particular event, we have our new lead singer. Her name is Cara Lucille. So it'll be Cara Lucille on The Quantum Mechanics. And we dabble with subatomic particles and songs about them.
CATHY WURZER: Subatomic particles. I like that. I love your workshops too, and I thought one was quite interesting. The music industry post-COVID. What are you going to be talking about there?
ELI HOEHN: Well, that's a session that's going to be led by Scott Legare. And Scott is a well-known Minnesota Music educator. He was the chair, I believe, of the music department at Mankato State University down here a year or two ago. And he is going to be talking about where the music industry is headed. And that's what he does. He keeps track of those kinds of things. And the rest of us would like to know, so I'm going.
CATHY WURZER: Good. Well, what's your gut feel as to where the industry is going post-COVID? I mean, you're out there, you're performing.
ELI HOEHN: That's a really good question, and I'm really hoping that Scott has some answers for me.
[CHUCKLING]
CATHY WURZER: OK. We should listen to some music. I think that would be fantastic. We're going to listen to the band, The Orange Goodness. They have a song called Love, Life, and Lies. Let's play some of that.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(SINGING) Love, love, lies
Bella, bella
Love, life
CATHY WURZER: Hey, tell us about this band, The Orange Goodness.
ELI HOEHN: Well, I don't know a lot about The Orange Goodness, except that I really, really enjoyed their music. We have an application process that started on January 1st, and anybody who wants to perform at the festival can sign up to do it. They provide us with some songs and information.
And we have a number of groups of people who vet this. And every single one of them had The Orange Goodness on the top of their list. So they-- yeah, so I reached out to them, and we were able to get them on. So I'm really looking forward to, to hearing them live.
CATHY WURZER: Excellent. Well, as we're listening to them, I'm wondering. This festival is in St. Peter. And when we start talking about the music scene, we always think about the Twin Cities. But we have found here on this program that the music scene is really rich, not only, of course, in the Twin Cities, but all over the state of Minnesota. Southwestern Minnesota, southeastern Minnesota, Duluth. Does it kind of rankle you a little bit as a musician when people just kind of-- they're so metro-centric at times?
ELI HOEHN: Yeah, I think so. But it's also interesting that it seems like when you're at a certain level, and you're making money as a musician, it's a little different than when you're not quite there yet. I think it's very competitive trying to find venues in the cities to play at that pay you something that's measurable. And I think oftentimes, you can find better paying jobs out state.
But to get to your point, absolutely. It's very-- it does rankle me a little bit, but it's OK. It's just natural. People know what they know because it's in their yard and that's where they go. So that's part of why we have the Minnesota Original Music Festival is to expand that a little bit.
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, we are going to play another band here. This is The Big Wu with their song Minnesota Moon.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(SINGING) Look who just walked in the door
We've all seen your face before
It's time to settle up the score
Eat those promises you swore
Look who just walked in the door
CATHY WURZER: I like them. I like them a lot. Do you know anything about these guys?
ELI HOEHN: Well, they're a national touring band. They've been around, I think, since the 1990s. My understanding is that they come from the Northfield area, which isn't that far away from where we are actually. And yeah, they were brought to my attention. One of the musicians from the band, Mark Joseph, was performing in Mankato. And I got a chance to meet him and talk to him. And so it was-- yeah, what's the chance of getting the Big Wu to play at the Minnesota Regional Music Festival? And it turned out that it was a lot more possible than I thought.
CATHY WURZER: But remember, the answer is always no unless you ask. And you asked, and they said yes--
ELI HOEHN: That's true.
CATHY WURZER: --so that's great. [CHUCKLES] So--
ELI HOEHN: I'm not shy about asking.
CATHY WURZER: No, which is good. You need to do that. So this is four different venues. Is that right? So folks can check out music throughout the weekend at four different venues in St. Peter?
ELI HOEHN: Yeah, there's not four going at the same time, but we have venues throughout St. Peter. So we have-- this is the third year for our 48-hour band challenge that we're going to have. We have a new brewery in town, and they're going to be-- it's called Paddlefish Brewing.
They're going to be hosting the band draft, which is where all the musicians that have signed up get paired into groups, and they start the process. And then 48 hours later, they're going to be having a contest at Patrick's on 3rd, which is a fairly well known place in St. Peter, and that's where the actual contest is going to go on. So those are two of the venues.
We also have a really vibrant arts center, the Arts Center of St. Peter, and they are going to be hosting Larry McDonough's composers showcase. And they're also going to be hosting an event we call the songwriters in the round. And this year, that features a host, a local musician, Mal Murphy, who will be talking to Annie Mac, Vinny Donatelli, and a local guy named Kayla Brown Schultz.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, you got a lot going on. Eli, thanks for taking the time to talk to us about this, and really, have a great time.
ELI HOEHN: Thank you, Cathy. Thanks for having us, and hope you can make it down sometime.
CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. Eli Hoehn is the director of the Minnesota Original Music Festival. It's taking place tomorrow through Sunday in St. Peter, and it is free. Busy day again today. Wow.
Tell you what, we've got a heck of a show here. In case you missed anything on the program, we have a podcast for you. Just check it out wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now here on MPR News.
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