Far from hip cultural hubs like New York and San Francisco, that homebase Minneapolis today appears to have been a free port for idiosyncratic musical developments. Aside from indie-rock (the aforementioned Replacements, First Avenue (the local AB, shall we say) all play an important role in this unique tale.

During the 2011-2012 season AB will present a series of concerts, film screenings, exhibitions and readings under the title ‘Minneapolis, Mon Amour’. First on is a concert by Twin/Tone Records is the common denominator in Minneapolis' musical history. Active in the punk- and rock scene from 1977 to 1994, the label was responsible for the (inter)national breakthrough of local performers like The Replacements, The Jayhawks, Babes In Toyland and Soul Asylum but later looked further than the city limits with performers like Ween, David Thomas and his Pere Ubu, and Jonathan Richman. The label was established by Peter Jesperson (who is currently still active with the New West label, see: Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle), Chris Osgood from the band The Suicide Commandos (that also resides there) and Paul Stark. The first release was a 9-track EP by The Suburbs that saw the light of day in 1978.

Even though a part of the catalogue was transferred to labels like Rykodisc, you can still order some releases via the website on custom-made CDs. Aside from the usual info, you can also find all sorts of treats (such as unique videos of a Replacements concert from 1981 in 7th Street Entry, the small annex of the First Avenue concert venue).


During the month of October AB will present a selection of album sleeves in the Agora (so it will be free for concert goers going to a show in the Main Hall).