By Jim Walsh
I had a great conversation during my cut with my barber-slash-nephew Matt last weekend. As the Uptown Art Fair burbled outside his shop, we dove into our philosophies and philosopher heroes. We talked about our lives as seekers and came to the conclusion that we actually do find answers to our essential existential questions. Hours later, I came across a quote from Ken Kesey that inadvertently explains our hunger for music:
“The answer is never the answer. What’s really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of the answer, you’ll always be seeking. I’ve never seen anybody really find the answer, but they think they have. So, they stop thinking. But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer.”
Which brings us to the mission of this column. For me, songs are one of our greatest portals to mystery. Which could be said of any artform, but songs especially are mysteries unto themselves: What thaa…? Gotcha! Where is this going, who is this singing, what is this about, what does it mean? When it’s done, the mystery is simultaneously heightened and solved… until the next song (or mystery) hits. Cue The Who’s “The Seeker” here.
I had a blast touring last Saturday’s Uptown Porchfest, where over 100 bands, crews, singers and songwriters took to 35 porches in Uptown Minneapolis. Uptown’s dead? For a kid who lived through the roaring ‘80s in Uptown and the dawn of original local rock, it was exciting to see the streets populated with so many young bands and music lovers seeking, seeking, and seeking some more.
Hands-down, the highlight of the day was the punk-pop-rock joy that is Minnesota Music Archived artists The Mood Swings. The killer quartet ripped through a 40-minute set on the corner of 28th and S. Emerson, home to Flowers Studio. Here, The Mood Swings co-leader Ashley Ackerson has kept the vision of her and her late great husband Ed (archived here and here and here) up and running and then some.
The Mood Swings perform at the Uptown Porchfest on August 15, 2026.
Saturday night was the big We’ve Got You Covered! Benefit for Foothold Twin Cities at the Parkway Theater (covered here by my old pal Jim Meyer). The seeking continued Sunday with the ever-fertile Minnesota Fringe Festival, which took over Minneapolis with hundreds of performances in a variety of venues last week. Physician, singer, songwriter, and playwright Dave Dvorak is the force behind thoughtful Americana rockers Zoe Says Go, and I was lucky enough to catch his Fringe musical Just One Life, an informative and maddening snapshot of the greed-driven American healthcare system. I laughed, I cried, I got goosebumps, and got mad all over again at all these callous billionaires’ disregard for the lot of us. Encore, please!
Speaking as we were of The Who, this week’s playlist is a love letter to our heroes, the Minnesota Lynx, especially rookie point guard and phenom Olivia “I Can See For Miles and Miles” Miles, who already sits atop the list of legendary Minnesota point guards that includes Flip Saunders, Lindsey Whalen, Ricky Rubio, Khalid El-Amin, Tom Conroy, Bobby Jackson, Damon Dragotis and Paige Bueckers.
Raving about our good luck to have the Lynx in these times, my friend Brianna put it so well to me the other day: After the winter and spring everyone went through with ICE and the ongoing dystopian hangover, the Lynx have been the inspiring force we need. When they stood up for Philando Castile and for human rights, I wrote a Southwest Journal column headlined “A Team Worth Rooting For,” and that remains true today. On Lynx game nights and days, Target Center is home to the most inclusive and welcoming fan base in the state, and the team has never been more electric. It’s all led by Coach Cheryl Reeves, a true leader who never shies away from talking or sporting a T-shirt about the world we live in, be it racism, misogyny, trans rights, or systemic poverty.
Here are a few songs from Minnesota Music Archived artists that go hard for the home team:
This Oneness, “Song For Olivia” (from Surprise, 1975)
50 years before she lit up Minneapolis, this obscure psychedelic rock group paid homage to Miles and her game. Uhh… even though the only salient lyric is “Oh, Olivia!,” which is what I shout after every look-away pass, three-pointer, steal, reverse lay-up, or behind-the-back dime. You, too? Everybody, now: OH, OLIVIA!
Chastity Brown, “Woman Gotta Move” (from Sankofa, 2009)
As unforgettable as the first time I heard it, the chorus to this feminist anthem is ripe for a funkafied arena-wide singalong.
Babes In Toyland, “We Are Family” (from Nemesisters, 1995)
It’s a Lynx tradition to do the Electric Slide to Cameo’s “Candy” after wins, but this punk rock rave-up of the Sister Sledge classic deserves a slot on the big speakers.
Romantica, “Queen of Hearts” (from America, 2007) and Chooglin’ “The Ice Queen” (from Chooglin’, 2006)
All hail Queen Phee! And Queens Courtney, Natasha, Kayla, Nia, Olivia and all!
Dan Newton, “Hi-Top Sneakers” (from Hi-Top Sneakers, 2007)
The accordion-driven homage to basketball kicks we never knew we needed.
Willie Murphy, “A Shot of Love in a Time of Need” (from Dirtball, 2018)
Yes they are, and much appreciated.
Mick Sterling and the Stud Brothers, “On The Prowl” (Live at Bunker’s Bar & Grill, 1991)
Hang that fifth championship banner next month and raise this one to the rafters.
The great Minnesota grunt-together starts Thursday, and this year marks the 60th birthday of Fairchild, the big squirrelly Minnesota State Fair mascot, which of course has always brought to mind the band of the same name, and so I searched the archives and voila! There it is from 1978: “Do You Hear The Call” b/w “Time Will Come,” Fairchild’s debut 45 rpm single. Fairchild was a mainstay at Dibbo’s and the Iron Horse in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, made some orchestral noise over the course of three records, and uncorked a memorable “Bohemian Rhapsody.” However, Dig It! cannot confirm if, in fact, Fairchild ever played the State Fair.
Luckily, this year there’s plenty of Minnesota Music Archived artists performing, including Bonnie Raitt, Morris Day and The Time, Sounds Of Blackness, Rosie Daze Band, Erik Koskinen, Maygen & The Birdwatcher, The Neighborhood Quartet, The Roe Family Singers, The Honeydogs, Keith Secola, The Cactus Blossoms and more. Check them out at the Great Minnesota Get-Together!
Until next week, happy seeking…
Jim Walsh is a veteran singer, songwriter, columnist, journalist, author, and historian from Minneapolis. He can be reached at jim@demomn.org