A LIVE CONVERSATION AND PERFORMANCE SERIES, BACK AFTER 13 YEARS WITH NEW HOST MARK WHEAT.
Photo Paul Lundgren
NEW MAKING MUSIC EPISODES
EPISODE 1: cHANNY LEANEAGH (RECORDED MAY 10, 2026)
For this special Mother’s Day episode, host Mark Wheat interviews musician and mom Channy Leaneagh of POLICA and Roma di Luna. The program includes conversation about her songwriting process and inspirations and live performance by Leaneagh and her son, Schwa Olson.
WATCH ORIGINAL MAKING MUSIC CLIPS
Dave king (february 23, 2005)
In the first Making Music interview ever, original host JG Everest talks with jazz artist Dave King of The Bad Plus and Happy Apple.
In this clip, King talks about how his band Dave King Trucking Company came to be.
dan wilson (aUGUST 25, 2009)
Few musicians have a comparable laundry list of accomplishments like Dan Wilson. He was a part of the cult band Trip Shakespeare, recorded the very memorable “Closing Time” with his critically-acclaimed band Semisonic, and has won Grammys for songs written with artists like The Chicks and Adele.
In his interview, Wilson recounted some of his earliest inspirations, including a countdown of the first four records he bought.
pos mAKES A SONG (2006)
Stefon Alexander (aka POS) is one of the tallest trees in the forest of Twin Cities hip-hop. His punk-influenced music confronts listeners with raw production and intense lyrics. As a solo artist and founding member of the Doomtree collective, Stef continues to push the boundaries of traditional hip-hop.
In his Making Music interview, he demonstrated how he approaches building a song.
Christy and arzu of pink mink play "black Door" (October 13, 2011)
Pink Mink is Christy Hunt, Arzu Gokcen, Charles Gehr, and Jacques Wait. For this group of four, Pink Mink is Minneapolis—their guitar-laden songs revolve around the city and scene that they became well-known musicians within.
In this clip, Christy and Arzu of Pink Mink play their song “Black Door” live on Making Music.
dESSA ON HER WRITING PROCESS (MAY 14, 2008)
In her years as a Minnesota-made musician, Dessa has been known as a multitalented songwriter, spoken word poet, an emcee for local rap family Doomtree, and a Jerome Grant recipient. In the 10+ years since her Making Music interview, she’s only continued to grow as an artist.
In this clip, she talks with original host JG Everest about her songwriting process.
Brother ali talks his relationship with ant and slug (october 2008)
Already a legend in Minneapolis at the time, Brother Ali made his Making Music debut, fresh off a world tour. Brother Ali is a hip hop artist, speaker, and community leader. His two-decade resume includes ten critically-acclaimed albums, mentorships with iconic hip hop legends Chuck D and Rakim, and performances on late night shows.
In this clip, he talks about his relationship with fellow local artists Anthony ‘Ant’ Davis and Sean ‘Slug’ Daley.
ABOUT MAKING MUSIC
In 2005, JG Everest created a new interactive music conversations series called Making Music, originally hosted at The Whole Music Club at the University of Minnesota and later at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
MAKING MUSIC ran from 2005-2013 and featured a wide array of world-renowned music artists, including Jason Moran, David Harrington (Kronos Quartet), Dessa, Mankwe Ndosi, David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors), P.O.S., Andrew Bird, Wendy Lewis, Dave King, Alan Sparhawk, Channy Leaneagh (POLICA, ROMA di LUNA), Morton Subotnick, Richard Devine, Lori Barbero (Babes in Toyland), Sean Daley aka Slug (Atmosphere), Ryan Olson (GAYNGS), Haley Bonar, and Dan Wilson, among many others.
Now, 13 years after the series sunsetted, Making Music is BACK, brought to you by the Minnesota Music Archive with new host Mark Wheat. Episodes are taped in front of a live audience and later released online. Stay tuned with the Minnesota Music Archive on