Mike Munson at 311 Club (May 27, 2025)

Local Twin Cities blues guitarist Mike Munson was playing as part of Worker’s Playtime at 331 Club. With a long history of released music (2024’s Perihelion Day was his tenth full length album), the Winona, MN native is also an extremely busy performer (see mikemunson.net for all of the upcoming shows). While he also has a trio that he performs in, his show at 331 Club was a solo one.

It you haven’t been there, 331 Club is a bar in Northeast Minneapolis that has music nearly every day, and often several events per day (this was, in fact, the early one of the evening). Given the relatively small space, it’s pretty nicely laid out, with a long booth set up at the far left, opposite of the longer bar, with a handful of tables in the middle. The stage is at the far left rear corner and is well arranged for a solo performer or small band. Just ahead of the start Munson was asked from the audience, “How was your show yesterday?”, and the response “It was awesome!” made it clear Munson had some friends in the audience. And although 331 isn’t particularly big, it was pretty well attended by the start time of six.

Munson’s work alternated between sung and instrumental only, and he started with an evocative instrumental number. The second number was a deep blues song with the repeated lyric, “ride, ride, ride all the way down”. Munson’s vocal style was slightly different dependent on the song, a little lower and raspier for the darker blues numbers, and a little higher and clearer on some more folk rock/blues tunes. He did a really nice job of mixing those songs while maintaining an overall flow. Kansas City Lightning was a fine example of Munson’s work. As the opening half hour finished up, he started to let loose a bit more on the guitar, at this point to a nearly full house.

There’s something highly enjoyable to a low stakes, early Tuesday evening event like this. It felt less like a concert and more like a summer gathering. And Munson’s first round of banter actually discussed the goings on in his neighborhood, including the neighbor who feeds the squirrels and the other who shoots them; “It’s a lot to take in from my back steps, but I know what to do here”. A cover of a Bukka White’s Jitterbug Swing gave us some fast paced plucked guitar work. Munson used multiple guitar effects really well, and the instrumental following, Night Flying Birds, was a great demonstration of a lot of them. And after one more song, just like that, we were to the break.

A switch of guitar started off the second set and began with a song about gambling (every good blues set needs one!). The sound on this guitar leaned towards a louder, rowdier tone. This half was definitely more straightforward blues and Munson’s guitar work was more central here, with extended interludes. Cat Iron, a Jimmy Bell cover, continued the strong guitar and let Munson continue the blues theme of the second set. Even a switch back to the first guitar didn’t alter the blues assault.

Grand Old Day (June 1, 2025)

Coming into the final stretch, Munson slowed things down a bit for a moment with an instrumental number that slowly picked up steam. A brief break had Munson stating that he would be at Grand Old Day (see our preview!) as part of the Mike Munson Trio then quickly led back to the music. Another long intro into the song Saint Anne was a great song that let Munson play some difficult looking guitar work, and perhaps the most hopeful song of the evening. A monologue for Paul Bigsby’s vibrato tailpiece was humorous and educational at the same time. A few final songs, including the final one with the lyric “it’s all over now” did indeed lead to the end of the show.

Talking with Munson after the show, I asked with of the shows, the solo and trio, and all of the music releases, which parts keep him excited or are his favorite. He said that they all work different parts of his brain and so are fun in their own ways, but that it is ultimately rooted in getting to perform on the guitar. All the other things make it possible (so far!) to sustain the guitar performances. Relatedly, I asked with the sheer number of shows, does he have a set list or not. He said he does not, whether it’s solo or with the trio (“they know the songs well enough”), and he is looking to find what the audience’s vibe and what they are responding to. For instance, the 331 Club crowd seemed to be into a more relaxed vibe, so that was the direction he went. I wished Munson the best for the upcoming Grand Old Day, and he was off into the still daylit evening, with audience members all thanking him for the wonderful evening.