Lew Apollo at Midway Saloon, St Paul (June 19, 2025)

On a busy night in the Hamline Midway neighborhood, Minnesota born, but Austin, Texas-based neo-soul singer Lee Apollo headlined at The Midway Saloon.

I did not get the chance to see the first act, as I was a few blocks down at the Turf Club for the Dean Wareham concert. Knowing that ahead of time, I used a connection (thanks, Sara!) to meet with David Tolchiner, the owner of The Midway Saloon. Speaking to him the week before this show, we had a wide-ranging chat about the role of live music in his venues, his concept of a Hamline Midway neighborhood “entertainment center”, and perspectives on the businesses around the Midway Saloon.

But first to the music. The Midway Saloon is a long narrow set up, but has a two room feel, with the main bar and pool tables in the front, and the stage and a variety of seating in the back. A small, but effective sound booth has been wedged opposite the stage and is part of the divide between the two spaces. Lew Apollo came out to the stage as a quintet (guitar/vocals, bass, keyboards, backup vocals, and drums). That neo-soul label is pretty accurate as it was a solid mix of R&B soul, funk, and rock. Apollo has a good charisma and a nice vocal range, including getting a harder edge to his voice at certain points. His back up vocalist (Apollo’s wife, Jasmine) provided the needed musical counterpunch and sometimes had the lead, singing soulfully at multiple points.

Apollo’s stage demeanor was well suited to the intimate space and the mix of audience (some extended family or friends from his Minnesota days, bar regulars, and some who had come for the live music). He coolly set up the background for Queen of Spades, a very funky song that was featured in a key scene on the Netflix show Ransom Canyon. Apollo was particularly good at the funk sound on the guitar, and showed that he is quite a skilled guitarist through several solos in the show. That guitar combined with the backing keyboards in several songs made a good contrasting sound. In fact, every member of the band got their moments and there was good non-verb communication as they moved in each song and overall.

Playing a new song (released last Friday), Diamonds and Gold, also had a crowd supported (three note) chorus. Apollo’s long guitar solo was a highlight and a reminder of the musicianship supporting that bravura stage performance. Apollo ended the set with “the first song we ever released”, Trouble on My Mind, a pretty excellent finish to a very fun show.

I spoke with Apollo after the show. Asked about his musical history, he told me he was in his first band when in college, doing a lot of small shows in Minneapolis. He relocated to Austin, Texas about seven years ago and has been developing as a musician since. I asked him about being toughened up as a performer in the bar circuit, and he readily agreed. When asked how he handles some of the weird curveballs that can happen, Apollo mentioned a go-to for him is to use the energy of the crowd to get you through it. It’s easy to ruminate in something bad that happens and get trapped, but paying attention to the crowd almost always gives him the subconscious “it’s going to be ok, you’ve got this” vibe.

Talking about some of the music, I asked the process for how his song was selected for Ransom Canyon. Apollo said he reached out to LoveCat Music, right at the time of the first EP release, “then I sort of forgot about it”. They contacted him to say it would be on the show. Apollo laughed saying he thought it would be some brief incidental music, so he was surprised that it was significantly longer and in a key romantic sequence. We also chatted about his new album which comes out August 8, 2025. Apollo was the creative force here and self-produced, and feels this is his true self, even if it sounds like a change of direction from his EP. We walked back over to the band, making introductions, and it was clear they were excited to be on tour. I wished them the best as they headed for Wisconsin and we all headed off into the night.

Back to the venue. Talking with Tolchiner, I asked if the live music at Midway Saloon was a recent thing. He said that although there’s been music at Midway Saloon for many years, they have been making a renewed effort to getting some more established bands, in addition the small local acts they have always supported. It takes a lot of time to get going, but Tolchiner said it also tends to create a positive cycle, where more bands are reaching out to them because of other bands they know having played at the Saloon. The efforts on promoting events also gets more benefit with musicians and bands having their own social media to promote playing there. But it’s also a lot to keep the plates spinning. As Tolchiner quipped, “It’s always a full moon at the Midway Saloon”.

When I asked him about his thoughts on and relationship to Turf Club (as part of the well-established First Avenue family), Tolchiner stated, “It’s a good thing to be around good competition”. Being a single place trying to get people to come to the neighborhood for an evening out is really hard. Having multiple bars makes it a place that people can start to recognize. Side note: Tolchiner also owns the THC oriented Potshotz next door, but there’s also The Black Hart of St. Paul a few blocks one way (a gay soccer bar) and the recently opened J Dilla (Ethiopian sports bar) a few blocks in the other direction. With Turf Club pulling in the Live Nation acts, it gives Midway Saloon a chance to show those audience members that there is more live music in the neighborhood.

This got the conversation to the broader discussion of the Hamline Midway neighborhood, which has dramatically changed over the last decade with the installation of the Green Line and the Major League Soccer stadium going up and the MNUFC Loons just across the street. Tolchiner envisions an “entertainment center” and looks at the transformation of the North Loop and Uptown in Minneapolis as examples to follow. Tolchiner is very committed to playing his part in making it happen, planning on opening a games-oriented space in a neighboring building, which would be a different flavor of entertainment. Lastly, he noted that the perception of the neighborhood is really starting to change in a positive direction and that makes a big difference.

Tolchiner sent me to David Kelly, who is the booking agent and works for the Midway Saloon. We had a brief conversation about being a truly independent venue and what Midway Saloon is looking for in live music. Kelly said they are largely in local, original music, versus cover bands who are the norm for many venues like this. We discussed that while Midway Saloon has no official relationship with Turf Club, they have a loose and good connection, where several bands leaving Turf Club have actively told their audience that they would continue playing at Midway Saloon, as it is open until 2AM every night.

Kelly mentioned it helps that the Hamline Midway community is supportive of local artists, which makes the Midway Saloon a draw and an easy way to support those musicians. Another aspect we talked about is the promotion of live and original music, funneling new audience members into the bar, but also new musicians becoming familiar with the venue. All of that recent hard work has started to pay off as more artists and publicists are starting to reach out.

Another key partnership has been with Northstar Original Revue, a local team that is giving local artists the chance to be on stage with original music, while not needing to have a 30-45 minute set. Every other Thursday evening, anywhere from 5-8 musicians or bands get the chance to be on stage, generally for 3-5 songs. It’s a powerful opportunity to get that first “real” experience, and although NOR has done events at other venues, their steady partnership is with Midway Saloon. (Side note: as I had stopped by on a Thursday, this was confirmed by Lazarus and Bryan from Northstar Original Revue. They discussed the upcoming one-year anniversary show in late July, both indoor and outdoor at Midway Saloon on the 26th). Lastly, Kelly pointed out that a major focus of the venue is to provide an experience, as many people are looking for more than just a place to drink. Kelly believes Midway Saloon can be one of those experience centered places, and evenings like Lew Apollo’s serve to prove his hopes.