Set Times

DOORS 7:00PM

PHIB b2b DJ WNNDRLND 7:45PM

TALIA KNIGHT 8:45PM

BLOOD $MOKE BODY 9:20PM

STUDENT 1 9:45PM

SHRIMPNOSE 10:25PM

A combination of this late in the year and the holiday season in full tilt makes it harder to commit to getting out to a music performance. But a large lineup of local music at 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis headlined by electronic musician Shrimpnose was a pretty good enticement on the day after Christmas.

Starting the evening off was Phib b2b WNDRLND, a Minneapolis duo ranging across house and electronic music. It was fun to watch them play the first groove heavy song to get sound levels and equipment check finalized. That quickly led to Phib taking control on the first danceable number, though WNDRLND was in it as well. That house sound brought a group of audience members to the front of the stage and the evening felt started for real. As WNDRLND had said in the opening, the audience “knew what they had signed up for” and found that first pause in the music to throw in some loud cheers. Phib was on point for the front end, but the pair complemented each other well getting the next song or effect in place and hitting the mic to work the crowd up. Speaking of, the main floor in front of the stage had quickly gone from empty to quite crowded, and they were there to dance, or at least groove. Sliding through a number of danceable beats, including Tame Impala’s Dracula, Phib b2b WNDRLND kept cruising along, setting the table for the subsequent artists. It was a pretty epic set (nearly 45 minutes, as the first of five performers!) of highly recognizable yet some more obscure songs, but all in all a successful effort to get the crowd moving.

(Side note: Audience member with pine cone earrings that flash green? Cute. For about 30 seconds.)

Talia Knight was up next. And when I say up next, there was essentially no break at all with the previous group, as she came on stage before they were done and then just ran with it. A DJ and beatmaker, the Chilean native Knight has long been in the Twin Cities and is deeply involved in the arts scene, including being the host of Beats, Sleep, Repeat on local radio station KRSM. Knight went straight to some fast tempo, heavy percussion numbers. It was also a more world music vibe, with a broader range of countries and song types being represented in her spins. Knight also had a quicker set of transitions, rarely staying on one song for very long. The pace was blistering, the lights were on full action, and Knight was so busy with the music that she almost never spoke as she kept the dance mood going strong. This was a relentless set, with no let down and no real breaks and Talia Knight had put pedal to the metal for the entirety of her 35 plus minute set.

(Side note 2: Being early to the venue, I had grabbed one of the few bar stools with a good angle to the stage. Those seats are generally like gold and get filled pretty early and held for dear life. For some reason, the seat next to me was the one exception and I had a variety of neighbors who had various degrees of wanting to interact. I felt like I was in a Jim Jarmusch film.)

We moved into some alt hip hop with BLOOD $MOKE BODY. Founded in South Minneapolis by Nazeem Cunningham & Spencer Joles, they have released 2024’s SHERM$MOKE. The group came to stage as a quartet (two on vocals, electronic music, and saxophone), and this was a surprisingly easy lyrical flow. Those two lead rappers provided a great sound and that sax work was an easy level up sonically. After the DJ work, the crowd seemed primed to respond to the hip hop group and arms were waving in rhythm from the jump. As is often the case, the two alternating lead vocalists created a great base and kept interest high. Those background effects and lyrics were apparent in a mid-set number that had a fair amount of the crowd singing along a refrain. It was clear the band had a large number of fans familiar with their work in attendance. Moving quickly to the end of their set, BLOOD $MOKE BODY continued that fast flowing lyrics and a late number had Joles singing at top of his lungs. A “one more song” chant actually got us an encore, starting with sax getting the rappers ready. It was a pretty brilliant number and let the band end on the highest of notes.

Next was student1, a hip hop artist who has released a fair amount of music in the last decade, including the album OFFTHEDUST!, released in 2022. The duo (vocals, electronic music) came out hard, with a slightly darker sound. That deeper bass of music was a good foundation for student1’s baritone rap vocals. All over the front of the stage, student1 had the audience hyped, with a “hands up” getting the vast majority of the room to be there. A switch of microphones to an auto-tune effect worked pretty well, and that’s high praise as I personally don’t care for that effect very much. Our guy in the back was part hype man, but also kept everything on track, which made things seamless. All hands were up for a late number that might have been the most musical of the evening. student1 was pretty captivating as a performer and really invited the audience into the moment. Mentioning he was doing “about half the new album”, it got us a very rapidly rapped number. A late guest appearance by Demon Marcus let us know the end was close, and it was a high energy song. A final number with strobe effect had student1 thankful and pleased with a tight set.

Last to the stage was Shrimpnose. The LA native and now long-time Minnesota artist is an electronic musician who has been at it for quite a while. He’s got quite the discography including his best known The World Pushed Against You (2024), but even more recently with 2025’s slow nova. As expected, this was a rich, layered electronica. The sequencing and effects were impressive and it wasn’t too surprising to learn that this has been an annual 7th St. show for the last several years. Shrimpnose was laying into his boards for a full set of effects, and transitioned across songs with an appreciative shout out to the crowd. With the lights on full dance club mode, this was bass and groove heavy. A quick transition let the audience roar its approval, but Shrimpnose gave just the smallest bit of room for it as he moved into the next song. Mixing in some more electronica numbers showed a range of styles in the set, and that heavier electronic section was a late night club feel that the audience responded to. That deep bass thrum became the dominant musical theme for the middle section and really worked as we headed towards the end of the evening. student1 came to stage for a late guest appearance, and the respect between these two was obvious. Circling back to some lighter sounding, but still fast paced songs, Shrimpnose headed things towards the finale in electronica appropriate style. It was good timing as much of the audience coming off the dance floor looked pleased but tired from the experience. Shrimpnose and friends had delivered as promised, making the festivities of the holiday continue for at least another night.