Whirlygig 2026

Friday 15th
9:00 – Boyish
8:00 – Room3
7:00 – Denim Matriarch
6:00 – Bakkwooddrift

Saturday 16th
8:45 – Papa Mbye
7:30 – Gramma’s Boyfriend
6:30 – killusonline
5:30 – Fanaka Nation
4:30 – Products Band
3:30 – Soulflower
2:30 – Vinny Franco and The Love Channel
1:30 – Sallyforth

Sunday 17th
5:00 – Kennadi Watkins
4:00 – Buffalo Galaxy
3:00 – Charlie Bruber
2:00 – KG4
1:00 – Foremother
12:00 – Young Dervish

Sallyforth Setlist

Veneer
Oil Light
Strength
Archives
Teeth
Lucky
Nettles
Desperation
Tightrope
Best Man

Explore More

■ Art-A-Whirl
Art-A-Whirl is held annually the third weekend of May in Northeast Minneapolis, organized by NEMAA. Founded in 1996, this free three-day event features over 1,600 artists across various sites, including the Northrup King Building and Casket Arts Complex

A near perfect day (near 80, but a good breeze) had people OUT for Art-A-Whirl and I didn’t even pretend to think I would get parking anywhere near anything. After a reasonable walk and a chance to poke my head into one of the many buildings with set ups for artists across all sorts of mediums, I finally got over to Indeed Brewing to watch some of the early performers. Indeed had set up a tent with the raised stage at the back end, which made me happy to be out of the sun. Everything looked well set up and when Eli Awada from room3 was guiding things and playing emcee, I knew we were definitely in good hands.

Up first to start the long day (this stage would be in use until 10pm), was Sallyforth, a quintet (vocals/guitar, vocals/violin, guitar, bass, and drums) who we last saw as part of Best New Bands in January 2026 at First Avenue. Opening with Veneer, their indie rock sound was an excellent wake up call to people across the large parking lot, and before the song was over, the tent was nearly full. Oil Light had that great guitar intro, before our two lead singers took it from there. Three vocalists on the chorus were a treat before the fine violin finale. Taking a moment for hydration, the band flew back into another number from their terrific EP Memento Mori from 2025. It was some great bass work on the title track. In some more banter, the band mentioned that they are “just a bunch of friends making music in each other’s basements” and the obvious ease they have with each other showed. They noted that they had just finished their first full length album and hope to be releasing music throughout the summer. Lucky was the first unreleased number from that and had a bit more jangle in that opening guitar and had the singers taking sections in solo but always coming back to the dual vocal sound. Sallyforth continues to grow as a band and Nettles had a near cacophony of sound that still held together well. They finished strong with Best Man, and Sallyforth had set a high bar for the day.

Next was Vinny Franco and the Love Channel. The band plays a soul style with Aretha Franklin among others from which they draw their inspiration. The septet (vocals, guitar, bass, saxophone, trumpet, keyboards, and drums) filled the stage and as they launched into their first funk soul number, the sound also filled the tent. With that horns section taking off towards the end, Franco finished the song in Spanish lyrics. A bit of banter “my ADHD keeps distracting me as I see people I know pulling up”, but they did move into the next number, which featured horns early and impressive drum work mid song. A Santana cover of Smooth was a nice match for the band and Franco clearly enjoyed leaning into that number and our guitarist nailed her late song solo. We got a Prince song in Kiss, and Franco held his own on that difficult range of vocals. Our horns players bailed stage for a new song and it was the funkiest one of the set and had a bit of smoldering tones. Sticking to My Guns had the band reunited and a brighter vibe and an extended keys feature. As they finished on a slower number, Vinny Franco and the Love Channel had injected a bit of soulfulness into the afternoon, as we kept rolling along.

The third band (and final one for me) up was SoulFlower, a band we saw open for Dua Saleh at Fine Line in February 2025. Appearing as a trio (vocals/guitar, bass, and drums) they had an indie rock sound and they leaned right in, with some ferocious bass work from Matt “Freakwhensee” Greene. The second number, By My Side, had singer Inayah El-Amin in a crooning style on the title lyrics and her guitar riff to end it was right on. The next song had a fuller rock sound and SoulFlower were driving a dance friendly (or at least bounce worthy for a lot of the Minnesota crowd) rock forward. The extended drum work from Ezekiel Cowan towards the end was impressive while staying in the tone of the song. Minneapolis was a love song of sorts and the band used the space well, sliding in towards center and back out. A switch of bass and guitar for the remainder of the set also had a young fan call out to drummer “Zeke!” in a perfectly joyful moment. A good guitar instrumental kept the alt rock sound and some yelled lyrics felt very 90’s retro. SoulFlower’s members were all technically superb and after the big finish, they slowed down with a song appropriately called Slow Down. It gave El-Amin a chance to open up vocally and the set had built up quite effectively. Finishing up with Overseas got an instant cheer upon being announced and the band came in hot on the open and gave Freakwhensee several runs on some great guitar solos. SoulFlower left the stage to raucous applause, and I headed out into the very packed crowd.