Trish Toledo at Turf Club (August 27, 2026)

The concept of a state fair is such an American example of the pride in excess in its best ways. First focused on the agricultural roots of the US, the modern day version, depending on the state you are in, has it all: the biggest and/or best produce, arts & crafts galore (with blue ribbon winners!), so much over the top food (fried everything on a stick!) and seemingly dangerous carnival rides and games. Minnesota prides itself on the quality and quantity of its 12 days, and the “great Minnesota get together” is recognized as one of the biggest and best in the country. We’ll have a report or two over the course of the run, but on this first day of the Fair, I absolutely ran the other way, though it was just a couple miles south to enjoy a night of Central and South American influenced rock and soul at St. Paul’s Turf Club as Trish Toledo came through town.

Opening things was Rudy de Anda, the Californian singer, songwriter, and guitarist now based in Chicago who has a psych rock sound influenced by a wide range of world music genres. He has a pair of solo albums, including 2023’s Closet Botanist. The quartet (vocals/guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums) got started with a slow but building rocker in In My Shoes, with de Anda sliding between a nearly spoken word to fully sung vocals. Couldn’t Seal the Deal had a funky entrance that gave way to a longer, pedal driven instrumental section that worked very well. At times, the songs nearly had a jazz session feel, with crisp work form all the instruments. The drummer was nailing it and  really, all there backing musicians were vital in supporting the overall effect for de Anda. A Spanish language song, Por Ti, had de Anda in crooner mode, with a blazing instrumental close. It transitioned to the highest energy guitar intro of the set and the band kept sliding between funk and rock pretty seamlessly. 83 was a great example of that meld and keyboards shined at the end of that one. They finished on Los Canarios and Rudy de Anda had fully entertained in the opening spot.

Trish Toledo was up next. The southern Californian marries a Latin soul with old school R&B that plays nicely on singles like Sin Control. Toledo took to the stage as a sextet (vocals, guitar, and the entirety of de Anda’s band). She hit hard from the go with Spanish language songs recalling an earlier era, but with more modern rock sensibilities underneath it. Sin Control was an emotive number for Toledo, who followed up with a brighter Miami sun-filled song in Coco Lalala, with the keys leading the backing charge for Toledo’s smoky vocals. Do the Wrong Thing was the first number that let Toledo truly go off, with all five band members on backing vocals and it was hard to believe this was only the second show for this arrangement of the band. Oldie Kinda Lovin’ had the super retro feel and the band was bringing it for such a good base that Toledo could build off of with her singing. We had a pair of unreleased songs with a delightful flair musically, and Toledo’s easy switch between Spanish and English lyrics let her hit different vocal moments and made for good contrasts. Can’t Wait to See You was a song written during the pandemic for all the dearly departed, and Toledo’s singing had that honest loss in it. We moved onto a bit of doo-wop and the tambourine came out for Tell Him and the evening had leveled up again. The main set closed on Adios Amor, with a heavy keys entrance and Toledo at her fullest. A brief moment and encore was on and Somebody Please was the soulful start with a funk instrumentation. Ending on Do You Love, Trish Toledo had successfully integrated her strong singing with the great band and headed back to merch to meet with a very happy group of fans.