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Twin Cities Jazz Festival at Mears Park, St Paul (June 20-21, 2025)

On a balmy summer evening in downtown St. Paul the Twin Cities Jazz Festival kicked off its 27th year. Earlier in the week the Star and Tribune noted that the TCJF is bigger than the Taste of Minnesota and boasts more musical acts than the Minnesota Yacht Club. In fact, there were over eighty artists playing 20 venues over two days and a lot of it was free. So, it was my intention to catch five of these acts at Mears Park.

Sunflower Bean at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (June 17, 2025)

After a very pleasant dinner with work colleagues, I got a slightly late start to head over to the show. And while I was at no risk of being late for seeing Sunflower Bean, I found myself completely locked in on getting over to the 7th Street Entry to get prepared for the evening.

Mozart’s Prague Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy at Ordway Concert Hall, St Paul (June 15, 2025)

In their 2024-25 season finale, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra delighted the audience and received three standing ovations throughout the afternoon at the Ordway Concert Hall. Reunited with Gábor Takács-Nagy, it was clear to see the strong connection the orchestra has developed over the years with the Hungarian conductor.

Weekend Gamer: Summer of Gaming 2025

As the resident Weekend Gamer, I am obligated to mention the craziness of this week in Summer Gaming! Traditionally, since most kids are outside during the summer, game sales are poor… so the gaming industry would announce games in the summer for games to be on sale this holiday or year end.

Sessanta (Primus, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle) at Xcel Energy Center (Jun 1, 2025)

Xcel Energy Center last night played host to Sessanta 2.0, the continuation of Sessanta, which was the sequel to Cinquanta – a 50th birthday celebration for Maynard James Keenan. The show featured A Perfect Circle, Primus and Puscifer all on stage at the same time rotating through (mostly) three song sets (see set list to the right) with those not actively performing just hanging out (or sometimes involved in antics), enjoying the show. It was a remarkable, well-executed approach.