A triple bill of (semi-)local acts with stars outside First Avenue – the Hold Steady, Bob Mould and Dillinger Four – will headline The Current’s annual Music-on-a-Stick concert Sept. 2 at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.
Tickets are $37 and $27 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Etix or by phone at 800-514-3849.
The Hold Steady formed in Minneapolis in 2003 from the ashes of the band Lifter Puller. They relocated to Brooklyn soon after and established themselves as critical darlings and a popular live act. In an interview with Pitchfork, lead singer Craig Finn said his influences include Husker Du, Bruce Springsteen, Jim Carroll, John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, Aesop Rock, Sage Francis and Jay-Z.
The band is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year and released their ninth album “The Price of Progress” last month. Their website had listed Sept. 2 as a “save the date” for Minneapolis-St. Paul for months, leading to speculation as to what venue they would be playing.
A New York native, Mould formed his first band Husker Du when he was studying at St. Paul’s Macalester College. After the trio broke up in 1988, Mould relocated to a remote farm in Pine City, where he wrote “Workbook,” his debut solo album. In the decades since, Mould has worked alone and with bands, including Sugar in the ’90s and his most recent group, which features Jason Narducy on bass and drummer Jon Wurster. He previously played Music-on-a-Stick in 2014.
Minneapolis punk band Dillinger Four formed in 1994 and have released four albums and a pair of live records. Guitarist Erik Funk founded and co-owned the Minneapolis music venue Triple Rock Social Club, which opened in 1998 and closed in 2017. Dillinger Four played the venue’s final concert, which was recorded for 2020’s “The End: Live at the Death of the Triple Rock.”
