Local musicians are well-represented on the just-announced lineup for this year’s Taste of Minnesota on Nicollet Mall.
Legendary music producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis will close out the free two-day festival after their former band now known as Morris Day and The Time takes the stage, organizers announced Thursday.
Jam and Lewis were original members of The Time, a Minneapolis-based funk band that Prince formed in the early ‘80s, but they parted ways with Day and their other bandmates to produce music for other artists. The duo were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
A handful of other local acts, including Minneapolis-based DJ and emcee Sophia Eris, will also perform during this year’s Taste of Minnesota.
Though he’s technically not a Minnesota musician, Bob Dylan’s son Jakob will perform with his rock band, The Wallflowers.
Country music star Martina McBride will headline the first day of the festival. A “surprise guest” who hasn’t been announced yet is scheduled to perform before McBride on the main stage.
The Taste of Minnesota will take place July 6 and 7 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Here’s the full schedule for the Taste of Minnesota’s main stage:
Saturday, July 6
Koo Koo
Sophia Eris
The Wallflowers
TBA
Martina McBride
Sunday, July 7
Sounds of Blackness
Johnny Holm Band
Morris Day and The Time
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with special guests
When organizers announced the Taste of Minnesota’s return earlier this year, they said that it will have a bigger footprint on Nicollet Mall and feature 60 food vendors, more than twice as many as last year’s event.
Organizers haven’t yet shared the exact location for Taste of Minnesota 2024.
Taste of Minnesota 2023 happened July 2-3 on a three-block stretch of Nicollet Mall between Washington Avenue and Fifth Street. It marked the return of the festival after an eight-year hiatus.
For more than 20 years, the Taste of Minnesota took place in St. Paul, and then it folded in 2015 after moving to Waconia.
Minneapolis stakeholders led the effort to bring back the event in 2023, with help from a host of community partners, including organizers Minnesota Festivals and Dispatch MSP.
An estimated 100,000 people attended the Taste of Minnesota last summer, despite sweltering heat and near thunderstorms. Third Eye Blind, Big Boi and Uncle Kracker were the musical headliners.
