Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Midwest Calling: From First Avenue to the American Football House

Midwest Calling: From First Avenue to the American Football House

Leven, Jeff

Paperback

19th Century United States HistoryMusic ReferenceWorld Music

Publisher Price: $20.00

PREORDER - Expected ship date December 8, 2026

ISBN10: 1540270351
ISBN13: 9781540270351
Publisher: Belt Publishing
Published: Dec 8 2026
Pages: 256
Language: English

A collection of original essays by artists, label owners, and booking agents--from DEVO to the Smashing Pumpkins to Michigander--on how Midwestern culture and landscape shaped their music and scenes.

Midwest Calling takes you on a tour from DIY scenes to festival stages in St. Louis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland, and beyond, with over twenty-five writers and interviewees. The National's Bryan Devendorf explains how the jug bands and rivers of Ohio helped create his band's sound, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon tells a story about Prince at First Avenue, and American Football's Steve Lamos defends boredom as an essential part of the creative process. Offstage players contribute stories as well, from Chris Swanson on the beginnings of the Secretly label group in Bloomington, Indiana, to Peter Jesperson facilitating the debut of national success stories at the legendary First Avenue in Minneapolis. Elsewhere, writers offer an inside look at the communities that shaped them, such as Rachel Cholst's informational tribute to alt-country and the impact of Bloodshot Records and poet Marguerite L. Harrold's personal ode to the power and originality of Chicago house music.

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