Basilica Block Party has been called off again for 2025, but not for good

After a couple of summers off and then a forced move to a new location last summer, the Basilica Block Party is taking another hiatus in 2025.

“We are considering some new options and looking forward to an even brighter future in 2026,” event organizers at the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis said in a statement.

Because of construction work tying up the large parking lot where the block party’s main stage was located, the basilica team found a new home for the two-day music festival in 2024 at Boom Island Park, just across the Mississippi River from downtown. They also brought in a couple old standbys to headline, the Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows.

However, the party wound up facing a lot of new competition, being held just a couple weeks after the inaugural Minnesota Yacht Club festival in St. Paul and amid a busy season of stadium concerts.

Its attendance numbers were well below the more than 15,000 people that frequently showed up in years past when it was held outside the basilica. Those who did attend liked the site, though, and organizers remained hopeful it would live on there.

“The 2024 Basilica Block Party at a new venue, Boom Island, was a success on many fronts and garnered great reviews from all who participated,” the organizers' statement said.

The Rev. Daniel Griffith, pastor and rector at the Basilica of St. Mary, offered his blessing for the event to live on into its fourth decade after taking this year off (it started in 1994). Profits from the party go toward the historic church’s structural upkeep and charitable efforts.

“The Basilica Block Party has had a great history and legacy over the past thirty years in Minneapolis,” Griffith said. “I am excited to see what the future holds as we consider new possibilities and partnerships.”