Bauhaus brews up new Minneapolis outdoor concert series with Grace Potter, St. Paul & Broken Bones

Another Twin Cities brewery is hopping into the concert business this summer with help from some well-known local promoters.

Bauhaus Brew Labs in northeast Minneapolis has announced a three-show June-August run dubbed the Sparkyard Sound Series, featuring a crop of touring acts with strong Twin Cities followings from past Basilica Block Party lineups and the Current's playlists.

Vermont rocker Grace Potter — maybe best known nowadays from her cover of "Stuck in the Middle with You" for Netflix's "Grace and Frankie" — kicks off the series on June 13. She'll be followed by a cool twofer with Shakey Graves and Lucius on July 28 and then another blowout by Alabaman soul-rockers St. Paul & the Broken Bones on Aug. 17.

The concerts are all organized with veteran Twin Cities promotions company Sue McLean & Associates, which used to oversee the sorely missed Music at the Zoo concert series and is promoting similar concerts at Utepils Brewing.

As at Utepils, the Sparkyard shows at Bauhaus will be held in the brewery's parking lot and feature a larger layout than some of the Art-a-Whirl parties and other live events previously held there — with a capacity for more than 3,200 people.

Tickets for all three Bauhaus shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via eTix.com or suemclean.com, with presale options already underway Tuesday. General admission in all cases will be $45, with VIP options ranging $135-$150.

The name Sparkyard comes from the welding and other metal work that used to be done in the 1905-dated industrial warehouse before Bauhaus took it over in 2013. The brewery counts many musicians among its staff, including sibling co-founders Mike and Mark Schwandt, who were also bandmates in White Light Riot.

"Pretty freggin' stoked about this," Mark Schwandt posted about the series Monday.

Bauhaus also still plans to host its usual Art-a-Whirl mini-festival next month, the Liquid Zoo on May 19-21, with local performers including Early Eyes, the Mae Simpson Band, Solid Gold and Obi Original.

Both Bauhaus and Utepils are following Surly's lead as Minneapolis breweries hosting larger outdoor concerts.

This year's Utepils shows include the Wood Brothers on May 12, Michael Franti & Spearhead on June 9 and another concert to be announced next week. Surly's 2023 schedule of First Ave-promoted concerts so far includes an Aug. 12-13 two-nighter with Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and the Sept. 8 return of Ween, also with more to be announced.