Hold Steady and Bob Mould returning to Minnesota for joint State Fair grandstand gig Sept. 2

Two veteran indie-rock acts with deep Minnesota ties, the Hold Steady and Bob Mould will pair up at the Minnesota State Fair grandstand on Sept. 2 for the Current's annual Music-on-a-Stick concert.

The Saturday night gig at the fair will be the first time the Hold Steady — led by Edina native Craig Finn with other ex-Twin Citian bandmates — has shared a stage locally with their hero Mould, who spent his formative 1980s years here making noise with the legendary punk trio Hüsker Dü. Mould will be joined at this show by his namesake band of the past decade and a half, featuring Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster and bassist Jason Narducy.

Dillinger Four also will make its grandstand debut to open the concert. That's one of two gigs the cult-loved Twin Cities punk quartet — which has been repeatedly alluded to in Finn's lyrics — has with the Hold Steady this summer. The other is a June 30 set at Chicago's new outdoor venue the Salt Shed.

Tickets for the grandstand trifecta go on sale for the punk-friendly prices of $27 and $37 (all reserved seats) starting Friday at 10 a.m. via etix.com or by calling 800-514-3849. Presale options start Wednesday.

The Hold Steady marked its 20th anniversary two weeks ago by dropping another record, "The Price of Progress," the New York-based sextet's ninth LP overall. This will be the band's first time playing the Great Minnesota Get-Together, but not Mould's. He last played there as part of the Current's grandstand lineup in 2014 with Cloud Cult and Brother Ali.

Nodding to the 20th anniversary, the Hold Steady wrote in a post announcing the grandstand concert:

"We wanted to do something big in the Twin Cities. It's hometown for a few of us, it's the setting of many of our songs, and it has always been massively supportive to THS. So…we are proud to announce a show that fits the majesty of our relationship with Minneapolis-St. Paul.

"Joining us will be the Bob Mould Band and Dillinger Four! These are two groups that have huge influence on THS and we are honored and thrilled to have them joining us."

That Sept. 2 gig is the eighth of 11 concerts to be announced so far in what has turned into one of the strongest lineups of recent memory at the State Fair grandstand. We'll see if the country music acts yet to be announced up that game or not. Here's the lineup so far confirmed: