It’s not the return of the Soundset festival that local hip-hop fans have been hoping for, but homegrown indie rap duo Atmosphere will perform again at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds this year with some of its old cronies under a different banner.
Minneapolis duo Slug and Ant will head up a show billed as “Atmosphere & Friends” on Aug. 23 as part of the State Fair grandstand concert series. Los Angeles hip-hop pioneers Cypress Hill and the Pharcyde, Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco of “Superstar” fame and DJ Abilities round out the lineup for the Saturday night concert, which is doubling as the Current’s annual Music-on-a-Stick show.
Tickets will range from $52-$87 and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via etix.com or by calling 800-514-3849. Presale options are already under way.
This will be Atmosphere’s first time headlining a fair grandstand show, despite being popular enough to fill it for almost two decades — and despite performing many times before at the fairgrounds. That’s where the duo and its record label, Rhymesayers Entertainment, hosted many of their Soundset festivals in the 2010s. Those all-hip-hop events would draw 30,000-some fans over Memorial Day weekend and would feature these aforementioned “friends” and many more.
Atmosphere teased Tuesday’s concert with a video on social media showing frontman Slug trying to bust through the fairgrounds entrance a bit early.
Five more headliners have yet to be announced in this year’s Minnesota State Fair grandstand lineup. Here’s where Atmosphere’s gig fits in with the rest of the concerts announced so far for 2025:
- Thursday, Aug. 21: Old Dominion
- Saturday, Aug. 23: Atmosphere & Friends
- Sunday, Aug. 24: Melissa Etheridge and Indigo Girls
- Monday, Aug. 25: The Turtles’ Happy Together Tour with Jay and the Americans, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, the Vogues and the Cowsills
- Tuesday, Aug. 26: Def Leppard
- Thursday, Aug. 28: Steve Miller and the Rascals
