Treasure Island is upping the ante for its second annual Music by the Mississippi festival.
Soul Asylum, Shakey Graves to rock Music by the Mississippi
The second annual fest will be expanded to two days in July at Treasure Island Amphitheater.
In its second go-round, the outdoor fest will be expanded to two days, on July 25-26, with the bigger names, Americana favorite Shakey Graves and local heroes Soul Asylum, slated for the closing night at Treasure Island Amphitheater in Red Wing.
The opening session will feature three under-the-radar, hard-to-classify but country-tinged bands.
Headlining are Shane Smith & the Saints, an indie roots band out of Austin, Texas, that have built enough of a reputation to headline at two iconic venues — Red Rocks in Colorado and the revered Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Also appearing are James Whatton Band, who play at breweries around Minnesota, and red-dirt country singer Trenton Fletcher out of Oklahoma.
Graves, the bluesy roots-rocker from Austin, Texas, has played many an outdoor show in Minnesota, including opening for Trampled by Turtles in 2023 at Treasure Island Amphitheater. He has recorded four albums for the Dualtone label, the most recent being 2023’s “Movie of the Week.”
Soul Asylum, a Minnesota rock institution that needs no introduction, dropped their 13th album last year, “Slowly but Shirley.”
Other Minnesota acts slated for July 26 are the rootsy Wild Horses, blues/folk singer Charlie Parr and Winona-reared country-bluesman Mike Munson.
Last year’s inaugural Music by the Mississippi featured the BoDeans, Gear Daddies, Marcy Playground, Cactus Blossoms and GB Leighton.
Two-day tickets, priced from $40 to $258, will go on sale Friday at ticasino.com. One-day tickets will go on sale Feb. 4.
Ticket sales for conductor Thomas Søndergård’s first season were up. But they couldn’t fill the hole left by the loss of federal funds.