Red-hot twangers Crockett and Ferrell add to Surly Brewing’s bustling 2025 concert series

The Texas countryman’s show on sale Friday brings the number of shows there to seven and counting.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 13, 2025 at 12:33PM
Charley Crockett and Sierra Ferrell are booked to play Surly Brewing's outdoor concert venue on Aug. 23 and Aug. 2, respectively. (Provided photos)

Two of the hottest acts in roots music/alternative country, Charley Crockett and Sierra Ferrell, have each announced August shows at Surly Brewing Festival Field — helping make 2025 already the hottest summer for concerts there since before the pandemic.

Old-school Texas twanger Crockett will perform in the big field behind the Minneapolis brewery on Aug. 23. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via axs.com, with presale options beginning Thursday (prices TBA).

Without changing his traditional, Ernest Tubb-like sound one iota, the Rio Grande Valley native jumped from being a favorite on the Lone Star State honkytonk circuit to playing major festivals and amphitheaters such as Denver’s Red Rocks in recent years. It’s a good bet his upcoming album for Island Records, “Lonesome Drifter,” also won’t sound much different than the rest; it was produced by Shooter Jennings (Waylon’s son).

Tickets for Ferrell’s Aug. 2 gig are already on sale ($50) and very well could sell out, given how sharply the torchy, bluegrass-tinged West Virginia singer/songwriter’s trajectory has risen since she sold out First Ave last April. She’ll probably gain a lot more Minnesota fans before the Surly gig, too: She’s also booked in the interim to open for Post Malone and Jelly Roll at U.S. Bank Stadium on May 20.

Crockett and Ferrell bring the number of 2025 Surly field shows — which are booked by First Avenue Productions — up to seven and counting. That’s already two more than First Ave booked there last year.

Others on Surly’s calendar include hometown pop-rock darlings Hippo Campus, New Orleans party starter Trombone Shorty (seen in Sunday’s Super Bowl pregame show) and the weirdly-still-popular ‘90s band Cake.

Here’s the schedule so far. Tickets for all of them are on sale via axs.com.

  • Cake: May 29
  • Hippo Campus: May 31
  • Dispatch & John Butler: June 22
  • Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with JJ Grey & Mofro: July 11  
  • Sierra Ferrell: Aug. 2
  • Gregory Alan Isokov: Aug. 19
  • Charley Crockett: Aug. 23
about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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