Women artists get amped up at this week's MN Music Summit

The future of Minnesota music is female — or so it appears, judging by the lineup of this week's MN Music Summit.

The eighth annual conference, set up by the nonprofit Minnesota Music Coalition, is focused on amplifying female and non-binary voices in the music industry. It will kick off April 12 with a party at Summit Brewery in St. Paul.

Friday and Saturday is when things really start, with two days of panels, networking, workshops and musical performances. Among the topics: R&B singer PaviElle will talk about being your authentic artistic self; rocker Venus DeMars will discuss her story of being a transgender artist; and 89.3 the Current's Andrea Swensson will host a conversation with punk rock drummer Lori Barbaro of the band Babes in Toyland..

The main event will be a noontime keynote address and evening performance April 13 by Portland, Ore., indie artist and author Laura Veirs. Veirs, who just released a new album, "The Lookout," will play at 7:30 p.m. at the O'Shaughnessy in St. Paul with guests Jayanthi Kyle and the Prairie Fire Lady Choir.

The summit's finale will take place April 14 at the Capri Theater in north Minneapolis, where Prince played his first live show as a solo artist. It will feature the premiere of a live music/film collaboration by experimental music artist Carrie Hanneman Shaw, "Piano Hero and Superfriends," followed by performances by DeMars, Mayda and electronic-folk Duluth artist Ingeborg von Agassiz.

Tickets for the summit start at $20 and can be bought online via MNMusicCoalition.org