Soul Asylum: Unplugged with special guest Ivan Neville and a curated pre-show set by Transmission's DJ Jake Rudh 

Thursday, April 20, 2023 | State Theatre, Minneapolis

7:30 p.m. Show Time

TICKET LINK (link will be active after 12 noon on Thursday, Feb. 16)

Dave Pirner and his modern lineup of Soul Asylum have announced a live re-creation of their "MTV Unplugged" performance at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on April 20 — ahem, 4/20 — timed to a 30th-anniversary reissue of that performance on vinyl for Record Store Day that weekend.

Enter for a chance to win admittance to this show

The Current is pleased to offer a ticket giveaway to this concert. Enter by noon (CDT) on Friday, April 14, for a chance to win a pair of passes to this event. One (1) winner will receive two guest list spots to Soul Asylum at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on Thursday, April 20. Please use an email address you check because winners will be contacted by email.

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Soul Asylum

Known for explosive live shows early in their career, Grammy award-winning and multi-platinum selling rock band SOUL ASYLUM stripped back the volume for their 1993 MTV Unplugged show, featuring 13 intimate songs performed in front of a live audience, which was played on MTV incessantly. This allowed fans to hear another side of the band, and helped to catapult their single “Runaway Train” to worldwide success.

This year, SOUL ASYLUM celebrate 30 years since their iconic MTV special with a rare performance of an intimate, one-of-a-kind Unplugged set in their hometown of Minneapolis at the opulent State Theatre. Joining the band for the first time since 1993 on keys is Ivan Neville, known for his legendary work with the Rolling Stones, Neville Brothers, and Bonnie Raitt. They have also enlisted local string quartet STRINGenius to assist them in performing powerful new versions of their iconic songs, including “Runaway Train,” “Somebody To Shove,” and “Misery.” 

Ivan Neville

Son of the great soul singer Aaron Neville, Ivan Neville was born in 1959, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is an accomplished multi-intrumentalist, songwriter, and singer. He first started playing in a band in 1977 - Renegade was its name - and still as a teenager, Ivan joined his father and uncles in the nascent Neville Brothers, serving as third keyboardist, along with Art Neville and Gerald “Professor Shorthair” Tillman.

Though he has performed often with the Neville Brothers, he established himself as a go-to studio and touring musician. He was a member of Bonnie Raitt's band between 1985-1987, and guested on other dates by a plethora of artists including the Rolling Stones, Don Henley, Paula Abdul, Robbie Robertson, Rufus, Delbert McClinton. He was also a member of Keith Richards' touring X-Pensive Winos outfit on the Talk Is Cheap tour. Neville and his cousin, Ian Neville (son of Art Neville) formed the diverse jam band Dumpstaphunk in the early 2000s.

Throughout his solo career, he has released four solo albums and had a Top 30 Billboard hit with the first single "Not Just Another Girl" from his debut solo album If My Ancestors Could See Me Now. His second single "Falling Out of Love" was a duet with singer Bonnie Raitt that reached 91 on the Billboard charts. The song was also featured in the 1989 comedy Skin Deep, starring John Ritter.