Make no mistake, The Hold Steady are a New York City band. That said, Minnesota-raised Craig Finn, frontman and primary songwriter for The Hold Steady, wears his North Star State credentials indelibly on his sleeve. His lyrics frequently reference Minnesota music and landmarks, and have overtly name-checked Twin Cities metro geography; for example, Hold Steady fans who’ve never set foot in Minnesota can probably provide rudimentary directions to Southtown or to the Quarry.

Nevertheless, there’s something Minnesota specific the Hold Steady haven’t yet been able to claim: They’ve never performed at the Minnesota State Fair. But this September — after 20 years as a band — the Hold Steady will finally be able to cross that off their (Sweet Martha’s) bucket list when they perform at The Current’s Music on-a-Stick with the Bob Mould Band and Dillinger Four on Saturday, Sept. 2.

Craig Finn of the Hold Steady recently sat down with The Current’s Mac Wilson to talk about the Hold Steady’s 20-year anniversary, their latest album The Price of Progress, and the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

Listen to the interview using the audio player above, and read a transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Edited for time and clarity.

Mac Wilson: Hello, Craig.

Craig Finn: Hey, thanks for having me.

Mac Wilson: Craig Finn, a man who wears many hats, but today, he is Craig Finn of the Hold Steady, because we have a really special announcement that just came across the wire, that the Hold Steady will be playing The Current's Music on a Stick at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds the first weekend in September. So we're looking forward to having you back. I feel like saying congratulations, Craig. But it's going to be an exciting time. 

Craig Finn: It's really exciting. I mean, obviously, it's a hometown show, which is exciting for us. But the State Fair is obviously... I don't know, it's a big one. We're 20 years as a band this year, so excited to be celebrating that 20-year anniversary at such an iconic Minnesota venue, event, et cetera, The State Fair, it's huge.

Mac Wilson: So I didn't get the opportunity, actually to research and go back, the Hold Steady's history at the State Fair; have you played there in any other capacity, like at the bandshell, or one of the free stages?

Craig Finn: The Hold Steady has never played at the State Fair.

Mac Wilson: This is going to be an exciting time, Music on a Stick happening on the second of September. So Craig, I want to take the time machine back to your own personal history with the Minnesota State Fair. What's your first memory of going out to the state fair? Were you very, very young? Did you only get there in your teenage years? What's the first memory you have with the state fair? 

Craig Finn: So my parents were from Massachusetts, so they weren't like, you know, they didn't have the State Fair thing that was… like, it wasn't a huge family tradition. But I think it was probably third or fourth grade when I first went. And of course, I remember all the State Fair stuff: the Giant Slide was big; the Midway with — you know, my mom always said, “The rides aren't safe there,” I don't know if that's true — but they were there, and they felt rickety back then. And I mean — I'm old enough also that it's crazy to think this — but I assume the State Fair no longer has like an old-school freak show. But that is something that you know, the State Fair used to have. And I was never a big into drinking milk, but my friend did the pay-a-quarter-and-drink-all-the-milk-you-can thing. I didn't do that.

And then in the Grandstand, we actually saw 1970s teen idol, Leif Garrett. Leif [pronounced LAYF] Garrett? I don't know how you pronounce his first name. But he's gotten in a lot of trouble in subsequent years. But at one point, he was a pop star that, you know, mainly sang other people's songs, and we got to see that. So that was a very early rock'n'roll experience to me, so I'm kind of returning the scene of the crime there.

Mac Wilson: My first Grandstand concert was Vince Gill in 1997.

Craig Finn: Yeah, I remember my very good friend went to see Rod Stewart in probably, must have been the early 80s, the Camouflage Tour. I remember being jealous. I think Jeff Beck played guitar on that tour, too. So there's certainly been a ton of great shows there.

And I have not been to the fair since 2013. But I look forward to going. I think my interests at the fair have changed a lot. As I've gotten older — I really used to be bored by the livestock, and that kind of thing — but now I'm like, "Wow, look at the size of that cow." You know?

Mac Wilson: We're here with Craig Finn of the Hold Steady as the Hold Steady are coming back to Minnesota for Music on a Stick the first weekend of September — on September 2. So the new record from the Hold Steady is The Price of Progress, and as you've said, you're marking the 20th anniversary of your band this year. And in an incredible coincidence, I don't know, for all I know, many people have pointed this out to you, but just several days ago, Trampled by Turtles celebrated their 20th anniversary as well. What was in the water as both of you launched up at literally the exact same time?

Craig Finn: That's crazy. I did not know that. And we've crossed paths with them over the years a number of times, but I had no idea. I don't know, it felt like a good time to start a band. You know, I moved to New York, and I'd been out here for a few years not playing music. And the first song we put out on the first record, Positive Jam, says, "I was bored when I didn't have a band, so I started a band." That's pretty much it. I mean, that's the start of the bio; we hadn't played music in a while, and then we decided to. But there was a lot of stuff happening. A lot of music in New York was happening.

I moved to New York in 2000, and, you know, there was the Strokes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a lot of that music, which was very, you know, very hip and very fashionable, and a lot of it I really liked, but at the same time, I thought we kind of decided, "What about just a more straight rock band?" Something that you know, maybe as we say, "a bar band," and kind of started something in that image. And it worked out pretty well. Here we are 20 years later.

Mac Wilson: We're chatting with Craig Finn of the Hold Steady. The new record is The Price of Progress. And when we first started playing the song "Sideways Skull," I was really struck by the female backing vocals that you have on the song. So I went and looked up who it is, and I was really pleasantly surprised to see one of the names is Cassandra Jenkins, whose music is absolutely inspired by your, your own and the Hold Steady, and she's toured with you on occasion. So can you go a little bit into depth about your collaboration and your friendship with Cassandra Jenkins?

Craig Finn: Yeah, Cassandra, I met through our producer Josh Kaufman, who has produced the last three Hold Steady records, and the last four of my solo records. And I believe, yes, she was first brought in to sing on one of my solo records. And I met up with her in the studio, and then we kind of ended up heading back to the same place after the session, so we rode the subway together and sort of became friendly, just started talking. And I heard her music, and I really loved it. And then she did a tour with me, with Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers, and would sing with us every night, and I saw sort of her songs developing and Josh Kaufman also produced her music, so, and then really got blown away by her last record, you know? I knew it was going to be good, but like just particularly the song "Hard Drive," which is kind of a spoken thing that I really dig, and we just kind of remained friends, artists, you know, friendly artists and collaborators. Last fall, we even did kind of a duo show in Denmark, where just me and her got up on stage with two acoustic guitars and told stories and sang songs.

So a continued collaborator, and I just actually I just played Carnegie Hall, which was amazing. I got invited to this event called The Piano Recital where I played piano, which is new to me; it was the first time I've ever played piano in front of anyone. And I was terrified. And so but that was kind of the spirit of the event. It was a lot of people maybe not known for playing piano. Songwriters. So I did a song by myself. And then the second song I did, I came out with my friend Stuart and also Cassandra. And it was good to have some bodies on stage, some friends on stage with me, because it was the most nerve wracking gig I've done in years, to be honest!

Mac Wilson: I've got one more question about Music on a Stick, which is coming up at the State Fair Grandstand, Bob Mould is also on the bill.

Craig Finn: The openers for the show are going to be amazing: Bob Mould Band and Dillinger Four. And Bob Mould is an absolute hero of mine; you know, I grew up in Minneapolis, and the Replacements, Hüsker Dü and Soul Asylum were kind of like the holy triumvirate. And I've gotten to know Bob a little bit over the years, and I'm still just a massive fan of everything he does. And it's just a wild honor to have him on this bill, and obviously he has a lot of Twin Cities connections as well, going back to his days at Macalester College, and Hüsker Dü being from here.

So yeah, I think that rounds out a pretty great bill. And also Dillinger Four who are longtime friends. My old band Lifter Puller played with them often; somehow, the Hold Steady has never played with Dillinger Four.

Mac Wilson: No way.

Craig Finn: But we're doing that in Chicago with the Mountain Goats this summer in July. And then we thought, well, we should bring it home. And I think it's going to be a just an amazing night of music. Really, I can say both bands very much influenced the Hold Steady. And I think it's a great way to celebrate 20 years in the Twin Cities.

Mac Wilson: Well, there you have it the Hold Steady, Bob Mould and Dillinger Four playing The Current's Music on a Stick at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on the second of September. I'm Mac Wilson. Craig, thank you for joining us today. We'll see you out wandering around at the fair beforehand, probably.

Craig Finn: Yeah, look for me in the — I'll be in the, you know, the seed art or the sheep barn.

Mac Wilson: Sounds good, Craig, and we'll talk to you and hear from you again real soon. Thanks for joining us today.

Craig Finn: Thank you.

Credits

Guest - Craig Finn
Host - Mac Wilson
Producer - Derrick Stevens
Digital producer - Luke Taylor

External Links

The Hold Steady - official site

Bob Mould - official site

Dillinger Four - Bandcamp

Minnesota State Fair - official site