First Avenue’s Rock Lottery brings Minnesota music together in more ways than one
July 06, 2023
After Friday’s show at First Avenue, you might walk out with a new favorite local band. Assembled from a pool of a couple dozen musicians, the venue’s first Rock Lottery performance will bring together a wide range of genres and styles representing the vibrant Twin Cities music scene. From rock to jazz, folk to hip-hop, these artists are pushing themselves and build something no one has ever seen (or heard) before.
Participants include Bad Bad Hats frontwoman Kerry Alexander, chart-topping jazz drummer L.A. Buckner, guitarist Jake Hanson (HALEY, the Cactus Blossoms, Mason Jennings), Cindy Lawson (Whoops Kitty, the Clams), singer-songwriter Landon Conrath, rapper Student 1, and many more.
The musicians have been split into five bands and have two days to write a repertoire of original music to perform.
L.A. Buckner says he’s most excited about participating in the Rock Lottery to form new creative bonds.
“I think it’s a really dope opportunity to work with new folks who you wouldn’t get a chance to work with outside of this,” he says, noting that sometimes musician communities get “too tight.” “We’re cliquey. There are super tight-knit pods of communities of musicians. Great, great, super world-class musicians. But we don’t collaborate a whole lot. This is a new way to bring much more collaboration. I’m not necessarily a rock musician, but I do love rock music. So, playing with random cats, I’m totally down.”
The idea of the Rock Lottery arose during the pandemic when First Avenue was temporarily closed. Ashley Ryan, First Avenue’s VP of marketing and one of the event’s organizers, says that the concept had been on their bucket list for quite some time.
James Taylor, a talent booker at First Avenue, acknowledges the communal nature of Minnesota’s music scene, agreeing that it makes the Twin Cities the perfect location for a Rock Lottery event.
“I think that’s why the Minnesota music scene is special,” Taylor says. “I just think that there’s an inherently collaborative nature to the music scene here, and it speaks to how many amazingly talented musicians there are in town.”
Taylor’s team brainstormed a large group of musicians, which then narrowed down to their current list of 25.
“The main goal was to start off with five drummers,” says Taylor. “It was a lot of actively recruiting people, and then, we had people reach out on Instagram to fill the spots.”
“The drummers pick a name out of a hat and build their rhythm section. At that point, you’ll have two people per band and then we’ll just consider everyone else a multi-instrumentalist to just throw them in the hat and draw them until the names are gone.”
The “Rock Lottery” concept has been rumored to have originated in several music-loving cities. One of the earliest was organized by Good/Bad Art Collective in 1987 in Denton, Texas. Since then, it has been successfully recreated in renowned music cities like Austin, Texas; Seattle, Wash.; and Brooklyn, N.Y.
Adding to the excitement, the bands get a mere 48 hours to create a repertoire of original songs to perform. This timeframe challenges the participants to tap into their creativity and efficiency.
Traditionally, Rock Lottery contestants have a more threatening deadline, as Rock Lotteries in Brooklyn and Austin draw names in the morning and play their original music later that same night.
Beyond the thrill of the Rock Lottery, this event holds the potential to bridge some gaps in the Twin Cities music scene. By bringing together musicians with diverse styles and personalities, The Rock Lottery challenges them to find common ground, foster collaboration, and create something greater than the sum of its parts.
Cindy Lawson says that she’s nothing but excited about being pushed outside of her comfort zone by taking part in the Rock Lottery.
“In the past couple of years, I’ve really been doing really melodic, ’60s-type surf rocker stuff and there’s all the other music that’s out there,” says Lawson. “I’m just taking it as an opportunity to learn. I would rather sit back and listen and learn about what people have to say.”
This event has the potential to bring together and showcase the Twin Cities music scene in a new way. The challenge, or the intrigue, here is that many of these musician’s styles might not be compatible, and the personalities of the individuals may clash.
Lawson chuckles, “It’s going to be its own monster. Like Frankenstein. It’s putting together different pieces, that creates its own thing.”
First Avenue’s 1st Ever Rock Lottery. $15; 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 7 at First Avenue. Tickets and more info