For Minnesota Music Month, The Current polled the local music industry for April’s edition of The Scouting Report. A total of 112 people filled out this year’s Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report ballot, and 489 unique artists were chosen overall. The top 10 artists who received the most support include Room3.

The music created by room3 is at times mind-bending, yet sharp and excitable enough to generate a euphoric listening experience. With a noticeably modern bent, the Minneapolis jazz-fusion ensemble pay homage to the roots of jazz music on their handful of recordings. Each track has just the right blend of compositional, harmonic, and sonic experimentation to make it accessible, yet still exciting. 

This group of young, dexterous musicians has impressed a wide swath of influential members of the local music community, including critically acclaimed singer/keyboardist MMYYKK, drummer JT Bates, and bassist Sean McPherson (also the music director for Jazz88). “Seeing the way room3 got the Mainroom going at Best New Bands of 2024 in January of 2025 was one of the goosebump moments I'll remember for the rest of my days,” McPherson says.  

This widespread love earned room3 the most votes in the second annual Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report poll. The collective’s evolving lineup is anchored by keyboardist Eli Awada, saxophonist Jovon Williams, drummer RAWTWHYLAH (Colin Mitchell), bassist Beck Anderson, and percussionist Evan Espinoza Robles. Look at their recording credits and you’ll see Desmond Teague (flute/saxophone) and other contributors from the vibrant local scene.  

In this interview with Awada, there’s more to learn about the group’s collegiate background, connection with the Minnesota music scene, and highlight performances since starting in early 2022. Also, listen to The Local Show on April 13 to catch a live performance and interview with room3, The Local Show’s April Artist of the Month. 

Where do you live in Minnesota, and what’s your community here like? How does it inform your music?

Eli Awada: We all live and spend most of our time in Minneapolis. The community we have found here is incredibly supportive and inspirational. Artists in this scene are often as enthusiastic about their own creations as they are about those of their peers. And there is an abundance of fantastic original music in this city, which has really pushed us to further hone our individuality as a band. It's a very active scene, too. On top of the typical gigs at professional venues, there are tons of DIY jam sessions and community-building events that we regularly take part in.

What’s one of your favorite music-related memories that happened here in Minnesota?  

Eli Awada: Last year, we took a band field trip to the Dakota to see one of our biggest musical heroes, jazz saxophonist Kenny Garrett. The show was fantastic, of course, and right after the set we got the chance to meet him. As we each took our turn thanking him for his performance and his impact on us as musicians, someone mentioned that we were planning on covering one of his compositions on the same stage a week later. He ended up taking me over to the piano to have me play the tune for him and make sure I had the voicings right. It was an incredibly kind gesture from a true giant in the world of jazz and music as a whole. The next week, we played the song to a packed house at Dakota (correct voicings and all).   

What shows do you have coming up in Minnesota?

Eli Awada: April 27 at Dakota Jazz Club for our album release show! Featuring MMYYKK, iLLism, DeCarlo Jackson, Madame Blu, and many more special guests. We have lots of unannounced summer gigs, too. Stay tuned in to our performance calendar by following us on Instagram @room3collective

What does Minnesota Music mean to you? How would you define the Minnesota music scene?

Eli Awada: Minnesota music is trend-setting, diverse, passionate, and creative. In our experience in particular, there's a lot of very talented instrumentalists and songwriters that exist in all genres and pockets of the scene.

What would you like to see more of in the Minnesota music scene?

Eli Awada: I would love to see more large-scale music festivals that direct the attention of those outside of Minnesota to the music ecosystem here. There are a couple popping up, which is awesome, but it would be great to have a few big ones that cater to different styles of music.

Favorite Minnesota venue? Dream venue to play at?

Eli Awada: This one is hard, there are so many great venues in the cities! Top three are Dakota Jazz Club, Green Room, and Berlin MPLS.

Favorite performance you've done?  

Eli Awada: We played the First Avenue mainroom for "Best New Bands of 2024" this January, and it was absolutely magical. The sound was on point, the crowd was giving us everything they had (First Ave had their first "Jazz Mosh" that night), and we were just having a blast playing together. It was definitely a bucket list moment to play such a historic stage.  

First performance/first time performing in front of someone/first ever song you wrote/first instrument you ever played, etc. 

Eli Awada: The first Room3 performance was at The Whole for the University of Minnesota's Battle of the Bands in February 2022. We ended up winning that year, which gave us the motivation to keep the group going and see what we could make of it. We've been gigging consistently, with different iterations of the band, since then.   

Related:  Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report 2025: The top 10 new local artists