The local live music scene is a small but an important community in the Grand Forks area. It is important to support this community, the artists who create and perform music, and the businesses that give them a space to share their art. Artists having a safe place to share their music is essential to the unification of our community. It gives people a place where they feel comfortable going to to get involved with something they care about.
Here in town, one of the most essential businesses to the growing music community has been and will continue to be Ojata Records/Dogmahal Doghaus, a record store and hotdog shop just down University Avenue. This business is a unique and welcoming place for all people. They serve great food and have a wide collection of physical forms of music, comic books, music equipment, and any other music or hotdog related item that you can think of. They host events quite frequently that feature the music of local musicians as well as non-local ones, performing countless different music genres.
The Empire Arts Center and their Music Box Series that has been developed over the past few years is also an important factor in the live music scene. The Empire has always been a staple in the music and performing arts scene in town, but recently they have created their Music Box Series that features local musicians monthly. This started in their basement space and has slowly worked its way into the main auditorium space. They even held a small-scale outdoor festival style show over the summer which featured local and non-local artists. Their Music Box performances tend to conclude with a short jam session where musicians can take time to get to know each other and begin to collaborate through music. This opportunity can be an essential way for other musicians to find one another and interact to create new projects.
Small coffee shops like Archives on campus and Urban Stampede downtown will often host solo artists or small groups. This can be very beneficial to these smaller artists who may not get as many opportunities to perform. These performers will often have a smaller setlist to perform in a low stake setting, and it can be a great way for young or new musicians to get a feel for performing and start to get involved with the live music scene.
Traveling outside of Grand Forks just an hour down the road to Fargo opens a lot of new opportunities. One well-known venue that hosts local musicians as well as up and coming artists from all over is The Aquarium located above Dempsey’s downtown. It is here that bands from the Fargo/Moorhead area and Grand Forks community will often perform. Along with this, artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Tiny Moving Parts have also performed there so it can be an exciting place for artists to perform on a stage where so many other artists played when they were starting out.
Two lesser-known Fargo/Moorhead live music venues are The Red Raven and Parachigo. The Red Raven recently had to move locations and are starting to get back up on their feet. They are a small coffee shop that displays the work of local artists, and they host events that feature the musical projects of local musicians or poets. Parachigo is a newer non-profit venue located just down the road from The Aquarium. It is quite a small venue, but it definitely has character. The walls are filled with color and beautifully crafted artwork. They provide spaces for artists to create and display their artwork as well as a place for musicians to hold events to showcase their projects.
Each one of the venues mentioned are so important to our community and the music scene because they provide safe and creative spaces for artists and musicians to thrive. It is at these places that people will come together to form friendships and to create with one another. If you are someone who has an appreciation for live music, you may consider checking out one of these locations. There are plenty of ways to get involved with this community, either by performing or just by attending events and supporting all of those who keep local live music alive and thriving.
Nora Lee is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
