Following 2024’s Minneapolis Music Census, join the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department, in partnership with the Minnesota Independent Venue Alliance for a day of community-building, celebrating and imagining the future of Minneapolis music. Whether you are a musician or a promoter, working in management, recording, venues, studios, or policy, and whatever your genre, you are invited.
Get connected to resources, give feedback on policy ideas, and be a part of the conversation – registration, agenda & speakers to come!
What: Minneapolis Music Summit
When: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Time: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: Green Room, 2923 Girard Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408
RSVP for free: https://tinyurl.com/MPLSMusicSummit2025
Minneapolis Music Summit schedule
11:30 a.m. – Welcome
Welcome to the Minneapolis Music Summit, with remarks from Arts & Cultural Affairs, the Minnesota Independent Venue Alliance, and an invocation from Minneapolis Poet Laureate Junauda Petrus.
12 p.m. – Panel 1 – Creative funding and getting yourself out there
How do you build a life in music? Join this panel discussion around entrepreneurship, funding, audience-building and collaboration in a creative career, featuring candid, expert, and practical advice. Featuring: Andrea Pierre, MPR; Pablo Siqueiros, Metro Regional Arts Council; Tall Paul, Hip Hop Artist; Vie Boheme, Bohemian Way.
1 p.m. – Panel 2 – Venues, festivals, and performers, working together
A live performance ecosystem is made up of a lot of different parts that are dependent on each other in different ways. Join this conversation around the needs of artists, venues, and festivals in booking and putting on successful shows. Featuring: Symone Wilson, Freeze Pop Records; Corey Bracken, Pilllar Forum; Nadirah McGill, Twin Cities United Performers & Gully Boys; Cecilia Johnson, Berlin; Grant Meachum, Minnesota Orchestra.
2 p.m. – Panel 3 – Policies & Programs – A dialog about what's needed in Minneapolis
Let's talk about policy, professional, and community development! As the city of Minneapolis changes, what role does music and the music ecosystem play in advancing a more vibrant and equitable city? Featuring: Ben Johnson, Arts & Cultural Affairs; Ben Shardlow, Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District; Buffie Belsi, MNIVA; Kellie Larson, IATSE Local 13; Bao Phi, The McKnight Foundation.
3 p.m. – Panel 4 – Future dreaming – What do we want to build?
Close out the Summit with a wide-ranging conversation about opportunities and the future for our music ecosystem, talking about technology, community, and our place in the national landscape. Featuring: Katie Thornton, Independent Journalist & Musician; Jeff Lin, Pennant.tv; Chadwick "Niles" Phillips, The Avant Garde; David Safar, The Current; Dr. Christopher Rochester, MacPhail Center for Music.
Resources: Professional development and legal resources from Springboard for the Arts, DEMO MN and the Minnesota Music Archive, mental health and wellness resources from Dissonance, and SPEAK MPLS providing free headshots!