Much like the legend of Robert Johnson, Minnesota music lovers have come to a crossroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But unlike Johnson\u2019s supposed crossroads, area fans of R&B\/soul, hip-hop, jazz, rock, reggae, blues and more won\u2019t have to make a deal with the devil to fulfill their musical desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to blues mythology, Johnson \u2013 the man guitar great Eric Clapton calls, \u201cthe most important blues singer that ever lived\u201d \u2013 was known as a mediocre-at-best guitarist who met-up with the devil at a Mississippi crossroad and in exchange for guitar playing greatness, he traded his soul. As theorized in the Netflix documentary, \u201cDevil at the Crossroads,\u201d the more likely explanation for Johnson\u2019s remarkable mastery of the stringed instrument was his tutelage under bluesman, Ike Zimmerman. It was said Zimmerman and Johnson would practice at night in a graveyard, thus fueling the devil rumors. In addition to the instruction from Zimmerman, Johnson added a seventh string to his guitar and a metal tube over one of his fingers that would rub the strings on the instrument\u2019s neck creating a high-pitch sound; a technique known as slide guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnson, whose likeness graces this edition\u2019s cover, died at 27, but his music and his legacy remain constant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another constant is a slew of great summer concerts in the state. Whether it\u2019s a State Fair lineup that consists of the likes of Lionel Richie, Tony, Toni, Tone and Hall & Oates or a hip-hop mega show (June 15) at Treasure Island Casino (Welch, Minn.) featuring 50 Cent, Ice T, Slick Rick, Biz Markie, EPMD, Too Short, J.J. Fad, Das EFX and more, this summer has something for everyone. Here\u2019s a look at some of the key shows coming to the Great North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Music at the Zoo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n B\u00e9la Fleck & The Flecktones featuring Victor Wooten, Roy \u201cFutureman\u201d Wooten and Howard Levy \u2013 June 26<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dave Koz and Friends Summer Horns featuring Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Kenny Lattimore and Aubrey Logan \u2013 Aug. 25<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robert Cray \u2013 Aug. 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n Target Center<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cardi B \u2013 July 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xcel Energy Center<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jennifer Lopez \u2013 June 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ariana Grande \u2013 July 8<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalid \u2013 July 23<\/p>\n\n\n\n Santana \u2013 Aug. 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mystic Lake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Roots \u2013 June 30<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael McDonald & Chaka Khan \u2013 July 7<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gladys Knight \u2013 Aug. 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ben Harper and Trombone Shorty \u2013 Aug. 14<\/p>\n\n\n\n First Avenue and affiliate clubs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Southern Avenue, Turf Club \u2013 June 30<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jackie Venson, Turf Club \u2013 July 20<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rev. Sekou & The Freedom Fighters, Turf Club \u2013 July 31<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gary Clark, Jr., Surly Brewing Festival Field \u2013 Aug. 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lady Midnight, Turf Club \u2013 Aug. 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dakota<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maceo Parker \u2013 June 11<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stanley Clarke \u2013 June 14-15<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cecile McLorin Salvant \u2013 June 19<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lisa Fischer \u2013 June 27<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gloria Gaynor \u2013 Aug. 10<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dobet Gnahore \u2013 Aug. 13<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bayfront Reggae & World Music Festival (Duluth, Minn.)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kymani Marley, Samantha Moon, Kabaka Pyramid and more \u2013 July 20<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minnesota State Fair<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hall & Oates \u2013 Aug. 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n Logic \u2013 Aug. 29<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lionel Richie \u2013 Aug. 30<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crooner\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ginger Commodore sings Aretha Franklin \u2013 June 7<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wee Willie Walker \u2013 June 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n Annie Mack & Dave Keller \u2013 July 30<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cedar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Skatalites \u2013 June 4<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bombino with Corey Medina & Brothers \u2013 June 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rio Mira \u2013 June 23<\/p>\n\n\n\n Icehouse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Earthkry \u2013 June 29<\/p>\n\n\n\n Summer SKOLstice (June 20-22)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Family Stone \u2013 June 20<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sheila E., Joss Stone, Vikings practice facility in Eagan \u2013 June 21<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judith Hill \u2013 June 22<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 21 Savage \u2013 July 30<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Much like the legend of Robert Johnson, Minnesota music lovers have come to a crossroads. But unlike Johnson\u2019s supposed crossroads, area fans of R&B\/soul, hip-hop, jazz, rock, reggae, blues and more won\u2019t have to make a deal with the devil to fulfill their musical desires. According to blues mythology, Johnson \u2013 the man guitar great […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[2764,29,2763],"class_list":["post-4413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-eric-clapton","tag-minnesota","tag-robert-johnson","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Insight-News-Website-Images-15-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4413"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4415,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4413\/revisions\/4415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}