Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Morris Day and the Time to headline Taste of Minnesota

Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press
·3 min read

Taste of Minnesota will return to its new home in downtown Minneapolis for a sophomore run with live music from Jakob Dylan’s band the Wallflowers, country star Martina McBride and the homegrown talents of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis along with Morris Day and the Time.

The free event takes place from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on Nicollet Mall and Washington Avenue. Four stages will host live music with more than 50 food vendors divided into five “neighborhoods” ranging from Jazz Junction to Prince Parkway.

There are three entrances to the festival: the corner of Washington and Hennepin Avenues and Nicollet Mall at both Fourth and Fifth Streets. No tickets are required, although organizers are asking attendees to RSVP online at tasteofmn.com in order to track attendance numbers and communicate updates before and during the event.

The late Ron Maddox founded Taste of Minnesota in 1983 on the state Capitol grounds. The idea was to provide a free, family friendly festival with live music and plenty of food options. It moved to Harriet Island in St. Paul in 2003 and Maddox continued to run it through 2008.

New owners attempted to reboot the festival in 2010 as a paid event with $20 and $30 tickets. It turned out to be a financial disaster and the owners filed for bankruptcy.

Maddox’s wife Linda revived Taste in 2014. But Harriet Island flooding forced her to move it at the last minute 40 miles west to the Carver County Fairgrounds in Waconia. It returned to Waconia for the final time in 2015.

In 2019, a new group of organizers acquired the Taste of Minnesota trademark with an eye toward a 2020 relaunch that was scuttled due to the pandemic.

The group looked at numerous options to stage the event before settling on the remodeled Nicollet Mall. Staged with the support of Mayor Jacob Frey and other city leaders, the 2023 comeback drew about 100,000 people over two days, setting the stage for this year’s expanded version of Taste.

Music and food lineups

Saturday’s main stage will feature: Koo Koo (noon), Belladiva (1 p.m.), Gear Daddies (2:30), Sophia Eris (3:45), the Wallflowers (4:45) and Martina McBride (6:30).

Sunday’s lineup includes: Sounds of Blackness (12:30 p.m.), Johnny Holm Band (2:30), Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with guests (5) and Morris Day and the Time (6:45).

Other stages: More than 30 local and regional acts will fill three smaller stages with live music across the two days.

The five themed food “neighborhoods” include:

  • Magic Midway (Southern-style fried chicken, burgers and sides along with a range of contemporary barbecue)

  • Jazz Junction (French and other cuisines from “seasoned chefs, cocktail makers and dessert experts”)

  • The Belt Way (New Orleans cuisine)

  • Artist Avenue (street-style foods including a variety of seafoods, tacos, bahn mi and chicken and waffles)

  • Prince Parkway (Jamaican food committed to “natural, local and slow food philosophies”).

For the complete schedule and further details see tasteofmn.com, where attendees can download free Metro Transit passes to visit the event.

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