Matt Wilson & his Orchestra with special guest Alpha Consumer
Friday, April 17, 2026
7 pm Doors // 8 pm Music
All Ages
$25 ($32.30 w. taxes/fees) Advance General Admission
$30 ($35 w. taxes/fees) At The Door General Admission
Ticket purchases are final and non-refundable
Facebook RSVP
BANJO-HARP-GENTLE-ROCKIN-HAPPY-MACHINE
Legendary Minneapolis singer and songwriter Matt Wilson (Trip Shakespeare, The Twilight Hours) and his stellar ensemble present his music on a featherbed of banjo rhythms and arpeggiating harp. Rock icons Alpha Consumer kick off the night.
Using tones mellow and grassy, Matt Wilson & His Orchestra spin out the best songs of Matt’s career, reaching back beyond his prog-rock days as songwriter and lyricist with Trip Shakespeare, back to his first songwriting explorations of classic forms, country melodies, tear-jerking ballads.
The harp mastery of inventive collaborator Phala Tracy is a key element of the ensemble’s overall sound. Phala and Matt’s playing is underpinned by the sparkling banjo groove of Quillan Roe, who is best known for his work with the Roe Family Singers, winners of a prestigious McKnight Fellowship. The sunshine tones of harp and banjo are rolled out on a wide road of Jacques Wait’s electric bass and Wilson’s own acoustic guitar and piano playing.
Raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Matt became a fan of rockers like Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and Devo. He and his high school friends formed a group called The Panic, and spent much of their youth as under-aged performers in Minneapolis nightclubs, warming up for future luminaries such as Husker Du and The Replacements. In the early 80s, Matt followed his brother Dan to college in Boston where they formed a number of bands, including the Love Monsters, marking Matt’s first turn as a lead singer. Returning to Minneapolis, the brothers joined forces with bass player John Munson to form Trip Shakespeare, writing, recording and touring together for a decade. John and Matt still perform in a rock band together, The Twilight Hours.
Matt’s been featured on MTV, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Spin, The Toronto Star and many other influential media outlets. Trip Shakespeare’s single, “Toolmaster of Brainerd,” was named by one of Minnesota’s 50 Greatest Hits, and the group was included on The Current’s list of “893 Most Essential Musical Artists of All Time.” Throughout Matt’s career, his songs have been played heavily on tastemaker radio stations like The Current around the country. Throughout his career the goal has remained constant. “Above all, the most important purpose of my music,” Wilson explains, “is to help people who are wandering through the dreariness of life to break through to a release of emotion.”
Alpha Consumer is a music group out of Minneapolis that has been active for over 20 years. In that time they let their interests wander wildly to the point where their sound now has earnest expressions that fit a wide range of community gatherings — sharing frustration, despair, love, and fun with their neighbors. From so quiet you might worry about your breathing, to so loud you can’t form thoughts about it, Alpha Consumer has you covered.
The members of Alpha Consumer have played music with Bon Iver, Jenny Lewis, John Prine, Laufey, Big Red Machine, Andrew Bird, Suki Waterhouse, Sara Bareilles, Tortoise, The Notwist, Bruce Hornsby, Anais Mitchell, The Suburbs, Sandra Bernhard, Hiss Golden Messenger, Bonny Light Horseman, Grace Potter, Phil Cook, Damo Suzuki, Mouse on Mars, Eyedea, Swamp Dogg, Joe Lovano, Tim Berne, John Medeski, Steve Cropper, Vernon Reid, Mark Guiliana, Tony Malaby, David King, Shahzad Ismaily, Ethan Iverson, Craig Taborn, Anthony Cox, Ron Miles, Evan Parker, Reid Anderson, Gaelynn Lea (MacBeth on Broadway,) Merce Cunningham Dance Company, members of Prince's New Power Generation (in tribute after he passed), and probably some other folks they can't think of at the moment. There was this one time that some members of Alpha Consumer played the music of Ornette Coleman for Ornette Coleman at the Walker Art Center on his birthday... that was pretty cool. The members of Alpha Consumer have played music on five continents at countless storied venues, and on Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Shows with Conan and Jay Leno, Letterman, Fallon, Colbert, Ellen, Later with Jools Holland, and Austin City Limits. Nevertheless, the most rewarding music the members of Alpha Consumer have played in the last couple of decades has often been their own, and they will continue to make time for that till the wheels come off.